Rum, Rum, I LOVE Rum!!!

( Appleton 12 Year - my favorite aged rum )

The history of the United States, and of much of the rest of the New World, has been written with a rum soaked pen. From the slave trade to an economic driver for the American Revolution to countless cocktail re-inventions in bars far and wide, this seemingly humble and mundane spirit has seen it all.

I don’t remember when I had m first taste of rum, it was likely on the sly and unlike my troublemaking companions at the time, I most likely loved it. I do recall rum balls, rum cakes and other rum soaked treats when I was young. They might not always have been closely guarded and I might have taken advantage of that as well. I do recall making rum soaked raisin ice cream and the killer buzz from punches containing rum and who knows what else during college. Light rums and spiced rums, it didn’t matter. Cruise to the Bahamas. Rum drinks. Pretty easy when the rest of the family is sea sick in their rooms and you are close enough to 18 for nobody to ask. Then I went to Jamaica.

( Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Christmas 2005 )

Appleton rum punch. It was everywhere. It was Spring Break after all. But I’m not kidding, it was everywhere. If you didn’t know what to order at the bar you might as well enjoy a rum punch while you made up your mind. Mixed up in big batches meant it could be poured like the Minutemen were ready to take up their arms. I met my wife on my Spring Break trip and she and I have been back to Jamaica three times since. On those trips you wouldn’t have caught me drinking anything but rum, on the rocks, juiced up or maybe a shot.

( Margot, on the right, drinking Dirty Bananas with new friends in Runaway Bay - 2009 )

Today from 4-6 PM PST will be a cocktail TweetChat (a recent exchange of Tweets determined that a TweetUp is an in person so TweetChat is the virtual meeting). The topic this month is rum! Use the hashtag #drinkup on Twitter to share your experiences and follow all the action. We will be celebrating rum cocktails, rum history, rum adventures, new products and stories about vacations planned in the search of rum! Check in with @MyMansBelly for @AncientFireWine for more information.

Music is a key partner for me and my beverage adventures. My best cocktail ideas and execution have come whilst groovy tunes have been emanating from the stereo in the room where I work, blog and hang out. I am partial to several styles of cocktail friendly music such as Downtempo, Trip-Hop, Nu-Jazz, Lounge and World-influence club tunes. Having the proper soundtrack to entertain, go out or just hang in is an essential for the mood. When done right the conversation flows, drinks go down at a reasonable pace and the rough spots of the day fade away. A perfect example is the sweet sound of Buena Vista Social Club in the air right now. This is my nod to Cuba and its rum traditions. Tonight during the TweetChat I’ll be tweeting what I am listening to as the music and the drinks pair up in all the right ways.

( Barbadian run, where it all started! )

A few years back I started looking around for information on rum, rum history and the different styles of rum. I’ve not nearly consumed all of what I found, but what I have read has pointed me in so many exciting directions that I can’t see wanting to stop the adventure.

If you are interested in those topics as well there are a few books I can recommend. They are all part of my library and since they generally include recipes for drinks or food made with rum, I’d call them reference books.

• Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World", July 2005, Charles Coulombe
• And a Bottle of Rum: A History Of The New World In Ten Cocktails, 2006, Wayne Curtis
• Punch, 2010, David Wondrich

One book that isn’t about rum, although the historical context is inextricably related is:

• Dark Tide, 2003, Stephen Puleo

If you want to set sail online in search of all things rum check out The Ministry of Rum.

In honor of our rum TweetChat I have pulled together a few more rum drinks to take with you on our voyage. There are two interesting things to note amongst all the recipes I have shared here and in my past rum posts linked below. First there are rums from several different locations including Barbados, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Secondly, the recipes include light rums, gold rums, dark rums, spiced rums, flavored rums and aged rums. I guess you could say I am equal opportunity.

Ancient Fire Rum Runner

2 oz Mount Gay Eclipse rum
1/4 oz Malibu rum
1/2 oz banana liqueur
1/2 oz blue curacao
1 oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
1 1/2 oz orange juice
1 dash grenadine
1 blood orange wedge & maraschino cherry for garnish
ice

Mix in a rocks glass over ice. Garnish.

This drink is the color of a grasshopper but with a nice kick. It has the perfect balance of sweet, sour and alcohol. I can say that with authority because I am drinking one as I write this! The refreshment factor of this on a hot Caribbean day is off the charts.

 Meyer Lemon Aged Rum Sour
(adapted from Imbibe magazine Jan/Feb 2011, page 26)

2 oz Appleton 12 year old rum
1 oz Meyer Lemon Juice
¾ oz simple syrup
Ice
Orange twist
Shake, strain and serve.

This drink has amazing depth due to both the aged rum and the unique flavor of Meyer lemon juice. I am back in Ocho Rios on my second sip!

Ancient Fire Frozen Berry Daiquiri
(makes 2 drinks)

3 ounces Cruzan Aged Light rum
2 oz Ancient Fire Strawberry Wine
1 oz Chambord
6 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp Demerara sugar
8 oz fresh sliced strawberries
ice

Dissolve the sugar into the liquid ingredients in the blender pitcher. Add ice and berries. Blend smooth. Serve in a tall glass with a straw. Garnish with a skewered slice of strawberry and maraschino cherry.

One drink that is worth a mention anytime you talk about rum is the Dark ‘N Stormy. It is made with 1 part Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and 3 parts ginger beer. This is an incredibly flavorful drink and is held up to be the national drink of Bermuda, where the rum originates. Check out the official recipe and lore at Gosling’s web site.

Leading up to the TweetChat I have posted several times with new rum drink recipes.

Last week was A Twist on Rum Punch.

Also last week I saw a tweet go by from @RumShopRyan who offered up a recipe for the Coconut Cruise Cocktail, a typical boat drink. Ryan can’t be with us tonight but said he hopes to send a picture from the beach in the Bahamas. I bet most of us will want to be with him!

Two weeks ago I posted recipe for Rum-based Hot Toddy. We sure as hell need this now with temps in the single digits in good ole New Hampshire!

I have written about rum many times, so much so I think it is more than other single styles of wine, beer or spirit. At the bottom of this post are links to my older rum-related articles.

Cheers!

--Jason


Past Rum Related Posts

If You're Not Drinking Appleton, You're Just Not In Jamaica - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/if-youre-not-drinking-appleton-youre.html

Rum Redux & Rumba - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/rum-redux-and-rumba.html

Mixology & Getting Your Guests Involved - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/mixology-getting-your-guests-involved.html

Rum History & Boston - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/rum-history-and-boston.html

Great Mojito Mint-Off, Guest Post from Kate at Kate Is Cooking - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/great-mojito-mint-off.html

Rum Treasure – Guest Post From the Spice Sherpa - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/rum-treasure-guest-post-from-spice.html

Ancient Fire Pirate Grog - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/ancient-fire-pirate-grog.html

Boston: Wine, Food & a Molasses Flood - http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/boston-wine-food-molasses-flood-and-rum.html

The Many Flavors of Meyer Lemons – Act 1

The story of how I happened into Meyer Lemons appears to be developing into a legend. I saw excited tweets from Barbara at Vino Luci about Meyer Lemons on their way to her. I inquired about the source, and Kim from Rustic Garden Bistro and I were tweeting arrangements for some of my own not that long after. In a few days time I received a box of beautiful fruit for a very reasonable price (thank you Kim) and the ideas started flowing from there. I am going to do Meyer Lemons ten ways!!!

I have broken this adventure up into two parts. It would be too long as one, and this choice also allows me to finish up a few of the items that are derived from methods I will share here. You’ll see where the possibilities lie pretty quickly.

For anyone who follows my blog a bet on a cocktail would be an easy one. And I won’t disappoint, there will be two as well as a tincture (similar to bitters) using Meyer Lemon zest and 100 proof vodka that I’ll be using in drinks once it is ready.

Lemon butter sounded like a pretty cool way to capture the aroma and flavor of the beautiful fruit I received and postpone its enjoyment. This is a really simple process, it’s what you do with it where all the fun comes in. More on that in act two!

Lemon Butter

2 sticks of salted butter, slightly softened
1 & 1/2 Tbsp Meyer lemon zest

Mix butter and zest with a hand mixer. Seal in an air tight container and freeze or refrigerate. I froze mine until I divine a usage for it.

In the summer of 2010 I made sage infused lemonade more times than I can remember. The reception of it was always highlighted by an empty jug. Using Meyer Lemon juice was a great twist since its flavor is somewhere between and lemon and an orange and the sage works nicely in that in between space. This is again a very simple recipe.

Meyer & Sage Lemonade

1 cup fresh Meyer Lemon juice
1 cup sugar
Cold water to 2 quarts
8 sage leaves

Mix the first 3 ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sage leaves and allow it to steep for 12-24 hours. Remove the sage leaves. Enjoy over ice.

As I was thinking about how to use as much of the components of the lemons as I could I got the idea to use peels and some thyme to create a bed to steam fish on. I don’t where the idea has its roots, but it seemed like it should work like a charm.

Lemon/Thyme Steamed Fish

I laid out slices of lemon peels, and juiced the lemons for the lemonade, topped them with sage and bay leaves. I then took a piece of Alaskan Code and laid it across the pile of peels and herbs. I lightly salted and peppered the fish and steamed it just until it flaked using my wok and bamboo steamer. The fish was very light in texture with hints of citrus and herbs in each bit. It was much more delicate than I had expected, I had never steamed fish before, and didn’t need tons of flavor to be immensely enjoyable. The wine pairing was a bottle of 2010 White Blend we made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier.

Another foundational component that I knew I needed to make was lemon sugar. I am guessing some of you already thought, to a rim a cocktail glass with! That is one usage and the other is a topper for lavender sugar cookies which I aim to make real soon. This is another recipe that couldn’t be simpler.

Lemon Sugar

1 cup of white sugar
Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon

Mix zest and sugar. Allow to dry in open container for an hour or so. If you don’t allow it to dry long enough it will clump. Seal in an airtight container and store in cool dry place.

Also along the cocktail lines is some ginger/lemon simple syrup. I love making my own simple syrups to add flavor and sweetness to cocktails. I can regulate the amount of sugar in my drinks and eliminate artificial flavors which really don’t measure up on taste.

Meyer Lemon/Ginger Syrup
2 cups water
4 cups sugar
1 - 2 inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
Peels from 2 Meyer Lemons

Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar in it being careful not scorch it. Remove it from the heat. Add the ginger and lemon peels. Allow this to steep for 1 hour or until the flavors are strong enough for your tastes. Store in a airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month or so. I used this to make a drink I will share next time. For now I will leave you with a recipe for an Aged Rum Sour adapted from the most recent issue (Jan/Feb 2011, page 26) of Imbibe Magazine.

I am signing off with a rum drink as a reminder of the rum drink TweetUp going on tomorrow (January 26th) from 4-6 PM PST. The topic this month is rum! Use the hashtag #drinkup on Twitter to share your experiences and follow all the action. We will be celebrating rum cocktails, rum history, rum adventures, new products and stories about vacations planned in the search of rum! Check in with @MyMansBelly for @AncientFireWine for more information.

Meyer Lemon Aged Rum Sour
(adapted from Imbibe magazine Jan/Feb 2011, page 26)

2 oz Appleton 12 year old rum
1 oz Meyer Lemon Juice
¾ oz simple syrup
Ice
Orange twist

Shake, strain and serve.

This drink has amazing depth due to both the aged rum and the unique flavor of Meyer lemon juice. I am back in Ocho Rios on my second sip!

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Meyer Lemons Ten Ways. Check back soon for the conclusion and more ideas how to use this exciting fruit.

Cheers!

Jason

A Twist on Rum Punch

( a Rum Punch and a Cool Runnings hanging out on the beach. )

One of my favorite drinks when on the island of Jamaica is rum punch. Memories of Jamaica are always very special for, because that’s where I met Margot. Technically I met her at Boston’s Logan airport on our way to Jamaica, but screw technicalities.

Rum punch is pretty much juice, sugar and rum, and is often mixed up in large batches to be consumed in kind. I’ve had it on every trip to the island and it packs a pretty mean punch (the play on words is totally intentional!) with sweetness, acid and a nice pleasing finish.

In chapter 5 of “And A Bottle Of Rum – A History Of The New World In Ten Cocktails”, written by Wayne Curtis, we find a whole section on Planter’s Punch, the origination of what we now know as rum punch. Rum fueled the history of the colonies and ultimately the United States, something many people don’t actually know. William Penn was said to have thought that rum punch consumption rivaled that of beer in the colony of Pennsylvania in the 1700’s. In this section of the book we also find a quote containing the four basic ingredients of early rum punch, “One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak.” Pretty simple.

( one of the drink signs at Sandals in Ocho Rios. I love their Rum Punch! )

On January 26th, 2011 from 4-6 PM PST there will be a cocktail TweetUp and the topic this month is rum! Use the hashtag #drinkup on Twitter to share your experiences and follow all the action. We will be celebrating rum cocktails, rum history, rum adventures, new products and stories about vacations planned in the search of rum! Check in with @MyMansBelly for @AncientFireWine for more information.

Here is my spin on rum punch to help guide you on your way to the TweetUp next week.

A Different Rum Punch
½ oz dark rum
1 oz lime syrup
2 oz gold rum
3 oz blood orange juice
4 oz Cabernet Franc dessert wine
Splash of Galliano
4 oz club soda
ice

Mix all the ingredients, except the club soda, in a pint glass. Top off with the club soda. Add ice cubes.

( that's me killing a Rum Punch and a Yellow Bird in Ocho Rios. it was 10 AM! )

Earlier in the day @RumShopRyan asked on Twitter if anyone knew what today was. The answer was Boat Drink Day. I had to look that up because I am not really well versed in island and maritime drinking culture. Wednesday, was my answer. While correct and with sufficient wise-assery, I was wrong. I try.

Jimmy Buffett used the phrase boat drinks in the title for a 1979 song. The definition is of a strong drink, typically rum based, that can be easily made on a boat. Not to leave us hanging @RumShopRyan passed along the link to the recipe for the Coconut Cruise Cocktail, which can be found at http://rumshopryan.com/2011/01/19/coconut-cruise-cocktail-drink/. I will surely be having one of these during our TweetUp next week!

Cheers!

--Jason

Inspiration for a Rum TweetUp!

On January 26th, 2011 from 4-6 PM PST there will be a cocktail TweetUp and the topic this month is rum! Use the hashtag #drinkup on Twitter to share your experiences and follow all the action. We will be celebrating rum cocktails, rum history, rum adventures, new products and stories about vacations planned in the search of rum! Check in with @MyMansBelly for @AncientFireWine for more information.

In preparation for our TweetUp I offer some inspiration in the form of a rum based hot toddy, the Hot Buttered Rum.

Ancient Fire Hot Buttered Rum
(Makes two drinks)

2 oz dark rum
2 oz gold rum
6 oz water
1 tsp spiced simple syrup (recipe below)
1 tsp dark brown sugar
6 drops vanilla
1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 Tbsp butter, cut in two pieces

Place the equal portions of cinnamon stick and vanilla in 2 heatproof mugs. Heat the rum, water, simple syrup and sugar in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and pour into the mugs. Put the pieces of butter on top of each and let it melt into the mixture.

Spiced Simple Syrup

2 cups water
4 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
6 allspice berries

Heat water to boiling. Add spices. Remove from heat. Allow to steep for 1 hour. Return water to boiling. Add sugar. Mix over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

*** Bonus – I first made the spiced syrup (above) for a drink I entered into the Woodford Reserve Well

Crafted Manhattan competition. I didn’t win and the person who did made a ginger infused drink. The drink doesn't contain rum, but that doesn’t mean I can’t share the recipe with you!

The Applesauced!

2 oz Woodford Reserve
2 oz fresh sweet cider
1/2 oz spiced syrup
1/4 oz ginger liqueur
splash of lemon juice
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine, stir and serve. Add a cinnamon stick and orange twist for garnish

Cheers!

--Jason

Boston: Wine, Food, a Molasses Flood and Rum

One of the books on my summer reading list was Dark Tide by Michael Puleo. This book was the winning selection for the city-wide reading project in Boston this year. The reading program culminated with a Boston Public Library event on September 20th with the author. Margot and I both took the afternoon off and planned a fun day in the city, finishing with the evening lecture at the library. More on the book and the event later.

A beautiful day in Boston.

Margot hasn’t been in Boston with me since February and before Clover Food Lab debuted their truck in Dewey Square. Earlier this year I wrote about Clover during their second week at the new location and have enjoyed breakfast and lunch there a couple of times since. Margot has been dying to check out their fresh, vegetarian menu and especially the rosemary fries. Unfortunately, and only at first, did we think our visit would be incomplete when the board said they were out of fries. We ordered sandwiches, a chickpea fritter and soy BLT, and a couple of ginger lemonades grabbing one of the nearby tables. And then the cavalry arrived. I watched attentively to see if a crate of potatoes was on the supply truck and then they appeared. These fries are worth the wait. Freshly thin cut, fried golden brown with so much rosemary you’d think that was all there was. You can smell the rosemary in the air when they are cooking. Mission accomplished.

The next stop on our journey was to the very small and easily missed plaque explaining the incident of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 on Commercial Street in Boston. You will find it on a stone wall near the playground and bocce courts on the Causeway Street end of Commercial Street. Not much for such an unusual historical event. We walked along the waterfront for a while on a beautiful fall day.

From there we headed over to Boylston and Newbury streets to poke around in shops and get some dinner before heading to the library. I had a few places I wanted to visit where I hoped I might turn up some additions for the bar and future cocktails. As I write this I am enjoying my very first glass of Berkshire Mountain Distillery’s rum that was purchased at Bauer’s Wines & Spirits on Newbury. This is a great example of a gold rum with clean flavors and a moderate amount of oak aging influence. The newest batch of BMD Bourbon hasn’t hit the shelves yet, but I’ll be there the day I find out it has. They also make several styles of gin, a vodka and a corn whiskey that would be worth checking out. Another great way to go local!

We also stopped in at Deluca’s, one of the neighborhood markets, where I found some ginger beer and blood orange bitters. Stay tuned for my exploits using those two new ingredients.

Our food and wine needs were well satisfied at Piattini Wine Cafe on Newbury. Our waiter David explained that in Italian piattini means small plate, and that the small plate selections on their menu are a popular way to try a variety of dishes with your fellow diners. Their wine list has selections from around the world and of course a nice concentration on Italian styles. To drink Margot went with a glass of the Castello D’Albola 2004 Chianti Classico and I chose the Fresco Bianco flight. My flight included the 2006 Pala Vermentino ‘Crabilis’, 2006 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc and the 2004 Domaine Schlumberger Pinot Blanc. Our small plate adventure involved the Misto di Formaggio (olives and three cheeses), Bruschetta Gamberetti (shrimp bruschetta) and the Ravioli ai Funghi (mushroom ravioli).

The wines in my flight represented a couple things for me, two new varietals in the Vermentino and Pinot Blanc and overall a good bet that the restrained flavors would make a good match with the variety of foods we would be trying. The Vermentino had mild aromas of field greens and a nice clean finish. The tasting notes indicated I should watch for an “almond-like aftertaste”. I don’t know that I identified it as almond or almond-like, but I could detect something of creamy sensation, and the distinction they were making was quite evident. The olives expressed some sweetness in the wine, which was both interesting and refreshing. The Pinot Blanc had a wonderful lemon nose, was crisp with a medium length finish. It went well with all three dishes and tasted fresh with each sip. I’ll be buying some of this for additional food pairing experiments. The Sauvignon Blanc had the most pronounced nose of the three wines, containing some green pepper and grass, with lots of citrus flavors that stayed through the finish. It didn’t pair so well with the food, coming across bitter except with the bread and oil that didn’t seem to affect it one way or another. The Chianti Margot was drinking was very good. I am ashamed to admit that my only taste was with the mushroom ravioli and that I found it worked well, but we didn’t take any notes.

All three dishes were very tasty. The bread used for the bruschetta was over toasted but with other bread on the table that was easily resolved. The shrimp and pesto on it were very tasty and the fresh red and yellow tomatoes were a pleaser. The cheese plate included Manchego, Auribella and Trugole, all of them tasting fresh. The Auribella had the strongest flavors of the three, almost tasting like a young parmesan cheese. The mushroom ravioli was the star of the show, served with a creamy pancetta sauce. David clarified that we indeed were aware of the meat in the dish when taking our order. We were confused, “yes we want mushrooms and meat in the same dish”, but he explained that more than one a vegetarian ordered this dish without fully reading the menu only to be met with something they didn’t want to be in the same room with when it was delivered. Not us. At one point David checked on us and offered an insider tip for us based on our glowing review of the mushroom ravioli. From time to they offer a special of a black truffle stuffed pasta served with a white truffle sauce, but should we come by and it isn’t mentioned we should ask, because if they have what they need the chef will happily prepare it for us.

While we ate we struck up conversation with Colleen and Tara sitting at an adjacent table. As we talked we realized they were foodies too, and then the conversation got serious. Food truck weekend in NYC, a tip to try the Kim Crawford New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and the “compost cookie” at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York. I found a recipe for the cookies that have a name that is totally worth exploring. We passed over our card and told them to shoot us an e-mail so we could get them on the invite list for out next wine tasting.

And finally, the molasses flood. The Rabb lecture hall at the Boston Public Library was standing room only by the time the event kicked off. Dark Tide has been selected an astonishing 13 times for city reading projects. I am elated to have been able to participate in just one and learn something about a historical event largely relegated to the urban legend that molasses can still be smelled in the hot summer air 91 years later! The author, Michael Puleo, covered a lot of ground in 90 minutes and more than I can faithfully cover here. I will share two things that help place the book in a literary context. First, there are four parallel themes woven together in the book. From the role of US Industrial Alcohol in constructing a faulty tank to store molasses used in the production of industrial alcohol for the making of munitions during World War I, a change in the relationship of corporations, government and society, the rise of anarchists and social unrest and finally to immigration and the lack of involvement of non-citizen immigrants in the goings on in their own neighborhoods. It sounds like a lot but the themes played out together then and were fit together well in the book now. The second aspect that is notable is the telling of the story through the eyes of people whose lives would not have otherwise been shared if this event had not occurred, and I venture if this book had not been written as well. To this day, Dark Tide was published in 2003, there is not a single other book written as a historical account of this event. Being figured in this book is a very singular historical legacy to be sure. Mr. Puleo explained who he felt the heroes and the villain were in the book and how he enjoyed sharing the stories of ordinary people whose lives were forever changed by a wall of molasses 40 feet high travelling at 35 miles per hour on a cold day in January of 1919.

One quote from the book stands as an example of how unique this event was and still is. “Send all available rescue vehicles and personnel immediately – there’s a wave of molasses coming down Commercial Street”. This was uttered by Frank McManus, a Boston police officer, during what would have been a routine report back to the central station if the molasses tank hadn’t collapsed right in front of him. Talk about a strange phone call to have!

As we made our back to the bus via South Station we came upon something that I still can't figure out. The stairs up from the train and the entire lobby of the station were decked out with advertising for Appleton Jamaican Rum. This is my very favorite rum and the 12 year aged had a beautiful banner hanging from the ceiling. It was my final picture of the day. From molasses to rum, a fitting way to end a fun day in Boston!

 Cheers!

--Jason

Rum Treasure - Guest Post From Spice Sherpa

We have a special post today from Karen Marely of Spice Sherpa just in time for International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! The romantic vision of pirates is filled with adventure, free spirits, treasure, and rogue personalities–all set against a backdrop of the Caribbean’s alluring waters. This is the fuel of National Talk Like a Pirate Day held every year on Sept. 19th.

Buried treasure, colorful speech, and freedom from the confines of civilization. Who doesn’t dream a little bit about that occasionally? After all, I think all food lovers and chefs have a bit of old-school pirate in their blood. Whether we define our treasure as fresh, local produce or an obscure ingredient; we follow our maps, relentless in our quests. In the kitchen we follow codes of conduct (the cookbook) or interpret recipes and our imagination to suit our own private escape.

Strange thing about stereotypes, they have a way of being grounded in reality. In the case of pirates, pillaging and plundering were standard activities during the Spice Wars of the late 1500s and early 1600s. Spices were the treasure of the time. Nutmeg in particular was worth its weight in gold…if not more.

In honor of National Talk Like A Pirate Day I concocted a drink that celebrates all that’s fun and sexy in pirateland. It’s filled with ginger syrup (from those Caribbean Islands), chai tea (spices from the Spice Islands), and of course…rum.

To be fair, I drank something like this at a bar called Lento about three years ago. I don’t quite remember all the ingredients but the drink was so delicious I dreamed about it for three years before finally doing something about it.

Here’s my version. I call it Rum Treasure.

First, you need to make some ginger syrup.

1 cup of water
1 cup of white sugar
½ cup peeled and thinly sliced, fresh ginger root (and maybe a touch more if you want it stronger)

Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved stirring occasionally.

Add the ginger and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a container and let cool.

Rum Treasure

1/3 cup strongly brewed black chai tea, chilled.
1.5 Tbsp of ginger syrup
Generous shot of good quality rum (I used Bacardi black label, aged 8 years).
1 tsp cream

Garnish: crystallized ginger and a pinch of garam masala spice blend

Combine tea, ginger syrup, and rum into your glass. The ginger syrup will settle on the bottom, as shown below, so take care to stir gently but thoroughly to combine the syrup. Add the cream. Combine gently.

Make a small snip in a morsel of crystallized ginger and place it on the rim of the glass. Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala on the top.

Tip: I like to taste the spirits in my cocktails. Increase the tea to ½ cup if this mixture is too strong for your liking.

Another tip: You’ll have a ton of leftover ginger syrup. Add it to sparkling water for a non-alcoholic ginger beverage. Jason at Ancient Fire experimented with several different cocktails using ginger syrup last week, be sure and take a look other ways to use the tasty syrup.

For information on and uses for ginger click for more from Spice Sherpa.

That said, ahoy…

Drink up me hearties! And if ye be lookin’ for recipes, stories ‘n’ folklore featuring spices found across the 7 seas, set your sails and point yer stern o’er to Spice Sherpa.

And yer cap’n asks what say you about all this fuss and poppycock o’er talkin’ like a bilge rat pirate (I be politely askin’ for yer comments)!

Ancient Fire Pirate Grog

We regret to inform that the previously scheduled program will not be aired tonight. Margot might have Strep so our tour of the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand, its Pinot Noir and a tasty lamb dish paired with the wine has been rescheduled to next week.

In it is place I have sown an ode to rum in the form of grog. Grog has a storied history starting with the British Royal Navy and all sorts of seafaring folk, including pirates, in the times of the colonization of the New World.

The following links provide a more in depth history than I could summarize here.

For the foodie, the beverage was most often concocted with water, rum, lime and spices. This form was devised specifically to ensure water wouldn't spoil on long voyages and that voyagers might consume some vitamins to fend of scurvy and the like.

The Contemplator's Short History of Grog

Wikipedia's Entry on Grog

Global Gourmet's Recipe for Grog

Ancient Fire Pirate Grog

18 oz of nearly boiling water
6 oz Mount Gay Eclipse rum
1 cinnamon stick
10 allspice berries
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tbsp superfine sugar

Add the cinnamon stick and allspice berries to the hot water. Allow to steep for 1 hour. Add the rum, lime juice and sugar. Mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Serve over ice in a rocks glass (way more classy than the pirates did, but hey!!) with a slice of lime.

Grog made using this recipe is a very light cocktail with a nice hit of spice and citrus. Margot thought it might be a perfect fit for a hot summer day. You could get drunk on it, but it would take a quantity and some time.

Arrrrr!!! Fetch me my grog wench!

Cheers!

--Jason

Rum History and Boston

This is my second post focused on Boston and Rum. Earlier in the year I wrote Rum Redux & RumBa about some new rum drinks inspired by our Jamaica trip and my visit to RumBa at the Intercontinental Downtown. I've been there again but we covered that in the Valentine's Day post.

In that post I wrote that I had ordered the book "Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World" by Charles Coulombe which profiles the history of rum within which Boston and some of the adjacent cities figure prominently. At one time the majority of rum available worldwide was distilled here in the Boston area. The slave trade that backed it up is not a positive thing, but this is our history and we should try and understand how it shaped our culture and lives. The book was fascinating, providing an incredible amount of detail on how rum came to be, its ebbs and flows and it also includes recipes for drinks and dishes.

This week the Boston Globe completed voting for their Citywide Read project and the book "Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919" by Stephen Puleo was the winner. While this book isn't specifically about rum, because it set before prohibition which killed the rum business in Boston and it talks about a molasses flood it is well related and requires a look. The project will culminate in a moderated online discussion of the book and its story about this same time next month. My copy is on the way and I am looking forward to reading it and joining the conversation!

Here is a recipe for a truly funky Jamaican rum drink, something that you need some time to get used to and that packs a punch!

Jamaican Yellow Bird

1.5 oz Appleton Gold rum
0.5 oz Galliano herbal liqueur
0.5 oz Creme de Banana
0.5 oz Apricot brandy
2 oz Pineapple juice
0.5 oz Lime juice
0.25 oz Simple syrup

Combine, shake and serve over ice.

Cheers!

--Jason

Mixology & Getting Your Guests Involved

This week there has been a lively discussion on a post from the Merry Gourmet about crafting cocktails for a hosted party. Being wine drinkers, we very much are too, she and her husband wanted to find a cocktail they could unveil at an upcoming party that would be easy to make, AND crowd pleasing.

Check out the post and the comments at http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/2271025-the-pamplemousse-cocktail. The buzz around the post got it into the Foodbuzz Top 9 today.

When my wife and I first started hosting parties at our house we often had beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks available. This satisfied most guests, but we did notice a few guests preferred spirits or a cocktail. If we were lucky we had something around and I could whip a drink up. That didn't satisfy me at the host.

As my winemaking got going I started seeing lots of shows about mixology and realized some of the spirits being used are really wines, fortified and not. Vermouth and Lillet Blanc are two that immediately come to mind. I started experimenting using my wines with other spirits in martini style drinks. I have included a recipe below from one of our Friday night happy hours that my wife and I (just us!) often do to bring the week to a close.

This experimentation required a more complete bar, bar tools and some knowhow. I have to say it was fun to bring my knowledge to a functional level and now I experiment all the time. These days when we host parties we typically have a list of commonly requested drinks available, some left field selections we have come up with or like and of course enough range in the bar for me to pick up the bartenders bible in response to a request I am not familiar with.

The final dimension that has really made this a wonderful journey to be on is getting our guests involved. Not long after the first party where the "bar was open" our friends starting asking how I learned how to make the drinks and often professed fear at trying it at home. I love to share and I had to answer this call. At the holidays in 2009 we held mixology lessons to demonstrate how to approach making drinks, how several were made and then asked guests if they would like to give it a try. I had good expectations, but the response was overwhelming. Several friends have said since that they have gotten positive feedback from their own bar skills when hosting at home. I couldn't be happier.

Nothing in this was all that surprising once I stepped back and considered that our friends have always been interested in the the dishes we make, how I make our wines and now how we tend bar. Margot has even gotten into challenging me to come up with new drinks. That is never a bad thing!

Here are some recipes for drinks that you can make at home or have your guests make to add some fun to an upcoming party.

Old Fashioned

2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar syrup (make ahead, more if sweeter is desired)
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix first four ingredients in a rocks glass. Add ice. Squeeze the orange slightly to add some juice to the drink. Place orange and cherry in glass and serve.

Devils Kiss (this is an original martini with homemade wine)

2oz Strawberry Wine (a berry liqueur will work in place)
2oz Pomegranate Vodka
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Grenadine
1 twist of lemon
1 maraschino cherry

Mix with ice in a shaker for 20-30 seconds. Strain into martini glass. Serve with a lemon twist and cherry.
 
On a recent visit to Jamaica I experimented with a few combinations requested from the very willing bartenders.
 
White Jamaican (White Russian, Caribbean style)

2 oz Appleton 12 year old rum
2 oz Rum Cream
1 oz Tia Maria

Mix and serve over ice.

Street Pharmacist

2 oz Appleton 12 year old rum
2 oz Rum Cream
1 oz Amaretto

Mix and serve over ice.

Cheers!

--Jason

Rum Redux and RumBa

Rum has been on my mind since our trip to Jamaica last month. I made a rum cream after finding nothing at the state liquor stores and not wanting to buy and ship. Strong, but flavorful in all the right ways. Two new drinks go with it as well as those described in my last post on rum.

http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/if-youre-not-drinking-appleton-youre.html

Coconut Creme

3 oz homemade rum cream
1 oz Malibu rum

Appleton Morning

3 oz homemade rum cream
1 oz Appleton Special

Meet me at RumBa! If you are into rum and from Boston you'll get this. You should get this. RumBa, the rum bar at the Intercontinental in Boston has 100+ rums ready to drink with curiosity accessible prices for the size of the drink. I tried the Cruzan Black Strap and lusted after the Appleton 21 and a host of others that will be tried before I'm gone! The Cruzan was slightly sweet and had a nice long and clean finish.

After the stop at RumBa I ordered a book on rum history which informs us of the Boston roots of the early rum business. "Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World", July 2005, Charles Coulombe. This hopes to be a great read. We are already planning a trip to St. Croix to visit Cruzan!

Cheers!

--Jason

If You're Not Drinking Appleton, You're Just Not In Jamaica

Just back from Runaway Bay Jamaica and of course the rum was flowing as much as ever!

Appleton Rum is the signature rum brand from Jamaica and if you go, you must try it in several forms to get a feel for the versatility of the rums from this 260 year old distillery on an island know for its place in the rum trade of old.

Imbibing Suggestions

1. Rum punch with a V/X float - traditional Jamaican punch with a float of Appleton V/X aged rum.
2. Street Pharmacist (an original) - rum cream, Appleton Special (gold rum) and Amaretto.
3. Appleton Reserve 12 Year - on the rocks like a bourbon or scotch. You will find this to be a complex spirit well worth savoring. And you have to go to get some as far as I know.

In Jamaica rum is a reflection of the spirit I love as much as reggae music and jerk chicken. All three go together very well and sure make for fun times on vacation.

Cheers!

--Jason