Molasses Flood and The Rum Old Fashioned

In 1919, on 15^th July, a giant steel tank holding 10million litres of molasses exploded and unleashed a 8m high tsunami of treacle that swept through the city of Boston at a speed of 35mph – which was pretty swift for a syrup-like substance.

Twenty-one people came to a very sticky end, 150 were seriously injured , train tracks were torn apart and hundreds of shops and houses were wrecked too.

All very sad, of course, but it was a long time ago so it’s probably time to move on with a molasses-fuelled twist on the Old Fashioned, using Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva – a deluxe Venezuelan rum –  instead of bourbon.

Ingredients

75ml Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum

2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

5ml sugar syrup

Orange zest to spritz

Ice cubes

Method:

Place 5ml sugar syrup and a few dahses of bitters in a rocks glass, add one ice cube and stir. Add about 20ml rum and another ice cube and continue stirring. Keep adding ice and rum alternately, while stirring, until all the rum has been added. Stir again, then squeeze the oil from a orange zest twist over the drink, drop in the zest and continue stirring.

The whole process should normally take a few minutes but make sure you don’t over-dilute.