The Rum Howler Blog

The origins of this cocktail are rather simple.  I was finishing my review for Ron Barcelo Imperial Rum, and I was struggling with a concept for a suitable cocktail.  The Barcelo rum has a very complex flavour profile, but it also seemed to taste different every time I tried it.   It would be rough and bitter one day, complex and bittersweet the next.   I decided  the rum easily picked up cues from my own palate and mood.  So I decided to do a complex `mood´ cocktail.  I chose  pineapple and lime juice as the base so that the rum would take its cues from those relatively powerful juice flavours.  I then added a touch of Cointreau for style (and a little sweet orange flavour), and finally a sloe gin float to sink in and tie everything together.  The mood I was setting was of whimsical relaxation.  Indeed this drink is particularly good when I am overworked, and I just want to unwind, relax and have a good time.  The first version of the cocktail I called the Dominican Afternoon Delight or DAD`s cocktail as it became known as in my kitchen.  And when a Dominican Rum such as Barcello is used then that name is entirely appropriate.  But the more general name Afternoon Delight is more fitting when you use other dark complex rums.   And, by the way, I do consider this a cocktail made especially for a dark rum that has spent some time in an oak barrel.

I liked the cocktail so much that I sent a copy to forrest, to see what he thought.  His reaction was entirely positive saying and I quote “MAKE ME ONE AND YOU BETTER MAKE IT 2”.  Thus the idea of forrest approved cocktails was born.

This all leads to a link to the actual cocktail recipe, the original “forrest Approved Cocktail”:

The Afternoon Delight

Please enjoy in a responsible manner, remember the aim is not to drink more, it is to drink better!
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Note:   This cocktail started a bit of a collaboration between forrest and myself.  I write a review, I run  some cocktail ideas by him, he tells me when they are good; he tells me when they are bad; or he tweaks them if that’s all they need.   Sometimes we share the results with each of us placing the cocktails on our site at the same time as well as our own reviews of the particular spirit which led to the colloaboration.  And I should point out,  I am getting by far the best end of this deal.

Okay I am revamping my cocktail section, my original concept was kind of, shall we say, not meeting the requirements of my audience.  So I redid the menu so that all the cocktails are now in one section only.  If you go to the ‘page menu’ at the side of the blog and scroll down you will find them.

Photo courtesy forrest

But on to the EL PADRINO.  This cocktail is the result of an idea of mine, which was tweaked by the cocktail guru, forrest (if you click his name you will be directed to his very nice web site).  I actually introduced this cocktail in my review of Flor de Cana Centenario Gold 18 Year Old Rum, but it occurred to me that no one would find it unless they were looking at the review.  So I decided to add it into the cocktail section with a page of its own.

This is a premium aged rum cocktail.  The idea of mine was that premium aged rums like Flor de Cana Centenario Gold, have a complex 0aky profile, which should work well in cocktails which used an aged complex spirit.  A quick check of my handy book; 1001 Cocktails: 1001 Recipes for the Perfect Drink (Hardcover),~ Alex Barker (Compiler), gave me the starting place I needed.

The cocktail recipe I found was, The Godfather, which is a simple 2 part Scotch, to one part Amaretto, recipe.  I emailed forrest and told him of my idea.  He loved it, then he tweaked it, and El Padrino was born.  Those who are  a little smarter than the average bear will realize , El Padrino, is Spanish for Godfather.  A perfect name for a rum based version of the Godfather.

Here is a link to the final version of the recipe: 

Rum Cocktail: El Padrino

Please enjoy in a responsible manner, remember the aim is not to drink more, it is to drink better!