Rum Rush

I don’t want to alarm you, but fall is just around the corner. I realize that we’re still at the beginning of September, but each day that I drive up to my college campus, I notice the maple trees thinning out more and more. I don’t know about you, but I happen to love fall, it’s probably my favorite time of year. I know that most people love those sultry summer nights, but it’s those crisp fall days, when the leaves change color dramatically and there’s that beautiful frost on the ground that covers every living and inanimate thing. Plus, fall means that an abundance of wonderful holidays and festivals are not far behind. And where there’s holidays and festivals, there’s great food and fabulous cocktails. So how does rum play into my upcoming fall season, and what will I be mixing up?

Have you ever tried a Hot Toddy? Well, there are a number of variations on the Hot Toddy, and it doesn’t really matter if you’re drinking a traditional version or a modified version. It’s a Northern England classic, and whenever I spend Christmas with my in-laws in London, on the night of my arrival, we always kick things off with a a delicious Hot Toddy. And a fun little historical fact before I give out my recipe; It used to be a treatment for the common cold and flu.

Okay, grab yourself 10z of brandy, whiskey or rum. Use about a tablespoon of honey (I like organic honey, so if you can, use that). Next, squeeze 1/4 of a lemon, then get 1 cup of hot water and a tea bag. Next, take a mug or one of those Irish coffee classes, and coat it with honey. Then pour in the liquor, and the lemon juice. In a separate cup, boil some water and make a cup of tea. After the tea has steeped, pour it into the glass with the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir. The great thing about this drink is that you can experiment with just about any kind of tea you want. Personally, I like to use black or green tea, but if I want something more fragrant, I’ll go for my favorite Earl Grey Blend. And if you’ve had an extra long day, and don’t feel like bothering with fragrance, just have one without the tea! Don’t forget to garnish with a cinnamon stick!

If you call yourself a rum aficionado, than you’ve obviously heard of Captain Morgan. The interesting thing about Captain Morgan is that it’s a fairly new rum. It was first started in 1944, and it’s affectionately named after the Welsh privateer, Sir Henry Morgan, and it’s slogan since it’s inception was “Life, Love and Loot.” What a fabulous way to toast to good friends! I won’t bore you with all of distillery details, or how it’s made, or what countries sell it, blah, blah, blah! Who wants to hear that? Maybe some rum snob, but not this rum enthusiast. I’m all about what I can do with this amazing rum! So let’s take a look at some of my favorite summer cocktails.

I call this one the Perfect Punch. Hey, no one said I had to make the names super snazzy, so just stop your judging and pay attention! You’re probably going to want to write this down, because this is the ultimate poolside cocktail. In fact, it’s so good, that you’re going to have to consciously pace yourself, because it’s so delicious and fruity. Okay, here’s what you’re going to need:

• 6 ounce(s) orange juice

• 1.5 ounces of lime juice

• 1.5 ounces of plain syrup

• 2 ounces of grenadine

• 1 orange wheel

• 3 ounces of dark rum (You can use Bacardi if you want, but after experimenting with it, I prefer Myers Orignial).

• 3 ounces of Captain Morgan Silver Spiced Rum

• 6 ounces of pineapple juice

Alright, so after you’ve gathered all of your yummy ingredients together, it’s time to play bartender! Get yourself a large pitcher (I always chill my pitchers ahead of time). So pour in your Dark Rum, your Captain Morgan, orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, syrup, bitters and grenadine. Give that a quick little stir and then pour it into a shaker and add some ice. Give it a good ‘ol shake. Picture yourself in the movie cocktails, minus the bad hairdos! All good? Okay, now strain that mixture into an ice filled highball glass. The color in this cocktail is out of this world! Garnish it with an orange wheel, and serve it up. Watch your guests faces light up. This is just the beginning! Mixing cocktails is all about experimenting. Sure, the classics are great, but it’s time for something new. And hey, who knows, if you get really good at your recipes, you might just have yourself a wee business on the side! So get in that kitchen, are start mixing! I’ll see ya next post!

There are three times of the year that I look forward to most. The first being September, because it’s when university starts and I am so much of a nerd, that I actually start getting excited half way through August. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but I am not  ashamed to stand up and say that I live to be intellectually stimulated, and college courses just do it for me. My other two favourite parts of the year are my fall vacation and my summer vacation. Yes, I know, you’re probably sitting there asking yourself, “how come she gets two vacations a year?” Well actually, I can take more, if I wanted, I am self employed and I’m off of school for something like four months of the year not including all of the holidays in between, so I take advantage of the time off whenever I can. And besides, don’t just sit there and be envious, do what I do, and save all your money for travel! Sure, getting a new wardrobe may make you feel fabulous, but wouldn’t a two week holiday in Thailand make for a better memory? Of course it would. But I digress, so let’s get back to talking about my vacations!

My summer vacation is generally much longer, at least a month in length. But my winter vacation is never longer than a week because that’s about all I can get away with when I’m in school. And besides, there’s so much going on in the winter months like Thanksgiving and Christmas, that all you really need is a quick escape. And when I say escape, I mean escape to somewhere hot and sunny, and you know what that means right? Yes, of course it means a great tan, but even more important, it means fantastically fruity and tropical drinks, preferably endless ones! And my favourite drinks, no matter where I am in the Caribbean or in Mexico, generally all have the same main ingredient; Rum.

Now the title of the blog is starting to make sense, isn’t it! Well good, I didn’t want to leave in the dark for the entire blog post, I figured three hundred and sixty one words in was a good time to finally tell you that this blog is all about my love affair with Rum, and all the different ways you can use it. Is it strange to have a blog purely dedicated to rum? Maybe for you it is, but then, if you weren’t interested, you probably wouldn’t have gotten this far in the post would you? Rum is one of those alcoholic beverages that has a long, fascinating history, one that I’ll be delving into next post, but for now, I’m just going to ramble on about my fond memories of drinking rum on the beaches of Cuba, or up in the treetops in the Yucatan peninsula. Rum is probably one of the most unpretentious alcoholic beverages out there. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you do for a living. You can be a surf bum or you can be some highly paid software engineer, rum is everyone’s drink. It’s sweet, it’s delicious, and it’s versatility is second to very few. I’ll be sharing you with you all of my favourite rum cocktails, and taking you all over the world. Whether it’s spiking your eggnog before an afternoon skate at Rockefeller Centre or it’s while you’re basking in the warm rays on a pristine beach in Montego Bay, rum is often going to be one of the best parts of your day, so come back and enjoy a recipe or history lesson or two!

The steam cleared as she stepped out of the shower onto the gritty mat. She walked over to the mirror and wiped it off, letting out a steamy sigh.

Why did she watch American Beauty last night? It was on cable when she flipped on the TV and plopped down with a bowl of fried rice that her temporary roommate made a few days ago. When you travel, sometimes you don’t get to pick where you stay. If something works out, it just does. Plus, this place worked out with cable and a futon.

The movie was much better than anything else that was on, at that time, as far as she could remember. But, it always made her look at life with such nostalgia. Worse than that, it made her feel spineless. So spineless, in fact, that she couldn’t even ask for her glorified toothpicks back. She knew that her roommate stole the overpriced box of tea tree chewing sticks. He looked the other way every time she mentioned losing them. Then, she saw them in his bag when he reached in to grab a blanket at the park. She saw, and she said nothing.

She almost felt embarrassed for catching him, and she didn’t want to deal with his reaction for being found out. Would he lie? Would he get defensive? Is it all just a misunderstanding? No. Surely not that last part. Her roommate reserved his money for cigarettes, drugs, booze and activities that could get him laid. Why would he pay for Whole Foods impulse check out items if he didn’t have to? And of course he didn’t have to. He could just take them, and she wouldn’t say a thing.

She dried her pruned palms and grabbed her smartphone. Her fingers skated over the screen, and the ambiance of Brian Eno filled the tiny bathroom. She looked at herself in the clean swipes she’d created in the mirror.

“Can I have my sticks back? Do you have my chewing sticks? Give me my toothpicks back. It’s not okay for you to take things from me without asking.”

Letting out another sigh, she thought, “My god. They’re just toothpicks. Just let it go.” Then she remembered that scene in American Beauty. She closed her eyes and tried to picture her whole life up until that point. All she could think of were the toothpicks, running in the warm rain in Panama City, the Rocky Mountains. She wished more would come to her, but she then she thought, “My god. It’s just life. Let it go.”

the end.