Bartenders Mix Up Festive Libations with The Real McCoy Rum

Real McCoy Spirits Corp., makers of The Real McCoy Rum, features its 3-, 5- and 12-year aged rums in two holiday cocktails. Award-winning and perfectly balanced, The Real McCoy trio of rums easily transitions from summer cocktails to the flavors of the fall and winter months. Crafted at Rogue Island Local Kitchen & Bar in Rhode Island and the Engine Room in Connecticut, the Bajan Snowfall and Lovey Dovey cocktails blend the unadulterated spirit with seasonally-cherished ingredients that beckon the holiday season.

Super-premium and exceptionally smooth, The Real McCoy’s 12-year aged rum complements the flavors of baking spices—nutmeg, vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon—used in the Bajan Snowfall. With an age statement that’s commonly enjoyed neat or on the rocks, the Real McCoy’s 12-year boasts its versatility as the base spirit in this cocktail.

“The [Bajan Snowfall] cocktail definitely tastes like a holiday in a glass: festive, a touch romantic and although served chilled, cozily warming,” said Lauren Egan, bartender at Rogue Island Local Kitchen & Bar in Providence, Rhode Island.

For his approach, Aaron Laipple, bartender at Engine Room in Mystic, Connecticut, blends both the 3-year and 5-year aged rums, both expressing bourbon wood notes, with an ingredient that is derived from the same place as The Real McCoy.

“Just as rum has a rich history in Barbados, so does grapefruit. A hybrid of pomelo, citrus paradisi was first bred there around 1750,” stated Laipple. “To add a winter take on these two ingredients, a spicy simple syrup using brown sugar and cinnamon balances the tartness, spice, and bittersweet to make a Lovey Dovey.”

Both on-premise accounts focus on locally sourced food and hand selected craft beers and quality spirits offerings.

Bajan SnowfallBartenders Mix Up Festive Libations with The Real McCoy Rum

Created by Lauren Egan at Rogue Island Local Kitchen & Bar

1 1/2 oz. Real McCoy 12 year old Rum

3 oz. of Milk Mix

1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

1/2 oz. Egg White

Shake and serve up in coupe glass. (Optionally, on the rocks.)

Milk Mix Recipe (Makes 8 servings)

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp Clement Orange Liquor

1 tsp Vanilla Liquor

1/4 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg

1 Cinnamon Stick

4 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Saffron Simple Syrup (See Below For Instructions)

Bring ingredients to a boil, then turn off heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain, if desired, then cool and store in refrigerator.

Saffron Simple Syrup 

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 Tbsp lime juice

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/8 tsp Saffron

Heat on medium until sugar dissolves.  Let cool and store in airtight container.

Bartenders Mix Up Festive Libations with The Real McCoy RumLovey Dovey

Created by Aaron Laipply at Engine Room

1 1/2 oz. Real McCoy 5 Year Aged Rum

1/2 oz. Real McCoy 3 Year Aged Rum

3/4 oz. Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse Rose

1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Syrup

1 Cinnamon Stick

Build all ingredients in pint glass, add ice to above liquid level. Shake for 15 seconds and strain into an ice filled old fashioned glass. Garnish will cinnamon stick used in the shaker.

About The Real McCoy

The Real McCoy is a rum born from the story of Bill McCoy, the pioneer Rum Runner of the Prohibition era. A blend of column and pot still rum, The Real McCoy is a multi-award-winning super premium rum, made using only top quality black strap molasses and proprietary yeast, and is aged in toasted American oak bourbon barrels. The Real McCoy is produced by Foursquare Distillery in the province of St. Phillip, Barbados, West Indies and is available in 3, 5 and 12 Year aged expressions in CT, MA, NJ, FL, RI and NY.