New Fashioned: Rum
The Old Fashioned is the ultimate blank slate, and swapping rum for bourbon can be a delicious variation
Last week, we looked at a “dark” variation on a Negroni. This week, let’s flip that and look at a “light” variation of an Old Fashioned.
I won’t go too deep into they history of the Old Fashioned. It’s too long for this blog. In fact, it’s long enough for a very good book, from the very good writer
whose you should absolutely subscribe to.The very short version is that the Old Fashioned was just called the Cocktail until a few inventive bartenders started making other mixed drinks, so it’s the most original of the OGs possible. It has roughly always meant the combination of a spirit with sugar and bitters, barring a brief obsession in the States with making a fruit salad and whatever goes on in Wisconsin. The actual spirit wasn’t specified for a very long time, because you’d call the spirit in your order; “gin cocktail”, “whiskey cocktail”, etc.
So with that context, you just know a Rum Old Fashioned is going to be delicious.
First things first - even though the rum is “white” this is swapping an aged spirit in for an aged spirit. It just doesn’t look like it. But, that doesn’t mean that all aged spirits are created equal…
Sure, there’s some wood in the Diplomatico but it absolutely pales in comparison to the Woodinville (even though that’s not a very oaky bourbon). The even bigger flavor profile difference is in the tropical rum notes like coconut vs the headier notes in the bourbon like apple.
The rum is 47% while the bourbon is 45%; it’s not a huge difference, but that does push the cocktail ABV up above 30%
So, with those caveats, how does this Rum Fashioned hold up?
The chocolate notes are much more pronounced with the rum, as they seem to hitch a ride on the coconut notes directly
There’s a classic tiki banana-esque flavor on the palate that’s very interesting, but it’s not overpowering at all and stops short of being “fruity”
Mary described this as “warmth in a glass” which I thought was lovely and highly accurate
I do think it could be improved by some orange bitters where the whiskey version wasn’t; the headiness that comes with those bitters wasn’t necessary with bourbon, but I think it might help lift the rum a bit here
Honestly, the Rum Old Fashioned might be the better drink. It’s tiki without being tropical, it’s still boozy and woody, and there’s just a little more going on overall. A good ol’ fashioned Whiskey Old Fashioned is a fantastic cocktail, of course, but in my home bar swapping for rum might yield a superior result…it’s just a touch less basic in a way that really works. And if you happen to change the bitters mix up a bit and toss some orange in, that won’t hurt either.
And I’m not stopping at rum. I’ll keep coming back to these “New Fashioneds” throughout the year with other spirits in the bar.