Hey man, I’m not dissing the original, but there’s no goddam corn in it. Over at Rustic, we’ve got the corn, oh, we’ve got the corn. It’s still in development, but in the future this one will probably incorporate (in-corn-porate?) a fresh version of the real mcCoy in some way. At any rate, it’s the start of some beautiful music if it all goes according to plan.

I dug through the web a bit and came up with a few facts about this puppy.

1. The Corn ‘n’ Oil originated in Barbados which makes sense because that’s where John D. Taylor’s Falernum hails from.
2. The earliest record of a printed recipe came in 1911 and was published in West Indian and Other Recipes by Mrs. H. Graham Yearwood.
3. Yes, there’s a bunch of clarified versions out there.

The original cocktail goes like this:

2 oz. Blackstrap Rum

.5 oz. Falernum

.5 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Three dashes Ango

Meh. It’s a bit…Underwhelming. There’s a reason you don’t see this on many cocktail menus. Yeah, it’s a classic daisy, so what? You’ve got to really love blackstrap for this to charm your neck. Never had blackstrap rum? Think of something that smells like maple syrup but tastes like burnt toast. Yeah, it’s one of those flavors you have to grow into like beer or raw beef liver. Blackstrap on its own is really just for those who want to show off, I’ve yet to see someone sit down and ask for blackstrap neat and if they did I’d look to see if they’re still wearing a wrist band from St. John’s up the street. The color comes from mega watts of additives, not a barrel. Plenty of people have been fooled into thinking the Corn ‘n’ Oil is some hot shit bevvie. It’s palatable and odd enough to strike an ooh ah moment into an unsuspecting regular who’s already half in the bag but not something I’d personally want to drink on a Sunday afternoon.

The big blackstrap cocktails, namely the Dark ‘n’ Stormy and the Junglebird, where the rum is front and center are toned down significantly by other, sharper ingredients. Ginger in the Dark ‘n’ Stormy and Campari in the Junglebird. Blackstrap is typically not something that is going to be the star of the show, but instead a fantastic compliment to whatever it’s added to. Think Samuel L. Jackson or Joe Pesci, not Meryl Streep or Jack Nicholson.

Here’s the newer version:

1.5 oz. Mellow Corn Whiskey

1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz. Corngeat

.5 oz. Bananum

Shake and strain over a BFR then float a good half ounce of blackstrap over the top to simulate an oil spill. Better. Not by a great leap, but with added umami and more sensible specs comes better, long lasting flavor. If you haven’t made your own bananum yet I’m not sure why but do what you want in life.

Stay tuned. When fresh corn becomes available in the market this will get real wacky.