Rum Tasting
Sweetwater's
Jam House
3550 SE Morrison St., 233-0333, 4-7 pm Thursday, March 16
Every third Thursday of the month
Rum is the liquid manifestation of the Caribbean Islands,
but its popularity has spread throughout the world. It's
made from pure sugar cane, boiled down to molasses residue,
then fermented, distilled and aged. Light shades of rum
are generally a single year old; dark rum is caramelized
and aged from three to 12 years. But rum's not often considered
a "neat" or straight-up spirit. Indeed, rum is usually associated
with many a bad poolside drink, loud tropical prints and
umbrellas.
But rum's reputation may be changing, as witnessed at Sweetwater's
Jam House--purveyor of all things Caribbean. I was surprised
to learn there that the beverage of hook-handed pirates
also makes for a sublime sipping liquor just like any fine
brandy or single-malt scotch.
On the third Thursday of every month, Sweetwater's hosts
tastings to let you sample a variety of rums from its hulking
reserve. For five bucks, you can try three different rums,
each poured two fingers tall. Since this was my first time
sampling the stuff unadulterated, bartender Chris Jones
offered up some tips. His favorite, Gosling Black Seal,
placed second on my short list. It tastes for all the world
like a well-aged Scotch. Gosling announces itself with a
strong, eye-opening aroma but it's not as sweet as many
rums, making it enjoyable to sip straight-up. To my tongue,
the best was the Flor de Caña, an amber-colored
spirit from Nicaragua. This one has a seductive, musky smell,
something like a wine cork, maybe even a little woody. Excellent
stuff.
The downside for sipping rums arrives with the light-colored
Cachaca from Brazil, a rum so shudderingly pungent
it could melt the makeup off a clown's face. Also, the Virgin
Islands' Redrum is not recommended straight-up unless
you enjoy drinking cocoa butter suntan oil.
The Stroh 80--that's 80 percent alcohol--is a versatile
rum not only for its esophagus-burning verve but for its
pyrotechnic appeal. One dip of the ol' index finger into
a glass of Stroh 80 (no relationship to the beer boys),
coupled with a quick slip though a candle flame and--whammo!--you've
got yourself a digit painlessly aflame. Make sure to put
the fire out in your (rum-free) mouth for extra points with
on-lookers. Stroh 80 has other attributes. "It's good for
making Joe's Drunk Monk," Jones said as the evening turned
fuzzy. A regular Drunk Monk is a coffee-based drink made
with Bacardi, Frangelica and Triple Sec. They call this
revision Joe's Drunk Monk because Joe (a fellow Sweetwater's
server) uses the higher-proof Stroh 80 to make them. Jones
wanted me to try one but, matey, I'd had my fill.
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Willamette Week | originally
published March 8,
2000
|
