When Appleton Estate’s senior blender, David Morrison, visited St. Louis last month, I asked him how he preferred to drink Appleton’s V/X, a medium-bodied rum that’s actually a blend of 15 rums that have been aged in spent Jack Daniels oak casks. V/X’s golden color and deep aroma of orange peel, spices and molasses make it great to use in a bevy of boozy concoctions, so it was certainly worth asking.
Morrison’s answer: Mix it with ginger ale. At that point, Kelvin Calhoun, the regional manager for Appleton Estate’s distributor, expressed that he preferred to mix the Jamaican rum with ginger beer thanks to its stronger taste and extra kick. Figuring that neither gent could be wrong, I opted to combine the best of both worlds, adding a splash of sweet ginger beer syrup before topping it with ginger ale.
Oh, and the name? Well, this one was whipped up between trips to the basement to seek shelter from the latest round of storms. Wouldn’t you know that the sun came out right as we began stirring this golden, sunset-colored drink. So, here’s to the sunny skies this smooth sipper will hopefully bring you when you shake it up this weekend and beyond as well.
Sun Between Storms Serves 1
Courtesy of Ligaya Figueras
2 oz. Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum (available at your local liquor store)
½ oz. Kelly’s Jamaica Old Fashioned Ginger Beer Syrup (available at Jay International Food)
3 to 4 oz. ginger ale
• Stir the rum and ginger beer in a rocks glass filled with ice.
• Top with ginger ale.
This article appears in June 2011.