Imagine my delight when my friend mailed me the newly released cookbook titled, “Aaaah…Belizean Rum Recipes.” In it, some of the Cayo district’s best cooks and mixologists contributed recipes like the Sorrel Slammer, Sweet Ting Pastries’ Mocha Rum Cake, Kick Start French Toast and Pescado Caliente a spicy, fruity sauteed fish recipe including Belize’s 1 Barrel rum, and the national hot sauce, Marie Sharp’s. After mentioning to my cookbook connection that 1 Barrel rum may not be available in Brooklyn, I received a leaden package with three boozes branded “Tasting is Belizing.” With its Jack-Sparrow-meets-70s-AM-Gold motif, the package had me pining for a pina colada

I have rum and I know how to use it. My first bottle is the award-winning 1 Barrel rum, commonly enjoyed in a Cuba Libre - coke, rum and lime. Next is a blended brandy, curiously labeled “It’s the Grape That Tells.” I don’t understand what this means, but after a couple of sips of this 80 proof joy juice, I could probably come up with something. This particular brandy is usually mixed into milky drinks, like the ever-popular Brandy Alexander or the New Orleans favorite brandy milk punch, a mixture of brandy, half and half, superfine sugar and nutmeg served over ice. (Sick yet?) Lastly, I have coconut rum whose label suggests I “feel the coconut taste.” At a lower 46 proof, coconut rum is suitable for a mellow evening or a slow afternoon at the office. Somehow, the ladies’ favorite called the “panty ripper,” did not make it into “Ahhhh…Belizean Rum Recipes.” It features coconut rum mixed with pineapple juice, and should always be accompanied by a designated driver.

Rather than let all this good rum languish in my cabinet, I plan to prepare some recipes promising, according to “Aaaah…” to “scent your meals with its fluttering aroma of sugarcane and spice.”

From Aahhhh…Belizean Rum Recipes:

Pescado Caliente

by Jenny Staines, Caliente!, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

1 lb fish fillet

2 oz Marie Sharp hot sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)

1 1/4 oz lime juice

seasoning salt

black pepper

garlic, chopped

bread crumbs

oil to fry

2 tbsp butter

1 c diced mangoes, 1 inch cubes

1 c orange juice

1 c sugar

2 oz 1 Barrel rum or any dark rum

• Marinate fish in hot sauce and lime juice
• Season fish with seasoning salt, black pepper and garlic to taste
• Coat in bread crumbs and fry
• In a sauepan add butter, melt, add mango and pineapple; cook for 5 minutes
• Add orange juice and sugar and cook for 10 more minutes
• Add rum, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes
• Remove from heat and serve over fish

Sorrel Slammer

by Roquel Riveira, The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Cayo District

4 oz sweetened sorrel juice

1 oz Caribbean white rum

1/2 oz Pimm’s

juice of a lime wedge

seasonal fresh fruit ice cubes (mango, watermelon, melon, papaya)

• Shake or blend
• Garnish with a slice of cucumber