Even when you’re not on vacation, the flavors found in a sip of rum have a way of offering an escape that lasts at least as long as it takes to reach the bottom of the glass. I think it’s because this sugarcane-based spirit’s warm and slightly sweet flavor is forever linked with spring break escapades and tropical locales.
Rum’s fortunes soared in the mid-1940s when tiki drinks became popular and they’re on the way up again, but don’t despair if you can’t make it to Beverly Hills for an authentic Trader Vic’s mai tai. There are plenty of bartenders in San Diego who know their way around rum, a protean spirit that can be clear and subtle like 10 Cane or fragrant and golden like Mount Gay Eclipse or dark and mellow like Ron Zacapa Centenario 23-year rum.
Tavo Estrada at Roy’s downtown shakes up the four drinks in the rum cocktail pantheon — mojito, mai tai, piña colada, and daiquiri — year-round. The latter gets a distinctly Hawaiian twist with white rum, pineapple juice, and a hint of ginger. Whisknladle’s bartender Ian Ward does a creative cocktail with smoked pear-infused rum and vanilla.
But my favorite way to get that island feeling is with the Rum Punch created by Tom Mastricola when he ran the bar at Arterra in the San Diego Marriott Del Mar. It’s spicy, tart, and slightly bittersweet, just like the memory of any really good vacation. For its recipe please visit www.ranchandcoast.com. MARIA C. HUNT
Tom’s Rum Punch
11/2 oz Ron Zacapa Centenario
23-year rum
3/4 oz simple syrup
3 mint leaves, plus more for garnish
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz ginger beer
1 oz strong brewed black tea, chilled
1 wedge lime
Add the simple syrup and 3 mint leaves to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the mint leaves until you start to smell mint. Add the rum, lime juice and ginger beer to the shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, then strain into a tall Collins glass filled with ice. Top with the tea and garnish with more mint and the lime wedge.
