Living here in Central Florida, there is no lack of awesome events to attend. Last week we attended one of the coolest events since we moved here! Enzo’s Hideaway hosted the Bootlegger’s Dinner in Disney Springs. This was a curated menu of food and drinks centered around Bacardi rums of the Caribbean. Enzo’s Hideaway does these special dinners a few times throughout the year so make sure you are following their social media and getting their emails. I can’t wait to share our experience with you!
Reserving the Bootlegger’s Dinner in Disney Springs
Enzo’s Hideaway has an active email list as well as social media channels. I got an email about the Bootlegger’s Dinner in Disney Springswith two date options and all the details. Tickets for the event were $75 plus tax and gratuity. There were a very limited number of tickets sold to each night and seemed to sell out within a couple of days. I can totally understand why, just wait till you see the menu!
The Bootlegger’s Dinner Set-up
Since we had never been to one of these events before, we didn’t know what to expect. Me being the ultimately extra person that I am, we dressed the part! I mean you can’t go to a Bootlegger’s Dinner in a speakeasy and just where normal clothes right?! We were 1000% the only ones dressed up but that’s ok. We got there early so I could grab some outside pictures and video and decided to have a pre-dinner drink at the bar. That drink may have been my downfall later but I’ll save that for the conclusion! Haha!
Enzo’s Hideaway is not a huge restaurant, it is very intimate and what you would imagine a speakeasy restaurant to look like. The Bootlegger’s Dinner didn’t take up the whole dining area, just a roped off section of tables towards the back of the restaurant. Each table had a really cool Havana Club rum gift bag for each person on them. The gift bags had some very cool things from Bacardi inside and the coolest tissue paper. Since we were early we got to pick our table and had the front and center table in front of the bar where the drinks would be presented.
The Bootlegger’s Dinner in Disney Springs Hosts
Once we got started we were introduced to our bartender and creator of the drinks, Jensley. J as the called him is from the Dominican Republic and created some of the best cocktails I have ever had! We also met Richard Mejia, the local Bacardi Premium Rum Ambassador. These two did an incredible job not only telling us about the cocktails and how they were made but also about the rums themselves. J explained how he created the flavors in each cocktail, why they complimented the rum used, what his inspirations were for the flavors and how they were different than a traditional drink that may be similar. Then Richard would tell us about the rum used in the cocktail, its history and origins. He also talked about how they were aged or stored to enhance the flavors.
Honestly, my nerd heart was so happy! I loved getting all the information and hearing about the rums recipe and history and then how the cocktail elements enhanced the flavors. You guys, bartenders are so cool! Haha! We also got to meet our chef, Felipe Figueroa who curated the food to compliment each cocktail. He came out to talk about each dish and why it was selected. And let me tell you, each one was outstanding!
Bootlegger’s Dinner Menu
Now that I have told you how good it all was, maybe I’ll actually tell you what we ate and drank! Honestly, reading the menu in the email was why I bought the tickets to the Bootlegger’s Dinner in Disney Springs. Everything sounded so delicious!! There were three courses, an appetizer, entree and dessert. Each one was paired with a one of a kind cocktail created just for the event but the hosting bartender, Jensley Camacho. All three were beautifully presented and so so good!
Course 1
The first course was the Havana Hush cocktail, Havana Club Anejo Cuban Rum, Pineapple Ginger Shrub, Cardamom Citrus Tincture, Lime Juice and Demerara. This one was perfectly citrusy and not too sweet. It smelled so incredibly good, it would make a great candle scent. This one was paired with an Antipasto of Lobster Crudo, Chicory and Apricot Vinaigrette Sorbet. The lobster was light a fresh, the perfect first course to go with a light citrus cocktail. My hubby didn’t like the lobster so much because it was chilled but enjoyed the sorbet. I thought the chilled aspect made it go with the cocktail even more and the sorbet was a delicious way to cleanse the pallet before the entree course.
Course 2
Our second course featured the Guava Ghost cocktail, Santa Teresa 1796, Pineapple Guava Cordial, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, Lime Oleo Saccharin, Coconut Tincture, Toasted Coconut Flakes, Dehydrated Pineapple. This cocktail had so many nice flavors happening that you tasted at different moments of each sip. The one that got me was the banana flavor! Where did that come from?? The interesting thing was that when I asked J and Richard I got two answers that both made sense. J explained that the Coconut Tincture had a rich buttery taste that can have notes of banana and let me try that on its own. It definitely had a banana-ish flavor to it. Richard explained that the Santa Teresa 1796 rum also had notes of banana from the mixture of the light, heavy and pot still rums.
This cocktail was paired with a Secondo of Espresso Rubbed NY Strip, Acorn Chocolate Glaze and Apio (celery root) Puree. The steak was cooked perfectly and that coffee rubbed was insane! I love celery root so I knew I would like the Apio Puree, but I was unsure how my hubs would feel about it. He loved it! This was his favorite of the night.
Course 3
The final course featured the Cocoa Cartel cocktail, Facundo Aged Puerto Rican Rum, Clarified Coconut Cream, Cinnamon and Dark Chocolate. This was kind of a spin on a Coquito that J said was a mixture of his Dominican roots and his girlfriends Puerto Rican heritage. This was fantastic! So smooth and perfectly creamy without feeling milky. Seriously, the perfect dessert cocktail. This one was paired with a Dolce of Dark Chocolate Tart, Coconut Caramel and Coconut Sorbet. This was delightfully rich and went with this cocktail so well. I am not usually a big dessert person but this was outstanding.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed this experience so much! Yes, the food and drinks were amazing but the learning about each drink, plate and rum really set it off for me. It was a simple, yet elevated event that didn’t feel pretentious or over done. It felt very intimate and personal. Jensley, Richard and Chef Felipe talked to every table and were happy to answer questions and give you more information. They talked to you like you were a friend in their living room for a party and really made you feel comfortable asking about things. You could tell they both love what they do and are passionate about sharing it with others. Like I said, I am a nerd for information so I loved hearing all the things and being able to ask more questions. I would highly recommend this event or one similar and we will definitely do this again.
If you are not a cocktail drinker usually….pace yourself! I love cocktails and have a decent tolerance for liquor drinks but having that pre-dinner drink may have been too much and I may have had a little hangover the next morning. Oops! It was totally worth it, I’ll just skip that extra cocktail next time. You can follow Enzo’s Hideaway, Jensley and Richard on Instagram by clicking their names here. They put on such an incredible evening! And you can read about more of my favorite restaurants in Disney here. I hope this made you feel like you were there and inspires you to take part in one of these events in the future. Thank you so much for reaching along and have a magical day!!
