ORIGINAL — Shadowy Sides

October 5, 2010 (Day 248) — Shadowy Sides

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber’d and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

— “The Kraken” by Alfred Tennyson

Kraken is one of the new boys on the market of spiced rums. I’ve gone into it a bit more in depth in the past, so I won’t go further into depth today. That and I’m battling a horrible head cold, which usually turns me into a simpering pussy.

This is a play off the classic Hot Toddy, the only difference is that I use a spiced rum and very specific flavor of tea. I often feel like I’m fighting a losing battle while being pulled down into the merciless depths of Davy Jones’ Locker.

Shadowy Sides

1.5 oz Kraken (or any spiced rum)

1 tbsp honey

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1 cup hot water

1 tea bag of vanilla chai tea

Pour your honey, rum, and lemon into the bottom of an Irish Coffee mug.

Boil your water, then pour into mug. Let tea bag steep until desired strength. Discard tea bag. Stir well and serve.

Ahhh, perfect. The already vanilla flavor of the Kraken plays well off the vanilla chai. The honey, lemon and tea sooth my nose and throat, just as they would as they stand alone. The rum adds an extra bit of warmth that numbs any pain you may be feeling. Much like the original toddy it’s based off of, this is a great cold weather/head cold kind of drink.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be fighting sea beasts in my room. Under the covers.

G’night…

— Mark