Rum Provides Tropical Escape for DSB Fan

Home bar setups are one of our favorite things – and seeing the creative ways that people display their aging barrels is another. Pearland, TX resident Ces Gerard reached out to us recently, with one of the coolest barrel setups that we have seen in a while. Not only that, but Ces shared with us how he makes a dangerously addictive-sounding rum concoction.

Flavor Options

Ces first encountered DSB at the Texas Renaissance Festival, where he purchased one of our 1L barrel mugs. After finding out that our storefront was just down the street from his home in Pearland, it was all too convenient. “I first started looking at barrels with the intention to age wine, but then I found the availability of flavoring recipes and how to age rum and vodka and this really caught my attention. Aging spirits has been a delicious and fun hobby. Hopefully some day I'll learn to distill my own rum.”

Until then, Ces has managed to pretty much corner the market on rum-based cocktails using our barrels. “I love to age rum with your various flavors,” Ces says, “but my favorite has to be clear rum with coconut flavor and sweetened with dark brown sugar. I let it age for a couple of months. It's delicious. I have a 1 liter that I use for amaretto flavored vanilla vodka. Three 2 liter barrels for rums sweetened with raw sugar to make banana rum, a light coconut rum, and spiced orange rum. And my 3 liter barrel is for my coconut and brown sugar rum. It is usually a hit with all my friends.”

His advice for first-time barrel agers? “Read all you can about aging spirits before you begin, and don’t forget to cure your barrels the first time you use them.” Thanks for the feedback, Ces! If you have a DSB story, recipe, or experience to share, contact us at [email protected].