Tag: MakeAndDrink

Posted on

New Make and Drink Mai Tai Glass

Derek has come up with an all-new design for his Make and Drink YouTube channel’s Mai Tai glass. This one is much more elaborate than the previous incarnation, still sporting the Make and Drink logo but also including Hawaiian elements and even a Mai Tai recipe. The Mai Tai glass is available now and will be going up in price on June 1st, so “act now” as they say.

Derek’s favorite Mai Tai features both Jamaican and Demerara rums, hence the specific notation on the recipe, though of course it is always up to you how you use that two ounces of rum in the cocktail.

After you make the Mai Tai, be sure to check out Derek’s latest video which covers the oldest known Mai Tai recipe in print, a recipe “from the bartender at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel” that ran in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 1958. That recipe features 1 oz of lemon juice and ½ oz of lime juice, so this version is definitely a little different than most Mai Tais you might have tried.

Posted on

A Mysterious 17 Year Jamaican Rum

Derek from Make and Drink surprised me with a rare 17 year old Jamaican rum sold under the Golden Devil brand sold by K&L Wine Merchants. The rum is now completely sold out and remains an interesting mystery as there is no marque or distillery attribution. Could it be related to Appleton’s 17 Year Legend release?

I was able to procure a bottle and it tastes similar to the Appleton Hearts releases, 100% pot still rums that are aged for 20 years or more, but I suspect that we’ll never truly know the origin.

Posted on

Appleton 21

Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Make and Drink on YouTube

When Derek from Make and Drink invited me for a blind test of the core lineup of Appleton Estate rums I was confident that I would prefer my favorite expression from the range, Appleton 12 Rare Casks. This has been my go-to single bottle Mai Tai for over a decade, featuring a blend of pot and column still distillate, long tropical aging, and a rich flavor that works great in the cocktail.

I was also expecting to not prefer Appleton’s entry level expression, Appleton Signature, aged for around four years and a lower proof as well. And I also expected to not really dig Appleton’s longest aged expression, Appleton 21 Nassau Valley Casks. In the past my perception was that I didn’t really like this rum feeling that the body was not as heavy nor as complex despite two decades of aging.

Such was my surprise that I preferred Appleton 21, and it honestly wasn’t even close! The bold barrel notes worked well with the rest of the Mai Tai ingredients to present something that had a bit more to chew on than my second favorite in the blind test, Appleton 12. I feel less bad in that Derek preferred the 21 as well. Of course, Appleton 21 being three times the price of Appleton 12 means that it wasn’t like the Mai Tai was three times better, so factoring price into account Appleton 12 is still the winner.

The blind test shows that you need to check your assumptions from time to time and address the reality that your taste can change over time or that perhaps your previous experience was an off day for your palette. Apologies for the shade, Appleton 21.

We thank Derek for providing the venue to taste the rums in this format.

Posted on

Which Appleton Estate Rum makes the BEST Mai Tai?

Check out today’s episode of Make and Drink where I visited the Make and Drink bar to try all of the mainstream Appleton Estate Rum releases in a Mai Tai and via a blind taste test to declare a winner.

This was similar to the Single Bottle Mai Tai Rum challenge I did with Derek last year, though this time the results didn’t quite go as expected at least for this writer. In any case, this was a lot of fun and hopefully informative. Appleton makes great rums and any great rum will do well in the Mai Tai cocktail format.

The Appleton Estate rums we tested were:

  • Appleton Signature
  • Appleton 8 yr Reserve
  • Appleton 12 yr Rare Casks
  • Appleton 15 yr Black River Casks
  • Appleton 21 yr Nassau Valley Casks

Be sure to stick to the end to see the results that might shock you.

Posted on

A Mai Tai Slushie and it’s Fantastic

Mai Tai week continues with a twist, thanks to Derek from Make & Drink who treated me to a Mai Tai Slushie made in his Ninja machine. Derek is launching Make & Drink Frozen, a new YouTube channel devoted to frozen cocktails, so check out today’s video and also give his new channel a watch.

Derek’s slushie was comparable to the one I had with an industrial machine at Tommy Bahama’s Marlin bar in San Diego. Three fine Jamaica rums were used in Derek’s Mai Tai, and you could float some rum for additional flavor or ABV if that’s your thing.

Posted on

Mai Tai Single Bottle Showdown

We guested on Make & Drink to try Mai Tais made with eight different aged Jamaica rums in a Mai Tai, in order to determine the best single bottle rum of the bunch.

The rums included:

  • Appleton 8
  • Appleton Signature
  • Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
  • Monymusk Classic Gold
  • Planteray Xaymaca
  • Rum Bar Gold
  • Smith & Cross
  • Worthy Park Select

The results were really interesting and based on the ranking by both Derek and me even a little bit shocking. Watch the video to see which rums we rated the highest and which one was the overall winner.