Romance is Dead Man’s Fingers – a rum ole love story #Review

Victoria Hayes
27th January 2020

Dead Man’s Fingers is not the most romantic name for a drink.  For most people, this time of year is focused on the Valentine of it all, the love, the romance, the spoiling of the one you adore.

For me, this time of year is about Dead Man’s Fingers. 

Many years ago. My partner and I were spending Valentines in London, mostly because it coincides with the first born’s birthday. It was actually our first Valentines together, and due to the fact we had purchased tickets 18 months previously for a sold-out show, the man in my life was left alone to wander the streets of London while we were at the theatre.

All traditions it seems, begin with a break in tradition.

He stumbled across a small bottle shop and wiled away some time in the rum section, settling on a bottle of a previously unheard-of spiced rum, with the least romantic name he could find. Purchased with two genuinely disturbing looking Tiki glasses, the Rum became my first valentines’ gift from him, and a new “anti-valentines” tradition was born. Every Valentine since, I’ve been presented with Tiki glasses and Dead Man’s Fingers. We privately refer to it as putting our fingers up at Valentine’s Day.

For this reason, I am more than familiar with this wonderful spiced rum. I have followed its bottle design changes and its diversification into new and interesting flavours (if you get me drunk enough, I’ll tell you about the first time I had the Hemp flavour).

As you learn more about Dead Man’s Fingers and its origin story, you discover that unwittingly our anti-valentine’s tradition choice was apt. 

Dead Man’s Fingers pops its own finger up at traditional spiced rums and is in fact a blend of rums from Trinidad and Barbados.  Blended in the mind originally and created in reality by the folks at St Ives’ ‘Rum & Crab Shack’. They really do know a thing or two about rums.

If you are lucky enough to visit the area, pop in for a crustacean-crunching lunch and you’ll be greeted with an eclectic rum menu that would make the most sea weary pirate ‘Arrrrrrrrr’.

The name is actually not a reference to the traditions of pirate rum though, the rum is named for the most popular menu item at the shack, Crab. The long finger like gills inside a crab are known as dead man’s fingers because if you eat them (according to folklore) you’ll die.

So yes, it’s an odd choice of name, but I guess it’s so wrong, it’s right.

They took a look at what everyone else was doing with spiced rum, and did the opposite.

Dead Man’s Fingers has a unique and distinctive flavour profile. It’s been aged for three years, its dry and well balanced. The creators experimented with flavours new and even popped in Cornish Saffron Cake and Pedro Ximenez ice cream. I do not flatter myself that my palate is advanced enough to spot these, but I do get the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and almost cola flavoured caramel, followed by an undertone of orange which makes it a great rum for cocktail making.

My partner reckons he can taste notes of pineapple, dried raisins and a pinch of black pepper, which I thought was just showing off. Turns out he was showing off…his ability to google and read the website flavour description!

But back to what we do know to be true; this is seriously good spiced rum. It’s wonderful on its own and over ice, but it mixes well with Coke, ginger beer and in a range of cocktails. The branding is cool, and the company is progressive and innovative.

Production has moved to Bristol these days, and you can try not only the Spiced Rum, but also, Coconut, Coffee and the previously mentioned Hemp. I recommend all the above on their own and in a whole host of cocktails. 

For now. For Valentines and hopefully until my dying day. Distill my beating heart.