You hear crude oil referred to as Black Gold from time to time. I’d like to propose that the Corn N’ Oil could easily be renamed the same. Made with Cruzan Black Strap this cocktail is deep and intriguing. The rum gives is a very complex molasses base flavor and the falernum punches it up to the next level. It may take you a few sips before you decide if you really like it or not though. My first sip I was stunned by the intense flavor of the rum and nearly concluded it wasn’t a drink for me. Subsequent sips however pulled me in. On the other hand my mom tried one sip and immediately passed on any future sampling. The Corn N’ Oil is certainly not a beginner cocktail.
The reason behind this is two-fold. First is the rum. Sure, you could make this drink with another dark rum, but you shouldn’t. I whipped one up with Gosling’s and it was great, fantastic in fact, but it was lacking. I missed the depth and punch of the Cruzan. I have no doubt that there are some other truly dark, as in Batman, rums out there that would also work great. If you know of some others by all means please let me know.
Second is your falernum. This syrup, although easy to make, is some seriously powerful mojo in the glass. It’s easy to add too much and have it overwhelm the rum. For my personal tastes the homemade batch I made was great. Sure, I have some tweaks I’m going to make next time. Namely, a little lighter on the sugar and some additional spices. Perhaps some cinnamon, cardamom and anise, but just a touch. However, given those tweaks if you were going to make your own batch you definitely can’t go wrong with the recipe as it stands for your starting point.
A final note on falernum. As I mentioned in the DIY Falernum post, some recipes call for fresh lime juice. Since I left that out of mine I needed to compensate with a bit extra in the cocktail itself. Definitely not a problem, but certainly something you want to be aware of as you mix up this drink.
So, when it’s all said and done here is my modified recipe. I upped the rum content to offset the slightly oversweet (in my opinion) falernum and added some additional lime juice to balance it all out. Enjoy my friends.
Corn N' Oil (Cocktail Hacker)
2 1/2 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum 1/2 oz Falernum 1/2 Lime, Quartered
1) Build in an ice filled highball glass 2) Squeeze in lime wedges and stir