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Rum Cocktail Masterclass At Turtle Bay, Derby


Published On Thursday 12 Jan 2017 by Sticky Beak
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The Boy Wonder and I went to Turtle Bay in Derby just before Christmas 2016 to try out their food, and had a brilliant night there, so when they invited us along to a Rum Cocktail making master class we were only too happy to accept. Unfortunately, Maya the lovely PR lady had broken her wrist literally a couple of days before and couldn’t attend but Karla and Adam, both from Turtle Bay Head Office were there and ensured that everyone had a great time.



Adam is what you would describe as a Mixologist, and has a really incredible sense of smell and taste that allow him to create amazing combinations of cocktails. He was telling us all that there are two types of cocktail bartenders; mixologists like him and the showier type that are the stereotypical fling-the-bottle-around, called Flairs.



The Bar at Turtle Bay Derby is quite compact and square shaped so it doesn’t really lend itself to the flare type of maker, but the mixologists here certainly know their craft. During staff training before the Derby site opened it was Adam himself who trained the bar staff, so you know that when you come to Turtle Bay Derby that you’re in for an incredible cocktail or two.

Happy Hour 2-4-1 Cocktails (must be same cocktail) is available through the day until 7pm, and then from 10pm until closing, so there is opportunity to try a variety of drinks if you are with a group of friends.



Before the proceedings officially began Adam made me a Jamaican Mule cocktail (Old J spiced rum, fresh Lime and homemade Ginger Beer) which was lovely and vibrant in taste thanks to the citrus hit and the ginger warmth. His Nibs was driving that night so he made do with an Orange juice because he wanted to be able to try the different Rums that Adam had selected for us later on.


Some lovely staff members brought out Sweet Potato fries and regular fries for us all to nibble on whilst Adam was telling us a bit more about the spectrum of rums that there are. The Rums come in a variety of tastes ranging from sweet smooth flavours through spicy and then onto the harsher, raw ones. Turtle Bay Derby have over 40 types that are sourced from all over the Caribbean region and they are all priced at £3.95 per shot, regardless of proof or rarity which is fantastic news for us consumers!


A good “entry level” rum is Mount Gay rum. This is a mellow gold rum with beautiful fresh citrus tones to it and swirled round the glass displaying “legs” as the wine world would say; legs is that lingering trail that you get on the side of the glass as you swoosh the contents around.


One variety of rum, Wray and Nephew is available in 47%, 50% and an incredible 63% abv strength; we sampled the 63%abv with squeezes of either fresh orange or fresh lime in, and the heat you get from it is incredible. It definitely needs respecting, but the addition of the citrus really brought it alive in the mouth too and it was surprisingly nice. There are different sugars used in the making of rum too; raw ones and more refined types, and basically, the more molasses in the rum the darker its colour.


Like Whiskies and Port, Rum comes in a variety of ages and any that are described as extra old have been matured for a minimum of 15 years. There are different types of casks that rums can be matured in too and as you would expect, these impart further characteristics in to their contents.

For instance Black Rums have been aged in charred barrels whose charcoal inners give rise to a marvellous smoky flavour in the rum. Again, like Whiskies, you can have blended varieties of Rum that can have Rums from all over the Caribbean area in them as well as single estate ones such Santa Teresa from Venezuela.



Santa Teresa is the rarest Rum available at Turtle Bay Derby and I personally loved its orange notes; I found it to be quite sweet thanks to its Molasses content and also very smooth. It is described as Sunshine rum, and I can’t think of a more apt title. During the ageing process the temperature of the surroundings also have an influence on the final product. I was, along with the other guests, quite surprised as to the intricacy of Rum production.


So with some very interesting Rum facts under our belts, it was time to head over to the bar for some practical cocktail making experience. One vital ingredient in any cocktail is ice, lots and lots of it. Some cocktails have whole cubes of it in, and others have the crushed version in them.



First up was the brilliantly named Bahama Mama; this has Koko Kanu (a White, coconut spiced rum) at its heart, along with a Banana liqueur from Marie Brizard, Pineapple juice and Grenadine and a dash of Angostura bitters. Turtle Bay uses Marie Brizard liqueurs in their drinks because they simply are the best quality in terms of taste and their base ingredients.

Adam described the bitters as the mixologists equivalent of a chef’s salt and pepper; so seasoning, in essence. The end result is your archetypal fruity number that just begs to be drunk on a sun kissed beach as you recline on a lounger or hammock. I was one of the volunteers making this cocktail and I was quite impressed with the subtle shading from deep red to yellow that I managed to achieve. Not bad at all for a rookie :)


The next guests were making Turtle Bays’ signature Reggae Rum Punch, which is one of the stronger cocktails on the menu thanks to its 126 proof Wray and Nephew rum content. It also has strawberry liqueur, fresh Lime, Orange and Pineapple juices in, so again it is a wonderful fruity number but it certainly packs a harder punch than the Bahama Mama.



The great thing about the evening was that everyone was having a brilliant time and was supporting each other all the way. There was a broad age spectrum in our motley band of bartenders from Late teenaged University students through to the more mature members like myself and the Boy Wonder (mid to late forties), but we were all immersing ourselves in the experience.


Our third cocktail to make was the slightly more technical Mojito. This is based around Blackwell rum with the addition of fresh mint leaves, fresh lime and club soda. You have to put four lime wedges and two squirts of caster sugar from the shaker into a glass and sort of bash them together (it’s called muddling apparently) so that the sugar dissolves.



Then you grab a small handful of fresh mint leaves and clap your hands together once, which apparently releases the chlorophyll and some of the essence to give a slight bitter note to the drink. A large scoop of crushed ice is then added, over which the rum is poured; this then requires a bit of a mix up to distribute the juice and alcohol which would otherwise sit at the bottom. More crushed ice is piled on top of this and the final touch is a dash of club soda. The end result is really rather refreshing on the palate.


The last liquid masterpiece of the night was that absolute classic cocktail, the Mai Tai. If you’ve never tried cocktails before, this is your way in; you really don’t taste any alcohol at all, just gorgeous fruit flavours from the orange rum liqueur, apricot brandy, fresh lime and pineapple.



At Turtle Bay Derby they have a rather nifty little trick up their sleeve for dealing with this drinks’ popularity with the weekend crowd. In large vats they mix up a quintet of alcohols before decanting it into black and yellow (very Wiz Khalifa) taped pourers that the fruit juices can simply be added to at the bar. What a genius time saving tool.


Having put us all through our paces behind the bar, Adam and Karla showed us back to the tables where a glorious spread of the Beach Food Platters awaited us. In order to cater for every taste bud the Turtle Bay team had done the platters in their original form as well as a milder coconut glazed version. Murmurs of appreciation could be heard from both tables and plenty of happy chatter amid the licking clean of fingers with sticky spiced glaze on them. Not a smidge of food went back to the kitchen, testament to the quality of the food.


All too soon, buses had to be caught and journeys home made, but we all said what a fun filled evening we’d had. The Man Bird and I decided to stay behind and have a cheeky Street Burger for supper and finish up the last of our cocktails (well, I did).

A hefty pure beef burger patty is topped with pulled jerk pork and lettuce, then sweet onion chutney and herb mayo are layered up and the whole thing is served in a sweet bun. Add some Caribbean ‘slaw and fries (or salad) and you have yourself a large portion of deliciousness. Our server was really friendly and it just finished the whole evening off perfectly.


Karla and Adam are hoping to roll out the Cocktail master class experience out for the public in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled for further details. It would be perfect for team building, or landmark birthdays, or just as something different for a group of mates to do one night.

Hot Wings to the Turtle Bay Derby team for their food, their alcohol, but most of all for their hospitality; you made us all feel really welcome, thank you :)


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