Lyre’s White Cane Spirit

Lyre’s are truly impressive in their range of tastes; they’ve clearly got some very clever boffins working away in the lab.  This rum substitute has the truly smooth burnt sugar and coconut flavours of a classic rum, with a touch of orange for a zesty note, and somehow even manages to give me a prickle at the back of the throat to mimic the after-effect of ethanol.  What it lacks, obviously, is the fieriness, the head-twitching kick of a full-proof rum, and once I’d added ginger ale, the flavour slipped below the mixer and nearly disappeared. Soda water, lime and mint for a classic daiquiri was more successful but the flavour still doesn’t quite have the oomph I was hoping for. I’m reminded more of rum ‘n raisin ice cream, or rum baba than the actual drink.  There’s also an inevitable wateriness.  I love Lyre’s and what they achieve but for me this isn’t quite the full limbo dance when it comes to how low can you go.  I see they do two other dark rum substitutes; time to try those.