This Rum Is So Intense, You Should Use an Eye Dropper. Here's How I'd Mix It in a Cocktail

Most spirits shine their brightest as a neat sipper or as the base of a cocktail. But there is also a special group of spirits that are best used in small doses to take a mixed drink to new heights—consider these bottles flavor enhancers. Hogo Monsta, the latest release from award-winning rum producer Planteray, definitely belongs in this exclusive category.

Hailing from Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados, the rum is packed with 2,029 grams per hectoliter of aromatic compounds, which makes it one of the heaviest and most intensely flavored rums on the market.

Due to its bold, concentrated flavor, the brand recommends adding Hogo Monsta to drinks with eye droppers or using it to rinse a cocktail glass like you would with absinthe. The expression has long been a component in Planteray’s rum blends, but this is the first time it’s been bottled in its pure form.

“For years, this style of high-ester rum lived in the shadows—used discreetly by blenders to add power and depth to a final mix,” said Planteray Rum’s owner and master blender Alexandre Gabriel in a statement. “We always dreamed of bottling it as-is, raw and unapologetic. Hogo Monsta is that dream unleashed.”

The term “hogo” comes from the French phrase “haut gout,” or “high taste,” which was originally used to describe the flavor of gamey, wild-caught meat. In the 18th century, the term was adopted by the rum world to denote a funky, fruity quality in pot still-produced rums exposed to prolonged fermentation periods with wild yeasts in bacteria-rich environments. It’s a difficult characteristic to pinpoint, but tasting notes range from grilled pineapple and baking spice to freshly-cut grass and diesel fuel.

According to the brand, Hogo Monsta delivers intense flavors of overripe banana, mango, brine, spice, and tropical funk with a luscious, oily mouthfeel. The expression is bottled at 56.6 percent ABV.

How to Drink Hogo Monsta

Hogo Monsta isn’t designed to be a straight sipper or a cocktails main component. Rather, it’s built to function like cocktail bitters, like Angostura or Peychaud’s. I suggest you incorporate a few drops of the Hogo Monsta into a mai tai, daiquiri, or other classic rum drinks, like a Cuba libre, jungle bird and an old-fashioned. You can also make your own unique rum blend by combining different expressions and some of the Hogo Monsta.

Related: We Tasted and Awarded the Best Rum in the World for Mixing and Sipping Straight

Hogo Monsta Rum Price & Availability

Hogo Monsta is available now for a suggested retail price of $55 per 200 ml bottle. Only 5,000 bottles were produced, so be on the lookout for this expression at a retailer near you.