Fall-themed Martinis at Rum Bar

When Phillyist heard Rum Bar (2005 Walnut St.) was adding some new fall-themed martinis to their menu, we sent out our resident pumpkin junkies to investigate. Since we've heaped the love on Rum Bar in the past, Adam Kanter, owner/manager of Rum Bar, hooked us up with some samples so we could report back on how to get your fix of fall flavors in liquid form. (Sometimes chewing is just too much work!) With more than 140 varieties of rum and three levels of rum-flight programs for patrons to conquer (these guys do not mess around), we knew Rum Bar's fall drink offerings would not disappoint.

Let's start with the one that all the bars seem to be doing right now, the pumpkin pie martini, made from Golden Sun Rum, pumpkin spice liqueur, pumpkin puree, Canton ginger liqueur, vanilla-infused rum, and Cruzan rum cream. Oh, yes. It is everything you dream it will be, and more importantly, as with all the Rum Bar cocktails, it may be pricey, but it's $8 to $10 WORTH of alcohol. Kanter says all the Rum Bar's martinis contain no less than two ounces of alcohol, which is quite enough to get you somewhere between buzzed and blitzed, depending on your tolerance.

Next up, the bananas foster martini, by far our favorite of the three. Dark rum, real banana grilled and pureed on-site, creme de banana, caramel, rum cream—OH. Mah. God. BECKY. Obscenely, ludicrously tasty. We implore you: go.

Finally, the apple pie martini, which bartender Zeq Rudy created and entered into a cocktail competition: apple-cinnamon-infused rum, Oronoco Reserva Rum, Drambuie, cinnamon-sugar rim. Possibly the strongest of the three, or at least the strongest-tasting, the apple-pie martini is a tasty way to knock yourself flat on your fanny in 10 minutes or less. With bonus cinnamon.

While we were there, Kanter and his crew also let us sample some of their yummy foodstuffs. For appetizers, we tried their super-crispy chicken fingers with chipotle barbecue and mango honey mustard sauce and the mini-burgers with caramelized onions and tamarind aioli (please try these, they are ahhh-MAZING). For entrees, the Admiral's chicken, which is lightly breaded chicken with Admiral's rum sauce, flambeed red onion, and vegetable fried rice; and the Chilean sea bass, with avocado drizzle, roasted red bliss potatoes & asparagus. (Both also came with squash au gratin, which never occurred to us but totally wins at life, and a cornbread that, personally, we would have liked to be more moist, but if you're into the dryer cornbreads, you'll love it.) And for dessert, banana bread pudding, which is pretty much the best bread pudding ever, coming from someone who doesn't normally like bread pudding.

Finally we tried the Hemingway daquiri, with Rhum J.M. VSOP, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit juice, lime juice, grapefruit bitters, and sugar. Like the rest of the drinks, it's quick, tasty, and efficiently inebriating. You'll be less socially awkward in no time—plus, Rum Bar's extensive daiquiri menu is 1/2 price on Wednesday nights.

Check out the Rum Bar events page for other weekly drink specials and dates for live reggae, and also, be sure to check them out tonight for their Day of the Dead costume party, including costume contests, games, free snacks from 9 to 10 p.m., and a DJ. If you wear a costume and buy in advance, tickets are $11. If you're a killjoy and don't wear a costume, it's $25 at the door. (Be sure to call ahead to make sure it hasn't sold out.)