Coming up in this video, I've got a quick review of Black Tears Spiced Rum. I'm gonna tell you what it smells like, what it tastes like, I've got some cracking highball serves, simple mixers that will work with this rum, and then right at the end of the video I've got a brilliant cocktail recipe for you. So if you wanna know all about Black Tears Spiced Rum, stay tuned.
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Hello rum fans, I'm Steve the Barman, and I'm hoping these videos will help you drink, serve, and enjoy better-quality spiced rums. And if you're loving watching my videos then make sure you drop a comment below.
Right then, Black Tears Spiced Rum launched in the UK at very early September 2019. And this is supposedly the first ever Cuban spiced rum to be available worldwide. I'm not sure whether that's a play on words, or whether that's actually true. I certainly can't think of any other Cuban spiced rums, but that's their tagline. The actual brand is owned by the Island Rum Company. I've just done a quick bit of research on them, and there's so many awards that they've won for their rums over the last few years. So they're obviously a pretty decent rum company, but importers into the UK are Skylark Spirits.
This is a 40% spiced rum, and it's actually quite expensive for the spiced rums that I've been doing. It retails at around about £32 to £35 a bottle. So quite expensive on the whole spiced rum scale. What makes this spiced rum special? Well, it is in fact spiced up with native Cuban spices and ingredients. We've got Cuban coffee, Cuban chocolate, and Cuban pepper. Then, added to that, is very little, to no sugar at all, so quite the opposite to a lot of spiced rums. And just to read you the back of the bottle, so Black Tears is crafted from Cuban rum. Created for those on the lookout for something different to discover. It is made using the finest Cuban rum and natural spices, including the Cuban pepper, coffee, and cocoa. The combination is a seductive, silky-smooth spiced batch, which works perfectly straight, over ice, or mixed to make a great long drinks, like a Dark 'n' Stormy or a Cuba libre. And online, as well, they're banging on about this being amazing as a rum and tonic, so we shall see a bit later.
Where does the name come from, the Black Tears name?
Well I'm just gonna read you out, 'cause I've taken this directly from the website as well. The story of Black Tears is rooted in Cuban music. Specifically, a song about love and loss called Lagrimas Negras, which is embossed on the side of the bottle. We should spin that around so the close-up can get that. Can you see that down there? So Lagrimas Negras directly translated obviously means black tears. According to local legend, a woman, a young woman, sobbed black tears of sorrow in a vat of rum, giving it otherworldly taste. Black Tears is the result of passionate craftsmanship, with an emotional blend of Cuban rum, seductive spices, love and loss.
What does Black Tears Spiced Rum Smell Like?
The aroma on this is flippin' lovely, I really like the smell of this. I get chocolate, I get coffee, there's subtle vanilla coming though. Little bits of, I think it's a kind of cinnamon, maybe a little bit of nutmeg on there. It smells absolutely delicious, I really love the smell of that.
What does Black Tears Spiced Rum Taste Like?
And on the taste, it really doesn't disappoint either. Chocolate comes through, the coffee is there. It's hard to, the vanilla actually is really, really subtle in the background, not overly up in your face at all. It's very much pronounced, that I'm, oh, the aftertaste, I'm getting a little bit of pepper on there, coming down now. That is lovely, as I say it is not sweet at all. It is polar opposite to a lot of the spiced rums that I've been tasting. Rum lovers, if they're gonna come at spiced rums, which they are doing. If they really sort of look at that, that is actually a proper, out and out, a lovely rum that has just been delicately spiced, and very little sugar been added. I really, really like that, I cannot wait to plate that. The chocolate is lingering, the coffee is just there. The aftertaste is absolutely mind blowing, I really, really like that.
What can you mix with Black Tears Spiced Rum?
Well, as you can see, I've had a little bit of a play with it. I really, really enjoyed that. Some big ones, I go straight off on the off, the recommended serve, one of them, call for the rum and tonic water. I don't get it, I really don't, I'm not a huge fan of that. It was Fever Tree Tonic Water that I tried. That just, you know, in the UK we've got this whole trends as well with coffee. Coffee shops are doing coffee and tonic. I don't get that either, to be honest, I really don't. It's kind of, well, ya know, I'm just gonna leave that one there. Tonic water for me, no. However, let's get into them Coca-Cola's. Yes, absolutely lovely, Coke Zero. And Woody, that was my favourite ones out of the three signature serves. Again, I'll say I never use the herbal one. I don't like the herbal one, but the Woody was my favourite out of those three. Absolutely exceptional. Probably my second favourite mixer out of all of them I tried, was this Sekforde Light & Spiced Rum mixer. Absolutely amazing. I've mentioned it a few times on this channel. Just to read you the ingredients again, lime, mint, rose and cacao. So that is just the delicate blends. Again, they recommend sort of mojitos, they call it a Black Mojito with that. You kinda get it because the chocolate, that just works exceptionally well. Really, really love that. Probably my second favourite as a highball. Coke, not my favourite, absolutely lovely. I've got one better than Coke for that. Gingers, so we've got that, that was the ginger beer that I tried, Franklin & Sons Ginger Beer. And where's the ginger ale, there it is, that's the ginger ale that I tried. Just the Schweppes 1783 Ginger Ale. Again, absolutely lovely, you're not gonna go wrong with it. It's not horrible at all. Wasn't my favourite because my favourite was actually that, Fever-Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale. The orange with the chocolate and the coffee, wow. That, for me, match made in heaven. Really, really love that. So they're actually my top two picks, but, do you know what, you're gonna love Coke. You really, you are. You are gonna love Coke, of course you are, it's got that palette that's just gonna work. But those two, for me, were my out-and-out favourites.
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Now, as I've also started to do in these videos, as well, is adding a cocktail, and the cocktail is actually gonna use another mixer that I thought worked very, very well, and that was Fentimans Tropical Soda. Again, there's something with pineapple and coffee, subtle coffee notes, that just go quite well together. But the cocktail I've got for you, I'm really crap at naming cocktails, so I've just called this a Banana Tears.
RECIPE;
How to make a Banana Tears Cocktail
In a Cocktail Shaker
50ml Black Tears Spiced Rum
15ml Velvet Falernum
15ml Banana Liqueur
15ml Fresh Lime Juice
1 dash of Angostura Bitters
SHAKE with Crushed Ice
75ml Fentimans Tropical Soda
Garnish with a Pineapple and a Pineapple Leaf