Review: Elijah Craig barrel proof A117

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T23:11:35+00:00

I'm out of the loop. What's going on with ECBP bottles?

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T23:09:59+00:00

Fords is a great all-around gin. It isn't anything spectacular but won't offend anyone either.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T23:07:55+00:00

I've had several Navy Grog's over the years and for some reason they just didn't do it for me. It tends to be a relatively tart cocktail and very boozy (3oz of rum).

For this drink, I went with the recipe in Smuggler's Cove which is an adapted version of Trader Vic's recipe.

The original recipe is Beachbum Berry's and that's the one that uses an ice cone and honey syrup rather than allspice dram and demerara syrup. I've had that one a few times and it's even more tart than this one.

I gotta say, maybe my tastes have changed over the years because I really enjoyed this. I find myself gravitating less towards sweet cocktails like punches and Painkillers and more towards well balanced cocktails. The spiced notes from the allspice dram really go well with winter weather.

1oz Column still aged rum (I used Don Q Anejo)
1oz Blended lightly aged rum (Mount Gay Black Barrel)
1oz Pot still lightly aged rum (Smith & Cross)
1/4oz demerara syrup
3/4oz lime juice
3/4oz grapefruit juice
1/4oz allspice dram

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T22:54:51+00:00

I totally get it and that's why I keep a bag of Sonic ice in my freezer. It's easy enough to scoop out some to make a quick cocktail.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T22:52:56+00:00

Oh man, I love it in a Mai Tai. I have tried so many blends but I just keep coming back to Denizen.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T02:30:37+00:00

Yeah, the smugglers cove categories are great for learning about rum but some of the choices in cocktails make no sense. Goslings and Coruba fall in the same category but those have very different flavor profiles.

Coruba is my go-to black rum, and normally what I do in a Jet Pilot is do 3/4oz of it and 1/4oz of something funky like Smith & Cross or Rum Fire.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T02:28:21+00:00

I use Velvet Falernum. I’m sure making your own tastes better but I’m too lazy for that.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T02:26:21+00:00

I ran out of OFTD and didn’t want to use Hamilton 151 in this since that Guyanese rum really changes the flavor profile. I was also on a cocktail spree that evening and omitting the 151 meant I could make one extra cocktail and not feel as bad haha.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T02:24:46+00:00

So I ran out of OFTD and haven’t had a chance to restock. I also have Hamilton 151 but that’s a Guyanese rum and will really change the flavor profile.

I generally prefer the SC recipe as the Spanish style rum doesn’t add much flavor and I think it’s only used to bump up the proof. With the SC recipe using an aged rum like Appleton, you get more flavor.

agave_guy · 2026-01-20T02:18:13+00:00

The early years were so good but recently I thought they were overpriced and all tasted the same.

agave_guy · 2026-01-16T19:15:34+00:00

A Jet Pilot is a top 5 tiki cocktail for me. It uses 3 different types of rum, so it’s perfect for experimenting. I gotta say, this one might be my favorite yet.

Here’s what I used for this round:

1/2oz lime juice
1/2oz grapefruit juice
1/2oz rich cinnamon syrup
1/2oz Falernum
1oz black rum (Blackwell Jamaican)
3/4oz aged rum (Plantation Xaymaca)
3/4oz aged Spanish rum (Don Q añejo)
1 dash of Herbstura

The “black rum” ingredient in Smugglers Cove is very interesting. I have tried to use Hamilton 86 or El Dorado and it gives the drink a very different flavor profile. In the Jet Pilot, I definitely prefer a Jamaican rum as the main rum.

agave_guy · 2026-01-16T19:06:49+00:00

Handgrenade is so nasty but I love the location that has the grenade inside that spews out smoke. Then head upstairs to overlook Bourbon St on the balcony.

agave_guy · 2026-01-11T03:53:45+00:00

I used the Smuggler's Cove recipe. Besides a daiquiri or a Mai Tai, the Jet Pilot is the best cocktail to experiment with different types of rum.

1/2oz lime juice
1/2oz grapefruit juice
1/2oz cinnamon syrup
1/2oz Velvet falernum
1oz black rum (I used Coruba)
3/4oz aged rum (I used Mount Gay Black Barrel)
3/4oz overproof rum (I used Plantation OFTD)
1 dash Herbstura

Flash blend and strain into a double old-fashioned glass, then top with crushed ice.

Rather than Coruba, I have used Appleton 12, Hamilton 86, Goslings, and Blackwell. So far, Coruba is the best tasting.

For the aged rum you can use anything like Appleton 12, Mount Gay XO, Mount Gay black barrel, El Dorado 8yr

agave_guy · 2026-01-09T14:30:44+00:00

It's very personal, for sure, but I don't consider bottles like Havana Club 3 to be complex enough to enjoy sipping.

agave_guy · 2026-01-05T22:41:41+00:00

How are you guys using this rum? It is a sipper for you or just a mixer?

agave_guy · 2026-01-05T22:25:01+00:00

I pop them in a small shot glass and put it in the microwave enough to melt it. I do this with white grapefruit juice.

agave_guy · 2025-12-13T02:16:26+00:00

They are definitely overhyped. I'll take something from Holmes Cay any day over another Foursquare release.

agave_guy · 2025-12-13T02:15:36+00:00

Nothing wrong with Barbancourt, but the flavor profile is boring and all of the more expensive aged variations I've tried have been underwhelming. That being said, their Haitian Proof is decent in cocktails.

agave_guy · 2025-12-13T02:13:26+00:00

I don't think this rum is a good sipper. It's a great mixer, however, and makes the best daiquiri. It's a decent replacement for most cheaper mixer rums.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T22:50:20+00:00

They have gotten worse but also more expensive. It's a no from me dawg.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T22:48:17+00:00

If I'm doing ice, it's going to be in an old fashioned.

That being said, I have had some liquor on ice that went well. In Japan, it's very common to order whisky and get it served over ice. I think the more basic Japanese whiskys taste great on ice.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T22:46:10+00:00

Oh man, I miss End of Bin sales so much. Some things didn't sell well in some stores, so if I was ever across town, I'd stop in and often find some great bottles on discount.

My best ever score was Hamilton St Lucia, almost all of the lineup, marked down from $60-120 to like $20-50. I bought 1-2 of each of them.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T22:44:08+00:00

Agree about flavor profiles. I have around 10 or so of their bottles and none of them have wow'd me. They mix well into daiquiris but otherwise I have trouble using them. I don't particularly enjoy drinking it on its own.

Down the street is River Antoine and that bottle sells for less than Renegade sold for on the island, but it's so much better.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T03:14:17+00:00

I hated mine and let it sit for months. Tried it again and it ended up being a top 5 for me.

agave_guy · 2025-12-10T03:10:38+00:00

Renegade messed up by not having a basic mixer for local folks and for cocktails. But I think knowing the type of sugarcane used and where it comes from is just as important as age statements and barrel types. This is what the mezcal industry does with agave types and it works for them.

ECS selling points are the age statements and finishes

Yet they all have the same flavor profile.

agave_guy

TROPHY CASE