Toast the Old Chum with Rum

I have loved Adam West since I was seven years old, when I first laid eyes on Batman on January 12, 1966. Wow! Zowie! Boom! I was hooked on this wonderful and campy classic. It came before all the other shows that I loved, The Monkees and Star Trek (and I LOVED Star Trek. But Captain Kirk could never take the place of Adam West, in my heart, but he is a close second). Yes, Batman was my first! My mom did not let us waste time, money or brains on comic books. So this was my first exposure to the super-hero genre. I loved it, and Adam West! Batman was a very big part of my childhood. We were so lucky that the show was on back-to-back nights! I’d cut pictures of him out of the TV guide, and any other magazine he was in. This one was, and always will be, my favorite.

I loved all the crazy villains: The Joker (Cesar Romero who refused to shave his mustache for the role. Look close next time at his heavily made-up lips), the Riddler (Frank Gorshen. I think he had worms), King Tut (Victor Buono, fresh off his gig as Baby Jane‘s love interest), Egghead (the great Vincent Price and that voice of his!), and the Bookworm (Roddy McDowell, that nerdy little fellow before he gained fame as an Ape from some planet). I especially enjoyed the Penguin (Burgess Meredith, with that long cigarette holder. I bought one as an adult in homage when I used to smoke). My lovely daughter Meredith thinks I named her after Burgess Meredith.

It used to bug me that Aunt Harriet was Larry Mondello’s mom on Leave it to Beaver. Was she always that old?

My little sister Michelle’s first birthday was in October of 1966 and I begged my mom to buy her a Batman decorated birthday cake that I admired every day on my way to school, in the window of our local bakery, Meredith’s Pastries. (My daughter Meredith thinks I named her after this bakery, too). Baby Michelle would stand up in her playpen and bounce with delight to the Batman theme song every time we tuned in to the show at the same Bat Time and on the same Bat Channel. Good old mom, she bought us that cake!

I am lucky to be Six Degrees of Separation to Adam West. My dad’s cousin, Johnny Ginger, was a kiddie show host in Detroit in the 1960’s. He landed the part of Billy the Kid in that awful Three Stooges movie, The Outlaws is Coming, starring ADAM WEST! Bonus points: I am Six Degrees Separated to the Three Stooges, Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk!

Of course, I am deeply saddened by the passing of Adam West. Instead of mourning him, I would rather celebrate his life. And what better way to celebrate the life of this classic Batman than with a classic cocktail: The Rum and Coke.

Try a Batcardi and Coke:

Bacardi Rum plus a Coke with the name Bruce on it = Batman.

Or a Kraken Repellant

which is a Coke with Kraken Rum, because Batman carries Kraken repellant right next to his shark repellant on his Utility Belt!

How about the Gotham on Ice? Mr. Boston Brand Imported Rum over Ice. (I always thought Mr. Boston was the Penguin).

If you like it spicy, try The Old Chum: Captain Morgan Bomb Rum and Coke. Because some day you just can’t get rid of a bomb! Garnish with a stemmed cherry bomb.