Jamaica Mule

 

I think I've just covered all of the Jamaica-themed cocktail out there. I'm returning to this old stand by that I've made in the past to try it with fresh ingredients (I've been squeezing the pineapple juice along with the citrus) and a lovely ginger beer. Fentiman's is a spicy botanical ginger beer that tastes not only fresh but barreled and oaky. 

The cocktail departs from the standard Mule by being so large that it requires a Collins glass, but not crushed ice. There's a lot of booze in it too--between the 151-proof rum and the full measures of light and dark rum, you may want to wait a bit before having another one. 

• 1 1/2 oz. light Jamaican rum (Plantation 3-Stars used)
• 1/2 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Pusser's navy rum used)
• 1/2 oz. 151-proof rum (Cruzan 151 used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• ginger beer (Fentiman's used)
  
• pineapple stick
• piece of preserved ginger

Combine rums and juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Chilled collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and stir gently. Garnish with pineapple stick and preserved ginger.

Mobay Cocktail

 

This is another one of those internationally-styled club cocktails like the Clover Club or Pendennis Club. These cocktails tend to be brightly colored and easy to consume. They virtually advertise themselves at the clubs and advertise for the clubs when ordered elsewhere. 

The name comes from Mobay Club on Montego Bay, but there's not much of the beach involved here. No tropical fruits, no wild island-themed garnishes--besides the Jamaican rum, this cocktail is strikingly French. There's the mistakable ruby color of Dubonnet rouge and the rich candied orange flavor or Grand Marnier--a favorite ingredient of clubs and hotels worldwide. 

The only substitutions I've made (and they are minor) is that I'm using Pusser's dark rum instead of something from Jamaica, and that I use Royal Combier (another French orange cognac liqueur) instead of Grand Marnier. As my last drink of the day, I found it overly rich, however. I'm not sure if it was the ingredients or the fact that the Movay seemed incongruent with other Jamaican-themed cocktails with a lemon twist as its only fruit. 

• 1 1/2 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Pusser's dark rum used)
• 1/2 oz. Dubonnet rouge
• several dashes Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lemon zest over the glass and drop it in. 

Blue Mountain Cooler

 

This drink has a great look! It's not exactly blue, on account of my making natural blueberry syrup, but it looks appetizing as hell! It is sweet, like most coolers, and fresh. I figure that you could use just about any white spirit in this cocktail, but rum and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica are part of this drink's gimmick. I'm glad that there's Jamaican rum in the Plantation 3 Stars blend.

Of course you can buy blueberry puree or syrup. Actually, I'm a fan of blueberry jelly in cocktails. But in case you want to cook a syrup, here's how to do it:

Add a half cup of fresh blueberries to 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup fine white sugar to a small saucepan. (Save some berries for the drink itself.) Heat on medium heat while stirring and breaking up the berries. Once the mixture liquefies, turn the temperature down to low and stir occasionally for ten minutes. Remove from heat and strain (still hot) through fine mesh to remove the peels and store in an airtight container for one week. 

Here's the recipe for the cooler:

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp blueberry syrup
• club soda
• fresh blueberries
• lemon slice

Combine liquors, syrup and juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with club soda and stir gently. Garnish with fresh blueberries and the lemon slice.

Rose Hall

This cocktail is named after the Rose Hall sugar plantation on Jamaica. This colonial site is famous for its ghost stories and the legend of the White Witch. A rum cocktail by the same name. 

This is a much fruiter drink that uses banana to provide richness rather than creme de cacao. Here I've used MurLarkey banana whiskey instead of fake tasting creme de banane. The bonus with MurLarkey is that the banana whiskey tastes like a rich white rum and real bananas. The only downside it that it takes a half teaspoon of sugar to sweeten it to where the creme should be in order to balance the acidity. I'll make a not of that in the ingredients list. 

• 1 oz. dark Jamaican rum
• 1/2  oz. creme de banane (3/4 oz. MurLarkey banana whiskey and 1/2 tsp. white sugar used)
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• lime slice for garnish

Combine all ingredients except for the garnish in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the lime slice. 

Kingston #1

 

I was really excited to make this drink because it is an unusual pairing of rum with kummel. You don't see that every day. I was also eager to try my own allspice dram (in the Monkey 47 bottle with the allspice label) This drink uses allspice dram (also known as pimento dram) as a sweetener and a substitute for Angostura bitters.

I was not disappointed. This cocktail is bold wtih a ton of tropical and European spices fighting for attention. The allspice dram is appropriately sweet and provides the sugar, while orange juice gives the kummel and allspice space so that you can taste them. Kummel is also sweet and lends a honey richness that is hard to pin down but familiar all the same.

You'd think with all that going on, I wouldn't be able to taste a quality rum. Not so! Vitae Barrel Aged rum is finished in bourbon barrels. It's my sipping rum, and I'm glad I used it here. Everything about this drink suggests a labor of love. You really have to pause and appreciate the richness it offers.

•  1 1/2 oz. dark rum (Vitae barrel aged used)
• 3/4 oz. kummel
• 3/4 oz. orange juice
• several dashes allspice dram

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Mandingo Gringo

This drink is bananas! It is also a nod to Jamaica distilling and, in my rendition, a recipe very local to Virginia. Here the aged Vite rum and MurLarkey banana whiskey make for a tropical escape. And why not? Virginia is an old colony state that engaged in the rum trade and whiskey rebellion. You can find palm trees here and hot, tropical weather. We even put pineapples ornaments on gates and door frames as a sign of welcome.

• 1 1/2 oz. Jamaica dark rum (Appleton would be perfect, but having none, I used Vitae barrel aged rum)
• 1/2 oz. creme de banane (MurLarkey banana whiskey used)
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice

 Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled Collins glass. 

Jamaica Hop

Jamaica Hop is a dessert drink that's not very strong, and more sweet and creamy than anything. The idea is to feature another one of Jamaica's exports: coffee.

You do get a hit of coffee, especially with natural homemade coffee liqueur. I made mine a while ago with fresh coffee and rum as well as a whole bean steeped simple syrup. The only other ingredients are Creme de cacao and half-and-half. This is a relaxing drink for any time of day because of its low proof.

• 2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. white creme de cacao (but dark would be fine too.)
• 2 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Jamaica Egg Cream

The point of an Egg Cream is to have a thick and tart drink that tastes like you used egg white to create foam. Most egg creams don't have egg in them, though. This one uses half-and-half. It is an unusual combination of rum and gin: dark rum specifically.

The dark rum you use in a Jamaican themed drink should be rich and flavorful like those of Jamaica. I had the next best thing on hand, Pusser's Guyana rum is pretty close. Then I chose Vitae modern gin because it is rum-based and will keep the spirits profile consistent. This is a rich and rewarding tropical drink that is unlike most I've ever tasted. It really lets the flavor of the rum shine.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Jamaican recommended but Pusser's British Navy used)
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae modern gin used)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• sparkling water

Combine all ingredients except half-and-half and sparkling water in a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Add half-and-half and shake again to combine. Strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice and top with sparkling water.

Kingston Cocktail

Most Jamaican-themed cocktails make use of the richly flavored local rum as well as Jamaica's cash crop, coffee. There's plenty of instances where no rum is used at all, and just coffee liqueur or coffee are used. This happens in hot and cold drinks alike.

I wish I had Appleton Estate rum for this cocktail, but Pusser's Rum is probably the closest match for Jamaica's funky and flavorful well aged rums. Wooden stills and long again make Pusser's Guyana rum very similar to the older Jamaican rums. The amount of coffee liqueur, and I used my homemade coffee liqueur with cold brew coffee, rum and vanilla and coco flavors, is pretty minimal, so this turns out to be a cocktail that really features and plays well with a tasty rum.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Jamaican rum recommended, Pusser's Rum used)
• 3/4 oz. coffee liqueur (homemade coffee liqueur used)
• 2 tsp. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Rose Hall Nightcap

Rose Hall, a grand estate in Jamaica seems to have a few cocktails dedicated to it's memory. The most memorable being the White Witch, who's ghost still haunts the mansion since colonial days. Unsurprisingly, the drinks devoted to this spooky place are white. The Nightcap is no exception. Nightcap cocktails are usually strong and milky and are served either hot or cold. Pernod is one unusual ingredient that adds a lot of sweet and bitter herb flavor. Another unusual ingredient, though not for nightcaps, is dark creme de cacao.

I don't have the dark, but MurLarkey cocoa whiskey allows me to make it. I added a half teaspoon of sugar to the cocktail and the sweetness of the Pernod also helped keep this sweet drink from being too dry.

• 2 oz. cognac (D'usse VSOP used)
• 1 oz. Pernod
• 1 tbsp. dark creme de cacao (MurLarkey cocoa whiskey and 1/2 tsp. sugar used)
• 2 oz. half-and-half

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Jamaican Coffee

You have to love these tropical coffee drinks in the wintertime. They are so exotic, with rum and spices, and yet so festive here at home. The Jamaican Coffee is no exception here!

My homemade coffee liqueur and Cruzan white rum make this a rich treat. And I know that the recipe says that whipped cream is optional, but it clearly is not. Not once you try it with the whipped cream. You can do an Irish Coffee without the whipped cream--that's just sensible. But a Jamaican Coffee is luxurious.

• 2 oz. coffee liqueur (homemade used)
• 1 1/2 oz. white rum (Cruzan used)
• hot black coffee
• whipped cream (not optional)
• freshly ground allspice

Pour rum and coffee liqueur into a mug that's nearly full of hot coffee. Stir and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle allspice on the whipped cream.