Rum, Allspice, Pineapple, Barley Wine

For the next drink in our beer cocktail series Joe really wanted to experiment with a barley wine. We shopped around and ended up using a locally brewed barley wine, from Pike Brewing. Usually I'm not super impressed with their beers, but their barley wine is pretty legit.

Pineapple Express1.5 oz Smith & Cross rum.5 oz Allspice dram2 oz Pineapple juiceDash of aromatic bitters (Angostura)Shake, strain over ice, top with 2 oz barley wine. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

The idea to combine pineapple and barley wine started with blue cheese. Blue cheese and barley wine are great together. Blue cheese and pineapples are great together. Why not pineapples and barley wine? Turns out that they are indeed great together, no blue cheese required! We threw in the allspice as well because allspice fits in so well with rum and pineapple.This beer cocktail features a wonderful aroma of pineapples and musky hogo. The sip opens up with pineapples and allspice, and finishes with a smooth caramel flavor. The barley wine was pretty hoppy and bitter, and helped add an interesting dimension to the drink.We kind of debated what sort of base spirit to use in this drink for a while, and eventually we settled on a rum with a funky, musky flavor profile, like a rhum agricole. Although it was very tasty, we can't help but question ourselves. Perhaps this drink would have been even better if we had used a gin, a bourbon, or maybe even a scotch. If you decide to mix this yourself, start with gin (and orange bitters), and go from there.