We had two new components and someone posted a recipe that happened to use them both!

Tasting Notes

Ryan: We made a batch of banana bread muffins yesterday and decided to turn the banana peels into an oleo saccharum–it’s not like we’d use them for anything else. The result is a pretty nice banana syrup, although I don’t know if it’s really particularly got any “oleo” / oil.

We also happened to pick up an actual rhum agricole yesterday (finally!). First I guess I’ll compare it to the uruapan charanda, which we’d been using as a substitute. The rhum agricole is a lot more “grassy”, with less funky notes. The smells are surprisingly similar, but the agricole is more like someone “distilled” hay or grass directly–lots of freshly cut grass notes, very vegetal. The charanda has a lot more funkiness, and some notes that are usually good but sometimes feel a bit “off”, though that’s mostly when we’ve used it alongside Rum Fire.

So, we had these two new components, and today, we saw this banana daiquiri recipe. It seemed like the obvious thing to make.

The result has a pretty subtle banana flavor; it primarly serves to provide a depth of fruitiness for the agricole. The drink is pretty good, though I am surprised at how much the banana syrup is pushed to the background. If I were to make it again, I might add just a touch of giffard to brighten that flavor up? I’m not sure… it is pretty good as-is!

Rory: Rhum agricole has a hell of a smell, similar to the charanda. The flavor itself works well here, though.

I’m surprised at how mild the banana syrup is; it might be getting clobbered by the rhum?

The balance is really nice, though I don’t know what sort of sugar:water ratio banana maceration/oleo saccharum (banaoleo saccharum? banaoleum?) works out to. It’s definitely bright and citrusy, but not overly sour nor overly sweet.

The grassy rhum is neat! We tried it against the charanda last night; they smell nearly identical, but taste very different, though it’s clear they’re related.

Recipe

• 1 1⁄2 oz Neisson Blanc Rhum Agricole
• 3⁄4 oz lime juice 
• 3⁄4 oz banana oleo saccharum (see note)

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with dehydrated lime wheel

Banana oleo saccharum: Take the peels of several bananas (the quantity doesn’t matter) and chop into 1⁄2 inch pieces. Add to a jar with an equal amount of white sugar by weight, and let sit for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight, stirring occassionally. The moisture should be drawn from the banana peels into the sugar, resulting in a syrup. Strain the liquid into a bottle. Should keep for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Source: Subtle Tiki