Chairman's Reserve Legacy Rum

Chairman’s Reserve Legacy rum is a bottle dedicated to Laurie Barnard, the “Chairman” of St. Lucia Distillers who inspired and created the iconic brand. In addition to traditional molasses-based rums, “Legacy” features the addition of sugarcane juice distillate, a trademark of Laurie. 

He believed that the best rum was not achieved from one barrel, but by blending different components together of different ages, finishes, styles, and base materials. His vision both defined and reinvented the Saint Lucian rum, unlike anything the rum category had seen before or has seen since.

For this particular bottle, five and six-year-old rum is tropically aged separately by batch and still type in ex-bourbon barrels before being expertly blended. It results in a gorgeous mahogany hue in the glass, and pineapple, banana, and vanilla on the nose. On the palate, it has intense grilled tropical fruit and spice notes that persist throughout a wonderful finish.

Inspired by its unique history, versatility, and variety of delicious notes, here are two recipes I created using the Chairman’s Reserve Legacy Rum in two unique ways.

First, as an homage to St. Lucia and the tropical notes of this spirit, I opted for the go-to for the summer: tiki and tropical, but with a twist.  The unusual usage of pandan flavor combines really well with the vanilla and coconut essence of the Chairman’s rum. Pandan is mostly found in Southeast Asia; I first fell in love with it when I visited Penang in Malaysia. This recipe is certainly a happy marriage between east and west.

Rumaway to Penang

2 oz Chairman’s Reserve Legacy rum 

0.75 oz pandan syrup

0.25 oz Giffard Banane du Brésil

1 oz lemon/lime juice

float of port wine

Directions:

Add rum, pandan, banana de Brésil, and lemon juice in a shaker, whip shake, pour into a snifter with crushed ice. Then top with more crushed ice. Float some port wine on top. Garnish with mint and an orchid flower. 

Not only is this recipe gorgeous and fun but it is also absolutely delicious on a hot summer’s day.

For the second recipe, I chose to spice up a classic : a Rum Old Fashioned with some coffee liqueur and orange bitters. When joined with the rum’s pineapple, banana, and vanilla notes, this recipe is a real tasty treat for you (and your dog’s nose.)

​​Rum Old Fashioned

2 oz Chairman’s Reserve Legacy Rum 

0.5 oz coffee liqueur

2 dashes angostura bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

Garnish: orange peel

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