I love this time of year. There are always so many fun things going on including parties, cocktails, and holiday cheer!
Earlier in the year I had read stories of people describing Pimento Dram (Allspice Liqueur) as “Christmas in a Glass”. So I knew that this would be perfect for the holidays. And if you start now, you can enjoy it for your holiday festivities.
I started this way back in May (I guess I wanted to get a jump-start on my holiday cheer) and it is amazing. So far, everyone who has tasted this agrees.
Pimento Dram starts with infusing allspice berries in high-proof rum. After straining the allspice, you add a brown sugar simple syrup and let it rest a while to allow the flavors to mellow. The final result is sweet, spiced, and very rich. It is also really lovely.
Our intent with this liqueur was really to use it as holiday gifts, but it tastes so good I’m sure we will keep a bit for ourselves and some festive cocktails. Our friends over at Putney Farm have some exceptional cocktail recipes that include an Allspice Dram, including a toddy called the Tammany Jack. I think a little of this would be excellent drizzled into about any hot toddy.
Pimento Dram (recipe adapted from The Cocktail Chronicles)
1 1/2 c. 151 proof Rum
1/3 c. Allspice Berries
1 lb. brown sugar
2 c. water
Lightly crush the allspice berries, and place them in a glass jar along with the rum. Let this infuse for about 10 days to 2 weeks. (We infused for 2 weeks.) Strain the mixture well.
In a saucepan, add the brown sugar and water and heat until dissolved to create a brown sugar syrup. Allow the brown sugar syrup to cool completely.
Add the brown sugar syrup to the rum, and allow the mixture to rest for another 2-4 weeks.
Now go enjoy your holiday cheer!
I also came across some wonderful recipes for Pimento Dram that included cinnamon stick and other spices, but I wanted to keep the flavor of allspice more pure.
We will soon be compiling some of our favorite recipes throughout the year that we feel will be great for holiday parties and gifts so get your infusing supplies ready!
Cheers!
Boozed + Infused 
November 15, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Wow, this is very cool and we will make this (and thanks for the mention). Our MXMO cocktail we will post tomorrow has pimento dram, but homemade would be so much better…. And a great gift for any tiki drink fan. Thanks!
November 15, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Your cocktails always look so amazing, I had to mention! I can’t wait to see what you make for MXMO!
November 15, 2012 at 9:31 pm
The cocktail will be good (very tasty IMHO), the garnish is a bit amateur…but we tried…you will see it tomorrow… 😉
November 15, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I’m intrigued Alicia. Never had spiced infused liqueur before. Will have to give this on try. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
November 16, 2012 at 7:40 am
Thanks Anne, I had not tried this before either, but I’m very glad I made it! This makes a pretty large batch, so you can cut the volume down if you want to.
November 16, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Thanks for the tip Alicia, will keep that in mind.
November 16, 2012 at 12:49 am
This looks so good! I may be making some of this up for Christmas so I can give it as presents 🙂
November 16, 2012 at 7:49 am
I think this will make great holiday gifts, it really does taste like “Christmas in a glass”!
Cheers!
November 16, 2012 at 7:56 am
Where do you get these great ideas? I have to try this for sure!
November 17, 2012 at 10:20 am
Thanks Steph! This Pimento Dram seems to be a popular infusion, so I just had to try it! It is really easy and I think you’ll love it.
November 16, 2012 at 8:39 am
You’re the Internet’s #1 resource for infused booze. We need to get you a barrel, I think this aged in a barrel would provide some serious competition to the liqueur market! Alicia Alcohol, Inc.
November 17, 2012 at 10:19 am
Thank you for the compliment! I don’t have a barrel, but have recently started to do what I’m calling “faux barrel infusions” with toasted oak infusion sticks from the home brew supply store. I thought it might be more in line with making easy, home DIY cocktails. So far I only have one infusion going, but will be doing more as I decide how I want to use them.
So that is an interesting concept, barrel aging the Pimento Dram. I could try a small bottle of it with a bit of an infusion stick.
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November 16, 2012 at 11:42 am
Doing math in head… YES! I can make this for Christmas!
November 17, 2012 at 10:15 am
It will taste great by Christmas, even if it continues to mellow a bit afterward! (And if you decide to give it as gifts, the infusion is already strained well before then so it can mellow in the gift bottles.)
cheers!
November 16, 2012 at 3:07 pm
This is great! Never thought to make my own but I will give it a shot. I post a lot of recipes using pimento dram. One of my favorite cocktail ingredients.
November 17, 2012 at 10:08 am
It was really easy to make, and this recipe will go a long way! You could cut down the recipe a bit if you wanted. Cheers!
November 17, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Hey Alicia, we had a neat cocktail last night using apple cider & bourbon. Think of the possibilities………
November 18, 2012 at 8:31 am
Sounds delicious! And yes, endless possibilities…
November 17, 2012 at 3:34 pm
So last week I had fancy drinks at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, and just so happened to have some allspice dram in a drink called the Spice Trader. Needless to say, perfect timing!
November 18, 2012 at 8:31 am
Thanks Eileen, this one is pretty sweet. It is sweeter than I normally do, and I know you tend to go for less sweet variations, so you could probably play around with this one a bit. Cheers!
November 18, 2012 at 6:58 am
I really want to do this. I’m going to look for the ingredients. Looks great.
January 18, 2013 at 9:25 am
Oh my gosh oh my gosh this is really really good. I’m sipping some right now… couldn’t even wait the extra two weeks to let it mellow after combining the infused rum and the syrup, but it’s already delicious. And there is no way I’m using up that whole batch in two weeks! (Mine filled a 750ml bottle plus about 4oz to spare) I didn’t have overproof rum so I just used a regular dark rum and dark brown sugar, which made for a very rich sip. I think next time if I use regular proof rum I might decrease the amount of syrup your recipe uses for the overproof version. I can’t wait to use this in cocktails. I’m thinking it will play very nice with orange and with my walnut bitters. Thanks again, Alicia!
January 20, 2013 at 8:55 am
Hi Miya… I’m thrilled that you loved this infusion. Yes, the ovenproof rum probably helps to tone town the sweetness of this a bit as it has such a high alcohol content. Either way, it is quite sweet so you could go a bit light on the syrup with both versions. I think your serving suggestion sounds great! Cheers~
October 30, 2013 at 5:18 am
About to make some Pimento Dram and wanted to double-check recipes from trusted sources, which includes you, I could not help but prefer your recipe. After all, pure Pimento Drams are basically the same – no extras. Yet, I ‘preciate your measurements, and not making an entire .750 bottle. As always, nicely done post & superb images. You are one of my favorite websites.
November 2, 2013 at 9:24 am
Thanks Jack!
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June 24, 2014 at 8:48 am
great idea. i would defeniatly suggest putting some vannila in the mix. english pepper and vanilla go amazingly well together. perheps some almonds or almond milk would enrich the flavour. i might justt give this one a try around september, seems more like a winter flavour.
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