Rum Runner

Years ago, the Adorable Husband spent some time in Key West, FL, most of it lounging about on the beach and drinking a lovely frozen concoction called a Rum Runner. We used to have the faded square of plastic the he cut from the glass he ordered it in, with the recipe on it; it disappeared somewhere in one of our moves.

Why did this come up all of a sudden? I got a catalog from Frontgate (a lovely, albeit very high-end house-stuff catalog) that included this lovely item: Granita Frozen Drink Maker. Basically, a home Slushy machine! At $2500 bucks, it's a ridiculous appliance, but it reminded me of how lovely those frozen slushy Rum Runners were. We often joked about renting a slushy machine to have them at a block party.

So I sent out to find the recipe and met with a bit of frustration -- about fourteen sites claim to be the "Original Tiki John's Rum Runner" recipe -- from the Holiday Isle Beach Resort & Marina, Islamorada, Florida, submitted, the story goes, by a bartender called Tiki John. The recipes were all a bit different, but the two primary options are these:

1/2 Oz. Rum Light
1/2 Oz. Rum Dark
1/2 Oz. Banana Liqueur
1/2 Oz. Blackberry Liqueur
1/2 Oz. Grenadine
1/2 Oz. Lime Juice (Rose's)
1/2 Oz. Rum 151-Proof

Or:

3/8 oz. Bacardi Black Rum
3/8 oz. Bacardi 151 Proof Rum
3/4 oz. Creme de Banane (Preferably Hiram Walker's)
3/4 oz. Blackberry Brandy (Preferably Hiram Walker's)
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
Dash of Grenadine (Preferably Giroux's)

In both cases, blend with ice in a blender and serve in a 12oz glass. That Granita Maker is looking pretty alluring.