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| Afrohead XO and Seven Year Old |
Up and at 'em with breakfast with Joe Farrell and Isaac Grillo from Afrohead Rum. Fun presentation and a great breakfast after an appetizer of two really good rums. The Afrohead Seven Year and the XO were the perfect start to another fun day of rum judging and rum presentations.
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| Joe Farrell |
Afrohead, the brain child of Toby Tyler and Joe Farrell, both residents of Harbour Island in the Bahamas. The have very special access to the rums of Angostura and an uncanny vision of what they want their rums to be. These rums were made exclusively for the
Landing Guest House and Restaurant on the island, but the demand for the rums outside of Harbour Island lead to the forming of the company and making the rum available in many new area, including Florida.
The fifth session of judging was white rums and our next to the last session. The job seems glamorous, but to taste 20 plus expressions per session, for six sessions in three days, this is really work to do it right.
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| Erik Vonk |
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| Richland Rum the Only Expression |
Richland Distillery Georgia Rum was the host for lunch. Erik Vonk presented a very interesting story of how the rum only contains two ingredients, Georgia sugarcane and Georgia aquifer water. Richland Distillery grows the sugarcane, harvests, presses and boils the juice preparing it for fermentation. They distill the wash in their 1000 liter pot still keeping only the hearts of the distillation and putting it directly from the still into the virgin American Oak barrels. The will spend the next three years in the barrels and then bottled and sold. This is a very special and flavorful rum that for now is only available in Georgia, but if you happen to be in the area of Richland, Georgia, you might want to stop by and visit the distillery and buy a bottle of the fine rum across the street,
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| The final set-up ready |
The sixth and final session followed the lunch. This session was the flavored and overproof overproof for last after the tasting is complete, the palate and throat is seriously finished.
rums. It is a good thing they save the
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| Cartavio Rums |
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| Frederico Schultz |
Cartavio is back in the United States after many years of absence. The company is really pleased to be back in the US, and has brought their fabulous Caratavio XO and the new Cartavio Solera expressions for our enjoyment. Master Blender and Distiller Frederico Schultz talked to us about the ultra modern distillery and how they are producing the rum these days yielding a great flavor. It is nice to have the Cartavio line of rums from Peru back here in the US.
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| The New Bayou Select |
From the frying pan into the fire and we are off to the pool area for another presentation of fine rums from the Bayou people from Louisiana. They ask you to "taste the spirit of Louisiana" when you try their rums. They have several new expressions to introduce to the judges and they didn't disappoint at all.
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| Bayou Line of Rums |
Guess what? Now we are off the Broken Shaker for another night of fun and sharing of more fine cocktails. ;o)
