Above: Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum (CJ Photo)

SAMMY HAGAR doesn’t fool around.

After conquering rock and roll music and tequila, The Red Rocker’s recent foray into white rum is on its way to a similarly legendary status.

Searching for a premium rum to embody the “spirit of Aloha” island vibe of his Beach Bar and Grill restaurants led to a partnership with Maui’s master distiller, Mark Nigbur, and the creation of one of the best small-batch white rums Rum Journal has ever tasted.

Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum starts with pristine Hawaiian sugar cane which has absorbed the complexities of local fruits and plants that have shared the soil.

The cane is then allowed to mature for at least two years before being gently pressed and distilled with a proprietary heating method to add to the rum’s character.

Often, we taste white rums that are harsh and without complexity — making it difficult even to use them in a Cuba Libre and unthinkable as sipping rums.

But there are some white rums (particularly those of the rhum agricole variety from Martinique) that manage to preserve the freshness, smoothness and complexity of sugar cane juice. Sammy’s is one of them.

And the result here is a dynamic rum eerily reminiscent of a fine rhum agricole, at once sweet and spicy.

The company says it plans to extend its successful silver product line this summer by introducing Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum Red Head — a red-coloured rum flavoured with Macadamia nuts that would be the perfect addition to a mai tai.

Hagar says his favourite way to enjoy the rum is in a highball glass with slightly bruised pineapple chunk and a one-inch square ice cube.

Rum Journal recommends Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum on the rocks, because it’s simply that good.

— CJ