Anyone have a copycat recipe for Gator Bite Satsuma rum?

[Steve Broady]

Some time ago I picked up a couple bottles of Gator Bite Satsuma rum liqueur. I cannot remember the distillery that produces it, but I remember the name, and the vibrant orange color. The stuff made some wonderful cocktails and I’d love to have more, but I can’t find it in any of my local ABC stores.

But hey, we know how to make our own spirits, right? So all I need is a recipe. I could certainly experiment, but I thought it would be worth asking first. Anyone else here tried it, or tried to make it?

[NZChris]

I love this kind of challenge and have taken on quite a few, more often than not successful in some way. They might not necessarily be replicas, but can be very nice in their own right.

Firstly, I search the website of the maker for clues, then I scour the web for history, reviews and for flavor and ingredient clues.

The more information you can find and post, the more help you might get.

[Bushman]

As NZ mentioned you should be able through a couple trials get close. Just a quick search I found that it is bottled at 30 percent and as the label indicates the Satsuma juice is combined with Bayou rum. Thus a little more research and you should get pretty close. On another note, I have never tried it but the reviews gave it a 5 star rating.

[NZChris]

Using juice will give it ‘bite’. I have difficulty making nice products with citrus juice in them. Too much acid can be a problem when using some fruit.

I’m guessing you will have to do a lot of small experiments to get something that you like.

[Steve Broady]

Thanks, guys. I definitely need to do some more research.

Satsumas seem a lot lower in acid than most citrus, at least to me, but I’d still be concerned about using the juice. Definitely good for thought, though.

One of my big questions about this idea is the style of rum. I’m guessing that a fairly light brown sugar or Panela style rum would be a better choice here.