6 Methods to Strive a True Florida Rum Runner, From Islamorada to Key West

Florida’s colourful cocktail historical past begins with a shoreline made for smuggling, a technology of seafaring outlaws, and the heady promise of Caribbean rum simply past the attain of U.S. legislation. Throughout Prohibition, boats would anchor simply exterior the federal government’s jurisdiction — what turned referred to as Rum Row — and runners would ferry barrels of illicit spirits to ready clients onshore.

One of the notorious, “Captain” Invoice McCoy made his runs between Bimini and South Florida and have become identified for promoting uncut, unadulterated liquor, incomes him the legacy behind the phrase “the actual McCoy.”

This shadowy underworld of Prohibition pirates turned the primary puzzle piece I traced whereas researching and writing my e-book, Florida Cocktails. What I found wasn’t only a story of smuggling however one in every of identification. Rum wasn’t simply contraband; it was tradition. And ultimately, it turned the muse of one of many Sunshine State’s most enduring, misunderstood drinks: the Rum Runner.

From illicit to iconic

Quick ahead to 1969. Vacation Isle Tiki Bar in Islamorada was an unapologetically kitschy escape: bamboo furnishings, seaside views, Polynesian masks, and a bartender named John Ebert attempting to dump some leftover banana and blackberry liqueurs. What he created turned the Rum Runner — a candy, fruity concoction that captured the island’s lawless vitality and laid-back vibe in a plastic cup.

“It affords a sensory journey,” says Hicham El Ibrik, supervisor of the just lately revamped Three Waters Resort & Marina, which now occupies the unique tiki bar website. “With its balanced mixture of rum, banana and blackberry liqueurs, and tropical juices, it’s visually beautiful and extremely refreshing.”

Right now, that drink is having a quiet renaissance — not in resort blenders or on poolside menus, however within the fingers of bartenders who’re rethinking its construction, sourcing, and story.

The craft awakening

In St. Augustine, Boat Drinks Bar co-owner Rob Crabtree remembers attempting unsuccessfully for years to discover a model of the Rum Runner he didn’t hate.

“I feel the unique was essentially flawed,” he says. “It was thrown collectively to make use of up leftovers. However there’s one thing charming about that, too — it’s very Florida.”

Crabtree went by means of greater than 20 recipe iterations earlier than touchdown on the model that lastly made the bar’s menu: a rigorously layered cocktail constructed (not shaken), with a base of unaged and darkish rums, French blackberry liqueur, banana liqueur, and a magic juice ratio of two elements pineapple to 1 half orange.

“It’s such a easy drink,” he says. “However blackberry liqueur is finicky. It could possibly flip muddy quick. Shaking it kills the brightness. So we construct it gently to let the fruit shine.”

His companion, Whitney Hobbs, provides: “It’s all about high quality. For those who use good variations of the banana and blackberry liqueurs, the drink sings.”

A tropical traditional meets new faculty craft

In Daytona Seaside, the group at Mama Foo Foo is doing issues no one anticipated in a city higher identified for bike week than elevated imbibing.

“We’re most likely one of many solely locations round right here doing craft cocktails,” says bar supervisor Pants Kitchens. “However the Rum Runner hits a candy spot — it’s acquainted, approachable, and offers us an opportunity to indicate off what nice substances can do.”

Their model features a mix of rums: Plantation 3 Star, Cruzan Black Strap for depth, and a float of funky Smith & Cross. They use cold-pressed pineapple juice, recent Florida orange juice, and serve it in a snifter with an enormous bouquet of mint, Luxardo cherry, and orange peel. “It’s like a tropical flower association,” Kitchens says, “however steadiness is essential. You may’t faux your approach by means of this drink.”

From dive bars to vacation spot rums

Not each Rum Runner is clarified, stirred, or garnished with hand-plucked mint. At Jetty Lounge in Fort Pierce, the frozen model has been a success since 1976. Served sturdy, chilly, and infrequently by means of a drive-thru window, it’s much less about nuance and extra about nostalgia.

Additional south, in Miami Seaside, Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery shares greater than 150 rums and treats the Rum Runner with reverence. “The perfect rum cocktails, basically, are at Swizzle,” says Alexa Delgado, a neighborhood cocktail aficionado, Miami native, and restaurant supervisor at Primo in Orlando.

And in Key West, the Speakeasy Inn and Rum Bar maintain the spirit alive — actually. Housed in one of many few Key West houses with a basement (ultimate for stashing bootleg rum), the constructing as soon as belonged to Raul Vasquez, who ran a speakeasy and smuggling operation out of the again throughout Prohibition. Right now, it honors that legacy with greater than 300 rums, legendary Painkillers, and a Rum Runner served with a wink and a narrative.

Florida, in a glass

The Rum Runner is not only a cocktail. It’s a love letter to the tropics. A nod to the rogues who sailed too near the legislation. And possibly most of all, a reminder that nice drinks don’t need to be excellent to return with an awesome story.

“It’s a real Florida creation,” says Crabtree. “And that’s what makes it enjoyable.”

Within the fingers of right this moment’s bartenders, the Rum Runner lives on — not by erasing its humble, haphazard origins, however by leaning into them. In any case, Florida’s all the time had a factor for pirates.