It’s been a long time since I shared a rum here on Prettygreentea. I’m usually a fan of spiced rums, especially when it comes to cocktails. Both Phil and I enjoy a good Dark ‘N’ Stormy or Frozen Mango Spiced Daiquiri. Today we’re going to be taking about something a little more tropical, Koko Kanu, a coconut flavoured rum.
I’d seen this beautiful bottle popping up in my friend’s Twitter and Instagram timeline for a couple of months. The bottle really stood out to me with its tropical 1950s imagery. Richard is a big fan of rums and I trust his opinion. So, when the chance to give Koko Kanu came up I knew I was onto a winner.
Koko Kanu is made in Kingston. As I’m sure you’ll know, Jamaica is renowned for its rum. Koko Kanu is made at the Wray & Nephew Distillery which has been making rum for over 150 years. They use a white rum which is aged for a minimum of one year and naturally flavoured with coconut essence. After the aging process it is then charcoal filtered to achieve it’s crisp, crystal clear colour.
It has a sweet coconut fragrance when you open up the bottle. From the scent alone you can tell that this is going to be a sweet drink. I always try a new liqueur neat over ice and this one did not disappoint. I found that it had a distinctive and strong coconut flavour and was very smooth. It’s sweet (but not sickly) which makes it very easy to drink neat.
It’s a versatile rum which not only works well on it’s own but also with various simple mixers or in cocktails. If you’re looking for a quick and simple mixer then try Coca Cola, lemonade, cranberry, Ting (the best grapefruit drink) or simply pineapple juice. If you fancy getting creative then try making a mojito.
Today I decided to make a very basic Pina Colada. The coconut within the rum means you can cheat a little, super handy for when you don’t have any coconut in the cupboard.
I used a lovely thick pineapple and mango smoothie but you could also use a pure pineapple juice if you want to avoid any extra sugar in the drink. I poured in around 1 cup of the smoothie into my cocktail shaker. Use 2 cups if you’re going to be serving in a taller glass.
I then put in 2 double shots of Koko Kanu (100ml) – this was to make 2 drinks. Don’t forget that this is a strong rum with 37.5% vol.
Add lots of ice and then shake shake shake! Alternatively you could pop the smoothie, rum and ice into a blender for a much thicker and icy texture.
Pour into your favourite glasses and relax in the sunshine. I always feel like I’m on holiday when I drink this, it has such a tropical vibe to it. This is a delightfully easy way to enjoy Koko Kanu.
Check back in next week for a Koko Kanu cocktail post.
You can find Koko Kanu in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.