Birth of Worlds – TCRL Fiji
Sometimes a spirit gets so much praise, that it is very hard to live up to that expectation. This, very much was the case with the Transcontinental Rum Line (TCRL) Fiji Rum. On top of that, I made it even harder for the rum, because I paired it with other favourites of mine in a very potent tropical drink. Originally, I designed this cocktail to be sipped from a volcano bowl, but since drinking from a communal drinking vessel might not be the best idea right now, I broke the recipe down for just one serving.
As always, let us take a look at the rum first: The TCRL Fiji Rum is a vintage bottling from 2014 and the younger version of the 2009 edition. The South Pacific Distillers ferment the molasses and distill the mash on pot-stills. Afterwards the rum ages for two years on the Fijian archipelago before spending another year in the barrel in France. In the end, La Masion du Whisky bottles the rum at 48 % ABV without any additives like sugar or caramel colouring and without chill-filtration.
Funky Fiji esters
I already knew that rum from Fiji can be ester forward. However, how ester heavy the TCRL Fiji is caught me by surprise. You get a lot of overripe fruit notes and yes the flavours are somehow similar to Jamaica rum. Yet, in my opinion the ester notes taste different. The same way Guyanese ester notes taste different, but the Fiji notes still are closer to Jamaica rum. I hope you understand what I am getting at. Besides that you can find backing spices, coconuts and fruits like banana and raspberries in the taste.
Heavy rum notes
As mentioned above, I paired the Fiji rum with two other great rums I already used this “Tropical Month”. The Navy Island Navy Strength and the Sixty Six Cask Strength both are overproof rums that just seemed perfect for a Zombie style cocktail. On top of that, I combined three different citrus juices namely bergamot, lime and grapefruit juice. To further add to the complexity, I chose the Giffard Piment d’Espelette liqueur as well as their ginger liqueur. For the Piment d’Espelette Liqueur Giffard uses whole Piment d’Espelette chilis from Southern France and adds some rhum agricole to the mix. Apart from that, I also threw in some Tiki Bitters from Seventh Sense. Those Swiss bitters were created in cooperation with Revolte Rum. Finish all this up with a touch of cinnamon and you have a full on tropical cocktail!
2,25 cl Transcontinental Rum Line Fiji Rum
1 5 cl Sixty Six Cask Strength Rum
0,75 cl Giffard Piment Espelette Liqueur
0,75 cl Giffard Ginger Liqueur
2 Dashes The Seventh Sense Tiki Bitters
2,25 cl Lime Juice
2,25 cl Bergamot Juice
2,25 cl Pink Grapefruit Juice
0,75 cl Cinnamon Syrup
0,75 cl Palm’s Syrup
Shake over crushed ice – strain into Tropical Mug filled with crushed ice – add spent lime half with orange oil – ignite;
Garnish: Burning spent lime half – mint sprig;
Song: Giant Rooks – The Birth of Worlds;
Of course, the “Birth of Worlds” is a potent cocktail and should be enjoyed carefully. Nevertheless, you also can find complex flavour combinations with notes of molasses, esters, a lot of different citrus flavours and spices. Especially the cinnamon makes its way to the front of your palate. The Piment d’Espelette Liqueur is noticeable, but only as a certain spicy component and does not overwhelm the drink. In conclusion, the drink reminds me of the original Zombie recipe, but at the same time the cocktail was a much more enjoyable drinking experience.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The rum was provided by Kirsch Whisky and the liqueurs by Giffard.
