Thinking About a Home Rum Bar

     I was sitting back last night on the boat last night thinking about life back on Lake Norman and the rum bar in my house, wondering what was necessary to have a fun place to rumstyle at home.      I remember collecting rums at the various ABC liquor stores and as I traveled around to the Bahamas, Key West, and Puerto Rico  searching for that special rum that I couldn't get at home.     It was and still is one of the greatest feeling when you locate an unusual and great rum to bring back and share with your friends.      We use to have friends by on a regular basis to create new concoctions and enjoy those special rums.      I also remember the Tuesday night get togethers on the water where I'd bring a gallon of "Hurricane Bob" and the "Guys" would cruise from one resort to another just enjoying the drink and friends.

     I feel this rumstylin' is as much about doing something different and sharing with your friends as it is about the rums and   getting a buzz.    Today I hang out at the Hurricane Hole here in Key West, after work to share the days news and have some fun.   This provides me with the same enjoyment as it did up on the lake before I moved down here.     I still have a nice little rum bar on the boat in which I still have friends over to enjoy the fine rums I have collected  during my travels.   

     I guess that it doesn't matter where you are you can be a true rumstyler is that is the person you really are.      The more I travel around and the more people that I meet, I come to realize that it is the loose knit friendships forged over a rum cocktail at anyplace you happen to be are the friends that seem to  keep crossing your mind year in and year out.     Thank You to all my wonderful rumstylin' friends and hope I get to see them again soon.    ;o)

What Would Rumstylin' be Without Rum???

     The history of rum goes back a thousand years or more and was present during many of the famous events of our country's history.     Paul Revere was said to have downed a mug of Rum before his famous ride, George Washington, a tea totaller had a barrel of Barbados Rum at his Inauguration, and Ben Franklin Invented the Rum Flip, our founding fathers and Rum are both a integral part of our history.     Prohibition, the Rum line, rum runners and of course the speakeasy all part of this country's rum history.     Today the rum is rapidly overtaking vodka as the number one cocktail mixer.    

     The majority of the rum we enjoy today come from around the Caribbean.     Countries like Barbados. Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Central and South Americas are blessed with some of the best rum distilleries.     My trip to Barbados last November for the the Caribbean Rum Festival gave me an unusual opportunity to visit some of the more outstanding distilleries of the Caribbean.     The thing that impressed me is the dedication to making rum better through innovation and more sophisticated blending and aging.     It was my pleasure to sample many of the new and still experimental rums that have not been put out on the market.     The trip has shown me that this industry is continuously evolving and making better and better rums to sip or mix. 

     To be a good rumstyler you must be ever vigilant in you visits to bars and liquor stores for the new rums and upgraded versions of your old favorites.     While in Mexico last month I ran across three new rums that turned out to be very fine flavored rums in a country that  is famous for Tequila.    The point is that I'm trying to make is you can fund great rums anywhere if you keep your eyes open  for them.      By the Way I'm headed for Panama in Mid February to visit the Rum Distilleries of that country and I will have a full report as I travel through them.     Keep your eyes open for them.  ;o)    

Rumstylin' Music

     When I think of ruymstylin' music, my mind goes to a little cay in the Bahamas called Great Guana Cay.     There is a little bar there called Nipper's that holds a warm spot in my heart.     On any given Sunday there is a pig roast and some really great island music that keeps you feet moving and you drink down one after another of the Nipper's punches.     This is a bar that is placed on top of a sand dune and there is a winding stair way down to the beach and the third largest barrier reef in the world.

     Once a year in March usually there place is completely overrun with rumstylers and music fans that have to come and see George the Barefoot Man from Grand Cayman.      George has a collection of original songs that tell stories of fun in the tropical world that he has traveled, fished and caroused in.     This is the fun music singing about being conched out at The Conch Inn, or dealing with hurricanes, or even slipping away on a boat and living off of the water, diving up lobsters and drinking fine rum.     This is the music of the Rumstyler!    

     Where ever the Barefoot Man travels he draws a large fun loving group that will party til the "cows come home" or when the boat leaves for Marsh Harbour, which ever comes first.     There was a time I decided to hire a charter captain to pick us up at Great Guana Cay Pier at 1 in the morning that didn't show up.     This lead to a group of 6 of us sleeping on the dock with the no-see-ems nibbling on us.     All this was taken in step because we were partying in the true rumstyle's tradition and nothing will derail us from our mission.

     The music is a very important part of rumstylin' and your choice is your own and what ever it is enjoy it to the max.    Most important is do it with your friends and do it often.     ;o)   

Watching the Weather?

     Today it is a beautiful clear 75 degrees here in Key West, listing to all my friends that are buried in snow in the Charlotte area of North Carolina reminds me of why I chose this island life and my rumstylin' ways.     Today I'll jump in my dinghy and head out (my day off to boot) to one of the uninhabited keys with a nice bottle of El Dorado 15 year old rum, a bottle of #30 sun block,  and just hang out and watch the marine and bird life as it passes by on this lovely day.      Hopefully there will be a few like minded adventurers out there that I can share my grog if you will and carry on some a layed-back conversation with.    
     These trips also remind me of what some people go through to get to this place that I find so wonderful tin which to live.      I often find "chugs" ( Cuban refugee vessels) stewn along the beaches on these keys, and it makes me think of what it means to people who weren't born here to be here.     It is food for thought and if they are willing to travel in an unpredictable sea in a rickety 15 to 20 foot craft thrown together from sheet metal and scrap materials, how well off are we?     

     Anyway, still find it a wonderful place to wander and explore these keys and see what I can find as I wander the beaches and the mangroves searching for treasures.    It is also fun to set your imagination loose and wonder what has taken place in this area with all the ships that have run aground and sunk around the Key West area.     As we search theses key for treasures it is not unusual for us to find beautiful shells, stuff left behind by the refugees that were picked up by the Coast Guard, old bottles and an occasional artillery shell.   

After a good day of treasure hunting and exploring it is fun to break open a nice rum and marvel in your new found treasures.      Then as the day draws to a close it is back to the sea and take our leisurely voyage back home.      Ain't life great?     It is when you look at it through a tropical rumstylin' perspective and just make the most out of where ever you are today.   ;o) 

Today is Mojito Day

Probably one of the most refreshing cocktails a rumstyler can order or make is a Mojito.     It has been bent and doctored into more versions that almost any other drink I have run across.     The original Cuban version is the cleanest and in my opinion the tastiest of all.     Being a purest at heart, I tend to stay with the original recipe for the most part, but according to the Cuban bartender that showed me how to make one of these fine drinks you can vary the rum to your taste and still be in the true spirit of the Mojito.   

     I have done some playing with my recipe over the past two years and have come up with some interesting versions of my own.     My basic recipe is a traditional white rum, lime juice, cane syrup, and a splash of club soda.     However, the use of a dark rum adds a richness to the flavor without compromising the original recipe.     I have also played with a pure sugar cane syrup from the Saint Nicolas Abbey in Barbados and used their fine rum in the recipe also.    The results were very good because you pick up some of the molasses flavors of the fresh cane and the full flavor of the rum makes for a very nice mojito.     I have also used a Mammajuana Rum from the Dominican Republic, a dark Cuba Libre Rum from Guyana, and one of my favorites a 5 Year old Plantation Barbados Rum.     The choice is a large one for the rum, but as long as you keep the basic recipe in tact and just vary the rum within limits you will have a very nice traditional mojito you can really sit back rumstylin and enjoy. 

     There are other variations I have run across from behind the bar at customer requests including making it with Vodka, use of flavored and spiced rums, and even a "Lo-cal" version made with Splenda simple syrup.     No matter how you like your Mojito it is a rumstylers front-line staple in you recipe book.  ;o)

We're Talking about the Rum in Rumstylin'

     We've been talking about everything in rumstylin' for the past few days , but the RUM!!!    Today we will change all that and talk a little about the rums that make rumstylin happen.     I tend to follow both ends of the rums for my personal palliate, I like the well rums with tonic and a lime for my bar hopping time and a fine sipping rum like 20th Anniversary Plantation Barbados while relaxing on the aft deck of the boat.     Several other situations come to mind when I think about the rums, if a hurricane is eminent, I mix up a 2 gallon batch of "Hurricane Bob" and all of the marina residents sit on the dock and drink in defiance to scare the storm away ( by the way it has not failed us yet).     If I feel a cold coming on there is always "Bahama Bob's Root Juice" to make me fell better and ready to face the world.    On a rare cold night down here there is always hot coffee with rum and cream add to chase away the cold.   As you are beginning to see the is a rum for all occasions and situations.

     What make rum this magic elixir??????     Could it be it starts life as a sweet molasses or a sweet stalk of sugar cane.    Maybe it's the fact that seafarin' pirates drew us into their magical world of swashbuckling and wenches.     Don't forget the "rum runnin'" days of Prohibition and all the excitement of smuggling of the elixir to the speakeasy's in the United States.     Yes, and  the excitement of drinking behind closed doors.
What ever the reason it has become the drink of the 2000's.    No matter what the reason it offers a taste for every palliate, it is that no two rums taste the same, and this makes it an adventure to find your "personal best" rum and then come the excitement of making sure you can get it again after you return home from your  quest of fine rum around the world.

     No matter how you acquire your rum it is the fun you have with your friends and relaxing in your own special way that makes rumstylin' really work.     Keep the Quest Alive, Chase Rum.  ;o)

Keeping with the Water Party

     Partys on the water are a great thing that never fails to peak the interest of the rumstylers.     Dead of winter or the heat of summer the true rumstylin boater is on the water and having a party of some sort.     I remember from my days on Lake Norman in North Carolina having the first "Raft-up" of the season on January 1.    There were several of the locals there and we all had a great time keeping warm, swapping lies and drinking rum to keep warm.     It is the friendship and the pure fun of living and playing on the water that makes the "Aqua-rumstyler" a special breed.
    

     In the summer or in the tropics the Aqua-rumstyler takes on a different garb.    Dropping the parkas of the northern lakes and dawning the t-shirts and shorts of the tropics.    The hot rum drinks are traded for fruity cool rum drinks, but the results are the same, rumstylers having a party for no apparent reason.     These impromptu parties usually lead to new friends and bigger raft-ups as the winter moves to summer til you end up with the World's largest raft-up (Lake Norman, North Carolina. over 1000 boats rafted together for a great rumstyler's event)    

     Whether you party in a mega yacht, a dinghy, or something in between, "aqua-rumstylers" just know how to have a really fun day on the water.     If you haven't tried it yet it is time for you to pack up your friends and all their crafts and get out for a little "aqua-rumstylin".    Have fun, be safe and carry all your trash back to the dock and dispose of it in a proper manner.   Remember that true rumstylers are responsible for their actions.    Have a an aqua-blast soon.   ;o)

Rumstyling by Boat

     Today lets talk about the fun of heading out on your boat to a island or beach somewhere with a small collection of friends.     The possibilities are endless as what you can do to make this a really fun outing.     One of my favorites is to take the boat out to the Marquesas Keys for a day of beach snorkel and good rum.
the advantage of a bigger boat is that you can take a lot of your friends and really have a floating party.     The dinghy provides the shuttle from the "mothership" to the beach and back and there is always the snorkeling from the swim deck and don't forget the bar is really stocked with some of my favorite rums and mixes.     Some of us are "treasure hunters" and some of us are "sun worshipers" and some of us are just plain relaxers that swim, have a cocktail or two, and chill for the day.   

     These days out on the water are a great part of my rumstyle and I wouldn't trade a single day out for any amount of money.     This is a nirvana if you will that few have learned to achieve.     The time spent with friends in a layed-back environment is just plain the best.      Some times we can get a group of other boaters to meet out there on the water and raft-up to form a rather neat and large flotilla.     This leads to even more fun because of the diversity of the boats and the people they bring to the party.    Some times out a one of the local sandbars you can find 20  to 50 boats anchor off and all hanging out on the sandbar sharing their experiences and their cocktails.     The friendships that are made at the raft-ups and sandbar get togethers usually lasting ones and one that are not easily forgotten.

     Rumstylin',not a bad thing that is not just about drinking, carousing, or even getting drunk.    It is rather an attitude of friendship and fun that is growing bigger all the time  among like-thinking people who have learned to step away from the hum-drum of every day working world and relax.    Just throw in some sunshine and beautiful blue and teal water and you have all the ingredients for a great experience.

     As we sail into the sunset on our return to the marina happy rumstylin' to you and hope you develop a great style of your own.

   

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.

 

Enjoying the Rums of Your Life Responsibly

     One of the biggest problems here in America and many other places in the world is drinking of rum beverages and getting home safely.     We all know the price of drinking and driving, but there are other ways to avoid this problem.      One of the easiest is to choose a party place that is near enough to your house to walk or bicycle (if you are not to far gone) home from.     The Taxi is probably the best if you are traveling cross town.  
     I've found a neat way to be safe and still have a few of my favorite rum drinks and enjoy the company of friends (Rumstyling if you will).     I've found that my boatlife has lent me to an opportunity that few others have.  I choose the establishments that have docks that are designated for customers of the establishment and are dinghy friendly.     Many of the bars around Key West are pet friendly, but there are only a few dinghy friendly bars in the area.       I find that my cruise to and from these establishments to be just a grand part of the evening out.      In the Key West Bight area there is the dock by the Halfshell Raw Bar, The Turtle Kraals, and Schooner Wharf.     In Cow Key Channel area we have the Hurricane Hole and the Boathouse in the Coconut Malory.     And of course the Hogfish in Safe Harbour.    These are great for the returning fishermen (and women) needing a place to brag about their catch, the working stiff letting off some steam, the tourists wanting some local culture and the rest of us tropical rumstylers.
     The important this is to have fun with out putting yourself or others in harms way.     Whether you take a taxi, walk, bike, or dinghy do it safely.     The real law in Key West is a very simple one, "Anything goes as long a you don't step on others toes to do it".     If we all follow this in our rumstyling adventures we can really have fun safely.   Lets all get out and do it right!!!!!!!!   I want to survive this great life as well.

Living the Rumstyler's Dream with Bahama Bob Leonard

     Welcome to my new Blog that is dedicated to the Rum lifestyle of the Caribbean, Mexico, the United States, and Key West.     I'm a rum bar bartender on Duval Street here in Key West, Florida, and from my unique vantage point I'll try to share some of the adventures of people I meet at the bar and through my own travels as a rum ambassador and tourist to many fun places.
    We will be traveling to Panama in February to visit the Abuelo and the Zafra Rum people.   We will be looking at the way other people with similar interests are keeping their rumstyling alive both when they are away from the cities and suburbs and how they keep their dreams going at home.     I love the calls and messages that I get on my facebook wanting drink recipes, ideas for a new rum or many other areas that keep their rumstyle alive between visits to paradise.
     Please feel free to share ideas and stories with me as we travel through this rumstyle and have some fun at the same time.    Keeping in mind that Rum is the drink of the fun loving people, you just don't see people tossing down rum and "crying in their rum", they are having fun and celebrating life.
     This is going to be a fun adventure so stay with me as I bring you the adventures and travels of Bahama Bob.