“There’s not too many times you see your face on a bottle and you’re still alive—it’s usually reserved for dead folks,” Lost Lake beverage director Paul McGee says. Actually, he’s paraphrasing Maison Ferrand proprietor Alexander Gabriel, who invited McGee to collaborate on the creation of Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum (Plantation is produced by Maison Ferrand). But McGee seems to agree with the sentiment. The other five faces on the bottle belong to fellow tiki bar head honchos Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (Latitude 29), Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove), Paul McFayden (Trailer Happiness), and Scotty Schuder (Dirty Dick), along with cocktail historian and author David Wondrich.
Exactly what they were looking for is hard to describe, but, “I think we all like big, bold flavors when it comes to rum,” McGee says. “A lot of overproof rums are just heat, very neutral, and not that interesting. What’s unique about this rum is that it stands up on its own.” One of the drinks McGee wanted to use the OFTD for at Lost Lake was the old-fashioned, a drink that’s just rum with a little sugar and bitters, which meant the rum had to be good enough to drink on its own.
