Bio-Fuel Cocktails: The Corn N’ Oil

This one is a hard one to sell at the bar. Ears of corn and bottles of Quaker State generally don’t invoke impressions of delicious cocktails. What’s worse is that when promoting this Bajan cocktail I inevitably face the question, “Well, why is it called a Corn N’ Oil?” Without a valid response, the perceived association with some type of crazy biofuel and the consequential risk of escalating oil prices being controlled by a Houston bartender can be just too much for some. That’s too bad because this cocktail is awesome.

Frequently, the greatest cocktails are the most simple. This cocktail has three basic ingredients: rum, falernum, and Angostura bitters. The rum option of choice among enthusiasts who have written about this cocktail previously is Cruzan’s Black Strap, a very dark and deep rum. Cruzan’s darkest rum is made from Blackstrap molasses, which is produced from the third stage of boiling syrup yielding the darkest form of molasses. The rum has great flavor, but it isn’t the most versatile of options out there. It can be difficult to find cocktails to use this rum in, but rest assured, once you make yourself a Corn N’ Oil with the Black Strap, you’ll go through the bottle quick enough.

Unless you want to make your own, the Falernum options are basically confined to two brands: John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum and Fee Brother’s West Indian Style Falernum. Falernum is a liqueur traditionally flavored with clove and lime and, depending on your perspective, almond and/or ginger. This inconsistency may seem unusual when various brands and homemade recipes are compared side by side, but I love that the different types of falernum create distinct options for different cocktails. Of the commercial brands, the Fee Brother’s falernum has a very different, tangier character when compared to the Taylor brand. Generally, I tend to take the advice of Ted Haigh here and use the Taylor falernum with more traditional island cocktails and reserve the Fee for American tiki drinks.

Be aware however of the recipe for the Corn N’ Oil on the back of the John D. Taylor bottle. It suggests a 3 ½ parts falernum to one part rum ratio, which seems too sweet to be true. It is; trust me. You can stomach it if you really like falernum, but at this point, you’re having candy, not a cocktail. This is frequently the case with company recipes for spirit brands. Rarely do I find a cocktail supplied by a producer that uses the ingredient in a balanced manner. Quantity matters most, despite the fact that introducing people to well-constructed cocktails would likely increase sales in the long term. Here’s the ratio you should use in my opinion:

Corn N’ Oil

2 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
½ oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a larger lime wedge, to be used, not just sit on the rim.

I find falernum difficult to work with for some reason. I really like it when I try it independently and always think it has endless potential, but for some reason, my attempts to use falernum in original cocktails always fall short. Perhaps, my inadequacies with falernum can be attributed to how much I like this drink. If the Corn N’ Oil is the standard for falernum cocktails, it is unlikely that anything else will measure up. No corn; no oil – just a tasty cocktail.