The Rum Trail

Last Thursday Mr Meks, a couple of mates and I departed on  Rum Trail.  The purpose of the trip was to discover more about a drink I was unfamiliar with to say the least.  My knowledge stems from a few teen mishaps with Bacardi.  Hence it's not been tried since.  The only rum to have crossed my lips has been unidentifiable in daquiris or the like.  As I've been getting more interested in food and drink lately I thought this needed remedying.  The idea was 6 bars, 6 tasters of rum, an explanation on the history, origin, etc of that rum and a cocktail made to show it's mixability.  

As there were more than 6 drinks involved here I thought it wise to keep some kind of record as the night went on.  memories were going to be hazy if they existed at all.  I used Twitter for this.  Tweeting the rums as they happened to my rum loving web buddy whose blog can be found here.  By 'favouriting' the tweets I'm hoping to be able recreate my experience.  Here goes.....

First up, Selfridges basement where I was dismayed to discover we were tasting Bacardi (see above).  A Cuban White Rum which is apparently now produced in Puerto Rico.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it no longer makes me feel ill.  Although for the life of me I couldn't pick out any notes except Bacardi.  I'm a Philistine.  Bacardi was then mixed into everyone's (except mine) summer favourite - the Mojito.  It was a damn good Mojito but I'm not a fresh mint in my drinks kinda girl.  Mr Meks was very pleased with his though.

Next Keko Moku in the Northern Quarter.  My first time in this fab little bar.  It won't be the last.  Here I tried my first ever Dark Rum, Gosling's Black Seal.  I realised how long I've been missing out on Dark Rum :-(  It was a lovely drink.  It was mixed into a Dark n Stormy, Bermuda's national drink.  Also one of the world's few trademarked cocktails.  I loved this drink, my favourite of the night.  Although it's very sweet and I wouldn't be drinking many of them in one evening.  It was Ginger Beer over ice, topped with Black Seal.  It looked amazing the rum floating made it look exactly as the name suggested.  As you got further down the ingredients mixed and it just got better.  I'm now thinking a holiday in Bermuda is a damn fine idea.

Next door to Socio Rehab next.  Where we tasted a Guatemalan dark rum, Ron Zacapa, Centenario Rum Sistema Solera 23.  This taster was served with dark chocolate.  That's never going to do any harm.  This rum was nice but not as much to my taste as the Gosling.  The cocktail was a very well mixed affair containing, Cherry and Orange.  As well made as it was it just wasn't to my taste really.

Over to Stevenson Square next.  I didn't even know there was a bar on there.  Hula Tiki Lounge, a fun basement destination.  Here we tried Havana Club, I 'think' it was a golden rum.  Things were getting a tad foggy by this point.  The rum must have been making me more accepting as we had a Pina Colada or something very similar.  Normally I wouldn't dream of drinking one.  Although it was way too creamy and very sweet I polished mine off.

We then all piled onto a minibus, over the river and into Corridor.  Here it was  Jamaican Appleton Rum, which was pleasant enough but I can't see myself buying a bottle anytime soon.  I can't for the life of me remember the cocktail name,  It was a small drink, strong and fruity.  You can't really go wrong with cocktails in Corridor though, it's their speciality. 

Back on the bus and the trail ended in one of our favourite bars, Mojo.  Here we tasted a Venezuelan rum, Diplomatico that out tour guide raved about.  I can't actually remember what it tasted like, just that I thought I liked the Gosling better.  Then we were fed a lovely Caribbean BBQ.  Followed by various free-flowing rum punches from the bar.

The tour guide we had was amazing.  He had the knowledge and the passion needed to keep a group of rum drunks interested in the subject of what they were drinking.  All for £25.  I can't recommend it enough.  the last tour is Thursday 10th Feb.  Be there if you can, tickets are from Selfridges.

The moral of the story, I like my rum darker rather than white or golden.  I just wish I hadn't missed out on so many years of enjoyment.

5 pawprints out of 5

I'll leave you with a pic of a Dark n Stormy while I go off to search for some Gosling's Black Seal.....