Homemade Allspice Dram is an essential ingredient in the best Fall co*cktails, and now you can make this spiced liqueur yourself, right at home using rum and whole spices.
Have you heard of Allspice Dram? If you’re hitting the co*cktail scene this month chances are you’ll run into this allspice liqueur.
I had no idea it existed until I was talking with my daughter’s boyfriend about fall drinks for this series of posts. They’re now settled in Madison Wisconsin and he’s working at a very cool farm-to-table restaurant and craft bar. I figure if anyone has their finger on the pulse of current fall spirits, he does. The minute he mentioned Allspice Dram, and told me that it was an allspice infused rum liqueur, I knew I had to try it.
Allspice is a Jamaican spice— the dried fruit, or berries, of the Pimenta dioica tree.
It’s widely used in Caribbean cooking, and the name comes from the fact that the English, who first tasted it back in the 16th century, found the flavor to be a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I think to this day a lot of people avoid buying it because in the back of their mind they think it’s just a mix of common spices.
After looking in my local stores, I hit the mega liquor store BevMo. They didn’t have any either, and it’s out of stock on their website. Turns out this is somewhat of an elusive liqueur, sometimes available, sometimes not, so many bars make their own. If you like the flavor of spiced rum, you will love this.
This recipe is slightly adapted from Serious Eats. It’s simple to put together, and the hardest part is going to be waiting for it to ‘stew’. In the meantime I put together a fun list of fall co*cktails and drinks that use Allspice Dram, below. If you love the idea of making your own liqueur, try my Homemade Pumpkin Liqueur, my Homemade Irish Cream. or my Instant Pot Limoncello!
Homemade Allspice Dram
Homemade Allspice Dram is an essential ingredient in the best Fall co*cktails, and now you can make it yourself, right at home!
Prep Time:3 days days
Cook Time:10 minutes minutes
Total Time:3 days days 10 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup whole allspice berries
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup rum, you can use light or dark, I used dark
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
Instructions
Crush the allspice berries in a spice grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. You want them roughly cracked and crushed, don't grind them into a powder.
Put the allspice in a sealable glass jar, a mason jar is perfect.
Pour the rum in the jar, put the lid on, and give it a shake.
Let the rum sit for a day, then break up the the cinnamon stick and add it to the jar.
After 2 days, strain out the rum with a fine mesh strainer. Then put it through a coffee filter to filter out the smaller particles.
Meanwhile, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes. Let cool, then mix into the infused rum. Pour into your final bottle and let rest for 2 days before using.
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Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: allspice, co*cktail mixer, co*cktails, dram, rum
Nutrition
Serving: 1 · Calories: 1198 kcal · Carbohydrates: 168 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 3 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2 g · Sodium: 84 mg · Potassium: 524 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 142 g · Vitamin A: 170 IU · Vitamin C: 12 mg · Calcium: 363 mg · Iron: 4 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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notes:
- This is a potent liqueur, and a little goes a long way. You won’t be guzzling this down on its own. The allspice gives it a powerful spicy kick, and the holiday-like flavors linger on your tongue.
- Recycle bottles in your kitchen, (my ‘infusing jar’ is a Classico spaghetti sauce jar) or find lots of interesting bottles here.
Fall co*cktails made with Allspice Dram:
The Boozy Mulled Cider
Northern Spy
The Soothsayer
The Pumpkin Flip
Black Wednesday
Fall Ginger Smash
Winter Waltz
The Lion’s Tail
Jalisco Pear
The Tackler
Hot Buttered Rum
Lizzie’s Pippin
Solstice
Cheers!
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FAQs
Combine the rum and crushed allspice berries in a quart-sized glass jar, seal the lid tightly and give it a good shake. Steep for 10 days. Strain the allspice-infused rum through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan and add the sugar.
What is a substitute for allspice dram? ›
Allspice dram substitute
You can make a quick substitute for allspice dram with rum, Angostura bitters, and simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water). Combine 1 oz of white rum, 3/4 oz of simple syrup and 5 dashes of Angostura bitters. Use this in place of the allspice dram in your drink recipe.
Does allspice dram go bad? ›
Note that the dram is quite intense, so a little will go a long way in a co*cktail. Store in bitter bottle. Your allspice dram will keep for six months and look fabulous on your bar in a bitter bottle. The taste may change over time, but will not spoil.
What pairs well with allspice dram? ›
The classic pairing for allspice dram is rum—rum is the liqueur's base, after all. Here, we're presenting that pairing in a classic sour—citrus, sugar and egg white.
Is allspice dram the same as allspice liqueur? ›
The liqueur is made by soaking allspice berries in a rum base, which is then sweetened. Today, allspice dram is made in relatively the same manner.
What is the flavor of St Elizabeth allspice dram? ›
Elizabeth Allspice Dram. Allspice is a critical element of tropical drinks and cuisine. The berry, called “pimento” in Jamaica, gets its modern name from its flavors of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper.
What is the closest spice to allspice? ›
The brand also recommends using a trio of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to make a substitute but prefers these ratios: ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves. Use as a 1:1 substitute in a recipe that calls for one teaspoon of allspice.
How do you recreate allspice? ›
While allspice is a spice on its own, not a blend, it's very easy to create a similar-tasting mixture with spices you already have in your kitchen. Whisk 3½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves, then use as a 1:1 replacement for ground allspice in a recipe.
Is pimento dram the same as allspice dram? ›
Allspice dram is a simple liqueur flavored with allspice berries. It's also known as pimento dram, because allspice is a berry from the pimento tree. (But pimento makes most people think of olives, so I don't like to call it that.)
Are 10 year old spices still good? ›
Dried herbs and spices may last 1–4 years, but it depends on the type of spice and how it's processed and stored. Generally, spices will lose their aroma and flavor potency over time.
English explorers coined the term allspice as the berry seemed to embody the flavors of cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and clove all at once. On the Caribbean island of Jamaica, this distinctive liqueur has been produced for generations.
Does Grand Marnier get better with age? ›
Liqueurs and cordials such as Grand Marnier, Drambuie and Midori, have higher sugar content and other ingredients that make them spoil faster. The more sugar an alcohol-based product has, the faster it will expire. Once open, liqueurs and cordials will spoil quickly and become undrinkable after one year.
What spice is the queen of all spices? ›
Did you know saffron is nicknamed “red gold” and “the queen of all spices.” It's also worth its weight in gold, but do you know why? Consider this your go-to guide for all things saffron.
Can you use too much allspice? ›
Allspice is considered safe in small amounts. While anecdotal evidence suggests potential side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, and drug interactions, when it's consumed in large amounts, no scientific evidence supports these claims.
Is allspice dram sweet? ›
This allspice dram tastes like the holidays all bottled up. Sweet, and toasty baking spices, like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and obviously allspice all melded together. Use this dram in all of your favorite tiki co*cktails!
Is allspice dram the same as pimento? ›
Allspice dram is a simple liqueur flavored with allspice berries. It's also known as pimento dram, because allspice is a berry from the pimento tree. (But pimento makes most people think of olives, so I don't like to call it that.)
What does Jamaican allspice have in it? ›
It is also called the Jamaica pepper, kurundu, and myrtle pepper. What spice is this? Allspice is made up of the dried berries of the plant Pimenta dioica. Some think allspice tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
What is allspice dram used for? ›
The Jamaicans employed their homemade allspice dram for cooking, as a marinade for meats or an easy flavoring agent in sauces and stews, but as the co*cktail movement swung into full effect, enterprising bartenders began experimenting with it in their drinks.
What berry is allspice made from? ›
Also known as a Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, or pimento, allspice is the unripe fruit of the Pimenta dioica, an evergreen tree in the Myrtle family native to the West Indies, Southern Mexico, and Central America.
