Warmin' up with Rum
Story by Nikki Bayley | Images By Joern Rohde
Spiced, white, dark, golden, or overproof, there’s a whole world of rum to explore. And you’ll find rum cocktails delivering the goods on cocktail lists across Whistler, bringing a warmth to the winter chill. Explore the taste of the Caribbean in the heart of winter with these tropical rum tipples from some of our favourite bartenders.
Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar
604-962-2233 | wildbluerestaurant.com
Bar Manager Zack Lavoie
Alpiña Colada
If you want a quick primer on Rum 101, look no further than Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar, where Bar Manager Zack Lavoie can share his extensive knowledge on all things sugar cane. “Rum is simply one of the most undervalued categories,” he enthuses. “You can get a 20-year-old rum that’s epic for 100 bucks. Rum has so much complexity, from the different types of sugarcane, molasses, rhum agricole — and everything in between. There [are] so many different styles!”
The gleaming bar counter clinks with all the bottles that Lavoie is using in Wild Blue’s take on a tiki classic; there are four different rums in his blend, plus a house-made grand-fir-tip-and-cedar tincture (“it conjures up the scent of the forest floor after the rain”). Add a judicious measure of house-made “Coco Lopez” (“it tastes exactly like a Bounty bar”), and the finishing touch, a float of herbaceous Italian Jannamico Super Punch Amaro.
As Lavoie expertly builds this tribute to a tiki, he winks and tells me that indulging in no more than two of these magnificent cocktails is recommended per guest. I take a sip and see why: It’s absolutely heavenly, sweet but complex as the amaro float drifts through the layers of crushed ice, but oh so very boozy. A very grown-up take on the creamy classic, this Alpiña Colada might be on holiday, but it’s wearing Dior and has bought a briefcase! “I love rum, and a strawberry daiquiri is my guilty pleasure,” confesses Lavoie. “It might not be on the menu, but I’ll always have the ingredients to make one!”
The gleaming bar counter clinks with all the bottles that Lavoie is using in Wild Blue’s take on a tiki classic; there are four different rums in his blend, plus a house-made grand-fir-tip-and-cedar tincture (“it conjures up the scent of the forest floor after the rain”). Add a judicious measure of house-made “Coco Lopez” (“it tastes exactly like a Bounty bar”), and the finishing touch, a float of herbaceous Italian Jannamico Super Punch Amaro.
As Lavoie expertly builds this tribute to a tiki, he winks and tells me that indulging in no more than two of these magnificent cocktails is recommended per guest. I take a sip and see why: It’s absolutely heavenly, sweet but complex as the amaro float drifts through the layers of crushed ice, but oh so very boozy. A very grown-up take on the creamy classic, this Alpiña Colada might be on holiday, but it’s wearing Dior and has bought a briefcase! “I love rum, and a strawberry daiquiri is my guilty pleasure,” confesses Lavoie. “It might not be on the menu, but I’ll always have the ingredients to make one!”
CARAMBA
604-938-1879 | carambarestaurant.com
Pare Restaurant Group Beverage Manager Jamie Cornwell
PEARfect Storm
An appreciation of rum came to Beverage Manager Jamie Cornwell late in life. “Whiskey was my very first love, particularly Scotch,” he confesses, “but the rum cocktails I’ve made, the feedback on them is probably stronger than some of the drinks I’ve made that I was really in love with.”
At Caramba this season, the bar team has taken the idea of “comfort foods” and applied it to the cocktail list. “We’re leaning into Caramba’s fun Mediterranean vibe and the warm feelings of the season to bring fun drinks that aren’t too far away from something familiar.”
In my glass today: the PEARfect Storm, a festive winter warmer cocktail with a tiny hint of effervescence and the most delicious crunchy candied pear garnish. A play on the old favourite, Dark and Stormy, this flips the script on a familiar drink and turns it into something new. “I’ve made a pear, rosemary, and honey cordial, which we add to our own house-made spiced rum, which is a blend of dark, seven-year-aged, and white rum,” explains Cornwell. “I spiced the rum with pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, vanilla, and a little grated nutmeg and I’ve switched the lime for lemon to give a softer citrus note with the pear, and there are notes of ginger along with the rosemary, because all those ingredients play so nicely together and give it a nice comforting, warming feel,” Cornwell says.
A little lighter and brighter than the Dark and Stormy, you’ll find safe harbour with this PEARfect Storm.
At Caramba this season, the bar team has taken the idea of “comfort foods” and applied it to the cocktail list. “We’re leaning into Caramba’s fun Mediterranean vibe and the warm feelings of the season to bring fun drinks that aren’t too far away from something familiar.”
In my glass today: the PEARfect Storm, a festive winter warmer cocktail with a tiny hint of effervescence and the most delicious crunchy candied pear garnish. A play on the old favourite, Dark and Stormy, this flips the script on a familiar drink and turns it into something new. “I’ve made a pear, rosemary, and honey cordial, which we add to our own house-made spiced rum, which is a blend of dark, seven-year-aged, and white rum,” explains Cornwell. “I spiced the rum with pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, vanilla, and a little grated nutmeg and I’ve switched the lime for lemon to give a softer citrus note with the pear, and there are notes of ginger along with the rosemary, because all those ingredients play so nicely together and give it a nice comforting, warming feel,” Cornwell says.
A little lighter and brighter than the Dark and Stormy, you’ll find safe harbour with this PEARfect Storm.
Il CAMINETTO
604-932-4442 | ilcaminetto.ca
Bar Manager Kyle Parent
Rum, Forrest, Rum
“I love rum!” declares Il Caminetto’s bar manager, Kyle Parent, as he gathers bottles from among his collection of rums on the stunning back bar to prepare his drink. “It’s a complex, aged spirit that has a fascinating history. There’s a lot that goes into it, and it’s very easy to play with in cocktails, as there are so many different types: molasses rum, sugarcane rum. It varies so much in style and taste.”
Today, Parent is making his twist on the old tiki rum classic, the Mai Tai. Being at Il Caminetto, of course, there’s an Italian element: hazelnut liqueur along with Flor De Caña Centenario 12-year-old rum, Cointreau liqueur , and lime juice. “We just shake it with ice and then ‘dirty dump’ it into the glass. No straining — keeps that Mai Tai vibe alive — and then garnish with mint and dehydrated orange,” Parent says. It’s nutty, sweet, juicy, fresh, and dangerously drinkable.
“I find that rum’s maybe not the most popular spirit here in Canada; people maybe just know it from taking shots of Bacardi white rum, but there’s so much more to it, and there are delicious rums from across the Caribbean, [as well as] South and Central America,” explains Parent. “If you are new to the spirit, try a classic like the mojito or a piña colada, then graduate to more complex creations like the Jungle Bird, which has Campari in it for a more bitter element, or a Mai Tai.”
Today, Parent is making his twist on the old tiki rum classic, the Mai Tai. Being at Il Caminetto, of course, there’s an Italian element: hazelnut liqueur along with Flor De Caña Centenario 12-year-old rum, Cointreau liqueur , and lime juice. “We just shake it with ice and then ‘dirty dump’ it into the glass. No straining — keeps that Mai Tai vibe alive — and then garnish with mint and dehydrated orange,” Parent says. It’s nutty, sweet, juicy, fresh, and dangerously drinkable.
“I find that rum’s maybe not the most popular spirit here in Canada; people maybe just know it from taking shots of Bacardi white rum, but there’s so much more to it, and there are delicious rums from across the Caribbean, [as well as] South and Central America,” explains Parent. “If you are new to the spirit, try a classic like the mojito or a piña colada, then graduate to more complex creations like the Jungle Bird, which has Campari in it for a more bitter element, or a Mai Tai.”
BEARFOOT BISTRO
604-932-3433 | bearfootbistro.com
Bartender Finlay Moon
Harvest Sailor
Could this be Whistler’s most intricate cocktail garnish? I watch with amazement as the Bearfoot’s bartender, Finlay Moon, deftly crafts a stunning apple fan for his Harvest Sailor cocktail. Too pretty to eat? Maybe. But definitely not too pretty to drink. “I wanted winter and fall flavours for this drink, so maple, cardamom bitters, apple liqueur, and Flor de Caña Centenario 12-year-old rum; it’s tropical and warm with the rum and the spice, but fresh with the apples, and it has a silky texture from the egg whites,” Moon explains. I surreptitiously nibble the maple sugar garnish from the glass and take a sip: not too sweet, not too spicy, not too spirit-forward, this is an absolute Goldilocks of a cocktail.
A self-professed rum guy (“aged rum’s always been the go-to spirit for me”), Moon loves the versatility of the spirit and its sweetness. “I’m not a huge whiskey guy,” he admits. “I like the sweetness of rum, and you can do a lot with it.” If you’re new to drinking rum, Moon’s advice is to skip the white rums and go straight to the good stuff! “Start with the top shelf!” he says with a laugh. “That’s where you’ll find the aged rums, which are so much smoother. You can get a beautiful high-end rum for a lot less money than a high-end whiskey for sure, so it’s a much more approachable spirit to get into. Rum’s such a great year-round spirit; in the [summer] sunshine or the winter, it goes nicely with both seasons.”
A self-professed rum guy (“aged rum’s always been the go-to spirit for me”), Moon loves the versatility of the spirit and its sweetness. “I’m not a huge whiskey guy,” he admits. “I like the sweetness of rum, and you can do a lot with it.” If you’re new to drinking rum, Moon’s advice is to skip the white rums and go straight to the good stuff! “Start with the top shelf!” he says with a laugh. “That’s where you’ll find the aged rums, which are so much smoother. You can get a beautiful high-end rum for a lot less money than a high-end whiskey for sure, so it’s a much more approachable spirit to get into. Rum’s such a great year-round spirit; in the [summer] sunshine or the winter, it goes nicely with both seasons.”
ARAXI
604-932-9540 | araxi.com
Bar Manager Rene Wuethrich
Monkey Business
Since 2001, Bar Manager Rene Wuethrich has been mixing up delicious drinks behind the bar at Araxi right in the heart of Whistler Village. Today’s cocktail showcasing Bumbu rum keeps things simple with just three ingredients. “This is a riff on an Old Fashioned style of cocktail,” Wuethrich explains. “We infuse the rum and Bearface Canadian whisky with chopped-up banana in the sous vide to infuse in that banana flavour, then, once the flavours are mingled together, I stir it over ice with Angostura bitters.
Rum and whisky are always such a great mixture, and rum and bananas go so well together too; you have that tropical combination.” Showing off smooth, seven-year-old Canadian single grain whisky with silky Bajan rum aged for up to 15 years, this cocktail may be simple, but it brings serious heft.
With a crunchy dehydrated banana chip as garnish (ask for an extra one, they are delicious!), this is far less spirit-forward than I was expecting; the Monkey Business smells like a boozy milkshake with a delicate caramel-banana nose. It’s smooth and slips down awfully easily after a day on the ski hill. “On a cold day, rum hits the spot,” agrees Wuethrich. “Rum always works. But these days it’s certainly an overlooked spirit… I think it always brings warming feelings.” Wuethrich’s advice: Try a rum hot toddy; switch up from whisky to explore the sweet tropical flavours of rum.
Rum and whisky are always such a great mixture, and rum and bananas go so well together too; you have that tropical combination.” Showing off smooth, seven-year-old Canadian single grain whisky with silky Bajan rum aged for up to 15 years, this cocktail may be simple, but it brings serious heft.
With a crunchy dehydrated banana chip as garnish (ask for an extra one, they are delicious!), this is far less spirit-forward than I was expecting; the Monkey Business smells like a boozy milkshake with a delicate caramel-banana nose. It’s smooth and slips down awfully easily after a day on the ski hill. “On a cold day, rum hits the spot,” agrees Wuethrich. “Rum always works. But these days it’s certainly an overlooked spirit… I think it always brings warming feelings.” Wuethrich’s advice: Try a rum hot toddy; switch up from whisky to explore the sweet tropical flavours of rum.