Post #592222 by Chip and Andy on Sat, Jun 4, 2011 8:21 AM

I was unimpressed with the Sonoma brand, seemed a bit weak in the final analysis.

Monin (I think it was Monin, the label is gone now) was pretty decent, but tasted a little waxy.

Trader Tiki has, by far, the best bottle you can buy.

On 2011-06-02 21:20, thePorpoise wrote:
does anyone happen to have link to the prevailing home recipe...

If your going to make your own, and have about a week or so, I have been very happy with this recipe:

1:1 simple syrup, about 3 cups should get you going.
1 ounce-ish overproof white rum (not a critical measure, more is ok, less not so much)
five or more large cinnamon sticks.
A bottle that you can seal very tightly

Put the cinnamon sticks in the bottle.
Pour your hot simple syrup into the bottle. Add enough to cover the cinnamon sticks completely.
Allow it to cool to room temperature then add your overproof rum and cap/seal tightly.
Shake it every day for a week until you get a good color.
After four or five days, start sampling.

The flavor will peak out in about a week or so, the color will continue to develop for as long as you have the bottle.

It will keep under your bar for about a month, and in the fridge for about 6 months.

The best part of doing your own is when you get the bottle about half empty you can add more hot simple syrup to refill it and 'recharge' the flavor. You'll have to do a bit of math on the refills because you need to add enough alcohol to keep it in the 25 to 30% ABV range to keep it shelf stable.