Episode 287 – Rum A Tasting Course with Ian Burrell

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Episode 287 – Rum A Tasting Course with Ian Burrell

What’s shakin, cocktail fans?

Welcome to Episode 287 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast! I’m your host, Eric Kozlik. Thanks for joining me for another interview episode, where I track down the best and brightest minds in the spirits and cocktail world so that I can share their secrets with you.

This time around, I’m joined by The Global Rum Ambassador himself, Ian Burrell. A couple years ago, Ian joined me to talk about an amazing rum brand he was launching called Equiano Rum (you may have heard of it), but today, we’re here to talk about the category in general in celebration of Ian’s forthcoming book, entitled RUM: A Tasting Course.

In this, sweet, funky, and occasionally grassy conversation with Ian Burrell, author of RUM: A Tasting Course, some of the topics we discuss include:

Why Ian takes a “flavor-first” approach to rum (in general, but especially in this book), and how these flavors are gateways to history, geography, culture, and conversation.
The different ways that rum can be categorized, and why these categories are a gateway to all the delightful exceptions that will bamboozle and delight your palate and your brain.
We also discuss the three primary types of rum drinkers and the ways these different mindsets and preferences weave through the contemporary story of rum as we experience it at our favorite bars and distilleries.
Ian offers a glimpse into some of the completely unique features of RUM: A Tasting Course, including how to make a DIY aroma kit to practice your nosing skills, how he learned about some of the more “illicit” styles of cane spirits being produced around the globe, and how to read a rum label in a way that gives you clues as to what’s in the bottle.
We also explore how rum is the most global spirits category of all and why it can benefit from a “complex-systems” approach that introduces people to many different levels of description on their journey to understand and enjoy the bounty of world cane spirits.
Along the way, we riff on why it’s awesome to know the shoe size of your favorite rum blender, the elaborate heist that Ian has planned in order to secure a barrel or two from Foursquare Distillery, which sex act is most comparable to the experience of drinking Campari, and much, much more.

Episode 287 – Rum A Tasting Course with Ian Burrell

Featured Cocktail: Flaming Dr. Pepper

This episode’s featured cocktail is: Flaming Dr. Pepper. To make my elevated version of this college novelty shot, you’ll need:

Around 4 ounces of a nice, full-bodied lager, such as Stella Artois
¾ oz of Amaretto Liqueur
¼ oz of British-style 151 Proof rum (I used Lemon Hart 151 with dazzling effect)

In a collins glass over the clearest, sexiest ice you can procure, gently pour your ice cold lager until the foam hits the top of the glass. Next, add your Amaretto liqueur and 151 rum, which should knock down some of that foam, allowing you to top up the glass with a tiny bit more beer. Give this all a quick, gentle stir with a bar spoon, garnish optionally with a brandied cherry, and enjoy.

The Flaming Dr. Pepper is originally a “bomb-style” drink (like a Yeager bomb or a sake bomb)…you know, where you drop a shot of something into a beer and then chug it as fast as you can. My question is how people avoid chipping their teeth on the shot glass when it inevitably slides down the pint toward your chompers…but I guess that’s a problem for the college crowd to solve.

ANYway, I recently collaborated with a private club in Washington, DC on a cocktail event, and I wanted to elevate this drink into a full-on cocktail so it could be paired with a creamy dessert in the style of an ice cream float. This spawned the recipe I just delivered, and I am honestly blown away at how close to Dr. Pepper this cocktail truly tastes. A couple notes to help, should you decide to recreate this.

First, use a sweet, fruity, high-proof rum. Some recipes call for bottom-shelf spiced rum, but I personally find that the ethanol burn from a 151, paired with the fruitiness and confectionary notes of the Lemon Hart Demerara rum are really what made this drink shine. I piloted the recipe with a Spanish-style 151 as well, and the results weren’t nearly as good. (Oh, and by the way, as soon as we get into the interview, Ian is going to debunk my heavy-handed use of “English” and “Spanish” style rums, so prepare yourself for that.)

Next, you’ve no doubt noticed that this drink is called “flaming” Dr. Pepper. That’s because in it’s “bomb” format the 151 was floated on top of the amaretto (in a dark bar), then lit on fire before it was dropped into the drink. Cool. I can confirm that 151 proof rum does ignite, but unless you’re in a very dark room, you might get frustrated like I did and accidentally burn yourself on it because you can’t see the flame. So forget about the fire.

The last few details you need to know to successfully execute this cocktail is that the beer matters A LOT – Stella Artois and Lemon Hart 151 happened to be an extremely friendly pairing. And it is WAY better to actually pour the rum and amaretto over the beer than it is to do the opposite.

Featured Cocktail: Flaming Dr. Pepper

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