Deansgate dive bar Bunny Jackson’s has launched a new range of Panamanian rum and MM was invited to try it.
The rum, from Casa Barú, is yet to hit supermarket shelves and is only available in selected venues across the UK.
Despite a couple of minor issues, I found the rum and the restaurant – famous for its drinks and chicken wings – lived up to the hype.
Tucked away through an archway in a wall five minutes from Deansgate station, Bunny Jackson’s is easily reachable but feels like stepping away from the busy street.
Its faux-juke joint aesthetic – dimly lit with colourful kitschy decorations, punters playing pool but no sense of dive-bar danger – creates an intimate ambience.
We kicked off with a passionfruit daiquiri, which was delicious, tangy and slightly dry – just like a real passionfruit.
The exceptional “Panama Coffee” cocktail proved the highlight of the night. Made with Xopa, Casa Barú’s coffee liqueur, the drink was a velvety mix between tiramisu and melted chocolate ice cream.
The cockatils are £10 each which seems reasonable for the strength and quality, and it’s two-for-one on cocktails and house lager from 10 to midnight every day. The house lager is the only disappointing drink – quite bland and unambitious.
The wings were tender, tasty and comfortably spicy. The House BBQ wings are a little too sweet but the Sailor Jerry Spiced Sesame wings have a more refined flavour, counterbalancing the sesame with a rum glaze.
The only problem was not the drinks or wings – but the queues. The lack of a QR code at our table (an oddly positioned perch directly facing a wall) meant I had to join an uncomfortably long queue at the bar for food.
However, this did give me time to take in the endlessly interesting decorations – like a neon sign quoting a line from Finding Nemo and a SmartBoard playing episodes of The Office.
Then came a rum tasting introducing us to Casa Barú’s three products – Pure Single Rum (which was in the daiquiris), Double Crop, and Xopa Coffee Liqueur (the star of the Panama Coffee cocktail). Rum is never the easiest spirit to drink neat, but the Double Crop in particular warmed the back of my mouth rather than burned in it.
Spokesman Victor ten Wolde told us Single Rum will retail for around £29 a bottle and Double Crop around £40 – similar to other high-end rums.
Overall, I would highly recommend Bunny Jackson’s. They should seriously consider making the Casa Barú cocktails a permanent feature of their menu – our drinks elevated a good evening to a great one.
Feature image: Chris Patel
