That Perfect Rum

So, a dear friend asked me to post about That Perfect Rum. I cannot do so without remembering who influenced my opinion most on this subject. My grandfather, Theodore Louis Drell, Jr., or as more affectionately known in our family as G.P. (Grand Pa), introduced me to Cruzan Rum some time ago. I believe he learned to love it on many visits to St. Croix in his earlier years (though I am not entirely sure if he began his love of Cruzan there or simply rum in general...). While he preferred to drink his rum in a Rum Old Fashioned, I did so only one time... with him... the day of my grandmother's funeral. I forced it down for the sake of living in that moment with him but did not partake in the second round. However, it was the Bitters in the drink that turned me off, not the rum. Cruzan rum, of which he often (always?) had a couple of jugs stowed away in the cabinet, was his staple rum. It's now also mine. In the years before he died, my husband and I enjoyed many moments sipping Cruzan with him when we'd go stay the night with him in New Orleans and spend wonderful evenings chatting for hours about art, life, and love. While Cruzan is easy to recommend because it is one of the more reasonably priced liquors, it's also got a sentimental place in my heart. It is probably the only liquor that does. When something is tied to the heart, it becomes a little more perfect.

Here's a photo of G.P. long before I knew him:



Nowadays, I like Cruzan with Coke (but, whoa, not Diet Coke), and it's also lovely in a mojito. Maybe I'll post a recipe for That Perfect Mojito sometime....

And here's the Cruzan: