Honorable mention at our blind rum Old-Fashioned tasting went to Ryan Lotz of Shore Leave in Boston, whose recipe one panelist called “zippy” with a “bracing quality,” a key attribute to the Old-Fashioned format. It was considered by the judges to represent the ideal rum Old-Fashioned for rye drinkers. As bar owner Paul McGee observed, “this is how you convert whiskey drinkers.”
Ryan Lotz’s Rum-Old Fashioned
Ryan Lotz | Boston, MA

Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces unces Jamaican rum, preferably Appleton Estate Signature Blend
- 1/2 ounce agricole rhum, preferably Rhum J.M VSOP
- Scant ¼ ounce Demerara syrup (1:1, Demerara sugar: water)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 dash Fee Brothers orange bitters
- 1 dash Regans’ orange bitters
Garnish: lemon and orange twists
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a rocks glass with one large ice cube and stir briefly.
- Garnish with an orange and a lemon twist.