HELP!: Mai Tai mishap with Wray & Nephew rum

Is this $20 bottle of Wray & Nephew White Overproof Jamaican Rum good for any drink mixing?? I only bought it because I was following the Mai Tai recipe that is written on the side of the new Trader Vic's 60th Anniversary Mai Tai glasses. It reads as follows:

THE ORIGINAL MAI TAI

2oz 17 yr. old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican Rum
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz. Curacao
1/4 oz Rock Candy Syrup
juice of one whole lime

I followed this recipe to the letter and what I got was something that tasted like it should be put on cuts and abrasions in an Emergency Room. A real vile tasting concotion if I ever had one. I immediately dumped it and made a Zombie with Myers Rum instead. Now, the question is, can I actually use this brand of Wray & Nephew rum in a drink that willl actually taste GOOD?! The rum itself smells weird and no doubt added to the vile-ness of what was supposed to be the so-called original mai tai. Anybody have any info?

This kinda sucks because when I was at the liquor store it was a toss up between buying a bottle of Demerara Rum and this vile-ass Wray & Nephew swill. Unfortunately, the latter won out because I thought I couldn' t go wrong. Now I wish I bought the Demerara because there are alot of recipes in Grog Log and Intoxica that call for it. Live and learn I guess.

If anybody has any good recipes that call for Wray & Nephew please post them here before I throw this almost full bottle out the window and waste 20 bucks.

Aloha :drink:

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-08-21 23:50 ]

I'm no expert but, I think the problem might be that you're using "Overproof" rum insted of just the regular 80 proof.
Definately hold onto it, but I'd say just use it for adding a little extra kick to other drinks, not as the main ingredient.
Aloha,
:tiki:

The problem could also be the age of the rum. A recipe that calls for Bacardi 12 might taste pretty yummy, but if you used regular Bacardi instead... maybe not so good.

BTW, I see recipes calling for Rock Candy Syrup. Is that just Simple Syrup (lots of sugar and water), or is it something different?

Yeah, I think the 'Overproof' rum is the Wray & Nephew version of 151 if I'm not mistaken. Still though, it has such a potent smell and taste that I'm wondering if you can even float the stuff on a drink.

Finkdaddy-yeah, I think Simple syrup and Rock Candy syrup are the sams thing. The Rock Candy name I think is jsut the TV brand.

You could always use it for flaming drinks to impress all your friends. Or you use it to make "252s" (1 oz of 151, 1 oz of Wild Turkey 101), and feed'em to those people who don't care what they drink as long as it's very alcoholic.

The definite problem is that you are using overproof rum. I got the same thing down in Jamaica except it is Appelton's white overproof. It is the same as Bacardi 151. Like everyone says it is good for lighting drinks aflame, or topping off drinks(floater) with. I have had a drink called an ankle breaker with 151, roses lime juice, and cherry brandy---very good but extremely potent

BTW, I see recipes calling for Rock Candy Syrup. Is that just Simple Syrup (lots of sugar and water), or is it something different?

One in the same...

The Wray & Nephew overproof white has only limited uses, and is in no way related to what Vic used in the original recipe, which was an aged rum.

Though it is related in one very important way: John Wray and his nephew produced their own rums in the 1800s and in 1916, purchased the Appleton rum estate. Eventually they phased out their own branded rums (except for the overproof) and focused on Appleton Rums. So, for a close to Authentic Mai Tai, try some Appleton Estate Extra. Mmmm... that's the stuff.

Thanks for the info Martiki. Appleton is a fave of mine. What are the limitied uses you speak of for the Overproof? Would like to find a way to put this stuff to use other cleaning paint off my hands. :drink:

Er, well...maybe not that much after all. I'd use it in a recipe that calls for Bacardi 151- W&N is still better that that swill. But NOT in a recipe that calls for 151 Demerara, as that has a distinct flavor advantage.

I have used it before and it tasted pretty good in one of the drinks. I'll have a look tonight and see if I can remember which one.

I've still got a bottle of W&N OP from five years back- bought it for "name value" (my mistake). All I ever use it for is to fill the little volcano in the center of a volcano bowl and light 'er up. It's just too damn nasty for much else.

I tasted one good use of the overproof rum at a party a number of years ago. A watermelon was hollowed out and filled with a variety of fruits (mostly different kinds of melons, plus pineapple, kiwis, etc.) and it was filled with overproof and left to soak overnight.

It tasted great and really kicked arse.

Important safety tip: No smoking around the melon.

The Wray & Nephew 17YO rum for Trader's Vic is a blend of aged rums which is very different from Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum which is unaged and overproof at 126% alcohol. A serving size is usually 1/2 a shot. Wray & Nephew White Overproof is actually very delicious with cranberry juice, Ting (grapefruit soda) or in traditional Jamaican Rum Punches. The easy way to make the traditional Jamaican rum punch is to think of this formula:

1 of sour (lime juice)
2 of sweet (simple syrup)
3 of strong (1 1/2 Wray & Nephew Overproof rum, 1 1/2 Appleton rum)
4 of weak (orange and/or pineapple juice)

There are quite a few drinks that use 151; Zombie, Jet Pilot, of course the 151 Swizzle, some varities of Planters' Punch, and Shrunken Skull. Don't toss it, it'll last quite a while, and is really needed for some drinks!

And, if you don't use it as an ingredient in your drink, you can use it as a base for home-brew recipes.

If you add about 6 ounces to a batch of Sugar Sryup it will keep it from crystalllizing as quickly.

If you add it to your home brew flavorings (Pimento, Cinamon, etc...) they will be shelf-stable for six to nine weeks (usually, depends on the ingredient). Add enough to bring Total ABV up to between 20% - 30%.

You can do all of that with Vodka as well, but I like the little bit of extra flavor I get from the rum.

The last time I was at Mugoomba (at Tiki Farm), Holden had mixed something up in the dedicated Mai Tai Sparklett's cooler.
I don't recall the exact amounts, but he used some of the W&N overproof. Other ingredients included the premixed Trader Vics Mai Tai Cocktail, Orgeat and Lime Juice. Can't recall if he added any extra curacao or not.
Anyway, it made a pretty decent mai tai. It's hard to beat Martiki's suggestion of using the Appleton Estate Extra (and the St. James Hors d'Age for the Martinique rum) for a Mai Tai, but there are ways to use the overproof in a good cocktail. Just requires a little imagination. Or at least an e-mail to Holden. He might be willing to divulge the secret of the Mai Tai recipe.

On 2007-08-27 10:44, Chip and Andy wrote:
And, if you don't use it as an ingredient in your drink, you can use it as a base for home-brew recipes.

Exactically. I use W&N WO in some drinks, but mainly I use it in my homeade orgeat and other syrups, and in various homebrewed potable botanical extracts. I also use it for soaking fruit (garnishes, fruit "cocktail," etc.) and for flame effects.

As for the flame effects, W&N WO does not burn brightly on its own. The flame is so subdued, on its own, that you might not think it's lit when it really is, so you don't want to turn your back on it prematurely. There are things you can do with it to make it flame up, but don't expect anything spectacular by itself.

There's a jungle drink I invented in 1971 that I call Amazon Limeade, which I've only ever made with Ron Viejo de Caldas, but it would have been better with W&N WO had that been available to me at the time. I probably made a grand total of 20 or so, all in 1971, the only time I could put my hands on any Amazon limes. Outside of the Upper Amazon Basin, in place of an Amazon lime I use a grapefruit; in place of granulated sugar I use rock candy syrup; and in place of RonViejo de Caldas I use W&N WO. The grapefruit version is wimpy in comparisson, but tastes better. You'd think that would be the point, but Amazon Limeade is part drink and part jungle elixir, plus it's served at air temperature (very warm in those parts), not chilled. The wimpy grapefruit version is chilled.

If you're hankerin' for the taste of kerosene but don't want the harmful side effects, this hechicero prescribes a straight shot of W&N WO.

[ Edited by: The Gnomon 2007-08-30 07:12 ]

There used to be a time where Bacardi 151 would do for a 1/2 shot eye-opener or as a floater, but unfortunately, I have found it wickedly powerful in wreaking havoc on my drinks where overproof is called for- it could also be that this particular bottle has seen better days, I dont know.

For overproof I now rely solely on Cruzan 120 proof. Actually sorta drinkable, and definitely not a drink destroyer.