Planteray’s OFTD rum turns ten years old today—July 20th, 2026. I don’t usually write about rum release anniversaries, but OFTD has played an outsized role in the modern tiki movement and involves a set of rum luminaries still active today. You can read their recollections below, but first, some background for folks unfamiliar with OFTD.
Per its label, OFTD means “Old Fashioned Traditional Dark”, but almost everyone knows the real meaning is “Oh fuck, that’s delicious”, uttered by someone as the final blend took form.
The rum was first unveiled on July 20th, 2016, at Tales of the Cocktail. Present were Planteray master blender Alexandre Gabriel, plus the six renowned rum and tiki experts who collaborated on OFTD’s blend with Alexandre:
David Wondrich
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (Latitude 29)
Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove)
Paul McGee (Lost Lake)
Paul McFadyen (Trailer Happiness)
Scotty Schuder (Dirty Dick)
Close of OFTD side and back label
Over several meetups in New Orleans and at Chateau Bonbonnet near Cognac, the “OFTD Brothers” debated how the new rum would be used and what it should taste like. Their likenesses all appear on the OFTD label. (Paul McFadyen has a funny take about this in his recollection, below.)
My connection to OFTD runs deep. This 2016 Cocktail Wonk post was the first article about the new rum, published within an hour of its official announcement. I’d known about it for months and had spotted the label in the TTB database, so I had a story ready to go the moment it was confirmed. In what you might call an omen, I’d also spotted a bottle of OFTD on Latitude 29’s back bar just a few hours earlier.
OFTD Launch Party - Tales of the Cocktail 2016
In early 2018, I published a very deep dive into each blend component, the kind of technical detail brands rarely reveal. Sharing that level of detail with fellow rum geeks has long been a hallmark of Rum Wonk and Cocktail Wonk. 2016-era me couldn’t imagine that I’d someday be friends with each of the OFTD brothers.
OFTD and Tiki Drinks
From the beginning, OFTD’s target was creating the “ultimate overproof for Tiki cocktails”, although exactly what that meant was part of the debate. It’s well established that many classic Don the Beachcomber recipes blended punchy Jamaican and Demerara rums with a lighter rum to tie them together, often Puerto Rican. The halo of Lemon Hart 151 also hung over the OFTD sessions; its future availability was far from certain, and it wasn’t sold in many countries. In the end, the blend consisted of nine rums from six distilleries in three countries: Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana, bottled at 69% ABV.
In some ways, OFTD is a single-bottle solution for many tiki classics like the Jet Pilot. Per Jeff Berry, the recipe calls for dark Jamaican rum, 151 Demerara rum, and gold Puerto Rican rum. OFTD covers the Jamaican and Demerara components. As for the Puerto Rican rum? The Barbados contribution to OFTD is a fine stand-in; perhaps an improvement.
The same substitution logic applies to other tiki classics, like the Navy Grog. I’ve lost count of how many multi-rum recipes I’ve looked at and thought, “This sounds like 2 ounces of OFTD to me.” Naturally, I adjust the amount of OFTD to match the original recipe’s alcoholic strength.
For a much deeper look into the rums used in tropical/tiki drinks, see my book, Minimalist Tiki, available exclusively from Wonk Press. It has four chapters dedicated exclusively to rum, in addition to 130 original recipes.
OFTD Brothers Reflections Ten Years On
As the OFTD’s tenth anniversary approached, I asked the team members for their thoughts on the rum a decade later.
David Wondrich
I’ve always liked the dark, high-proof Royal navy-style rums since the late 1980s when my old friend Nick Noyes brought me bottles of Wood’s 100 Old Navy Rum from Heathrow Duty Free, where, for various reasons, he was a frequent visitor. It was a strong—57% alcohol—very dark Demerara rum (I had no idea what that meant) with a good deal of grip when you splashed it into a glass full of ice, and I was a great fan. (Wood’s still exists, although it has changed hands and packaging and probably everything else.) Eventually, it disappeared from Heathrow, and I reluctantly moved it onto the shelf of pleasures past. There was nothing I could replace it with: the dark rums were too weak, the overproof ones too thin and hot.
So when Alexandre Gabriel asked me to join the pirate crew he was assembling to put together a navy-style overproof rum for use in Tiki drinks and punches, I leaped at the chance. At our first meeting, held in a dining room at Arnaud’s (I should probably say Arrrrnaud’s) in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail, I came in from the street with a bottle of cold Sazerac Cocktail in my hand, left over from a previous event, and administered a Sazerac layback to anyone willing. Most were. The project proceeded in that spirit. We took the work seriously, but with a group like that one, how could one not have fun?
That said, one of the most fun parts for me was something I did by myself, in April, 2016. That was writing the copy for the label, where I got to cram in an almost ridiculous amount of 18th-century naval jargon into a very small space, and give thumbnail sketches of the rest of the crew in the process.
Ironically, the best drink I’ve come up with using the OFTD is not a Punch or even remotely Tropical. It’s the Oogots, which is how a 1930s Pittsburgh newspaperman spelled what a local Sicilian called the bogeyman. In Sicilian, it would be “U cazzu,” which translates more or less into “that f----n guy.” It’s that kind of drink.
Oogots
Shake viciously with ice:
1 oz Planteray O.F.T.D. rum
1 oz Amaro Zucca
Strain into a tall shot glass or a small, chilled cocktail glass.
Jeff Berry
I’ll never forget the first meeting of the OFTD brethren at Arnaud’s in New Orleans, a historic restaurant where rum history was about to be made. Five Tiki bar owners were in attendance, all desperate for a high-proof mixing rum to sub for Lemon Hart 151, which was rumored to be on the chopping block. This would be disastrous, since without it, we couldn’t make Zombies, Jet Pilots or many other Tiki classics.
In advance of the meeting, I’d sent Alexandre vintage bottles of Lemon Hart 151 and Dagger 97-proof Jamaican rum, suggesting that a blend of the two might be a good reference point for a contemporary equivalent made with distillates sourced by Planteray (then Plantation).
Alexandre did his thing and, at Arnaud’s in New Orleans, gave us samples of what he’d come up with. I said it was delicious — too delicious to put in the well as a mixing rum — and suggested we pivot to a sipping rum instead. I was quickly shouted down by the other bar owners, who reminded me of why we were there in the first place. I’m glad they did, because OFTD is now an essential well rum in every Tiki bar, mine included.
Martin Cate
In the course of developing OFTD, it really evolved into its own unique monster. When we first met in New Orleans in 2015, we all brought vintage rums to try, aiming to recreate something we felt was missing from our modern rum arsenal. We tasted, compared, and discussed while the Maison Ferrand team took copious notes.
When we reconvened in Cognac, we brought more vintage bottlings with us and really went around and around, with lots of great input from all the OFTD brothers. I think what came out of these sessions is something of a new beast, only recreating some vintage products in certain ways.
OFTD Brother Photos - Courtesy of Martin Cate
The flavor profile of OFTD is pretty unique and easy to identify on its own and in cocktails. And it performs in drinks in ways I didn’t anticipate. When I started rolling it into the drink program at Smuggler’s Cove, I found that it really made some drinks sing, and it becomes a bully in others. That’s been the interesting discovery for me, and what makes it fun to play with, because you never know how it’s going to perform until you really dive in and experiment.
Paul McFadyen
Working to make OFTD was one of the highlights of my entire rum career. Bouncing between New Orleans and France, watching Jeff, Martin, Paul, Scotty and Dave strive to recreate the essence of what Lemonhart 151 brought to Donn and Vic’s bars was a joy. The result shouts loudly for itself.
At the front end, I’m constantly struck by just what OFTD means to people. For the wild at heart and kitchen staff (a Venn diagram that mostly overlaps), it’s a shot of choice to wake up a jaded palate. There are bars across the UK where it’s part of their closing traditions - they bond over it. I’ve seen it in high-end hotels and dive cocktail bars, playing its part, and I’m told it’s many people’s favorite rum in the world.
OFTD Brother Photos - Courtesy of Paul McFadyen
What it’s taught me is how far even a little goes. It’s unlocked the joy of the Hell in the Pacific cocktail, and I’ve learned the hard way to ALWAYS question what shot you’re being handed in a late-night club!!
OFTD also keeps me humble when young bartenders repeatedly tell me, “Oh! I assumed those old guys were all dead!!”
Paul McGee
After sampling many iterations of the trial blend, we all decided to take a break and stroll over to one of the buildings at Bonbonnet. We were having fun looking at the casks and vats of rum aging inside when David Wondrich pointed to a large vat and asked Alexandre what was inside. Alexandre said it was 2-year-old Barbados rum, and David asked for a taste. Alexandre obliged. David took a swig and said, “That’s not bad. We should bring some of this back to the tasting room with us.”
Later on, David asked to add a bit of the 2-year-old Barbados rum to the blend of Guyana and Jamaican rum we’d been tasting all day. That was it, the missing piece of the puzzle! The small amount of Barbados rum tied everything together and made OFTD complete. We had created an overproof rum with not just the heat expected from it, but one with weight and flavor that’s truly delicious.
Scotty Schuder
One of the funniest stories was when we all met for the first top-secret tasting in New Orleans. No one knew what to expect, and we were meeting each other for the first time. I was anxious, nervous, and in the middle of a Tales of the Cocktail bender week. I arrived to find a large table with all the holy grails of vintage rum, like Wray & Nephew 17, Lemon Hart 151, all of the Dagger rums, the list goes on.
We’re sitting there glancing at the rums and each other, while waiting for our missing brother, Mr. David Wondrich. Eventually (it felt like hours to me), Dave arrives with an open bottle of Sazerac whiskey, apologizes for being late, pops the cork, and pours a couple of ounces straight from the bottle into everyone’s mouths. I wasn’t nervous anymore and was ready to begin the birth of OFTD’s DNA.
It’s been a crazy 10 years. OFTD is the backbone of many of our Cocktails at Dirty Dick. And a massive thank you to Alexandre Gabriel for putting this project together. What a wild ride!
Alexandre Gabriel
I’ve been fortunate to create many spirits over the last 37 years, yet Planteray OFTD will always hold a special place in my heart. It was born from strong opinions, shared passion, laughter, and a common desire to create something uncompromising and memorable. It took us a full year to finally get it right.
Then came the moment when David tasted what would become the final blend. He stood up and blurted, “Oh Fuck That’s Delicious!” OFTD was born.
Along the way, people began referring to us as the OFTD Brothers, something none of us could have imagined when we first gathered around a table in a secret room at Arnaud’s in New Orleans.
Ten years later, I’m still touched by the enthusiasm OFTD inspires. The greatest compliment is that people experience the joy, passion and commitment that created it.
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