If there is a more evocative spirit available behind the bar than that of rum, I'm not aware of it. Pour me a glass of rum and within the vapors rises a raucous and even romantic history of joy, tragedy and debauchery: tippling houses in Barbados in the early 1600's, where British settlers supped the earliest permutation of rum, which they referred to as "kill-devil"; jug wielding pirates careening through the streets of Port Royal in Jamaica, wildly spending their pieces of eight plundered from the Spanish and British empires; independence-minded American revolutionaries huddled in taverns drinking rum Flips and plotting their resistance against the heavy taxes imposed upon them by the British; Americans fleeing Prohibition downing Daiquiris and Swizzles in the jammed bars of Havana; opulent tiki palaces serving Mai Tais, flaming Scorpion bowls, Hurricanes and Fog Cutters to lei-festooned business-men and June Cleaveresque housewives. I think of Piña Coladas at the pool, mojitos in a sweaty nightclub, an authentic Daiquiri while laying on a Caribbean beach with the tropical sun dipping into the sea at the horizon line.

Rum is making a comeback, as it has throughout it's history. Whether it's taxation by the British, temperance loonies railing against "demon rum", the long national nightmare of prohibition or weird shifts in tastes toward vodka and synthetic flavoring, rum has always bounced back, and today traditional mixers are left behind. More and more behind the bar, connoisseurs are treating the premium rums with the same regard usually given to high-grade scotchs, bourbons, cognacs and tequilas.

After the jump, in alphabetical order, are a few of those premium rums we're sipping neat these days. It is a wonderful, intoxicating world of flavors I hope you can enjoy as much as I do:

Last weekend I told you about the magnificent Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb Curacao orange liqueur. For our Friday Happy Hour I would like to give you some cocktail recipes using Creole Shrubb and the fine Clément Rhums.

Luxury Experience's Créole Creamsicle
(from Luxury Experience magazine)
1 3/4 oz. Rhum Clément V.S.O.P.
3/4 oz. Rhum Clément Liqr>ueur Créole Shrubb
1 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup vanilla ice cream
6ice cubes
freshly grated nutmeg
orange twist, for garnish
Pour all ingredients except the nutmeg and the orange twist in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a margarita glass and sprinkle with a light dusting of nutmeg, and garnish with an orange twist.

Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb liqueur is 40%abv. / 80 proof. It is a Curacao orange liqueur produced and estate bottled at Habitation Clément in Martinique, and it has only recently become available in the US.

It has a medium light body to it and is a light orange gold in color. The aroma is an intoxicating blend of Curacao orange peels and musky Rhum Agricole, with a touch of exotic tropical spices.

The taste is much less sweet than similar orange liqueurs and very smooth on your tongue. It has a deliciously sharp and slightly bitter orange zest flavor that wakes up your palate immediately. I find that there is a complex, and quite different orange flavor than I have experienced with other orange liqueurs. It is tart and tangy, as well as full and round. The bitter orange is balanced nicely with the sweetness from pure, freshly crushed, sugar cane syrup and a sprinkle of Caribbean spices. The whole liqueur is carried on a solid base of fine, dry, wood aged rum. It has an extraordinarily long finish, rich with the essence of orange, rum, wood tannins, and just the barest hint of spice that lasts and lasts.

Creole Shrubb is one of the most enjoyable liqueurs I have ever experienced. I hope you get the chance to as well.