Limelight x Mt. Gay Rum Dinner (4/9/24)
As long as the Limelight hotel in Snowmass, CO, keeps cranking out these incredible pairing dinners, then I will continue to write about them.
As I mentioned before, every couple of months or so, the Limelight Hotel located in Snowmass hosts a unique 4-course dinner that features a particular spirit or wine to pair with the food, all of which cost a fraction of what you could get at a similar restaurant.
The dinner that I will be featuring today revolves around Mount Gay rum, produced by Mount Gay Distilleries in Barbados and is said to have been cranking out tasty spirits since 1703! I mean, if you’re able to stay in business for 300 years then you must be doing something right.
At the Limelight dinner, Mount Gay made sure to bring their A game by providing 4 unique rum based cocktails that each paired beautifully with the food that the Limelight restaurant served, and I think it’s safe to say that this dinner was my favorite of the dinners that I’ve attended so far. As always, I will give you a breakdown of everything I tasted and hopefully you will enjoy hearing about it.
Cocktail #1: Berry Dream
Prior to arriving at the Limelight restaurant and getting comfortable in our seats, we were first given a very tasty and unique cocktail served in what might as well be a tiki pint glass, by which I mean a ceramic glass that looked like two tiny rum barrels stacked on top of each other, a glass that we, the customers, were allowed to take home.
The drink itself was labeled as a berry dream and contained pineapple juice, cranberry juice, coconut cream, berry simple syrup, and Mt. Gay’s Eclipse rum, a blended rum with a unique sweet aroma and slightly funky flavor.
And you can believe me when I say that it was the perfect way to kick off a wonderful night. For how tall the drink was, it had a wonderful balance of sweetness, tartness, a slight fruity flavor from that berry syrup, a bit of a creamy note from the coconut, and the slight funk of that rum for a drink that made me feel like I was sitting on a beach in the Caribbean with every sip.
Amuse Bouche: Lobster Deviled Egg
It seems a bit funny to me that such a tall cocktail would be paired with such a small bite of food, but that bite was certainly powerful considering that it was a lobster deviled egg marinated in a saffron vinaigrette, coated in either black or white sesame seeds then topped with micro greens and a lemon powder. It was, by far, one of the fanciest deviled eggs I've ever seen, but boy did it deliver on flavor.
The sweetness of the lobster, the creamy deviled egg filling, the orange hue from the saffron, that slight citrus note from the lemon powder and a bit of crunch from the sesame seeds all blended together about as well as the cocktail it was served with. I probably could've eaten about a dozen of those amazing eggs and called it a day.
Cocktail #2: Vanilla Chai Mai Tai
Our second drink for the evening took a pretty sharp right turn from the first drink. It was a take on the Mai tai, one of the most iconic tiki drinks of all time, but we gave it a very unique twist with Chai tea-infused Mt. Gay Eclipse, two other types of Mt. Gay rum, and hazelnut liquor. It’s a drink that was quite dangerous as it was almost all alcohol, but the flavor was outstanding!
With the aroma you get a mix of vanilla, chai, and hazelnut that woke up my palate for a taste that was sweet, nutty, a bit tart from the lime juice, and perfectly balanced.
First Course: Orzo Croquette
By now you might be wondering, what sort of food could possibly pair with that tasty but dangerous chai Mai Tai? Well, how about an orzo croquette filled with Cochon (a type of ham) and asparagus then served with a creamy green curry and cashew sauce and a lotus chip?
Let me paint the picture for you. Imagine cutting into that crispy, golden fried shell of the croquette to see it bursting on the inside with tender orzo, a bit of saltiness from the ham and pops of color from the asparagus that might as well be a dish all on it’s own, but then you drag it through that smooth, creamy cashew sauce laced with wonderful green curry flavors that dances on your palate in all the right ways, and then you bite into that crispy lotus root chip to give that extra crunch that keeps you going back for more.
I think it’s safe to say that that little croquette was the bite of the night, not to say that the other food that was served wasn’t close to perfection.
Cocktail #3: Alpine Fizz
I think it was quite difficult to top that chai Mai tai served with the last course, but sure enough the Limelight bartenders delivered once again with a blend of Mt. Gay black barrel, a robust and rich rum crafted from an intense blend of aromatic rums, along with ginger yuzu syrup, lime juice, and soda water to form what is now known as the Alpine Fizz.
I am a big fan of fizzy cocktails, I like how the bubbles make your mouth tingle as you savor each sip, and this cocktail was quite stellar. Think of it as a fizzy daiquiri laced with a touch of spice and citrus from the ginger and yuzu syrup. It’s a drink that only made me more excited for the entree course.
Main Course: Lamb Chops
If there is one thing that Colorado does right, besides beer, it has to be lamb. Colorado lamb is a national phenomenon that hits restaurant menus all over, so it only makes sense that the pairing for the wonderful Alpine Fizz would be some tender lamb chops served with a carrot hummus, green beans, and a black chimichurri (chimichurri made with fermented black garlic).
I thought that the lamb was nicely seasoned, very tender and was cooked to my liking, plus it had that tangy chimichurri sauce to make it taste even better. The green beans were nice and tender, but I have to be honest, I thought that the carrot hummus was a bit of a miss for me.
The carrot hummus did have a nice bit of sweetness and creaminess to counteract the richness of the lamb, but I felt like that cold hummus with the warm lamb was a bit of an odd choice, something that my tablemate agreed with. I enjoyed the flavors, but I think a hot puree of some kind would’ve made the dish better.
Cocktail #4: Timberline Tiramisu
The final drink for the evening was a unique cocktail edition of one of Italy’s most iconic desserts, a drink that featured Kahlua, Espresso, heavy cream, and Mt. Gay XO, a variety of rum that is aged in a barrel for at least 6 years and also means Extra Old.
I have to say that while this drink was tasty, did have faint flavor resemblance to tiramisu, but man was it strong! I usually enjoy stronger drinks like the Manhattan or Negroni, but I didn’t expect that here. I suppose Limelight simply wanted to go out with a bang with this last drink, but it is certainly not for the novice drinker. I felt like it was more of a shot than a sippable cocktail.
Dessert: Canele De Bordeaux
To end the evening, we were treated to a delightfully classic Canele de Bordeaux, a small, cylinder-shaped French pastry flavored with rum and vanilla. It features a very moist crumb interior surrounded by a crunchy, dark caramelized outside. It was served with some berries and what must’ve been a creme anglaise or other sort of custard, I’m not actually sure. They didn’t really tell us what that is.
I have never had this pastry before, nor am I sure that I’ve even heard of it before that night, but I think I should say Viva la Mount Gay! The little cake had a very moist and soft crumb structure that was a bit of a cross between a sponge cake and ricotta cheese, the custard underneath provided a nice amount of sweetness and richness, but for me what made this dessert was that crunchy caramelized outside that reminded me of creme brulee.
All together, the Limelight X Mount Gay Rum dinner was a big hit for the Snowmass/Roaring Fork Valley locals, and it makes me look forward to their next dinner.
