Monday, April 11, 2016

charley's royal reserve cocktail

1/2 jigger Charley's Royal Reserve Jamaican Rum (1 oz Coruba)
1/2 jigger Lightbourn's Barbados Rum (1 oz Tommy Bahama Gold)
Juice of 1 Lime (1/2 oz)
1 dash Falernum (1/2 oz Velvet)
1 dash Maraschino (1/4 oz Luxardo)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I floated a lime slice for garnish.

Two Tuesdays ago, I turned to Crosby Gaige's 1941 Cocktail Guide & Ladies' Companion for the evening's libation. In the rum section was the Charley's Royal Reserve Cocktail named after a Jamaican rum brand that was founded in 1892 according to the Peter's Rum Labels. Edwin Charley was not a fan of the overly flavorful Jamaican rums and decided to create a lighter blend, and through the years after his death, the rum brand changed hands with various degrees of success with its current resting place in the Wray & Nephew portfolio. In addition, the Royal Reserve was listed in the Don the Beachcomber's rum cellar around the time of the cocktail book's publication as a 15 year rum. The Lightbourn Rum label was a bit less well known with the New York Public Library putting it on two Manhattan menus in 1940 and 1953 respectively which coincides well with the cocktail book publication.
When I read the recipe, it reminded me of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club with Maraschino in place of the orange liqueur, so I adapted the recipe in that fashion. Once mixed, the Charley's Royal Reserve Cocktail offered dark funky rum aromas that mixed well with those of the nutty Maraschino liqueur. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip transitioned into funky rum, Maraschino, and clove flavors on the swallow.

3 comments:

Alex said...

I'm curious, seeing as how the original rum appears to have morphed in Wray & Nephew, would that perhaps be a more appropriate rum choice for this drink?

frederic said...

I never said that it morphed into Wray & Nephew, just that they bought the brand. Wray & Nephew also bought Appleton Estate Rums too, but Appleton stayed pretty much the same from what I gathered (low ester, smooth, rich).

Alex said...

Ahh...my fault. I misread the connection to Wray and Nephew. FWIW, I made it with Appleton gold and Cockspur and it was pretty damn good, sort've like a sweeter Floridita No. 3 with notes of Juicy Fruit gum. As always, thanks for your blog and your book - you have no idea how many great drinks I've made from both!