drunken helmsman

1 1/2 oz Plantation Dark Overproof Rum (Plantation OFTD)
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
1 oz Lime Juice

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a double bucket glass (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a zigzag orange twist and a mint sprig.

Two Fridays ago, I convinced myself to purchase a bottle of Amaro Meletti since I was tempted to try the Sharpie Mustache from the Amaro and Sother Teague's books. In the process of looking up possible uses to sway myself to buy the ingredient, I uncovered Jason Alexander's Drunken Helmsman in a few places including the Inu A Kena blog and the Small Screen Network, and I felt that I had to make this one first! The recipe was one of Jason's Tiki wonders that he crafted at the Tacoma Cabana circa 2013, and like the Sunset at Gowanus a few nights before, this one had the magical New England Autumnal combination of dark rum and maple syrup balanced by lime juice. While the recipe was crafted before Plantation OFTD Rum was brought to market, some later recipes that I spotted called for it instead of the original's Plantation Dark Overproof.
The Drunken Helmsman greeted the senses with an orange, mint, and caramel rum bouquet. Next, lime and caramel on the sip slid into dark rum, maple, herbal, and clove flavors on the swallow with a violet floral finish. Indeed, the Meletti worked well here as it had in other dark rum Daiquiri-based recipes like the Tempest and the Daq in Black.