I like rum, especially agricole-style rums distilled from freshly-pressed sugar cane juice like Rhum Barbancourt’s Reserve Special 8-year-old. It’s weighty and rich, sweetened by its time in oak barrels and a bargain at $20 a bottle. I’m gradually making my way through a bottle, but recently found someone who’s an even bigger fan—Craig Adcock. He empties about 65 cases a year, or, by his reckoning, about 1% of the distillery’s production.
Adcock’s not drinking all that rum, though. Most of it goes into Jude’s Rum Cakes.Adcock’s is winding and engaging story of culinary discovery and adventure. (For the full version, keep an eye on the Kansas City Star’s food section.) He’s picked grapes in California, cooked for musicians and sold barbecue out of an alleyway at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival. Along the way, he developed a killer rum cake recipe. He started with the version made by his mother-in-law Judy Erb, then punched it up with that yummy Haitian rum. They’re a dessert standard at Belly Up Bar-B-Que, Adcock’s catering venture, and on the menu at JJ’s. David Rosengarten called Jude’s “just the best damned rum cake ever.” Order one online to see if you agree, or check out Adcock’s booth at the Junior League of Kansas City’s Holiday Mart. He baked 1,200 cakes for the event, but they’re sure to go fast.
