lift-off!

1 1/2 oz Appleton Estate Extra Rum (Denizen 8 Year)
3/4 oz Lemon Hart 151 Proof Demerara Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Falernum (1/2 oz Velvet)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass or Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a spent and scraped half lime shell containing a 151 proof rum-soaked crouton wick (El Dorado 151); ignite the rum.

Two Sundays ago, I opted to make a recipe from Blair Reynolds that I had spotted in a 2010 Fine Cooking Magazine article written by Camper English called the Lift-Off! Blair crafted this drink at Portland's Thatch Tiki Bar before he purchased the spot and converted it into Hale Pele in 2012. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a Jet Pilot with orange juice in place of the grapefruit (besides leaving out the absinthe), so I was curious as to how this substitution would play out. Once prepared, the Lift-Off! gave forth a dark rum and cinnamon aroma. Next, lime and orange notes on the sip were darkened by the rum duo's caramel, and most of the rum flavor came through on the swallow that packed a bit of alcoholic heat to it along with cinnamon and clove spice from the liqueur and syrup. As the ice melted over time, the balance mellowed out into something rather pleasant to drink that showcased the cherry and other notes found in Lemon Hart rather than the burn; however, the flavor profile was a bit murky due to the orange juice dampening down the flavors in the mix (unlike the effect of the grapefruit which allowed the various components to sing out more).