What Is A Corn 'N' Oil Cocktail And What Does It Taste Like?

Is it a dish? Is it an electric vehicle? No, it's a cocktail! While it may not be as well-known as a piña colada or frozen painkiller, the Corn 'n' Oil is a tropical cocktail that deserves to be on your radar. Unlike many sweet, spicy cocktails that often fall under the "tiki" label, the Corn 'n' Oil is simple to make, with only a handful of ingredients and no special equipment necessary — not even a cocktail shaker.

Despite the name, there is no corn or oil in Corn 'n' Oil, just blackstrap rum, falernum, lime juice, and Angostura bitters. The "oil" portion might be a nod to the appearance of blackstrap rum, a thick, black spirit that, when used as a float, can be reminiscent of an oil slick. But the cocktail's name has also been said to come from the Old Testament, in a Deuteronomy verse in which God promises an abundance of rain to his people to bring about an abundance of "thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil."

The cocktail is believed to hail from 18th-century Barbados, and like many historical recipes, there's some debate as to what the most authentic and delicious Corn 'n' Oil consists of. But the long and short of it is that a proper Corn 'n' Oil is sweet and spicy with a swift, boozy kick, making it an excellent bone warmer even when your surroundings are anything but tropical.

The first thing you need to know about blackstrap rum is that it doesn't exist — at least, according to some beverage experts. "Blackstrap" refers to a kind of molasses that is typically used as the rum's base, but the thing is, many Caribbean rums are made with some amount of blackstrap molasses, and some so-called blackstrap rums aren't. A more accurate categorization would be simply "black rum," referring to minimally aged rums tinted dark with caramel coloring and finished with additional sweetening and flavoring ingredients. Cruzan Black Strap and Kraken are two black rums with which you may be familiar.

In any case, it's worth noting that black rum isn't a traditional Barbadian ingredient, so it wouldn't have been a component of the original recipe. If you want to make a more authentic version of the drink, swap blackstrap rum for a dark, aged Barbados rum. But there's still debate over the optimal Corn 'n' Oil recipe — some swear that in addition to rum, it should also contain some portion of brandy.

A Corn 'n' Oil is ridiculously easy to make, especially considering you don't need to break out a cocktail shaker (let alone a blender, as some tropical drinks require). Four parts rum, one part falernum, one part lime juice, and a dash of Angostura bitters are simply stirred with ice in a rocks glass and ready to drink. (Falernum, for the uninitiated, is a Barbadian syrup liqueur made with lime, sugar, and usually spices like clove, nutmeg, and ginger, as well as almonds. It's similar to, albeit usually a little spicier than, orgeat syrup.)

Such a delicious and strong cocktail hardly needs more than a simple presentation — a wedge of lime as garnish is more than sufficient. Still, if you want to play mad mixologist, you can experiment with creating the "oil slick" effect by adding the rum last and gently pouring it over the back of a bar spoon so that the black liquid floats on top of the drink. Or, of course, you can just mix all the ingredients for a straightforwardly delicious Caribbean treat that goes down with dangerous ease.