Summertime and a Recipe for Easy Living!

by Nancy Mills

Writer Daphne Muse is an authority on the pleasures of rum drinks. She's even been a judge at the International Cane Spirits Festival Competition.

Daphne sent us an original recipe to help you get into the mood for the "limin" lifestyle this summer. We share it here, along with her list of best rums to purchase. Move over Pinot Noir!

Cocurrumba (Coconut, Curry, Rum, Banana)
While day dreaming of returning to the lush rain forest of Guadeloupe, the idea for a drink popped into my mind. Thus was born the Cocurrumba. I hope this puts you in the frame of mind to chillax and get into a limin’ state of mind.

Two to three ounces of amber or mahogany rum (I tend to pour heavily, so you can cut it back to 1.5 ounces if that suits you better.)
4 ounces of Coconut milk
Generous splash of a lime

Add the coconut milk to the rum
Shake vigorously
Then add a generous splash of lime
Next, add crushed ice and shake vigorously again
Remove the ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass
with a wide rim eager to receive the rum
Grate a hit of nutmeg over the drink
Top with a thin slice of banana and finish with a pinch of curry

My Top Twelve Rums

While rums are now being distilled in Arizona, Australia, Austria and California, my preferences steer me towards offerings from the Caribbean, epicenter of the rum world.

Five Star Babancourt (Haiti), truly the Cognac of rums
Angostura 1824 Rum (Trinidad)
Cartavio 1929 Ron Anejo Reserva (Aruba)
Havana Club Añejo 7yo (Cuba)
Rhum Clément Tres Vieux (Martinique)
Appleton Estate 21 Years Old (Jamaica)
Mount Gay (Barbados)
10 Cane, 80 Proof (Trinidad)
Flor de Caña Centenario 21 (Art made into rum from Nicaragua)
Reserva Añeja (Puerto Rico)
St. James Royal Amber Rum (Martinique)
Longueteau Rhum Blanc (Guadeloupe)
Ron Macuro Ron Añejo Ultra Premium (Venezuela)


What I long to taste

El Dorado 25 Year Old rum (Guyana)
Plantation Rum Jamaica - 1983 Vintage (Jamaica)
Fernandes Black Label Rum (Trinidad & Tobago)
Ron Coba 12 yr Rum (Guatemala)
Angostura 1824 Limited Reserve (Trinidad)
Seventh Heaven Ginger and Bois Bandé Rum (St. Lucia)
Ron Liberación 15 Años (Cuba)
Mekhong Special Thai Rum (Thailand)
Sunset Light Rum (St. Vincent)
Clarke's Court Original White Rum (Grenada)
Cockspur 1639 (Barbados)
Rhum Martinique Chauvet (Martinique)