Continuing my “Farewell to Summer” drinking spree, I decided to gather some friends and head over to The Rum House Caribbean Taqueria. While they offer a wide selection of summertime drinks, I turned my attention toward the endless pages of rum options.
The list can get a bit overwhelming, especially for a non-expert like myself. Luckily, they do the work for you and offer several rum flights. My friends Allie and Elizabeth—also non-experts—and I tried a few (for learning purposes, obviously) and decided our favorite was The Spiced Life flight.
I would like to preface this with an apology to all you rum experts out there: What you are about to read is not pretty. We went into the tasting blindly, learning more in the aftermath.
The Old New Orleans Cajun Spice Rum was up first. It is infused with cayenne pepper and cinnamon with dashes of nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Allie: Whoa, there are actual spices in this. What’s that spice? Liz, you know…you’re a food person. Rivers: I don’t know about this. Ew. It’s Christmassy. Bad Christmassy. Christmas tree? Elizabeth: Ew, I don’t know. This is really earthy. Allie: On a cold night? Come on. Rivers: No. Elizabeth: I’m about to gag. I tap out.
The Lash Spiced Rum was up next. It has notes of cinnamon and clove, complemented by slightly sweet notes of Bourbon vanilla and caramel.
Allie: This tastes like licorice. Elizabeth: Are we talking Jäger? I can’t do Jäger. Rivers: All I can taste is spice. Clove or something. Allie: It tastes like cherry … no, not the fruit. The alcohol? Sherry? Elizabeth:I’ve got it! You know those candy bottle caps? The ones you ate when you were little. It’s the root beer bottle cap. Rivers: Absolutely. And now I can’t drink this anymore.
Corsair Spiced Rum was last, but certainly not least. It is handcrafted from sustainably harvested citrus peels, whole Madagascar vanilla beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, anise and allspice. Basically, they just threw the kitchen sink in there.
Allie: Whoa, this is butterscotch. Rivers: This is so smooth. I’m trying to drink the rest of this. So much butter. Elizabeth: This is like smoky, camp fire action. (In the spirit of transparency, I wrote down “smoky, vampire action.” We were three rums in.) Rivers: I can just hold this up to my face and it doesn’t burn. I love it. Allie: When would you be doing that? Elizabeth: This is my favorite. Allie: Agreed.
Moral of this story: if you’re looking for knowledgeable and mature spirit tasters, you’ve come to the wrong place. We did have fun and, in the end, really liked the rums (especially the second time around). I’m not quite sure if this flight fit into my “Farewell to Summer” tour, as it reminded us more of a cold, winter night than a beach afternoon, but it was still delicious and worth the tasting.
In closing, here’s a recipe for one of my favorite refreshing spiced rum drinks that might be better suited to enjoy the last days of summer.
Rosemary Dark and Stormy
2 oz. Corsair Spiced Rum
2 oz. ginger beer
˝ oz. rosemary-ginger syrup
A squeeze of lime
To make the rosemary-ginger syrup:
2 cups water
2 cups cane sugar
A few sprigs of fresh (not dried) rosemary
Small chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Boil water, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Turn the heat down and add the rosemary and ginger. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Get rid of the rosemary and let the syrup cool just a bit before straining the syrup into a heat-safe container.
