Spiced Rum

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

750 ml rum (I used Plantation Original Dark rum)
4 inches of a vanilla bean, pod and scraped seeds
2 1/2 x 1 1/2-inch strip of orange peel, with as much white pith removed as possible
3 allspice berries
4-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5 whole peppercorns
1/2-inch piece of ginger, sliced
demerara syrup, optional

Directions

Put everything into a mason jar and let sit for 3 days, stirring once a day. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then a coffee filter. Add 1 ounce of demerara syrup if needed, depending on your base rum.

Notes

There’s no comparison—making your own spiced rum is the way to go. The Plantation Original Dark was plenty sweet enough without adding any demerara syrup. This rum is so good I can sip it straight, which says something as I don’t like super-strong drinks. I can’t wait to try this in a hot toddy or eggnog!

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Brown Butter-Washed Banana Rum

Credit: Gabriella Mlynarczyk, Clean + Dirty Drinking

Ingredients

750 ml George Ocean White Rum
8 oz unsalted butter
3 ripe bananas

Directions

Brown the butter. Add the bananas and mash them into the hot butter, off the heat. Pour the mixture into a glass bowl, and add the rum. Stir, and let sit for 2 days covered. Then strain the rum and refrigerate. When the butter solidifies at the top, scoop it out and strain it again through a coffee filter to remove any remaining particles.

Notes

What not to do—put the rum that’s draining through a coffee filter in front of paper towels, so when you reach for a paper towel, you knock over 1/3 of your rum. Aside from that…WOW. This rum can practically be sipped neat, it’s that good. It goes from clear to clear dark golden yellow.

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