The kids don’t get to have all the fun, do they? For the grown-up bunnies, carrots and rum make for holiday fun — or at least this year, they do.
The wonderful thing about rum is it’s made pretty much everywhere. Unlike Scotch or bourbon or tequila, it is a spirit without a country. There are places where it is more well-known, certainly: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica. Even in the U.S., there’s no shortage of rum-making entrepreneurs from sea to shining sea. In Louisiana, there’s even a movement to make agricole rum; that is, straight from the cane.
But the one place we haven’t feature a bottle from? Hawaii. That state of the union actually used to grow quite a bit of sugar. So much so, that the industry required more and more people to support the jobs (sadly. many as indentured servants). Labor needs saw the companies sourcing people to fill these hard-scrabble jobs from Asia, bringing tens of thousands of people from China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. Even a new language sprung up around the need of the new residents to communicate with the islanders.
Competition from other sugar-producing regions, poor working conditions, labor issues and the notion that tourism in Hawaii was the more booming business eventually eroded the industry, until it pretty much shuttered about 10 years ago. Or, at least, the large industrial plantations.
A few enterprising distilleries have brought the spirit back to the islands with modern working conditions and quality over quantity attitude. Kōloa Rum Company was launched in 2009 to make a craft, single-batch rum. The Kōloa Kaua’i Dark Hawaiian Rum used in this recipe is distilled from pure cane sugar (not molasses) and has rich, almost coffee-like, vanilla notes. Finding it out east is a bit of an Easter egg hunt, but it’s worth it. The rest of this cocktail combines mostly fresh juices with some zippy ginger liqueur (we are fans of Domaine Canton, procurable at Park Place Wines & Liquors in East Hampton) sure to put some pep in your hop.
Their story, as well as this fun veg-centric recipe, caught our eye this week. While hyper-local sourcing is still tricky around our parts, click here to learn where you can source a little closer than Hawaii.
Happy Easter, bunnies. Aloha!
The Tipsy Bunny
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut
- 2 oz carrot juice
- 1 oz pineapple juice
- 1/2 oz ginger liqueur
- 1 1/2 oz Kōloa Kaua'i Dark Rum
- 1 long, thin carrot, peeled, green stems left on, for garnish
Directions
- Paint one side of a tall, narrow glass with honey, then roll it in shredded coconut. Fill with ice.
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the carrot juice, pineapple juice and ginger liqueur. Shake well, for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Strain into the glass. Float the rum over the top of the cocktail, using the back of a teaspoon to pour and distribute.
- Garnish with the carrot; wear your best Easter bonnet.
