What Makes a Good Rum Bar?

     A Rum Bar unlike many other types of bars is a connecting point between great rums and people who's interest and desires for a quality cocktail come together.     As a bartender at the Rum Bar on Duval Street in Key West, where I get a unique prospective on what people are looking for when they come in.     Going back to the premise that rumstylers are of the fun loving nature, the atmosphere must be of a light hearted and personal nature.     The selection of rums must be as large as possible and the quality of the rums must be maintained.     The bartenders must have a love for rum, be knowledgeable about the rums, and have an outgoing personality that can communicate with the customers.     The ability of the bartender to sense the needs and tastes of the patrons from conversation is also a very large plus.    Most of the successful rum bars are smaller in size and tend to be more personal and warm with a lot of conversation between the patrons and the patrons and the bartender.  

     What is offered by the bar is as important as the atmosphere.     A good rum bar has a large (in our case 2090) selection of quality rums.    This means not just bottles, but selection within a brand, and within the category of rums.     Much like the judging of rum, you have to be able to select between spiced rums for example or between 10 to 15 year old rums to get a true comparison, if the patron is to have an expanded palliate from which to choose in the future.    This is the job of the rum bar to get people into new categories and brands that they haven't tried before in order to find a new favorite rum.
     I'm asked often what is the best rum, the most expensive rum, and quite often what is my favorite rum.    These are most often answered by saying I have dozens of favorite rums, but the mood,the people I'm with, and the overall atmosphere make that decision at any given moment.    Often times the most expensive isn't the best tasting to the parton, many a time the less expensive rums appeal to individuals more than the higher priced one.

To say the least a good rum bar is a complex concept that has to fit your own needs and personality, just go out and find one that is near to you or head south to the islands and bring back a taste for these wonderful nectars and teach your bar the importance of being a good rum bar.