Rum of the Month

For this month we will be featuring Mekhong as our rum of the month.  Mekhong is a surprising rum from Thailand.  Named after the 10th largest river in the world and one of the largest in Asia,.  The name translates to the “Khong, mother of water”  We say surprising not just because of where it originates, but also because it is a pretty tasty rum.  There seems to be a lot of debate on what type of distilled spirit this is.  Some people call it whiskey, others just call it a Thai spirit (on the company’s website there is no mention of it as rum)  From what I understand, there are no clear standards in Thailand as to how to classify liquor. The locals call it whiskey.  However, because of what is used to distill it, in the US it needs to be called rum.    It is made mostly from sugar cane 95%(molasses) and some fermented rice.   Now, if there was anymore need to explain why rum is one of the most versatile spirits in the world, Mekhong is a perfect example of that.  Rum’s scope is not limited to the Caribbean or Latin America.  Rum is distilled pretty much in every region of the planet.     The rum itself is supposed to go well with spicy food (in Thai tradition) and we concur.  The website also claims that the sugar cane used is from Thailand which these days runs counter to most other types of rums known throughout the world.  A lot of them import their sugar cane and/or molasses.  This one (according to their website) has a smooth flavor of spicy ginger, toffee, citrus and vanilla. We found it to have a nose of baby’s breath (yes the flower) along with a grassy and vegetal notes.  The palate has hints of allspice and mint.  It finishes spicy yet smooth.  From our point of view, this is a rum that mixes real well with a lot of our cocktails.  Substitute it in any of your favorite drinks or try it out in the Thai Daiquiri.  Hint:  It has passion fruit in it and it is terrific!!!  Check them out and give us your feedback when you can.  Enjoy!!!