Tag: oak

Age Rum Myself… Why Not?

On By traderjaysIn Building TikiLeave a comment

For my birthday Mrs. Trader bought me a personalized Oak Barrel from American Oak Barrel. At first I was only going to use it as a part of the eclectic decor that I continually add to but then it seemed like a waste to just have an empty barrel hanging there… empty… when I could be hanging there with rum inside.

So, here we go. Figure I’ll chronicle the adventure here so that everyone can follow along…

March 12, 2018 – Day 1: Since this is a new barrel, before spirits can be added it has to be cured. So, first I did a few rinse outs and then I filled it to the top with hot water. Now it needs to sit for 3-5 days (boring) before we can add rum. I’ll have to keep the water filled until none is leaking out so stay tuned…

March 17, 2018 – Day 5: So the barrel started out pretty “leaky” however after two days of soaking it sealed up nicely.  Just in case I let it soak for an additional 3 days to make sure it was nice and solid.

No time like St. Patrick’s Day to add the rum… I selected a lightly aged El Dorado white rum from Guyana.  I’ve heard good things about El Dorado but have not had the pleasure yet to experience acclaimed 15 year rum.  While I am pretty sure I won’t be able to wait 15 years, I’m hoping the small barrel will add to the flavor and body to the rum over the next few months.  More coming soon…

April 8, 2018 – Day 27: The rum takes to the skies!!! Way back when I was first starting decorating Trader Jay’s I was on a long hunt for pulleys or sailing blocks. I felt like we definitely needed them for the decor. I kept coming up short but then Mrs. Trader stumbled upon some while out and about. She bought three (not knowing which I’d like/want). Well, while they were good they just sat unused for over a year.

Since receiving the Barrel I had it in the back of my head that I wanted to hang it from the ceiling using the pulleys. So, Sunday I finally made it happen. While there is some nervousness over it all, it seems to be anchored well and secure.

So now I have an Aging Rum Barrel hanging from the ceiling… and that’s the real dream, right???

Planning to give the rum a taste around the one month mark…

A Mermaid Kiss

On By traderjaysIn Mixing TikiLeave a comment

We here at Trader Jay’s Tiki Blog are THRILLED to bring on our first Rum Sponsor… Florida Mermaid Rum.

Florida Mermaid Rum is made by NJoy Spirits, LLC out of Weeki Wachee, FL. It is a “Gold” 3 year old Florida Sugar Cane sipping rum blended with a Caribbean pot still rum then aged in their Wild Buck Whiskey barrels for 90 days.

Natalie and Kevin were very generous to provide the Trader with a sample of their local rum for tasting and mixing.


The rum recently won a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition so, naturally, I was excited to try it.

I poured about a half an ounce out to just sip on. First, the aroma is very flavorful, it has a nice oak barrel smell. In the initial taste you can feel the natural rum taste, slightly strong, but then the sweetness peaks through and you can sense the Florida sugar cane (important to me as a Florida native). Finally, the finish ties it up in a bow as the smooth oak from the whisky barrels stays with you as the taste fades. Overall, a really nice, hardy 3 year pot still rum.

    
After a few sips I wanted to try a simple drink. Kindly, NJoy provided a few recipes to try. I decided to keep it simple with a Mermaid Old Fashioned. I took 2 ounce of Florida Mermaid Rum and mixed with the suggested 1 ounce of simple syrup (I used my homemade Mai Tai simple syrup). I then added 2 dashes of aromatic bitters, shook lightly and poured over a big single ice cube (I like to use these tiki ones). Once again, the oak was the star as it was the highlight of every sip. The 2:1 was a little sweet for my pallet, probably would pull back on the simple syrup and add an citrus peel (as suggested) but still a good after dinner sipping cocktail.

Now that I have tasted the flavor subtleties, I have a few Trader Originals in mind. Hope to experiment right after Turkey Day and share my findings. In the meantime, please give Florida Mermaid Rum a try. It is available in Florida and Georgia (full list) or you can order online here.

A special Mahalo to Natalie and Kevin for “sponsoring” my Tiki Blog.