Stock up on the aspirin and load up on bottles of water by the bed- Today is National Rum Day and we are ready to swerve!
We know rum isn’t on the top of everyone’s list since it often arrives at our table diluted with neon colors, piles of fruit and possibly a flower and a crazy straw. We will leave those to the Sandals Resort newly weds and go for something simpler.
Cayrum is a newish dark rum from a family-run company out of Atlanta that is so damn good we drink it like we drink our Scotch, on the rocks.
Cayrum didn’t start out in a lab of some mega distillery. It actually was born in the kitchen of the Kane family’s summer retreat in the Dominican Republic. Zach Kane tinkered with mixing local ginger, honey and sugar cane (the base for rum) for several summers. Friends and family challenged him to make it into more than just their family’s secret stash so he and his father, Todd, went on the hunt to find out how to make their elixir a brand.
They met with several distilleries who ironically loved the taste but wanted to produce it with artificial flavors. “Our honey is sourced from local bee hives and our ginger is picked fresh, so this was a no go,” explained Zach. Then they met veteran rum maker Jose Antonio Barcelo and Master Rum Blender Victor Eugenio and four years later their Cayrum was born (The ‘Cay’ refers to the Kane family, Zach realized that K-Rum sounds like ‘Crumb’ and wouldn’t be too smart for marketing. Wise man!)
Order up a bottle or two for your next party or simply for sipping after a long day at the job. As we said, we are fans of Cayrum over ice, but a little cocktail mixing never hurt anyone. Below is Zach’s favorite rum concoction. Muddle, shake and pour and let us know how it goes.
Spicy Kiki
1.5 oz Cayrum
12 Cilantro leaves
6 Serrano Peppers slices (.25 inches thick) 1 Lime
1 oz Simple Syrup
Soda
Muddle cilantro and 3 pepper slices in a shaker. Add Cayrum, simple syrup, the juice from one lime and the remaining 3 peppers. Top with a splash of soda and shake. Pour into a rocks glass with ice and garnish with a pepper.
