coconut water

Tuesday Reviews-Day | Cruzan Passion Fruit Rum

Sips

cruzan-passion-fruit-rum

**This is a sponsored post. I was provided a sample of Cruzan Passion Fruit Rum for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own and no further compensation has been received. Now that we’ve got that out of the way…**

Why is the rum always gone?! Because it tastes so good!

Previously I had the opportunity to review Cruzan’s Key Lime rum, but the other flavor they released this summer just hit my doorstep: Cruzan Passion Fruit Rum. If you’re looking to extend those summer feelings and flavors, Passion Fruit Rum might be just what you need.

The aroma of passion fruit is quite strong in this rum and the flavor is spot-on, though admittedly not quite as smooth as their Strawberry rum. The fruit has never been one of my top favorites mostly thanks to the texture, but in juice form it’s hard to make a good tropical punch without it! To that end I put together a quick tipple to highlight it’s tropics-inducing properties.

Passionate Kisses

1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit Rum
1 oz Coconut Water

Combine over ice and shake until frosty. Strain into a prepared cocktail glass and sip into the sunset.

Cruzan’s Passion Fruit Rum is plenty sweet on it’s own and can stand up to quite a bit of fruit and acid without the need for additional sweeteners. The coconut water is my favorite low-key mixer of the moment, just make sure the one you’re buying doesn’t have any added sugars and you’ll be good to go.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Girl Scout Cookie Week | Coconut Dream

Sips

jwalker_coconutdreamcocktail

Oh, yes, it’s that time again. If you haven’t been accosted coming out of your local supermarket I’m sure someone on your friend’s list has posted, shared, or otherwise reminded you that, indeed, it is Cookie Time once again.

According to my sources, the official Girl Scout Cookie Week is March 10-16, 2013.

What started out as a single-troop bake sale (I’m sorry, service project) of sugar cookies, in 1917, has continued unabated (except during WWII when they had to sell calendars, instead, due to the scarcity of ingredients) into the high point of the cookie-loving population.

Of course, not everyone always loves the mighty Girl Scout cookie. I seem to recall a dust-up in recent years over their use of palm oil (it’s lack of sustainability and the fact that it destroys orangutan habitats), and then there’s the whole question of whether it’s good for a service group to sell cookies to a nation that is largely overweight. According to their website, though, they’ve embraced a more sustainable practice around palm oil.

Still, the Girl Scout Cookie has many more fans than detractors, and everyone has their favorites. While Thin Mints are undoubtedly the best value for the sheer number of cookies you get, my favorite was always the Samoas (aka Caramel deLites), even if you did only get 16 cookies in a box. And don’t get me started on how quickly a quart of Edy’s Samoas ice cream would be gone.

That was in the good ‘ol days, though. Before I had to give up things like wheat and certain sugars and, yeah, all that stuff. Sure, I could still eat them if I was willing to risk the consequences, but I also admit that they stopped being as good as I remembered several years ago and haven’t bought any for at least 2 years.

But what I can do is try to recreate that delicious flavor in cocktail form, and that might actually be even better in the long run!

Coconut Dream

1 1/2 oz Coconut Water
1 oz Coconut Rum
1 oz Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 oz Tuaca
1/4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake or stir until well-mixed and chilled, whichever way you choose. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass (you can drizzle it with chocolate syrup if you want the extra oomph) and sip content in the idea that you can have this year round–no need to stockpile those green boxes.

Usually I’d shake a cocktail like this, one with a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients, but I have a staggering head cold right now and the idea of shaking anything is just not high on my list. Stirring worked out fine, so I suppose we could consider the shaken version Samoa-style, and stirred the Caramel deLite-style. Either way it’ll be delicious. While plenty of similar recipes use coconut milk, I opted for coconut water as it gives flavor without too much bulk. And I bet this would be fabulous blended with a couple scoops of ice cream.

Whether you enjoy your cookies baked or in cocktail form…

Cheers!