Episode 30: Denizen Merchant's Reserve

5 Minutes of Rum episode 30: Denizen Merchant’s Reserve, revisiting the Mai Tai, and the Taboo Tai Swizzle.

Mai Tai
2 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
3/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 orange curaçao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/2 orgeat
1/4 oz simple syrup (to taste)
Shake all ingredients with ice cubes in a boston shaker. Strain over fresh crushed ice in a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a spent lime shell and a sprig of spanked mint.


Taboo Tai Swizzle
2 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz orgeat
2 dashes orange bitters (Angostura)
Add all ingredients to a collins glass filled with crushed ice. Swizzle/stir to combine. Refill with crushed ice and continue to swizzle until the glass frosts over. Add 2 more dashes of orange bitters to ice, and garnish with a lime shell and (spanked) mint.

Episode 15: Smith & Cross Jamaican rum

5 Minutes of Rum episode 15: Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, pimento liqueur, and Black River Punch. 

Allspice tree

Pimento Liqueur

1/4 cup dried whole allspice berries

1 (one) 750 ml bottle of light Virgin Islands rum

2 cups demerara sugar

1 cup water

Grind the allspice berries to the consistency of ground coffee. Combine in a saucepan with 1 cup of the light rum and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir. Funnel into an empty rum bottle with grounds and fill 3/4 of the way with more of the light rum. Cap and let it sit for 2 weeks, shaking once a day.

After 2 weeks, remove from bottle and strain through cheesecloth. Then filter 2 more times through unbleached paper coffee filters or twice through an aeropress. Make a demerara sugar syrup with the 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine equal parts of this sugar and the pimento rum, bottle, and let sit for at least a month. 

Black River Punch

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz demerara sugar syrup

1/2 oz falernum

1/4 oz pimento liqueur

3 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum

2 oz black tea

3/4 cup crushed ice.

Combine all ingredients and flash blend/mix for 5 seconds. Pour into a tall glass or tiki mug and fill with ice cubes. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

This recipe can be scaled up as a punch for a large gathering. The simplest way is to just multiple each ingredient by how many total servings you want. If you want to arrive at a specific fluid total, you'll need to do a little math. For example, to make 1.5 gallons (192 oz), divide the end total ounces desired by the amount of 1 serving (8.5 oz), or ~22 in this case. When scaling up for a punch, regardless of how, omit the ice. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large vessel (a punch bowl works nicely) and pour into cups filled with ice like a gentleman. A punch cup serving is typically about 4-5 ounces over ice. 

Substitutions: 1.5 oz Smith & Cross and 1.5 oz Appleton VX, or 3 oz Appleton VX, depending on your taste. 1.5 o Smith & Cross and 1.5 oz Batavia Arrack is also a fine choice. 

 

Episode 7: The Mai Tai

5 Minutes of Rum episode 7: An introduction to the Mai Tai, Appleton 12 year, Clement VSOP, curaçao, orgeat, and the Trader Vic's Mai Tai.

Various curaçao.

Orgeat

Trader Vic's Mai Tai

Trader Vic's Mai Tai

Orgeat recipe at Post Prohibition. 

 

Trader Vic's Mai Tai

1 oz Jamaican rum

1 oz Rhum Agricole

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orange curaçao

1/2 oz orgeat

1/4 oz simple syrup

Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake, and strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with mint and half a squeezed lime shell.