Hunter's Judgment
Recipe:
- 60ml FRC Barbados & Jamaica Rum
- 15ml Montenegro amaro
- 5ml ginger liqueur
- 1 dash Bittermens Elemakule Tiki bitters
- 10-12 drops fesh lime juice
Stir everything with ice until sufficiently chilled, fine strain into a prechilled rocks glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a dried orange wheel.
Named after Dr. John Hunter, who declared Jamaican rum consumable and safe, thus enabling its rise through distribution in the Royal Navy. And that reference was not my idea, but Jason E. Clapham's, who created the drink Hunter's Verdict in 2020. I found this one when I wanted to mix with a new bottle of FRC Barbados & Jamaica Rum. The original drink uses 22.5ml of Montenegro, Orange and Angostura instead of Tiki Bitters and no lime, so a "pure" Old Fashioned.
In that variation, it was also a good drink, but a) more of a showcase for Montenegro and b) really a distinctly sweet, if just balanced, after dinner drink. I still wanted to use the ingredients, but breathe a little more life into it and subtly push the rum to the forefront.
With the touch of lime and slight reduction of the amaro, as well as thanks to the Tiki Bitters, it has a fascinating Tiki-OF nose, full and complex. On the tasting similar, complex but not messy. You get the rum with molasses, the tropical fruit notes, but also the subtly drier Barbados, the bitter orange of the Montenegro and also the ginger come through nicely. Lime and bitters each just add more depth and complexity to the finish and round things out.
Art Pairing
Also from Jamaica came artist Tamara Natalie Madden, whose colorful and very characterful oeuvre is influenced by the impressions and faces of the afro-american community in the U.S., where she has lived since her youth, and her homeland, Jamaica. Influenced by Asian and African art, one also notices connections to Gustav Klimt in particular in The Black Queen.
The Black Queen (2010) - Tamara Natalie Madden
The bottle was provided to LT by KIRSCH Import, thanks!
