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Hamilton Beachbum Berry’s Navy Grog Blend
When you ask fans what their favorite tropical drinks are it is not a surprise to learn that a Navy Grog cocktail is on their list. While the historic grog drink served by the British Navy may have been the inspiration, it was Donn the Beachcomber who served it in his unique recipe that was served at his bar, inspiring many other Tiki and Tropical themed bars to follow in his footsteps. One thing that is problematic about his cocktail recipe is that it called for three ounces of rum, one ounce each of Demerara, Cuban and Jamaican. While this is great in theory and certainly tasty, for a bartender that is three pours, which slows things down behind the bar. Also, some of the rums that he used, no longer exist today. After the success of their Zombie rum blend, Jeff Berry presented this challenge to Ed Hamilton. “How do we make a more efficient Navy Grog blend? One rum that captures the desired profile of the three rum blend.” After much trial and error, they found the combination of rums that met their parameters and it is comprised of rums sourced from Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic. Coming in at 57% ABV Hamilton Beachbum Berry’s Navy Grog Blend rum has the historical “punch” one looks for in a grog cocktail, and I was excited to lay hands on it for this review.
Hamilton Beachbum Berry’s Navy Grog Blend
Appearance
The bottle is a standard one liter wine bottle design with loads of details on the front and back label, including how to use this blend in a new Navy Grog recipe.The liquid in the bottle is an interesting golden hued amber that has a slight peach nuance to the liquid that lightens slightly in the glass. Swirling the liquid created a thin band that quickly expanded and thickened, releasing a wave of slow moving legs. Then, as the second wave began to form, the band evaporated, leaving behind a ring of pebbles around the glass.
Nose
The aroma of the rum punches with a rush of alcohol that easily overwhelms the other notes. After sitting with the rum for a few minutes, I discovered brown sugar, cooked fruit, a hint of anise, graphite, and a funky organic note that weaves in and out of the profile, highlighting notes in the profile before fading back into the blend.
Palate
Sipping the rum reveals a fiery full-bodied, robust mouth feel with heavy caramel notes that condition the tongue for the other flavors in the profile. As I continued to evaluate the rum, I found the brown sugar and anise notes from the aroma, along with rock fruit, molasses, mango and orange zest, with a funky vegetal-mineral base that augmented the other flavors. As the rum begins to fade, the charred oak notes drift in and balance the sweeter fruit notes, weaving together to form a long finish.
Review
As a rum reviewer, it is always interesting to evaluate a higher proof rum. In most cases, an 80 proof product is created out of necessity, but with the higher proof rums you can get something that will either blow your senses or, like this rum, give you something interesting to interpret. Overall, like the Zombie blend before it, the flavor profile was a positive challenge to evaluate, and when used in a Navy Grog cocktail, it nails the desired flavor profile like a gold medal winning athlete. While I do not recommend it as a sipping spirit, every flavor note taps into and augments the other ingredients in the cocktail recipe. While it is great in the Navy Grog cocktail, it is not as versatile as the Zombie blend and will be interesting to see what cocktail creators develop in their bars with it. In closing, I am not surprised that I enjoyed this rum blend as Ed Hamilton and Jeff Berry have a proven history and hopeful they will collaborate on future projects.
