plantation barbados 5

#RumForTheHills: HBG Rum Blend 1

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Y’alllllllll. I did it, I decided to make a Rum blend to use in Punches, Swizzles, and other large format Tiki drinks and today, I’m pretty pumped to present it to you.

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Ok, let’s talk.

  1. “Whuuuuuuut gurl? Why do you need to make a blended Rum when you can just use a split base in a cocktail?” Excellent question! I did it for a couple of reasons: Firstly, I love having a premade Rum Blend on hand so I can just use it without thinking about the specs. Secondly, when things sit together in a bottle for a few days/weeks, the flavors “marry” together and groove a bit more.
  2. “Ok Cool gurl, which Rum made you start thinking about making a blend?” Hamilton 86 cause I’m obsessed with it. Hamilton 86 is very dark and has notes of leather, tobacco, fruity goodness and I’m digging it for these colder months.
  3. “Hamilton 86, got it. Then what?” Well, despite what I just said about loving the darkness of Hamilton 86 I wanted to add some top notes of potent funkiness and immediately thought, “RUM FIRE!” Yes, this overproof funky beast is super potent and great in long format cocktails.
  4. “Anything else?” I added Plantation Barbados 5 cause it’s an easy Rum and would add some length. Then added Denizen Aged White to further lighten and dry out the blend.

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I’m gonna give the recipe to y’all in parts not ounces/ml so you can make as much or as little as you want.

HBG Rum Blend #1

  • 2 parts Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum
  • 1/2 part Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum
  • 1/4 part Denizen 3 Year Aged White Rum
  • 1/4 part Rum Fire

Combine ingredients and bottle. Use this blend however you like but I’d recommend in a Swizzle, Punch or large Tiki drink.

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Cheers and happy blending!

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Putting Raspberry Syrup to Work: Double ‘R’ Punch

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Alright y’all, it’s the first day of autumn and at this point I have to admit something: no matter what season it is, I want a Tiki drink. Adding to this constant desire is the bottle of Raspberry syrup I made last week, which goes SOOOO well with Rum. So no matter what the weather, as long as you’ve got Raspberry syrup, Orgeat, and Rum, you could really get into this Punch.

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The thing about Raspberry syrup is that it can totally be used in place of Grenadine. I was reading through tons of recipes from the Prohibition era and there was actually a high number of instances where Raspberry syrup was called for or used as a Grenadine sub. The other thing I found interesting was that almost all of these recipes used Brandy or Rum as the base spirit.

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Hell yeah. Rum. Rummmmmmmmmmm. I’m starting to think that my brain is automatically like, “but how can I put ingredient ‘x’ with Rum?”

And note my new (vintage) Planter’s Punch glass! Isn’t it cute? So cute! And appropriate since I am using Jamaican Rum in this recipe! (Thank you Denizen Merchant’s Reserve!)

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I think the process went something like this:

  1. I was like “Ok, the Raspberry syrup is both sweet and tart and goes well with Lemon & Lime, so lets start there.”
  2. Then I wanted Orgeat to help smoooooth things out cause there was a lot of acid happening with the juices + syrup.
  3. But then I wanted anise so I thought Absinthe + Peychaud’s for extra spices and depth
  4. Finally the Rums: Plantation Barbados 5 for smoothness, Denizen Merchant’s Reserve for the funk to dry the drink out a bit.

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…Mint for aroma and cause it’s so pretty with the red color of the drink. Same reason for using a Blue umbrella: colors are important when creating drinks! It’s like you’ve made a tiny, albeit temporary work of art!

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Double ‘R’ Punch

  • 1 1/2 oz Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum (Sub a smooth, aged Rum)
  • 3/4 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve 8 Year Rum (Sub Jamaican Rum)
  • 1/2 oz Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 1/4-1/2 oz Orgeat*
  • 1/2 oz fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/4 oz fresh Lemon Juice
  • 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
  • 8 drops St. George Absinthe Verte
  • Garnish: Mint sprig, Tiki Umbrella

Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Double strain into Planter’s Punch glass or Collins glass over crushed ice and garnish.

*Totally depends on your Orgeat. I’m using homemade Orgeat and it’s not as sweet as something like B.G. Reynolds Orgeat. I’d recommend starting with 1/4 oz, taste the drink, then add more if needed.

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This photo is really making me wanna escape to a tropical place…like right meow.

Cheers and have tons of fun with your Raspberry Syrup drinks!