Are you ready to dive into the glamorous but all-so-slightly seedy world of rum? This class features rare and beautiful rums and a lesson on building the perfect rum cocktail.

At the Wine School, we are big proponents of sauced education. So for this class, our history lesson starts in the taverns of colonial Philadelphia, where rum turned boozehounds into patriots and drunken nights into cold hard cash for the Revolution. Next, we’ll join the pirate ships off the coast of Central America and sail toward Cuba to plunder their aged rums. Then, finally, we’ll come full circle, back to our shores, to the tiki bars of Depression-era America.

We love our history almost as much as we love our rums. In this class, you’ll be tasting the good stuff. In the words of a bestselling author (and former wine school instructor), these rums are “noble, fragrant, complex, wood-aged rum: the type of liquor served in snifters and consumed slowly, even reverently.”

Cast aside your cares and worries. We’ll crank up the tunes and show you how to make a  Mai Tai. Prepare to lose yourself in the fantastical world of rum, one of the most alluring—and often misunderstood—spirits in the world.

June 2018

Building a Drink: Rum & Tonic
aged rum, tonic water, lime juice

Creating a Cocktail: Piña Colada
white rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice
Add either absinthe or cherry heering.

Mixing a Drink: The Classic Daiquiri
1-ounce white rum, ½ ounce lime juice, ¼ ounce ginger simple syrup

Heaven or Hell?
Add either Elderflower or Green Chartreuse and bitters.

Rare Rums
Diplomatico Blanco Reserve, Venezuela

Hamilton 2004 Vintage Pot Still, Cask Strength, St. Lucia

Travelers “Don Omario” 15 Year, Belize

August 2017

The Cocktails

• Diplomatico Blanco Reserva, Venezuela
• Rhum Barbancourt 8 Years, Haiti
• Combier Liqueur D’Orange, France
• Orgeat
• Falernum

1. The Original Mai Tai (Oakland)

2. The Classic Rum Swizzle (Saint Kitts)

The Rare Rums

1. Hamilton 2004 Pot Still, St Lucia

2. Zafra “Master Reserve” 21 Year, Panama

3. Saint Teresa “1796” Solera, Venezuela