Kahakai Original Tiki Spiced Rum

Kahakai Original Tiki Spiced Rum

Kahakai Original Tiki Spiced rum is the first of a line of four rums to hit stores in the United States. Everything about their marketing campaign revels in the fun of the Tiki culture while introducing new twists on classic spiced and flavored rums. At 70 proof and retailing from $13.99 - $14.99, Kahakai Original Spiced rum is the first to hula dance into the marketplace.

Appearance/Presentation

The 750 ml bottle has a flask design that is easy to hold and handle. The plastic cap is secured by a tough PVC wrap that is quite challenging to remove; perhaps a pull strip should be added for easy removal. The liquid in the bottle reminds me of the citronella I fill my Tiki Torches with, only much more aromatic.

The neck of the bottle is wrapped in a red and dark gray floral pattern unobtrusively guiding the eye to the front label. The label features the happy Tiki Lono with red glowing eyes, right hand raised in a Shaka greeting welcoming the viewer to try his rum as it stands at the edge of a tropical forest. The back label provides the exotic story of the rum as well as bottling information.

Nose

The aroma starts with a light honey note that barely kisses the nose before the cinnamon sweeps in followed by a hint of clove and vanilla. This transitions into a root beer-sarsaparilla note. The vanilla note reemerges as the sarsaparilla starts to fade.

Palate

The first sip reveals that this is a much spicier rum than the aroma promises. There is a strong cinnamon note reminiscent of the Fireball candy with a nice bite of heat. As this subsides,

sarsaparilla takes over and dominates the experience. The sarsaparilla fades revealing a subtle tangy orange, with a glycerol mouth feel, that is quickly overwhelmed by a pop of pepper and clove note that lingers in to a slightly medicinal finish.

Review

Kahakai is a fun experience in the Spiced rum category. The combination of flavors and especially the sarsaparilla note make it an interesting challenge for making cocktails. The heavy spiciness subdues any of the flavor from the base rum. While you feel the effects of the

alcohol, the core spirit is a bit too neutral in this case.

Mixing it with Coca-Cola transforms the soda into a root beer concoction. It is a tad combative with citrus so you have to balance your ingredients to compensate. However, with the right proportions you can come up with some tasty new cocktails. The more we played around

with it the more we enjoyed what it brought to the different experimentations. The sarsaparilla note became a fun element to work with instead of a detriment as we became comfortable with the spirit. One original cocktail we came up with:

The Raft

Ingredients:

2 oz Kahaki Tiki Spiced Rum

2 oz Banana Liqueur

1 oz Coco Lopez

1/2 oz Trader Vic’s Macadamia Nut Liqueur

Directions:

Pour ingredients in shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain in Old Fashioned glass that is half filled with ice.

Review by Mr. Paul Senft:

Mr. Senft currently serves as owner of www.rumjourney.com.  He has a passion for rum and traveling.  He has dedicated himself to describing to his readers about his travels through the Caribbean Islands and writing rum reviews.  When he is not reviewing a rum, he is hard at work at trying different cocktail recipes.