After using the Fee Brother’s Falernum, I decided to make my own. Nothing wrong with the Fee Brothers, but it’s non-alcoholic, and most recipes that call for Falernum seem to suggest that more alcohol is needed. After all, the Zombie needs more alcohol, right? Oh, I’m reminded of that night of the living zombies…

Anyway, I did some searching for Falernum and came across two great recipes. One is from a guy who calls himself Colonel Tiki and another is from RumDood. Both of these guys know their rum drinks, obviously, so trust them when they talk about Falernum, something I know absolutely nothing about. Naturally, being the complex guy that I am, I decided to combine their recipes. Here is what I did.

First, I toasted a couple tablespoons of almonds. As you can see in the picture, I didn’t want to make that much, for it would go bad before I could use all of it, and I certainly didn’t want that. As they were toasting, I zested six small limes to infuse in the cordial. I also chopped a two-inch piece of ginger, as you can see in the foreground.

Then I took about 30 cloves, a cinnamon stick, and a star anise, and put all of it into a mason jar. Now comes the steeping liquid:

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. dark rum
• 2 oz. 151 rum

Let that steep for 24 hours, strain it, and then add about 6 oz of simple syrup and 1 1/2 oz of lime juice. Man, that is a good drink. I want to drink it by itself. Although I have no idea what Falernum is supposed to taste like, this tastes like it.

Thanks, RumDood and Colonel Tiki. I will never buy commercial Falernum again!