Have We Missed the Rum Boat? by Marianne Camarda When you live in the middle of New York City, it's hard to go far without running into a cocktail. We drink cosmopolitans when we visit trendy new bars. Martinis when we hang out at the artsy bars. Margaritas in would-be Mexican bars. Beer at the earthy local bar. And vodka tonics in celebrity-decorated, boutique-hotel-lobby bars. But a recent trip to Jamaica, where it always seems a lush and lovely cocktail hour, brought to mind a question that deserves some attention. For all the drinking that goes on, how on earth do we in NYC-and elsewhere in the U.S.--overlook God's gift to sugar cane? How have we failed to see the appeal of cocktails based on rum? Personally, I think that the tutti-frutti phase of cocktails, when frozen daiquiris and coladas were all the rage, actually hurt rum makers in the long term. Perhaps because few bar owners want blenders whizzing all night long. Also, too many places start using mixes and powders to shorten the process, in the end producing a sub- standard drink. Rum was relegated to those oversized concoctions that don't blend in with our fast-paced, simpler-is-better lifestyle. Sure, the occasional mojito pops up in NYC, but it's a sometimes thing. Odd, really, because rum has complexity and staying power, especially the best out of Jamaica. It makes for a drink you could very well swig down, but would probably prefer to relish with care. A well-aged rum can be savored just like a Scotch or brandy, poured into a generous snifter, swirled, then slowly sipped to take in all the delicate notes of wood, vanilla, chocolate, and fruits. Even in a mixed beverage, the flavor of the rum should have a distinct impact, and there are almost as many varieties of Jamaican rum as there are beach spots on the isle's Caribbean coastline. Rum is the result of much complex distilling, selecting and blending. Derived from the molasses that is a by product of sugar production, rum is a blend of the esters and higher alcohols created during the distillation and aging processes, and carefully tested and tasted at each laborious step. It is the duty of the master blender to arrive at the correct proportions, processes and ages to arrive at the final mix that will appear in a bottle at the liquor store. In Jamaica, it's hard not to sip any one of the hundreds of drinks based on this versatile native spirit. While there I visited the estate of the island's best-selling rum, Appleton, whose parent company, Wray & Nephew, owns many sugar cane plantations on the island but uses only the cane grown on a single estate to make Appleton, which first started production back in the mid 1700's. Like most flavor mysteries, the causes for particular rum's appeal are complex and multi-faceted. Appleton's taste and body are due in part to the unique micro-climate of the estate property, located in the Nassau valley, the heart of Jamaica's sugar cane belt. The eco-system here feeds the sugar cane spring water that has been filtered through natural limestone, and provides the ideal temperature all the time with exactly the right amount of rain fall each afternoon. After distilling the rum ages for an average of four years before being bottled. I sampled several of the company's rums, including V/X blend, which has just enough of well-aged rums to deliver robust flavor, but still light enough to blend with tonic or ginger beer. One of Appleton's prize blends is their 21-year old, which refers to the youngest rum in the blend. Aged rum swirls in a snifter with a rich bouquet. You can watch its thick "legs" trickle down the side of the glass. Rum is also a spirit that marries will with coconut flavor. One of the most delightful mixed drinks I had on my trip was coconut rum mixed with orange juice and a dash of allspice liqueur (the berries are indigenous to the island.) Between the coconut rum, the lighter mixing rums and the savory deep colored aged rums, it's hard to imagine that the spirit hasn't become more popular stateside. Surely if we can ever escape the stigma of the pre-fab strawberry daiquiri, rum could make a tremendous comeback. If so, we'll be in for quite a taste experience. To do that, I'd start by making a daiquiri the old fashioned way-quite like a French citron press -- with the juice of two fresh limes, a teaspoon of powdered sugar, and a good shot of rum, all shaken over ice. Maybe I'd even give it a new name, like, The New Yorker! Or the Southampton. Or start a campaign for the mojito. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.