Kiwi’s Nest Grog

A yellow citrus fruit. The peel is often used as a garnish while the juice incorporated into the drink for a tart flavor profile (citric acid).

A large berry grown on woody vines known for its bright green flesh (some varieties are orange) and furry brown skin. Kiwi's (or kiwi fruit as known in Australia and New Zealand) have a unique flavor that is sweet but also tart.

Lengthy aging (8+ years) lends some color and lots of flavor to the rum. Most often bottled as a blend of pot and column-distilled rums ('Blended' category). Varieties are available from all over the Carribean and the world.

Often referred to as silver or white, these rums are actually lightly aged (1-3 years), but have had their color removed by charcoal filtering. They are molasses based (as opposed to the cane juice-based rhum agricole, clairin, or cachaça). Flavors range from light (Bacardi, Caña Brava, Plantation 3 Star, El Dorado 3) to more flavorful (Probitas, Ten-To-One).

These rich rums get their dark color from added caramel, not necessarily aging. Flavors are caramel and brown-sugar forward. Common examples are Meyers's and Coruba (Jamaican) or Gosling's Black Seal (Bermuda). A key ingredient in many classic tiki-era cocktails.

A sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose water or orange flower water. Sometimes other nut derived syrups are referred to as orgeat. You can make this yourself! There's a few recipes, this one if from liquid Intelligence. Combine 660g very hot water with 200g nuts of your choice (almonds are traditional). Blend together at high speed, then strain through a fine strainer or cheescloth. Add salt if you'd like. Then combine 500g nut milk with 500g sugar, blend to combine. If the emulsion breaks, use a stick blender to quickly recombine (or shake hard before using). If you're up for it, add 1.75g Ticaloid 210s and 0.2g xanthan gum to stablize the emulsion. If you can't find Ticaloid, use a mixture of gum arabic and xanthan gum in a ratio of 9:1. This recipe doesn't use rose or orange flower water, if you'd like you can add small teaspoon of either.

Also known as pimento dram, this is an allspice berry flavored liqueur; from the pimento tree. You can make your own! Here is a recipe from Serious Eats: Measure out 1/2 cup whole allspice berries, then crush them in a mortar and pestle or grinder. Place the crushed allspice in a sealable glass jar with 1 cup rum, steep for 4 days, shaking daily. On day 5, add 1 broken cinnamon stick. Let steep for 7 more days, after 12 total days of steeping, strain out the solids through a cheesecloth. Make a syrup by combining 1 1/2 cup water and 2/3 cup brown sugar, heat until it dissolves then add it to the alcholoic mix. Let rest for an additional day, and enjoy!

A bitters made from Seville oranges, cardamom, caraway seed, coriander and burnt sugar.

A large berry grown on woody vines known for its bright green flesh (some varieties are orange) and furry brown skin. Kiwi's (or kiwi fruit as known in Australia and New Zealand) have a unique flavor that is sweet but also tart.