The Rum Diaries, wedding style

Many brides-to-be know the ins and outs of wedding preparation. Everything has to be sampled and okayed before the big day to ensure things go off without a hitch.

In the months leading up to the affair, couples often make special trips to taste and select dinner items, hors d’oeuvres, various desserts and, of course, the wedding cake.

As I watched two of my dearest friends venture through this process (only somewhat offended that I was not invited to the cake tasting!), I asked, “When is the booze tasting?” Sadly, I was informed such a thing did not exist.

I was handed the delightful task of co-hosting the bride’s bachelorette party, and with only one week to go until the ladies and I venture to the western shore for what is sure to be an epic weekend, it was time to turn my dream into a reality.

Much like the wedding, a bachelorette party needs to run like a well-oiled machine, meticulously planned, all while leaving room for spontaneous moments that will provide fodder for stories (or blackmail) for years to come. If you don’t believe me, try putting 10 women in a house for a weekend with a bunch of alcohol and no game plan, and let me know how that works out.

Knowing that I did not want to have to herd a bunch of cats the following weekend, I called on my girls — some who knew each other well and others who were new to the group — for a pre-party weekend booze tasting so we could settle on some favorites and not have to be saddled with too many options once we’re there. With some of the women still getting to know each other, it would serve as a good preview of the festivities to come.

Now, this may seem like a thinly veiled excuse to drink, but with an academic such as myself in charge, it became scientific research.

First, I asked the bride what her liquor of choice for the weekend would be (strongly advising her to pick one and stick with it in hopes of avoiding sickness). Her choice: rum.

This is a seemingly simple selection on the surface, but given my love of research and tendency to overdo things, the bride unwittingly left the door open to hundreds of possibilities.

First, you have to address the most basic ingredient: rum. But what kind of rum? Light? Dark? Spiced? Flavored? For our tasting trial, we purchased everything from scorched cherry rum (my favorite) to spiced rum with real dairy cream in it (not my favorite).

Then there are the mixers. I cleaned out the grocery store, grabbing cartons of juices I didn’t even know existed: peach, watermelon, cherry-pomegranate, blueberry-raspberry and so on. I also got some conventional pre-packaged cocktail mixers, such as mai tais and mojitos, just in case.

When I laid everything out on the table, we were immediately overwhelmed. This was going to take longer than we thought.

We began simply, selecting flavor combinations that made the most sense: scorched cherry rum with lime and cherry-pomegranate juice; spiced rum with cream and peach juice; coconut rum with orange and pineapple juices.

Early in the evening, we designated a “dump cup” to toss the combinations that just weren’t working (dark rum with passion fruit-mango juice — yuck!). We carefully documented the ones that did in my reporter’s notebook (pretty much anything with orange and pineapple juice).

We sipped and chatted and sipped some more. We talked about life, the wedding and all the things that bring a group of women closer together. Before we knew it, it was 2 a.m. Tired and happy, we all went to sleep.

As I settled into my bed with a dopey, rum-induced smile on my face, I realized we had accomplished more than we originally set out to do. Yes, we selected our drinks of choice for the coming weekend’s festivities, but more than that, we had laid down a foundation of friendship and created an evening of memories that will serve us well at the bachelorette party and for life beyond.

When we venture off together for the party, there will be few secrets between us. We’ll already feel at ease with each other, and our comfort will make the others feel comfortable, too. We’ll be free to hit the ground running on making new memories and creating new stories to tell. We’ll strengthen our bond and be there to support each other, which is really what a wedding is all about.