Beverage Director Amanda Reed loves rum. Asking her to choose the best is like asking what her favorite wine is. That, or the fact that the categories of rum are so different, may explain why our downtown Seattle restaurant has more than 40 rums on the menu.
A Rum Primer
Fundamentally, rum is a liquor derived from fermented sugarcane juice. While most of the world’s rum comes from the Caribbean, it’s also made everywhere from Australia to the U.S.A. After distillation, rum is typically aged in oak for one to 10 years and bottled between 80 and 151 proof. There are the older, oak-aged rums, which Reed happily swaps out for bourbon as a sipper. There are lighter, brassier rums perfect for harmonizing, such as that in the rhum agricole cocktail we pair with scallops.
Rum comes in four main styles: Light-bodied rums are typically aged 6 to 12 months in uncharred oak barrels and are relatively dry and faintly sweet. Medium-bodied rums, often known as golds or ambers, typically see longer aging and sometimes the addition of caramel. Dark rums are typically aged five to seven years—or decades—and are rich in body, flavor, and texture. Then, there are spiced, aromatic, or flavored rums, which typically begin as light rums and are before being infused with spices or tropical flavorings, such as coconut.
Tiki Up: DIY Daiquiris
Of course, rum is at the heart of tiki drinks. Light and dark rums make their mark in the Mai Tai (light and dark rums, orgeat syrup, curacao, and orange and lime juices), while The Jungle Bird features dark rum, plus campari, pineapple and lime juices, and bit of simple syrup.
For fun with rum, Heartwood Provisions’ bartenders riffed on the daiquiri and created three unique drinks. DIY at home or come in and ask for a taste test.
Michael’s Daiquiri
1 oz Plantation 5 Year Rum
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
1/4 oz Lacuesta Blanco Vermut
1/2 oz Raspberry Gomme Syrup
1 oz Lime Juice
Garnish: Candied Raspberry
Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin or glass. Add ice. Shake. Fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish.
Kyton’s Daiquiri
1 oz Plantation 5 Year Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Gomme
1/4 oz Demerara
St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram Rinse
Garnish: Pineapple Ferrand
Rise cocktail glass. Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin or glass. Add ice. Shake. Fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish.
Jason’s Daiquiri
1 oz Rhum JM Blanc Agricole Rum
1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
3/4 oz Demerara
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish: Lime Wheel
Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin or glass. Add ice. Shake. Fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish.