We attended a gathering of the Rum Rhum Club at the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood a few weekends ago on a Sunday afternoon.  The focus was on Panamanian rums and Forrest Cokely, the guest speaker,  covered a few of the Abuelo rums.  They were served neat and in mixed drinks.  We also had special guests Andy and Robert from Selvarey rums, a new Los Angeles based rum company.  Guests were served first their white, which was light and easy to sip. Jen Marie remarked that it was a one she could see a group of women sipping and enjoying with it’s light and easy welcome. Then my nose picked up a familiar scent to my  heart.  I smelled chocolate.  Not something I would normally smell in a tiki bar let alone from rum.  Soon, I could hear other people talking about the scent only to see more tasting glasses being passed around of Selvarey Cacao, a “dark rum infused with natural chocolate flavor.”  We were very much looking forward to trying this and were not disappointed.  I grew up with my parents owning a chocolate shop and though it is no longer open, my mother and I still make truffles and turtles during the holidays for friends and family.  So with that being said,  I know a little bit about cacao.  And with that  being said – this rum is delicious.  Neat and at room temperature, they’ve found a very nice balance so that it’s not syrupy thick like a chocolate liquor or too light with barely any flavor.  I was inspired.

Selvarey worked with Master Blender Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez to create both rums from Panama.  The Cacao is a 5 year old 70 proof rum infused with locally sourced chocolate.  We were able to pick find a bottle at the Walgreens on Sunset and Vine. As of 5/18, it was still on sale at its introductory price.  We’ve already give a few bottles out as gifts.

Having just read Beachbum Berry’s “Potions of the Caribbean,” I wanted to try the Cacao modifying the Crucian Banana Squash which calls for white Virgin Islands rum, lime juice, whole bananas and ice.  Here is what I came up with:

• 4 ounces of Selvarey Cacao rum
• 2 whole bananas, ripe with brown spots on the skin
• 1 ounce of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce of Frangelico
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup of ice

Peel and slice the bananas very thin, place in a small bowl and cover with the rum.  Cover and place in the fridge for 4-24 hours.  Once the time has elapsed, pour contents into a blender along with the lemon juice, Frangelico, and ice.  Blend until smooth and pour into a glass.  I garnished with banana chips.

Though lime juice works well with bananas, it does have a challenge with chocolate.  Lemon does compliment both and I used  it as the sour element.  I added the Frangelico, which is a hazelnut liqueur, to mellow the lemon and chocolate a bit.

Chocolate isn’t often used to mix tiki style drinks so this may be a bit unusual to most folks.  I enjoyed it.  You can definitely taste all of the different ingredients with just a hint of hazelnut.

Chocolate, hazelnut and orange go very well together so I also made an ensemble using equal parts Cacao, Frangelico and Grand Marnier Triple Sec I picked up in Spain.

 

Ensembles are made to drink slowly as a “shot.” I keep my mouth slightly open and inhale while drinking to give the maximum taste.

A few other ideas:

Equal parts Apricot Liqueur, Cacao, and heavy cream.  Shaken for 20 seconds with ice and strained into a chilled glass with fresh nutmeg.

I used a standard pancake batter and added fresh ginger and Grand Marnier cordon rouge.  For the syrup, I blended:

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 ounce of Selvarey Cacao
• 1 ounce of Grade A maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon of orange blossom water
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Enjoy!