Jamaicarum – Page 4 – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023

Newly Adjusted Myers’s Dark Rum

Myers’s Rum was part of a spirits portfolio sale a couple years ago, resulting in the iconic Jamaican rum now being part of the Sazerac conglomerate. The previous vintage was bottled in Canada where untold things were added to the bottle, the less said the better (and it’s all kind of unverifiable anyway). These were recently offered in 750ml *plastic bottles* (urgh!) and in a nice 1 liter round glass bottle ideal for use at bars.

One of the tidbits dropped at the Myers’s Rum seminar with Martin Cate earlier this month is that Myers’s is now bottled in Kentucky and those unmentionables are no longer part of the “blend.” Indeed the new bottle has a mention of Sazerac and also Kentucky on the back label, so we know this is the new blend. Plus, the iconic Myers’s flared glass bottle is back!

I wouldn’t say these strike me as wildly different, though the new blend tastes a bit heavier and there’s just a hint more of the traditional Jamaican funk in this blend. Perhaps there’s more pot still distillate now? Myers’s is still very mild and perfect for mainstream bars, but a 40% dark Jamaica rum without a bunch of sugar or additives means that it might be the best rum you’ll find at many bars worldwide. Better than those tasteless, coconut, or pirate rums, that’s for sure.

If it’s been a while, you might want to give the new Myers’s a fresh taste.

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023

Myers’s Single Barrel Select Sazerac Rye Casks

It is nice to see newish brand owners Sazerac trying to do something different with the Myers’s Rum brand. This slightly upscale version of the Jamaica rum stalwart is finished in Sazerac Rye Casks and bottled in Kentucky. The bottle has hints of the flared front of the classic Myers’s bottle, though with clear glass, and the design including the cork expresses an indication that this should be considered for sipping. There’s no age statement.

At 43% ABV, Single Barrel Select is a little more suitable for tasting outside of cocktails but won’t kill novices who aren’t used to cask-strength spirits. The Rye finish is very subtle. As with Myers’s Original Dark, the rum doesn’t have the high ester and congener count you see with some Jamaican rums, and it compares fairly well to Appleton’s releases at the high $20s price point it seems to be widely available at.

I wouldn’t call Single Barrel Select an all-star for sipping rums, but for rum newbies it might be well-received. Certainly it is a welcome addition to the Myers’s line and we hope to see other interesting expressions in the future. Love me some Jamaica rum in all forms.

This bottle was available for sale at craft cocktail bar California Gold in San Rafael, who’s logo appears on the medallion. You can also find this at other bars and at retail.

November 6, 2023November 6, 2023

Myers’s Rum Tasting with Martin Cate

Time machines do exist, if you know where to find them. That was the takeaway from Martin Cate‘s seminar and happy hour at California Gold in San Rafael on Sunday. Cate is a part owner of the saloon in downtown San Rafael, a bar with a great reputation for excellent cocktails and quite a fine selection of spirits.

We were welcomed with a formidable Planter’s Punch made with Myers’s new Single Barrel Select release, finished in Sazerac Rye casks. We then made it into the back portion of the venue for a little history lesson about punch, rum, and Fred L. Myers who founded the Myers’s rum company. Cate weaved the historical details along with his own experience as a curator of rum at Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. More Planter’s Punches were provided as well.

The star of the show wasn’t Cate, though. It was the vintage bottle of 1960s era Myers’s Planters’ Punch rum. At 97 proof this was really different from the Myers’s of today – but also unlike anything currently on the market. The rum was designed to go into the Planter’s Punch, a Jamaican cocktail featuring rum, lime, sugar, and water/ice. And maybe a little spice to make it extra nice. The punchy flavor of the vintage Myers’s is bold with burnt caramel flavors and not a ton of the high ester funk you often find in Jamaica rum today.

I’ve tasted a 1950s version of this rum and the 1960s version tasted essentially similar. So good, if you can find a place selling it. Rums like this are time machines to different distilleries, extinct expressions, or the flavors of another generation.

We then tried a taste of Myers’s Single Barrel Select release, a more refined and slightly boozier expression than the standard Original Dark Myers’s that’s so pervasive across so many bars. Indeed this is a nice sipper with a hint of Rye Whiskey from the finish. It comes in a nice bottle and California Gold was selling it for a bit of a discount.

Many of us lingered at the bar discussing rums of all kinds (but mostly Jamaican) and enjoying the good cheer.

November 3, 2023November 3, 2023

Mai Tai Happy Hour Private Event

As part of the silent auction component of the Oakhana Summer Swizzle / two home tiki bar crawl in August, one of the auction items I contributed was a private tasting event with three Mai Tais for up to 8 people and hosted by Jeff Hall at the Dragon’s Den in the Oakland hills. Nav Singh was the high bidder and we had the event this past weekend.

What a great time, thanks to Nav and some of the Sacramento Ohana she brought along for the ride. A few quality questions about the Mai Tai’s ingredients and components and some about its key ingredient (that would be rum, folks). We also had a great vibe at Jeff’s place and some tasty food provided by Jeff. I brought the rum and the cocktail ingredients.

We had three Mai Tais:

First was a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai made with either Khukri rum from Nepal or Santiago aged rum from Cuba. One of these countries has a great reputation as a rum producer, but both are unusual and have a lighter column-still production method. Either one of these produced a fine Mai Tai.
Second was a Mai Tai made with Hampden Great House 2020, a cask strength flavor bomb from Jamaica. The difference between our first Mai Tai and this was greatly evident, and even with a super boozy rum the cocktail is still very approachable. This shows how different rums produce a very different Mai Tai.
We ended with a Blue Mai Tai, made with high quality Giffard Blue Curacao and a rum blend featuring Charley’s JB Overproof rum that’s available only in Jamaica. I’ve done different variants of this over the years and it still impresses; people expect it to be sweet like a Blue Hawaii but the boozy Jamaican rum gives it a good balance.

Thanks again to Jeff for hosting and to Nav for the winning bid.

Additional photos by Robyn Haas and Nav Singh.

October 20, 2023October 20, 2023

Rum is Still a Thing at Kon-Tiki in Oakland

Tried some new (to me) rums at The Kon-Tiki the other day. Their Expedition Rum list is still going, and after 100 you get your name on the wall. And for folks like me who’ve already done this I’m doing a second list and just picking from the myriad options from the back bar. They do have a printed rum list that you can peruse with pricing, etc. Prices are quite reasonable.

So many choices are available at Kon-Tiki but honestly space is becoming an issue so come on down to Kon-Tiki to help kill some of these bottles! I tried to do my part on Wednesday.

First rum was Ron Colón which is a blend of column still Salvadorian rum and pot still Jamaican rums. A very pleasant taste in a Mai Tai, not too assertive. This style of blended rum might work better in a Daiquiri where the general lightness and a bit of the Jamaican flavor would be a little bit more forward and present.

Next, I tried the Diamond Dark rum. This is a Demerara rum and is part of Diamond Distiller’s (El Dorado rum) entry level rum line. This is heavily colored and this has a caramel/maple syrup flavor – not nearly as overbearing as something like Cruzan Blackstrap but still more in that direction than Goslings or Myers’s. Not bad in a Mai Tai.

Last rum was Plantation’s Extreme series Long Pond 25 year rum from Jamaica. Very fragrant and completely delicious, Jamaica rum continues to be my absolute favorite.

October 9, 2023October 9, 2023

Jammyland: Best Mai Tai in Las Vegas?

We’d been told by numerous people that the the best Mai Tai in Vegas is at Jammyland, a craft cocktail bar and restaurant located in the Arts District and featuring a Jamaica/Reggae theme. We finally made time to check it out on our trip, visiting at opening on Saturday.

We didn’t do food, apart from the delightful Fat Boy ice cream sandwich dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut flakes. It’s really good. Music was a very bass heavy set of mostly reggae leaning songs. Pretty loud inside, not really to my taste. There’s a large patio outside that’s not shaded but I’m sure is a blast after dark.

The Mai Tai here is pretty good, a 50/50 blend of Appleton 12 Jamaica Rum and Clement VSOP. I normally like this combo, though Jammyland’s struck me as too heavy on grassy Rhum Agricole notes (though your mileage might vary). Orgeat is house-made. I was told some premium Mai Tais may make an appearance in the future, and for sure would be worth seeking out.

The craft cocktail menu is pretty large and nicely varied. I also tried the refreshing Anaconda Punch featuring Appleton Signature Jamaica rum, Drake’s Spiced Rum, fresh pineapple and lime, mango/hibiscus syrup, and Ango. I liked this light and subtle cocktail that leans more into the mango than hibiscus. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Hocus Pocus with Tequila, watermelon and lime, rosé cordial, and lavender bitters that we both felt was really great.

There is a large spirits collection at Jammyland, though direct sunlight is a concern of mine. The service here was quite friendly and efficient. There are a few art pieces and some fine mural work outside, but the rest of the inside is “warehouse aesthetic” in a mostly good way. Not really transportive, but fits in very well with the eclectic Arts District neighborhood. Check out Jammyland on your next Vegas visit.

September 17, 2023September 17, 2023

SF Rum Fest 2023

Another successful San Francisco Rum Festival and Congress is in the books. We had a great time at the Hibernia in downtown SF for this year’s event. Everything seemed just about the same as last year in terms of attendance and rum sponsors. So nice to meet many rum reps and to taste some new rums and expressions.

Having been doing the rum thing for several years now, I try to stick to things I haven’t tried before. So when I went to the El Dorado/Diamond table I unbelievably didn’t ask for a pour of cask strength Port Mourant but Diamond’s new Coconut rum. And I liked it! The Diamond line is a lower-priced product line and everything I’ve tried has been really great, including their two 151 expressions.

Barbancourt from Haiti has an interesting 110 proof white rum expression that I found interesting and had some bold and complex flavors. Same was true for the Monymusks’s forthcoming Overproof rum. This Jamaica rum is issued at 126 proof, but it quite a bit different from Wray/Rum Fire. Definitely a little lighter including Column-still distillate and a more subdued fruit-forward flavor. Worth checking out.

There were several good seminars. I really enjoyed the session from Johann Jobello covering the line of Haitian Clairins from La Maison & Velier. Clairins are wonderful and tasting these expressions side by side shows how diverse they can be – even when they’re just coming from the same country. The session from Monymusk led by blender Robert Gordon and supported by Adrienne Stoner was also quite informative. Based on rums coming from the Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries, Monymusk is relaunching their brand in the U.S. and seems poised for wider availability.

A session about estate-grown rums featured Zan Kong from Worthy Park and was paired with Steve Jefferson and Kyle Reutner from Hawaiian distilleries Kuleana and Kō Hana respectively. This was a little looser in style and more for a Q&A format with some cogent and respectful questions from the audience. Three of my favorite rums companies.