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Just bought a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap Rum from Binny's on a whim. I'm hoping that it can go in place of a dark rum in most cocktails. I'm going to test it out in a mai-tai tonight and see how it goes. Anyone have other suggestions for cocktails with black strap? I know I'll need to get some falernum to make corn n oil.

The mai tai turned out quite well. The molasses component of the black strap rum added an extra dimension to the drink. Can't wait to experiment with this stuff with other drinks.

Mai Tai

1 oz Oronoco Reserva Rum

Scant 3/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum

1 oz lime juice

1/2 oz Bols Orange Curaçao

1/2 oz orgeat

I've never been a huge fan of black strap but it does have its applications. I was going to post that I view it as more of a condiment than a lead spirit, and your recipe seems to fall in line with that. For me, I probably would have used even less of it and maybe added a third rum, like Smith & Cross or even Lemonhart. Paul McGee's version, which I love, uses Smith and Cross, Lemonhart and Barbancourt 8-year. He also uses Combier, which I really prefer over the Bols. What orgeat are you using? I've always wanted to make it but have been too lazy to do so.

=R=

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I kept meaning to make my own orgeat with a recipe I found in imbibe but out of laziness and the hankering for some tiki I picked up some Collins orgeat from binnys today. Seems to do the job well enough. I think next time I'd use maybe FdC 4 in place of the black strap and float some on top.

One of my favorite cocktails using Black Strap Rum is a drink called The Getaway, created by Derek Brown of The Passenger and The Columbia Room in Washington, DC.

THE GETAWAY
1 oz. Black Strap
1/2 oz. Cynar
1 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple

Combine. Shake. Strain into a chilled glass.

While it might not be authentic (as authentic requires Gosling's), this should make for a decent Dark and Stormy. Combine the rum with ginger beer of your choice in proportions to your taste over ice. I add lime juice and sometimes invert the rind of half a lime and float more rum in the lime half on top of my drink.

I vastly prefer Cruzan Blackstrap to Gosling's in my Dark n' Stormy. I find the Blackstrap is almost like a molasses liquour it has such an intense molasses flavor. My favorite version is:

In a highball glass:
Fill glass with ice
1oz Flor de Cana 4 year
1/2oz of lime juice

stir and top with Maine Root Ginger Brew or Blenheim Extra Spicy, lightly stir, and top with 1.5oz of Cruzan Blackstrap, again lightly stir.