BAR HAVOC: BACK IN BLACK

Captain Morgan and I have always had a love/hate relationship. When I was younger I loved it. “Captain and diet” was all the rage in my sorority house,

drinks being mixed in red solo cups behind closed doors

once the older sisters had gone to the liquor store for us. And then there was the frat house by the beach in Narragansett with the three-story beer bong. The plastic tube went out the third floor window and down the side of the house to the backyard patio: it was glorious.

“Fill it up,” someone had yelled, and I stepped up to bat. I kneeled and waited, anticipating the cold rush of Natty Ice. Instead, something warm and spicy; I swallowed three huge gulps before realizing someone was funneling Captain Morgan down the tube. I choked and rum sprayed everywhere and I spent the rest of the party trying not to vomit.

I never willingly touched Captain Morgan again.

However, for the sake of a few friends every now and then a girl must step outside her comfort zone. This was the case this past Tasteless Tuesday when the new Captain Morgan Black rum was the featured drink of the evening in honor of a drink competition called “The Battle of the Black”. The contest asks bartenders from major cities all over the US to create “their darkest, boldest concoctions yet.” My friend Diky, a bartender at North Star on (Friend Street, Boston) is entering his own creation for the contest,

“Pirate’s Booty”: a tangy beverage that appeals to traditional cocktail lovers and fruity rum drinkers alike.

I have to admit, when it’s served correctly and not dumped warm down a three-story rubber tube, the stuff is pretty solid.

Like every week, even in the name of rum-research, the night took a turn for the weird. The city was a perfect 63 degrees as we moved our rum-filled bodies from spot to spot, eventually deciding to finish off the night with some more Captain Black and karaoke at Bell in Hand. My friend Paul clearly had a little Captain in him as he stepped up to sing the Humpty Dance, and the night ended in tears of laughter.

Well played, Captain. Well played.