Whenever I find myself leaving my office for lunch, I try to plan my route so that I am able to visit one of my local package stores on my way. My motto is “You never know what you might find.”
So, during yesterday’s lunch hour, I dropped by a store new to me. It was a typical mom-and-pop package store. They had one’s and two’s of the most popular rums (i.e. Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Cruzan). Finding nothing of interest is typical for these types of ‘pass through’ shopping trips so I quickly headed for the door. While scanning the register area, I noticed some pints behind the counter including Captain Morgan’s Tattoo rum.
Not being a big fan of Captain Morgan products, Tattoo is a line I’ve managed to avoid…until today. Honestly I thought Tattoo had been discontinued, so seeing a pint on the shelf caught my eye. It’s reasonable price was enough to make me buy a bottle. Not until later would I realize my mistake.
Once home, I visited the Captain Morgan website to verify if Tattoo is still being produced (it is). Next, I checked the CM site for recommended Tattoo cocktail recipes (there are none). With no recommended cocktails, I quickly reviewed the bottle/label for hints on how to consume Tattoo. Tattoo is licorice black in color and it’s label states: “Puerto Rican Rum with Spice & Other Natural Flavors”.
With not much to go on, I decided to go with a standby drink: Dark ‘n Stormy. My assumption being, Tattoo rum is black so it might be a usable ‘black’ rum. My assumption was wrong and I owe an apology to the people of Bermuda. I am sorry.
Mixing up this Dark ‘n Stormy:
4oz Gosling’s Ginger Beer
2oz of Captain Morgan Tattoo
I layered the Tattoo over the Ginger Beer in a lowball glass and snapped a quick photo. The effect was quite appealing. During the pouring and stirring phase I noticed Tattoo’s medicinal aroma. Tattoo is a spiced rum heavy on licorice and clove. It has a cough syrup flavor with a limited, traditional rum flavor.
The sharp, Gosling’s ginger beer is quite good but Tattoo’s medicinal flavor is extremely overpowering. The ginger never had a chance to blend.
Since I have 1/2 pint left of Tattoo I will search a bit more to hopefully find a cocktail where it can blend better and be a better mixing partner. I wish Captain Morgan would publish some recipes to help users enjoy this product. Tattoo is unique to say the least but if it cannot play better with other ingredients it won’t have a repeated place in TheRumTrader’s cabinet.
im actually a huge fan of tattoo and have found that dr. pepper cherry is the best thing to go along with, however if you cant find that regular dr. pepper is a good substitute
I actually have been drinking Tattoo with Diet Dr. Pepper (DDP) of late. I will have to try the Cherry. Thanks for the tip.
What other rums would I like if I like Tattoo?
Mas, Tattoo is a very unique, non-traditional flavor of rum. If you wanted to stick with that non-traditional flavor I would recommend something like Roaring Dan’s Rum (Michigan), Corsair Spiced Small Batch (Kentucky) or One Barrel out of Belize.
Some more unique rums that are more widely available include Pyrat XO, Kraken Black Spiced, Kilo Kai or Seven Tiki. Most, if not all, should be available online and perhaps even locally to you.
Lastly I would recommend Ye Ol Grog’s Dutch Harbor Breeze Grog or Good Morning Glory Grog (www.yeolgrogdistillery.com/) out of Alaska if you can get your hands on any of it. If you really want to try something different their Dutch Harbor Breeze Grog has a wild mixture of cinnamon, sassafras and other spices that is definitely a one of the kind flavor.
Scott French
scott@therumtrader.com
Late i know but i like it with Sprite 🙂 (eventually with MountainDew) on ice…
Living in ohio my wife and i enjoy Tatoo the best with Vernors. Not Ginger Ale but Vernors. Goes well with any cola also. Have not found too many recipes for mixed drinks for Tatoo.
Dole has a terrific line of refrigerated juice blends (Orange-peach-mango, etc) and when mixed with Tattoo, makes one of the best Mai Tais I have ever tasted!
Tattoo with A&W root beer