Rum for All Enters Second Year

Source: Spirit Journal, Inc
January 7, 2013

Spirit Journal, Inc.'s Rum For All, the groundbreaking Rum advocacy initiative, is entering its second full year of activities with an ambitious docket of planned trade/media and consumer events. Rum For All is the unique, innovative partnership between blue chip rum producers and independent spirits experts and journalists F. Paul Pacult and Sean Ludford.

The core goal of the initiative is to educate beverage industry trade professionals, media and, starting in 2013, consumers through dynamic seminar/tasting events, an educational website and active social media about the folklore, history, production and mixology applications of Rum.

Said Ludford, "In our first full year, Paul and I hosted major events in Vancouver, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston and Dallas geared directly to beverage retailers, bartenders and media. This year, the Rum For All roadshow will hit Chicago, Denver, New York and Washington D.C., with more cities in the planning stage, including the Pacific Northwest. The resurgence of the Rum category is evident just by the crowds that Rum For All is attracting in every city."

Added Pacult, "In 2013, we will be adding one, possibly two new Rum producer members to the remarkable roster of existing A-list producers. And on Saturday, April 13th in New York, we will host our exciting Rum For All "Rum Day at Astor Center", where consumers will get the daylong opportunity to attend a formal sit down Rum tasting and cocktail party. Another tasty perk for attendees will be that Astor Wine & Spirits will be featuring selected Rums at special sale prices that day. How could any red-blooded American imbiber not love that concept?"

The Rum For All Founding Members for 2013 are:

            10 Cane, Trinidad                             Appleton Estate, Jamaica

            Bacardi, Puerto Rico                         Banks Rum

            Brugal, Dominican Republic            Cruzan, Virgin Islands

            Denizen                                             Depaz, Martinique

            Diplomatico, Venezuela                   Don Q, Puerto Rico

            Mount Gay, Barbados                       Ron Abuelo, Panama

            Shellback, Barbados                         Zacapa Rum, Nicaragua

For more information and/or to subscribe to the monthly Rum For All e-newsletter, please log onto www.rumforall.com. You can also like Rum For All on FaceBook www.facebook.com/rumforall.


Rum for All is doing a great job of bringing the gospel of rum to America.  This is a great source of information and knowledge for the rum enthusiast.   F. Paul Pacult and Sean Ludford are dong much for the rum industry and expanding the horizons of the spirits consumers to the virtues of rum.   

The seminars on rum at the many of their events have been very positive among bartenders and enthusiasts as well, and I hope they are able to continue their great work  raising the awareness of the rum category.    ;o)

 

The Fog Rolls Into Key West

     Fog rolling into Key West is an unusual sight, but yesterday morning it rolled down the Gulf of Mexico like something out of a Steven Spielberg movie.    It stayed around most of the day making it even more unusual.   

Finca la Vigia: Hemingway's Cuban Home

   This is a part of the trip to Cuba in September that I have not taken the time to write about yet.   The home that Ernest Hemingway spent nearly 20 years and was visited by so many celebrities of the era.        Hemingway’s Home in Cuba, located in San Francisco de Paula, just outside of Havana.    Hemingway bought the house with the royalties from For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1940.    The house was originally built by Spanish Achitect Miguel Pascusl y Baguer in 1886.    Hemingway purchased the house in 1940 for the sum of $12,500.     After Hemingway’s death in 1961, the Cuban Government became the owner of the property either with or without the approval of Mary Hemingway to whom his will passed the ownership of the property, his royalties, and most other belongings.

     It has been said that when lanky Gary Cooper visited Hemingway that he was too tall for any of  the beds, so he slept on the couch.  When a visiting Ava Gardener was wilting in the tropical heat, she was said to have gone "skinny dipping" in the pool, where the water usually a bit green in color, but very refreshing  anyway.   There were many other notables of the time that visited Hemingway at Finca la Vigia, like Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, George Plimpton and Jean-Paul Satre, all guests at the hilltop estate.

     The View from the back porch down towad Havana is also very spectacular.  The house has a vibe of warmth and friendliness that makes you feel very much at home there.  I can understand why all of the friends took the time to stop by and spend time with Ernest at Finca La Vigia.   This home was unique in many ways, from the cats, the cows, the tower observatory, from which he had a clear view of the pool where several of his famous guests were know to swim in the buff.   

     All in all it is a great view of the man's lifestyle and where he wrote so many of his novels and short stories.  The twenty or so years he spent here at Finca la Vigia were some of his most productive as far as his writing went, and I feel like they were some of his happiest years as well.     Seeing Pilar in the back area was also a thrill, a story I will pursue at a later time.   ;o)

Diplomatico on My Mind

iv>      I'm sitting here thinking about a nice rum, and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva has come to mind.   It has been a while since I got top sit down and just sip this fine spirit.   There is something that I really like about this rum, maybe the notes of brandy on the palate or even the big bold Grand Marnier style finish, or all of the above.  This makes a really fine rum to sit on the back of the boat and just put my feet up in the air with.

    The fine work of Tito Cordero and the fine people of DUSA in Venezuela make this a wonderful sipping kind of rum.   If you haven't tried any of the fine Diplomatico line of rums, you need to, especially the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva.  All of the line make for some really good mixing, but when it comes to a sipper, the reserva exclusiva can not be beat.  ;o)

  

The United States Extends Cover Over Subsidy

Diageo Grand Opening of Rum Distillery in St. Croix

     "It is U.S. policy to tax rum producers like Diageo and Bacardi nearly $14 for every gallon of rum they make outside the country and sell in the U.S. But the tax is merely a gimmick that gets reinvested in the Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rico in the form of aid. The alcohol industry's more than $13/per gallon kickback has been extended as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations. Pro Publica estimates the tax break gives Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a total of $480 million in aid for rum production."

read more at http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/01/02/fiscal-cliff-pork-asparagus-nascar-rum.

     It seems that here we are in a fiscal disaster and we still don't want to give up feeding the $480 Million for the rum cover over tax program that is causing so much problem throughout the rum producing world.     It would seem to me that the money could be better spent investing in American rum producers not only in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, but those within the boarders of the United States proper.   This is a one sided program that is a direct aide of money to these companies and not just a tax break that was offered to so many other foreign corporations that have opted to build plants here in the United States.

     "Prime Minister Freundel Stuart made this clear as he spoke with members of the media following a tour of Foursquare Rum Distillery in St Philip on Friday."

     "Stuart disclosed that, at present, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands were able to purchase products much cheaper than Caribbean rum producers and, as a result, this gave them an unfair advantage as far as their rum exports were concerned. He said this matter was engaging the attention of CARICOM states and was being "actively" addressed."

     He added: "The rum industry is too important to Barbados, and yes it is a CARICOM issue, but I don't think any CARICOM country has any reason to be as concerned about this as Barbados. Rum is assuming an importance for Barbados that we cannot afford to ignore. So, this is a front burner issue and we are following it very closely."

     "The prime minister disclosed that he recently held lengthy discussions with the US Assistant Secretary of State on the matter and also met with Barbados's ambassador to Washington, John Beale, as well as Barbados's ambassador to CARICOM, Robert ‘Bobby' Morris. Furthermore, he explained that Barbados's ambassador to Geneva, Dr Marion Williams, was also looking into the issue."

     It seems that the issue keeps falling on deaf ears here in Washington, D.C., I wonder what it will take to wake up the congress to an issue that is not only hurting the rum industry as a whole, but the rum producers within the United States as well who are paying an excise tax to the Federal Government.   After a promise to help the "middle class" in the less than 2 month ago elections we are hand $480 million off to be invested in companies that are not even American companies.

 

The Holidays are Finally Over

   The coming of the new year means that it is time to take down the colorful lights and just go back to the "drab" colors of everyday living.  NOT!!!!!!!!      It is always hard for me to take the lights off of the boat and watch as the marina goes dark after the new years parties are over.

    My season has already gotten underway and there are festivals and regattas coming up in January to get ready for.  These post holiday doldrums will soon be behind me and the speed of life will be back at full tilt again.

     It is always hard to leave a fun filled year and start a new one, it is sort of like moving to a new town and have to start over getting what you had established as routine to be routine again.  The new year requires some effort to begin again and make things start to happen.   Hoping to see the brightness of the holiday lights sparkling again with a bit of rest and the schedules return to normal.   I guess that it was just a lot of fun, but it was a bit overwhelming at the same time.  

     I'll just lay back and take a nap, then it is off to the Rum Bar for another day of fun with the visitors and friends here on the island today.  Hope your return to work and normality goes smoothly, mine seems to be, but who knows what today will bring.  ;o)

Happy New Year: A Chance to Get Closer and Enjoy the Rum World

     The New Year is here, and a chance for everyone to get closer together and learn a bit more about the exciting world of rum.     There are many ways to avail yourself of the fine spirit, bars, festivals, on the many great blogs related to the subject, and at home.     I'm working on new ways to put the rum out and making more information  readily available.  

     The biggest obstacle is where to find many of the finer rums as people leave Key West and return home.   If it isn't at their local bar or liquor store, sometimes it becomes difficult to locate many of the fine rums that we have here at the Rum Bar.

    There is very little trouble getting the varieties of rum here in Florida, but the rest of the United States really lacks the resources for the better rums.   There are exceptions in every state, but overall it is still hard to find.    Some of the problem for the citizens of the United States are the rules for importing rum into this country.   It become very expensive with the taxes to bring multiple lines of rum here from the Caribbean, Central and South America.  

    There are many rums in my collection that I have brought back here personally on my trips to rum producing countries that are simply not imported into America.    Many of these are very fine rums that Can only be gotten abroad.   It is always my mission when traveling to seek out the rum stores in each and every country to try and discover some of the many new and unusual rums available where I happen to be.

     Here in America we do have one source that has been growing in the past few years, that is the online liquor store.    This is a great source for better quality rums and hard to find ones.   Many times you can Google the name of a rum and the online outlets will be made known to you.   There are several very large ones out there both on the east and west coasts of the United States.    If you are having a problem locating some of the better rums you can look to cyber space as a solution.

     No matter what it takes to get the rums that you seek, the search is often as much fun as the enjoyment of the rum itself.   It is like quests for so many things, the adventure to obtain the rum is the one of the most memorable parts of enjoying the spoils of the search.   Enjoy your sown adventure of chasing the elusive rums of the world, there are so many that the quest can go on for many years.    ;o)

Happy New Years Eve: Bring on the Party

     This is it the sunset of 2012, a year that I have to say was a very interesting one.  Politics Hurricanes, and so much more.  The important thing right now to me is that all of you will be here with me tomorrow.   Tonight the party day around the world, one that matches no other in the consumption of alcohol.   Make sure as you plan your evening that you plan the way you get back home.  One that doesn't include driving.   I can't emphasize the dangers of even buzz driving, especially on New Years.  The police are out and looking for anyone that is even marginally intoxicated behind the wheel and they will see you long before you see them.

     It is my hope that your 2012 was as interesting and fulfilling as mine was and the prospects for 2013 are equally as bright.  Lets bring 2013 in with a great and fun party and get home safely after the New Year has been rung in.   Happy New Years to all and to all a good night of raucous partying.  ;o)

The New Day has Risen

  The final Sunday of 2012 has risen and the day has begun.   Today should be a fun one, one I'm looking forward to.  It has been a great year and now it is time to work on making 2013 a better one.

Phillip Greene: "To Have and Have Another"

Phillip Greene

     Phillip Greene, author of the book "To Have and Have Another" will be at the Rum Bar in Key West on Sunday December 30, 2012 for a book signing.  You will be able to chat with Phil and pick up your personal copy of the book in the classic Key West atmosphere that Hemingway so enjoyed from 1928 til 1940.    Phillip will be in the Rum Bar from 2pm until 5ish for you to meet and purchasse your autographed copy of the book..    

    “Part of what got me hooked on Hemingway was how well he described what he was eating and drinking,”   Phillip spends a lot of time discussing the little tricks and innovations of Hemingway and his drinking.  “He liked his drinks very cold,” said Greene. “He used tennis ball cans to make giant ice cubes when he made his martinis and he would freeze his Spanish cocktail onions."    This detail of the cocktail and it's history makes for fun and interesting reading.    

"1923, Hemingway at the bullfights in Ronda, Spain. He published two books on bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon and The Dangerous Summer. He's likely most associated with the Fiesta of San Fermin, famous for its "Running of the Bulls." ... Of its setting he once wrote, "Pamplona is no place to bring your wife. The odds are all in favor of her getting ill, hurt or wounded or at least jostled and wine squirted all over her, or of losing her; maybe all three. ... It’s a man’s fiesta and women at it make trouble, never intentionally of course, but they nearly always make or have trouble." 

 

     The time you can spend with Phillip at the Rum Bar will be thoroughly enlightening and probably lead you a few blocks down the street to Hemingway's home here in Key West if you haven't already seen it.   This is a chance to visit with the author who did the research into the cocktails of the history of the cocktails that Ernest Hemingway enjoyed and how they fit into is works.    Phillip is a very colorful man with an interesting background in the areas of the cocktail.  

"To Have and Have Another" walks the line between a quixotically focused biography and generously informative cocktail book. As co-founder of New Orleans' Museum of the American Cocktail, Greene is an expert on all things booze."  

    Stop on in Sunday afternoon for a Hemingway and a chance to obtain the book signed by the author.   ;o)

  

 

 

 

I've Put Another Year Behind Me!

     This is a day that I can look back and say WOW!!!   I've been to Cuba, Venezuela, Trinidad, Mexico, and Miami;  all of these destinations have offered something different to enlighten my life.   The world of rum has been good to me and I really have had a great time exploring it.  

     I get to start my life today by receiving a raise for my lifetime of working.  Our federal government, has made me fully vested and social security  eligible.   This is a welcome day, one at times I didn't feel like I would never see.     The level in time where I can work as hard as I want to and not be penalized for hard work by the social security system.  This is a wonderful thing.

    I feel very blessed for my wife, my health and ambition, being able to keep on doing all of the things that I so enjoy doing.  I get to live in Key West on a boat, work in a very cool bar on Duval Street, visit rum distilleries and very interesting places, act as a judge for rums and cocktails, all in the name of rum.   What a great run I am having.   I've gotten to have a cocktail in Havana along side the statue of Ernest Hemingway sitting in his favorite seat at the El Floridita, sip rum with my friend Tito Cordero at the Diplomatico hacienda, and create cocktails 5 days a week at the Rum Bar in Key West meeting new friends every day.

    The funny thing about "age" is you don't have to look back on the "good ole days" when they are today.    Thanks to every one who has touched my life, for you have made it very special.   I just keep look toward today to see where I'm going next.   ;o)

The Home Bar According to Facundo Bacardi

I ran across this article the other day in the Wall Street Journal and found it to be very interesting.   It is my belief that a well equipped and stocked "home bar" is an essential item and part of a nice home.   Facundo Bacardi airs his views on the subject.

 

Source: Wall Street Journal

By CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN

Dec 26th

 

"A Rum Scion Tells How to Gin Up a Home Bar"

As cocktails have become more popular in bars and restaurants, so has the practice of mixing drinks for guests at home. When doing so, Facundo L. Bacardi believes in having just the right setting for shaking up cocktails.

"Having a bar in your home makes it seem more of an event, as opposed to you just pulling bottles out of a cupboard," says Mr. Bacardi, chairman of the board of Bacardi Ltd. "Once I get back behind the bar, making things, it's a great place to sit and talk without the distraction of everything else in your home. It feels much more intimate to me."

In that vein, Mr. Bacardi likes having a home bar that feels like a destination. In his Coral Gables, Fla., home, the bar is located within a library-like reading room. "It looks like a club, almost," says Mr. Bacardi, who is the great-great-grandson of Bacardi Ltd. founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. Having a bar that is away from the hubbub of the living room or kitchen makes the time he spends with his friends focused, he says.

A traditional full-scale bar isn't necessary; a piece of furniture or some shelving can work just as well. Either way, Mr. Bacardi likes having the bar's décor blend in with its surroundings. His bar has dark oak paneling to match the walls of his reading room so "it all flows together." With a seamless look, the bar area ends up being comforting to the eye instead of jarring. An incongruous look, he says, may give off the air of "you've hired a bartender to come to the house and they're bringing their own stuff."

Although the bar counter itself is fairly small-about 4 feet across-Mr. Bacardi has it equipped with items he believes all amateur mixologists should have: a measuring cup, chopping board, a serrated knife for fruit, peelers for garnishes, a small juice press and a shaker. "There's a big difference between when you stir something versus when you shake something," he says. "The ingredients come more alive when you shake them."

Read more :http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20000872396390443507204578022483598866880.html?ru=yahoo?mod=yahoo_itp

 

The idea of a home bar goes right to the basis of rumstylin and is always a fun place to hang out.  ;o)

At What Cost a DUI

     At what cost are you going to drive home this week from the party or your trip to the local watering hole.    The saving of a $15 to $30 cab ride, cost you $15,000 to $24,000 to clear a DUI.    This is something you have to ask yourself as we head into the biggest party week of the year.   What is your plan to get home?   

The potential costs of a DUI are staggering. From court costs, fines and attorneys’ fees, to traffic school, probation and higher insurance premiums, you can expect to pay $10,000 or more for the experience.

About the only way to avoid any of the expenses associated with a DUI is to take one of the field or chemical tests and pass. When you sign your California driver’s license you give "implied consent" to having your breath, blood or urine tested if you are pulled over on suspicion of DUI. If you refuse the test or fail it, your driver's license will be immediately suspended and you will be taken into custody. California will impose a fine and may suspend your license for refusing the test even if it’s later determined you were not driving under the influence.

You may say, “No problem, I have a good attorney.” Not so fast – even experienced DUI attorneys may not help you avoid all the costs that come with an arrest. In 2007, the last year that statistics are available, there were 203,866 arrests for DUI in California and 75% of them resulted in a conviction. 

Read more at http://www.iinc.org/articles/325/1/The-Cost-of-a-DUI/Page1.html.

This week there will be more road side check points and more patrolling officers looking for people who have had one to many for the road.   Don't become one of the statistics, take a cab or have another plan that doesn't include driving set up before you start the party.   I want my readers back to enjoy the fun life after the New Years parties are over.   I don't know anyone that can really afford the cost of a DUI, do you.   Lets have a safe and fun week of New Years parties and not have to pay for them for the next seven or more years.   ;o)

 

 

Christmas in Key West

A very Merry Christmas to all on this beautiful December 25th, 2012.     My hope is that all is well with all of you and your families this morning.  It is my hope that you are with the people you love and want to be with and sharing the warmth of Christmas.

    Christmas is Christmas anywhere you happen to be.  Christmas is best when you can spend special time with friends and family.    I guess that the thing I like about Christmas in the tropics is the cool crisp air and the fact that there is NO SNOW.    Jimmy Buffett's Christmas song, "Christmas in the Caribbean" nails the idea perfectly with the verse that says "Christmas in the Caribbean got everything but snow".    Last night we all sat around the colorfully lighted boats at the docks and enjoyed the friendship that makes all of us so very happy this time of year.  The evening of Santa hats, eggnog and families joining together and sharing the Christmas spirit and having fun.  

     The real spirit of Christmas isn't lost without snow, and you get to hang out in your shorts.   This is a great thing for me, and I can watch "Holiday Inn" on the tube if I think that I really need the feeling of snow, Not.    No Matter where you are make this a very special Christmas Day and the first Christmas of the the new cycle.  ;o)

 

Christmas Eve: Eggnog

Eggnog is one of the great holiday drinks that you only get to enjoy once a year.    To make the eggnog yourself is best I guess , but you have to be able to spend 3 or 4 hours in the process.   I'll go to the grocery store and pick-up a quart and make the upgrades to it myself.    In the past couple of years I have been using a great spiced from made in Sarasota, Florida call Siesta Key Spiced Rum for my eggnog.  This rum has Christmas written all over it, the spices remind me of gingerbread cookies and pumpkin pie.  

Bahama Bob's Eggnog 

• Collins glass filled 3/4 full of quality eggnog
• 1 1/2 oz. Siesta Key Spiced Rum
• Fresh Ground Nutmeg
• Whipped Cream
• Cherry on top

Add the rum to the eggnog in a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled.  Strain into a Collins glass and grind the nutmeg on top to taste, top with whipped cream, and place a cherry in the whipped cream.  You can also garnish with a cinnamon stick.

     Enjoy you eggnog and have a very Happy Holiday.   ;o)

Winter Morning in Key West

   I know all of you up North with the snow and below freezing temperatures don't feel for us down here in the tropics when we have a cold spell.  That is unless you've been down here when we actually have one.

   It is a beautiful clear crisp morning that is a bit on the chilly side, currently 56 degrees this morning with a humidity of 69%.   The winds are calm, keeping the chill factor to a minimum. 

   By the way I'm still wearing shorts to work this morning.   Happy Sunday to all of you where ever you may be.

The Source of the Rum: Sugar Cane

Slaves Cutting Cane in Trinidad

Wind Powered Cane Crusher

The history of rum ties itself to the history of sugar cane.   You go back to the 1600's and the early days of raising cane in the Caribbean and you will find the roots of rum.    The sugar cane, sugar production, and the slave trade have been at the center of the history of rum from the start.  Rum became a valuable commodity that was traded for slaves, sugar, and cash.

Santa Teresa Cane Field in Venezuela

     The by product of the sugar process is molasses, the primary ingredient in most rums.  The places you find sugar cane growing, you usually find a rum distillery.   In some of my recent trips around the Caribbean I have visited sugar cane fields and seen how it is processed for sugar and rum, but the sugar cane is the basis that is so important.   Many of the distilleries today depend on sugar cane being grown in the Dominican Republic and Brazil, but other s have their own cane fields on the grounds of the distillery.

Barbados Sugar Cane Field

     The French make their rhums kniwn as agricoles, from a documented sugar cane that is crushed and fermented, rather than using the molasses.  In Barbados, the rum is made from molasses, which makes sense because of the enormous amount of sugar processing that took place there in the early days of the island.   This is an interesting part of the rum process, because of the history involved with the development of sugar throughout the Caribbean and the tropical climate areas.  

From the sugar triangle to the modern day rum producers, the basis is still the same today as it was in the 1600's.  Sugar cane is cut, some places manually, other places by machine, hauled to a crusher and sugar is extracted.  The residue molasses is then fermented and the rum process begins.   Much is talked about in the production of rum, but the sugar cane and the molasses that comes from the sugar processing are the real heritage of the rum.  ;o)

The Beginning of a New Cycle: Hopefully and Improvement

     A lot has been bantered around about the world ending at 6:11AM EST, but it is after 8 and I can no longer procrastinate writing today's blog.   I guess the predictions are as usual a pile of "horse feathers" and we must go ahead with living as usual. 

    The truth about the Mayan Calender is that the civilization was gone before the end of their calender.   The Mayans were scientists and great observers of the things around them.   Just because the did not create a calender for the next cycle it doesn't mean that there wasn't going to be another cycle.

     This is a new cycle starting today, one that I hope will bring some sanity to this world that we live in.    It is a chance to start with a clean slate and make tings better this time around.   It is my sincere hope that people will start respecting the ways and views of others as they expect others to respect their views and ways.

    This is our new calender, it goes into effect in 11 days.   This is the time to make a sincere effort to make things better, not to just talk about it and repeat the rhetoric, it's time to "do".

    I think it is time to celebrate the new cycle and go have a  glass of nice rum add a couple of cubes and just hope that the future is brighter than the past.   ;o)

Mount Gay XOld Fashion

   A couple of weeks ago, a young lady stopped by the Rum Bar and asked for an Old Fashion.  This setme to thinking of an  idea to recreate the cocktail my way.  I thought to my self why not put a new spin on this venerable ole cocktail and make it with rum.   It dawned on me to base the "new" old fashion around Mount Gay XO Rum.   This is a rum that is bold and dark rum that is generally regarded as a sipping rum, but it has qualities that lend it to being a great ultra premium cocktail rum as well.

Bahama Bob's XOld Fashion 

• 1 1/2 oz. Mount Gay XO
• 1 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 3/4 oz. Agave Nectar
• 2  Maraschino Cherries
• 1 Dash of Bitters

Muddle the agave nectar, Cherries, and the bitters in a rocks glass.  Pour the muddle into a shaker filled with ice and add the liquors.  Shake until chilled and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.  Float an orange zest on the surface and serve.

This is a great evening cocktail that I hope you will enjoy.  ;o)

Havana Club Trademark Battle Moves to WTO

Cuba Protests Use of Havana Club Trademark by US Company

Source: Havana Times

December 18, 2012

     "Cuban diplomats registered their complaints on Monday before the Dispute Settlement Body (OSD) of the World Trade Organization in Geneva about the illegal use of the Havana Club label on rum sold in the United States, reported the Prensa Latina news agency."

     "The Cuban delegation alleges "inconsistencies" in the report presented by the US since the OSD disapproved Section 211 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of that country. This stripes the Cuban owner of the trademark from its right to trade labels, thus allowing the Bacardi Company to use the name of the prestigious Cuban rum company."

     "The interim chargé d'affaires of the Permanent Mission of Cuba in Geneva, Nancy Madrigal, demanded once again the US repeal Section 211 and to comply with its legal obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization."

     "The Cuban position was supported by the delegations from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, India, China, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Vietnam, South Africa and Zimbabwe."

     This is the next round for the Pernod - Ricard organization to preserve the integrity of their brand name in the US market.   After many years of their pleas falling on deaf ears in the American Court system, they have decided to take their case to the World Trade Organization.  Pernod - Ricard said that the Supreme Court decision would not be the end of this issue, and this seems to be the next strategy to protect the Havana Club Trademark.

 

     I really wonder why this is going on at all, it is an absolute show of disrespect for what is obviously an established brand trademark.    These actions tug at the roots of the whole purpose of the trademarks.  It is more about the politics than about a trademark, politics that should have ended many many years ago.  This whole thing has become very child like right down to the still existing embargo of Cuba.   We buy from Russia, Vietnam, and China, all countries that have done worse things to the people of the United States and more recently.  This stupidity needs to come to an end.  ;o)

Tis the Season

     Last night was the annual Hurricane Hole Christmas party, The crowd was huge and a great number of locals and employees partied on until around midnight.   It hit me last night that I had not mentioned anything about being careful and not driving to or from the holiday parties.   This is the time of year that the most DUI citations are given and there are always a large number of serious accidents that ruin the holiday season for many many people.

     "You're not paranoid, they really are out to get you. If you plan to drink during this up-coming holiday season and get behind the wheel of a vehicle, the police are determined to get you off the road".     "Yes, there are more patrolmen than usual on the highways during this time of the year. And there are more of those pesky checkpoint roadblocks set up around the area. On top of that, almost everyone on the road has a cell phone now and can report erratic driving instantly".  Read more at http://alcoholism.about.com/od/dui/a/Drunk-Driving-During-The-Holidays.htm .

    Make your holiday season a fun one, but if you do decide to enjoy your rum or other fine spirits be responsible enough to take other transportation home.  Do not become a statistic, drinking and driving is a lose lose proposition.  
    
     My Friend Robert Burr in the blog he writes, http://www.examiner.com/article/georgia-launches-holiday-campaign-to-address-the-dangers-of-drinking-and-driving   gave us a information on a program that is in effect in Georgia that simply states "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" There are many of these programs going on in all of the states.  The sign is correct, "they will see you before you see them"   Enjoy your holidays and take a taxi or have a for real designated driver.   I don't want to loose any of my readers of have them spending a year or better straightening out a mess that drunk driving got them into.

     Have a very pleasant and fun holiday season.   ;o)
 

    

Reality Has Set in

    The reality of being back home after a really fun vacation has set in.  I returned to work yesterday, and dealt with the really slow time of the year here in Key West.  Christmas shopping for the locals, and the tourists are waiting for New Years to let it all hang out down here in Key West again.

    There was a beautiful sunrise here in key west yesterday and another today.  These are the tings that get me going and make me so happy to be living down here in paradise. 

Today I'm going to be in the Rum lab playing with some "Valentine" and "Regatta" cocktails for some up coming events.  It seems so strange to be working on 2013 projects when we haven't ended 2012 yet.   This is always fun and gives me an excuse to enjoy some Mount Gay XO while I'm working out toe recipes for the Regatta Cocktails.    The Valentine Cocktails will "require" the use of Rhum Barbancourt, such a shame that I have to deal with all of these rums and rhums in the same day.    

This is the price of reality in my world and a job that I enjoy doing.  I'm just very lucky to be in this position and get to play with some of my favorite spirits on a regular basis.   This is all I have now from Key West, but as the day develops, I'll bet that there will be more things happening to brighten the day.  ;o)

Sun Rise Brings Vacation to an End

 

 

The Cancun sunrise is telling me that vacation has come to an end and the reality of returning home is here.   Going back to work hits you right in the face like the brightness of the morning sun.    It isn't so bad though, it was a great vacation, but I'm ready to get back home and the fun of my everyday life.  ;o)