I was teaching a cocktail class in upstate NY last week and found myself without a source for Falernum. I had forgotten to bring it with me and there wasn’t a liquor store in sight that had it stocked. Fortunately, Falernum is very easy to make. So I whipped up a batch the night before and put it to work. In just 24 hours, you can have a delicious, complex liqueur that pairs amazingly well with rum.

Falernum is a liqueur made up of a laundry list of delicious ingredients, primarily almond, clove, lime, and ginger. I like to add a few additional things to the mix, including allspice, almond extract, and a little bit of cardamom. The liqueur is then sweetened with a rich simple syrup and typically mixed with rum.

The most common cocktail you will see with Falernum is the Corn and oil. It is an amazingly simple combination of aged rum, Falernum and lime. Fantastic. Check out these recipes.

• • Falernum

400ml light rum
10 whole cloves
Peels from 6 limes
1/8 cup chopped ginger
10 allspice berries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
5 cardamom pods
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract

First, make your simple syrup by combining equal parts water and sugar plus the almond extract. Allow it to reduce then put it aside to cool. Next, combine all the spices and rum in an airtight container to steep for at least 24 hours, shaking from time to time. When you’re ready, strain out all the solids and run the liquid through a coffee filter.

• Corn and Oil

2 oz Appleton VX Rum
3/4 oz Falernum
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake to combine. Strain over new ice and garnish with a lime slice. Go outside, sit down, and drink.

P.S. Your falernum will get some color and should look something like this the next day.

Related articles

• Velvet Falernum (thedrinkdoctor.com)
• In the mix: The Moondog Sour (theglobeandmail.com)

Filed under: Cocktail, Liqueur, Recipe Tagged: Cocktail, corn and oil, Falernum, Rum