Episode 64: Mezan XO

5 Minutes of Rum episode 64: Mezan XO, porter, and the Blow My Skull punch.

Deschutes Public House in Portland, OR.

Look at the creamy head on that stout!

Blow My Skull punch
3/4 cup of demerara sugar
1 quart (4 cups) of boiling water
16 oz of Jamaican pot-still rum (Mezan XO)
16 oz porter (Deschutes Black Butte Porter)
8 oz brandy (Christian Brothers)
6 oz fresh lime juice

In a large, sealable vessel combine the boiling water and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients, except the porter. Seal the vessel, and refrigerate for many hours. Or at least as many hours as you have. When you are ready to serve, pour the mixture out into a punch bowl or other appropriate serving vessel and then add the porter. If you have a large block of ice, add it. Ladle the punch into small cups with ice. To scale it up, simply do some basic multiplication.

Episode 50: Blackwell Jamaican rum

5 Minutes of Rum episode 50: Blackwell rum, ginger beer, blood orange, and Nelson’s Blood.

Trader Vic's PDX entrance

Munktiki-created tiki mugs based on tikis found at the Trader Vic's PDX location (hint, you can see several of them in the preceding photos).

Nelson's Blood cocktail.

Nelson’s Blood, slightly modified (from Trader Vic’s Portland)

Juice of 1/4 lemon (squeeze over glass)
Juice of 1/4 blood orange (squeeze over glass)
1/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz blood orange puree*
1/4 oz brandy
1/4 oz falernum
2 oz dark rum (Blackwell Jamaican rum)
2 oz ginger beer

Squeeze the 1/4 lemon and the 1/4 blood orange over a double old fashioned glass. Shake all ingredients except for the ginger beer in a shaking tin with ice cubes and the squeezed lemon rind. Pour unstrained into the double old fashioned glass. Float ginger beer. Garnish with the squeezed blood orange rind and spanked mint.

* I use fresh pressed blood orange juice, but I don’t strain it, so it’s close to a puree in my book.