Words by Jesse Serwer—
We were super bummed to learn last year that Cruzan would be discontinuing its rum cream. Not only did the St. Croix distillery’s original variation on the Caribbean after-dinner favorite top our Toppa Top 10 rum cream countdown, but it was the one we could reliably count on finding at our local liquor store. While we’re still miffed it’s no longer around, we now see the silver lining.
This summer, Cruzan introduced a new rum cream called Velvet Cinn, sold in a 750-ml bottle retailing for about $19. OK, the name, we have to admit, is a bit lame but the concept is not: instead of Irish cream, it combines Cruzan rum with horchata, the rice-based milk drink most closely associated with Mexico and Spain, and the flavor of its typical garnish, cinnamon.
Like any good rum cream, Velvet Cinn is made for sipping, but it’s also a nice flavor enhancer for breakfast and desert dishes and drinks. Waking up recently to find our milk spoiled, we topped our morning oatmeal with a quick pour of Velvet Cinn. It brought out the best in the breakfast staple, resulting in one of the tastiest bowls of oatmeal we can recall. We couldn’t resist following suit with a few pours into our morning coffee. Its effect there was more subtle, but equally enjoyable. We’re looking forward to making our next batch of french toast with it.
The obvious inspiration for Velvet Cinn is Rumchata, the hugely popular horchata con ron made in Wisconsin, by Illinois’ Agave Loco. Velvet Cinn has a similar appearance as that drink, but, unless the blinders of time are distorting our perspective, an even smoother flavor. If Cruzan can make Velvet Cinn as readily available as it did its original rum cream, we just might have a new fixture in the LargeUp office refrigerator.
