DIY Allspice Pimento Dram Recipe

Allspice dram is a simple liqueur flavored with allspice berries. It's also known as pimento dram, because allspice is a berry from the pimento tree. Allspice dram adds a dark, strong, and spicy counterpoint to rum and sweet ingredients in tiki drinks. For years, allspice dram was damn-near impossible to find in the states. Even though you can find it on store shelves now, it's still much more fun (and affordable!) to make it at home.

Recipe  Makes about 3 cups

 Ingredients

• 1 cup light rum (Bacardi Gold)
• 1/4 cup whole allspice berries (Bulkbarn)
• 1 cinnamon stick (Bulkbarn)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2/3 cup brown sugar 

Directions

1. Crush the allspice berries in a mortar and pestle or grind them in a spice grinder. You want coarse, large pieces and not a fine grind.
2. Place the crushed allspice in a sealable glass jar and pour the rum on top. Seal the jar and shake well. Let this mixture steep for 4 days, shaking daily. On day 5, break up the cinnamon stick and add it to the mixture.
3. After 12 days total steeping, strain out the solids through a fine-mesh strainer. Then strain again through a coffee filter into your final bottle or jar.
4. Heat water and sugar on medium until boiling, stirring to dissolve, about 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool, then add it to the strained allspice infusion. Shake and then let rest for a minimum of two days before using.

Special Equipment

mortar and pestle (or spice grinder), fine-mesh sieve, coffee filters

 

 Store at room temperature for 1 to 2 months. It isn't going to spoil, but the flavor will change over time if you keep it too long.