Get the party started this holiday season with a gift of Appleton Estate Reserve rum
Appleton Estate Reserve Rum
What can you or your hostess do with rum in the kitchen?
Rum is also delightful in culinary applications. We are known in our house for making chocolate chip-nut cookies with a touch of the good stuff. When cooking with rum, always play safe and add it when the burner's turned off. Drizzle a little on freshly cut fruit and brown sugar and let it marinate for a few hours, garnish bowls with fresh mint leaves when serving.
Rum is also great when cooking savory foods! Try it with melted butter, soaked raisins, peaches and pie spices for a pork chop glaze. Add a touch to BBQ sauce -- either your own recipe or to "doctor up" stuff from the bottle.
You'll bring the party when you bring Appleton Estate Reserve rum as a holiday gift
Why rum now? Hostess gifts can be tricky at any time, but especially so during the holidays. Flowers are hideously expensive in winter -- if the "right" ones are available at all in your area -- and wine rarely hits the right mark. After all, you can't know exactly what the hostess is serving, how the food will be seasoned, what the sides and desserts will be. Does the wine have to be served at a particular temperature and/or be decanted? Does the wine need to be served in a particular style of glass? Then, once that bottle is opened, it needs to be finished off that night. That's more fuss and bother than any hostess deserves to be saddled with. After all, you were invited as a friend, hopefully not a frenemy!
How about a gift that can be used before dinner, after dinner and on other future occasions? Then, you'll really be remembered! A good quality rum like Appleton Estate Reserve can be used in so many ways, it's the perfect holiday gift! This particular expression of rum is comprised of 20 different rums, each aged an average of 6 years, but the bottle has no age statement. I was happy to be hosted to experience it.
I noticed an initial nose of banana peel and toasted wood. Later, I detected a powerful brown sugar essence. The color is amber. Upon sipping, I tasted bruleed brown sugar, almond and vanilla extract, with a juiciness upon swallowing. It's very smooth with a medium viscosity. This is how they describe it:
Full-bodied, smooth, and delicately balanced spice and nutty notes, followed by oaky honey, subtle vanilla, and a hint of hazelnut – all wrapped in rich, dried orange peel. It’s reminiscent of a spicy fruit cake. Finish: balanced, yet lingering, with echoes of wood.
You can sip it neat or on the rocks for an easy party ice-breaker (if that's not too horrible a pun!). But really, don't worry that this rum is too precious to create with . . . feel free to exercise your best mixology skills! Fresh tropical juices would sing with a lacing of this rum. You can lighten things up with soda and/or crushed ice. If you get stressed making cocktails, do like I often do: head to the refrigerated juice section of the grocery store. These days, the major companies are bottling exotic, tropical fruit combinations. It'll seem like you slaved all day!
