Free Cuba

I went to the liquor store on my way home from a particularly tough day at work.  This is always a bad idea.  Or a good one.  It depends if you look at the trip financially or otherwise, but I’ll say this: I tend to splurge on alcohol when I’m in a bad mood.  Unfortunately, I had not performed the required research to have any idea what I wanted.  I racked my brain, trying to remember the contents of my home bar.  The sudden realization that I had exactly zero bottles of rum ushered me to the proper aisle.  Once there, I was overwhelmed; so many options, from so many different countries left me with quite a decision to make.  So, how do you make a choice?

Most of the rum production today takes place in the Caribbean and Latin American.  Nearly all rum is created from sugarcane, whether the sugarcane is in the form of juice or in molasses, which is a byproduct of the sugar refining process (other rums are made using sugar beets).  The differences in rum (or ron in Spanish, or rhum in French) is very dependent on the culture where the spirit is produced.  English-speaking countries (such as Barbados, Guyana, and Jamaica) tend to produce rich, dark rums with a heavy molasses flavor.  Countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Dominican Republic, which are predominately Spanish-speaking, create lighter, smooth rums called Añejo.  French-speaking countries are known for rhum agricole.  This rum is produced in Haiti and Martinique. 

If you go to the supermarket to buy your rum, you won’t find the previously mentioned regional differences.  You will find rums like Bacardi Superior and Bacardi Gold and a plethora of spiced rums like Captain Morgan and The Kraken (which comes in a great bottle).  For most cocktails, though, these rums add either too little (in the case of Bacardi) or too much (spiced rum) flavor.  The most important word in the previous sentence is most.  Daiquiri’s and Bacardi cocktail’s are perfect with Bacardi, and the Captain and cola is omnipresent in today’s bar scene.  If you really want to make a great cocktail, though, you are going to have to expand your horizons.

I really love dark rum, and I recommend branching out with a brand such as Plantation Rum Grande Reserve (Barbados) or El Dorado 12 year old (Guyana).  Both of these rums are reasonably priced, and El Dorado has many cheaper varieties than the 12 year old.

So, let’s take a classic rum cocktail and use some quality rum. 

Cuba Libre

2 oz Plantation Estate Grande Reserve

4 oz cola

Lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice.  Add rum and cola.  Squeeze lime into glass.  Stir.

Every time I think of a Cuba Libre, I think of the movie Cocktail.