Looking Forward fo Mexican Rums

     Saturday Morning I'm off to Mexico for a week's vacation.  That is right a vacation, but one of my favorite things to do while relaxing is the pursuit of new native rums.   Mexico, although known for its Tequila, produces some very nice rums.   My last visit there I found Mocambo, a very nice rum that was very inexpensive, but possessed some extremely good attributes.    I brought a bottle of the Mocambo 20 year old rum home and enjoyed it as I traveled around the uninhabited keys to my north and west while drifting through the mangroves.

     This year, it is another week on the Yucatan peninsula and the search for new rum continues.     In the province of Veracruz , the Villanueva family has been producing fine spirits for three generations. the town of Cordoba, has been famous for it's sugar cane and it's both the juice and molasses of this local cane that goes into the small batch production Los Valientes rums.    The slow fermented juice of the Veracruz cane is double distilled in pot-stills, with only the heart is taken from the second distillation, then blended with column distilled, fast fermented, molasses from the same crop.
 This is one that I will have to look for on this trip, Veracruz is North of Cancun, but I'll bet that I can find the Rum somewhere in the area.
    

Though the Yucatan area is known primarily for producing beer, rum and a local liqueur called Xtabentun, in Mérida by the Aristi family.   All of these rums I find interesting especially where they are being produced in the area that I will be enjoying my vacation.   Oh yes I did say that this was a vacation.  I guess that that means that I will have to just look for the rums of the Yucatan and buy them in a liquor store and just sit on the veranda overlooking the Caribbean and enjoy them.   I guess that I can settle for that instead of traipsing all over the country side and trying to get tot the distillery.   

 

     All kidding aside, Mexico does produce very fine rum, even though it is not that well known in America, the product is very nice.   Remember that Bacardi also produces rum in Mexico.  Two of their better rums Ron Solera and Bacardi Anejo are both produced in Cuautitlan, in metropolitan Mexico City.  The building thee is another of the famous Bacardi Buildings of the world.   I do wander sometimes, but I'm really looking forward to my vacation and I will have new adventures in to report and new rums to enjoy.   I'll bring you the results of the quests for new rums as I find them.  ;o) 

Happy Repeal Day:79th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition

   The end to all evil was the cry in 1920 when the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted.   The voice of the temperance groups felt that the prisons would be used as corn cribs and warehouses and there would be no more slums.   The feeling among the temperance groups was that there was a better chance of "a hummingbird flying to Mars with the Washington Monument tied to his tail" than Congress repealing the 18th Amendment.    Initially there was very heavy support, but with the passing of time, the country had become very disillusioned with the "Nobel Experiment".

The Pelicans that operated in the Keys

     There was actually less respect for the law leading to new and more  serious social problems were appearing.   Journalist H. L. Mencken wrote in 1925 that "Five years of prohibition have had, at least, this one benign effect: they have completely disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists. None of the great boons and usufructs that were to follow the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment has come to pass. There is not less drunkenness in the Republic but more. There is not less crime, but more. There is not less insanity, but more. The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished."

Rum Running in the Keys from Havana

     The Volstead Act granted both State and Federal authorities to enforce Prohibition.  Montana became the first state that chose not to enforce Prohibition in 1926.     Prior to Prohibition, saloon keepers could loose their license if they were caught serving minors, but in the speakeasy's of the Prohibition era, you could find teens regularly consuming alcoholic beverages.   What was "moderate drinking had become binge drinking", combined with the growth of the mob violence, public intoxication, corruption, and a huge growing disrespect for the law, all the things the 18th Amendment was suppose to cure had gotten worse instead of better.

    There were a large number of repeal organizations appearing as the disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the "Nobel Experiment" grew.   There was even an anti-Prohibition plank in the platform of the Democratic Party Platform in 1932 and Franklin Roosevelt ran for the president promising repeal.    The popular vote for repeal ran 74% for Repeal and 26% against.  The American public ended Prohibition by a three to one margin and December 5, 1933 Prohibition was over.

   The 21st Amendment had two parts, the first repealed the 18th Amendment, and Part two made it illegal to import, manufacture, transport, and sell intoxicating beverages into states, territories or possessions of the United States that had laws prohibiting them.  The catch was part two, it gave the individual states, cities, counties, the right to enact their own set of rules and regulations.   Today the results of this section of the 21st Amendment is still very much in control of the spirits industry.  Every state has a different set of rules and many of the counties within the state have another set of rules.

    Today 79 years later we can celebrate the fact that the one time speakeasy called the "Florence Club" is now one of our favorite "watering holes" that you can enjoy a cocktail at without the fear of being busted for being where "intoxicating beverages" are being sold.   It also means that I have a job and can make you those fun tropical concoctions that we all know and love.   Enjoy Repeal Day 2012.   ;o) 

The Speakeasy Rum Swizzle

     The "Speakeasy Rum Swizzle" is a new cocktail that was first served last week.   This is a light and refreshing blend will bring out the taste of the rums and offers a light refreshing taste.   You can enjoy the subtle taste and the light fruity and spicy flavors that high light this unique twist on the traditional "Bermuda Swizzle"

The Speakeasy Rum Swizzle

• 1 1/2 oz. White Rum
• 1 1/2 oz. Spiced Rum
• Juice of a Half Lime
• 1/2 oz "Sugar in the Raw" Syrup
• Top up with Club Soda

Place all the ingredients except the club soda in a highball glass filled with crushed ice, swizzle or stir (Power Swizzle Optional).   Top up with club soda and garnish with a sprig of mint and an orange slice

Enjoy this cocktail on the Lani or inside just relaxing, it has a light and flavorful taste that will refresh and chill.   If you are in Key West stop by and see me for a "Speakeasy Rum Swizzle".  ;o)

For Sure Signs of Winter in the Keys

   There are two things that tell me that winter has arrived here in Key West, first it starts cooling down a bit, but more important is the arrival of the winter birds.   The Pelicans are the first to arrive, sliding along in the ground effect just off of the water.  This is always the thing that amazes me how they can glide along just inches above the water.  

    The next is the Turkey Vultures and their magnificent ability to soar on the winds as the circle high above the marina.   These are a freak of nature, absolutely beautiful to watch in the air, but the read and wrinkled head like that of a turkey lacks something.

     There are several of the wading birds that have made their way down here in the pas week or so also.   Egrets and several large and small members of the heron family are starting to arrive for their annual winter visit.

   This is how we see the change of season here in the Keys.  Up North it is the leaves turning colors, then falling off that signals the onset of winter, down here it is the return of the "snowbirds" and the arrival of the migrating flocks that head south for the winter also.  

   It is a different set of things that tell us when it is winter, but it is still relatively warm down here and I don't have to think about the snow arriving.  ;o)

Rum for Recycle

This was an interesting barrel that I spotted while touring the Angostura Distillery.  Brings  a little bit of wonderment to my mind as I ponder the idea.     Really what constitutes "rum for recycle"?

Lunch with Angostura

   On the recent trip to the Angostura plant in Port of Spain, Trinidad, I discovered a very unique soft drink.   "Lemon-Lime with Bitters"   This is a very tasty soda that makes a perfect mixer to enjoy with your rum.  Our lunch at the distillery of a great sandwich and the mixture of 5 year old Angostura Rum was the perfect break between seeing the bitters operation and the rum distillery.

     This lemon-lime and bitters flavor adds a really exciting dimension to the mundane lemon-lime soda available everywhere.    It fills my head with new ideas of cocktails that could benefit from the combination.  Something that I will pursue in the Rum Lab at a later date.

     It is the Angostura Rum that I really enjoyed during the visit to the distillery and in the hotel after the tour was over.   Carlton Grooms and I sat on the veranda of the 10th floor an looked out on the mountains as a thunder storm worked its way toward us and enjoyed a bottle of the Single Barrel Angostura Rum that is only available in Trinidad.   The visit to Trinidad was far too short, but it was a very enjoyable day of tours and just plain relaxation on the veranda.

    Should your travels take you to the island of Trinidad, don't forget to try both of these  treasures.  Single Barrel Rum and Lemon-Lime with Bitters, both are truly unique experiences that will be memorable for the rum enthusiast.   ;o)

The Pot Still: A Short History

Wood Fired Pot Still at Callwood

   Distillation made its first appearance in the era around 800BC in Asia.   Distillation was used for turning sea water into fresh water as well as the distillation of fermented liquids to alcohol.    The process finally found it's way to Europe after it's growth in India and Egypt.  How the distilling process originally found it's way to Britain is still a mystery, but the Brits have mastered the art.

     The pot still was the still of choice for the ancient Celts to create a fiery spirit they called "uisge breatha", meaning "the water of life".   For the Celts, the power of the liquid  to revive tired bodies, drive the chills out, revive hope and to put an end falling spirits was truly a gift from the gods.

Currently Operated Pot Stills at DUSA

   The Scots really developed the art of distillation for making the whiskeys that is so intricately woven into their history.   Today the pot still is really a thing of the past, but is is still in use for producing the more viscous and flavorful spirits that make your favorite spirits so nice.

     In modern rum distillation, the majority of the distillation is accomplished in column stills, but the traditional pot still still plays a critical part today's rum production.   At the DUSA Plant in Venezuela, Tito Cordero takes the fermentation first to a column still for the initial distilling to produce the "low wine" then for the special rums it is placed in a pot still for the second distillation.   The pot stills are used to produce the heavy wines for the bolder and more viscous rums.

Retired Pot Still at Santa Teresa

    When you visit most any modern distillery you will see a variety of very sophisticated digitally controlled automated column stills. The venerable pot still a manually operated unit that is used to make the heavy wines for the blending of the finer rums.   Look around the grounds in the historic part of the distillery or just sitting out as a decorative piece in the garden you will find some of the more interesting old pot stills.

     The pot still is a vital part of the making of fine  rum, but the ancient pot still and the origins of distillation are a part of the spirits history that will probably be around for many more years.   ;o)

Being Resposnsible for the Holidays

     We are headed into the time of year when we tend to drink more than usual, more parties and more trouble if we don't pay attention to what we are doing and drink responsible.  A lot of the troubles can be avoided by doing some planning before you start drinking and you judgement begins to fade away.    If you are alone, maybe you might want to take a cab to the party or town, that way you won't be tempted to drive your car home afterward.   The biggest part of planning is a solid choice of not to drink and drive.

Americans have been doing a much better job in the past five years, we are down 30%, but this is still a very serious problem.     Men are the worst culprits in the problem, involved in 4 out of 5 drinking and driving episodes in 2010. and young men ages 21 to 34 the worst, 32% of all instances ( the group only makes up 11% of the population).    Binge drinking has been reported in 85% of drinking and driving incidents.   The practice of doing shots, one after another is leading to trouble in the quickest possible way.    Binge drinking is defined as 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women in a short period of time. 

     The statistics are dead against you if you are drinking and driving, make a plan and stick to it this holiday season.  I really don't want to loose any of my readers of my friends.    Choose an alternative to binge drinking this holiday season, choose to select a quality spirit that you can savor and have a plan that does not include you driving to get you back home.    Make this a very happy holiday season and be around for 2013.   ;o)

An in Between Cocktail

     Tis the season between the holidays, a time for a nice evening cocktail that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy as you ease into the evening.    I'm thinking of a creamy fun cocktail that will make you yearn for the Egg Nog in a few weeks.    Lets see, we can start with a bit of Rum Chata and work from there.    Next lets look at a bit of Frangelico just to enhance the nuttiness, and follow it with a little bit of half and half to make it really creamy.    It sounds like this will be a fun combination so lets put it together.

In Between Cocktail

• 2 oz. Rum Chata
• 1 oz. Frangelico
• 1 oz. Half and Half

Stir all ingredients in a rocks glass filled with ice and top with cinnamon and nutmeg.   for the chocolate freaks, a float of Marie Brizards Chocolat Royale  would be a nice treat.

   This is actually pretty good for something that was made up on the fly like this.  Try it, you'll find it very interesting and dreamy creamy.  ;o)

My Kind of Day

   Today is one of my kind of days, the weather is in the low 70's a few clouds and the wind is out of the Northeast at 6.    This is a day to hop in the dinghy and cruise around for the first time in a while.     It is one of those days that you live in the keys for.     I'm not sure of where I will head off to, but I'm definitely taking a short cruise today.

     If nothing else I'll be on the water to just relax from the chores and getting everything in good running order again.     I'm thinking a little bit of rum, some snacks and a bottle of water will get the job done.   

     Most of you have to get away once in a while, it is the same for me, but it only takes me a few hours to go, return,  and loose all of the blues and relax away from all of the stuff that keeps you tense.    I know, you don't feel for me, but I too get a little tense after a while and need to slip away for a while to relax.

     Guess what, it is Karaoke at the Hurricane Hole tonight, and I'm really looking forward the the return to normalcy after the Thanksgiving  holiday last week.   Anyway, just enjoy your day and I'll have something worthwhile to write about tomorrow.   Oh, this was worthwhile, because I feel better already just talking about getting out on the water today.  ;o)

Mayan Riviera in December 2012

Kukulacan Temple in Chichen Itza

     2012 is the year for our biannual trip to the Mayan Riviera for vacation. I find it interesting and ironic that the visit coincides with the end of the Mayan Calendar. I've listened to all of the doomsday predictions, but really don't have any more faith in them than I did in the Y2K predictions that didn't happen either. I do have a lot of respect for what the Mayan people accomplished in the jungles of Mexico and won't belittle their beliefs or predictions.

I always wonder about where people get the dates that these cataclysmic events are supposed to happen on. In this case 21 December, 2012 is the date on a Mayan stairway in Guatemala at the La Corona site. In April–May 2012, a team of archaeologists unearthed a previously unknown inscription on a stairway. The inscription, on what is known as Hieroglyphic Stairway 12, describes the establishment of a royal court in Calakmul in 635 AD, and compares the then-recent completion of 13 k'atuns with the future completion of the 13th b'ak'tun. However, it contains no speculation or prophecy of what the scribes believed would happen at that time.

Astrological Observatory at Chichen Itza

In 1983, with the publication of Robert J. Sharer's revised table of date correlations in the 4th edition of Morley's "The Ancient Maya" each became convinced that 21 December 2012 had significant meaning. By 1987, the year in which he organized the Harmonic Convergence event, Argüelles was using the date 21 December 2012 in "The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology." He claimed that on 13 August 3113 BC the Earth began a passage through a "galactic synchronization beam" that emanated from the center of our galaxies, that it would pass through this beam during a period of 5200 tuns (Maya cycles of 360 days each), and that this beam would result in "total synchronization" and "galactic entrainment" of individuals "plugged into the Earth's electromagnetic battery" by 13.0.0.0.0 (21 Dec. 2012). He believed that the Maya aligned their calendar to correspond to this phenomenon.

Temple of 100 Columns at Chichen Itza

I find this date has some logic to it that many others have not, but I don't believe this is going to be a cataclysmic event either. The Mayan's were scientists and looked at things in a different way than others of their time did and spent a lot of time developing their calendar and temples. The Kukulacan Temple in Chichen Itza is placed so on the Solstice the sun's cast shadows of the corners that give the appearance of a serpent coming down from the top of the pyramid. This is only possible if they truly had an understanding of the cycles of the earth and documented it.

I am Looking forward to writing my blog on the 23 December, 2012 and for some time beyond. ;o)

 

   

 

Tito Cordero at the Hacienda Saruro

Meeting with my Friend Tito Cordero at the DUSA Diplomatico facitlity hacienda in Le Meir

Santa Teresa Away from the Rum

The morning fog shrouds the mountains behind the sugar cane

     Santa Teresa distillery is set in a very beautiful mountain valley in Venezuela.   The thing that really go to me was the surroundings of the distillery.   They have a recreational park on the distillery grounds and a train that takes the guests around the facility.   The distillery is very interesting and the tasting of the rums is also very interesting, but the scenery is just breath taking.   

    

      With the sugar cane growing on the grounds and the beautiful tassel plumes brightening up the valley floor.   The mountains transition down to the valley and the trees, sugar and the distillery.     It really doesn't matter which way you look from the park area of the distillery, you see something that hold your eye.   In the open fields there are horses grazing and people having a picnic lunch.  Just a really peaceful serene setting in which to make some very good rum.    


Trees, mountains and sugar cane, what a beautiful picture



Following the row of graceful palm trees down the lane through the sugar cane fields you see the towering still jut up from the tops of the sugar cane.   This is the reminder of the other side of the plantation.    The reason for the huge plantation is here in the first place, making of the rum.   That is what supports the park, the train station and the rest of the operation.   It is nice however to be able to enjoy the lush bird filled scenery that surrounds the manufacturing of rum here.

Oh Yes the rum and the lineage of the rum, just as colorful as the park where it is produced.   Santa Teresa Bodega Privada, the private reserve of the family, beyond the imagination for taste and flavor.   The traditions that keep the place in full operation producing these fine rums.   ;o)

Black Friday: 4:00 am for Tires?

Turkey Takeover: Black Friday moves

 in on Thanksgiving - Tennessee Journalist

    I'll sure be glad to see Christmas behind us this year.  It wasn't bad enough to be bombarded with political ads right up to the start of November, but now we have Black Friday crap that is about to drive me to DRINK!    Madison Avenue and a very weak economy seem to be hard at work trying to get the American public to spend more of the money they still don't have by getting them up at some ridiculous hour to go to the store and stand in line for stuff they really don't need or want.



   All of this stuff could drive a sane man to drink.   That is not such a bad idea either, at least I'd be at home and still watching those hideous ads.  So much for that Idea.  It is straight to the back of the boat and rock with the evening breeze to the sounds of some nice music and sip a glass of a nice rum like a 15 year old Barbancourt or maybe some Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva.    Tonight a nice liqueur called Hacienda Saruro has my attention.   Sitting on the aft deck of the boat, I often wander in my mind back to places that make me feel very relaxed and comfortable.   This is a part of why that I live the way and where I do, it allows me some real peace.

   Tonight it is just to get away from the noise of Thanksgiving and thinking of how it has really lost its meaning.   The nice breezes of the evening and a glass of Hacienda have really mad me thankful of where I am and all that I have the privilege of seeing and doing in my life.   This has been a very exciting year with all of the visits to places that I have never seen before.   Bucket list places like Havana,Trinidad, and Venezuela, all of the people that I have met in my travels, and all of my latest rum friends that I have gotten to taste.

     Black Friday this morning, yeah, I guess I'll just go to work and see if I can make a few people who are not shopping a little happier.   Maybe I can get a few that have been sitting in those lines and didn't get what they were really looking for happy too.    If you've had enough and need some time to unwind from your shopping, try my method of easy music, fine quality rum, and a nice place under the stars and rocking with the breezes.   It brings a smile to my face, how about you.  ;o) 

Grog with a New Twist

Ye Olde Grog Dispenser

    Grog is a curious mixture of rum and water with a little lime to cut the foul taste of the water that was carried in casks aboard the ships in the 1700's.    The Name Grog came from the nickname that Vice Admiral Edward Vernon had because of the coat that he wore made of "Old Grogram" or "Old Grog".   More modern recipes include boiling water, lime juice, Cinnamon, sugar, all to improve the taste of the rum.   In most of the English speaking world, Grog is a rum based alcoholic drink.    To the Swedish it can be a mixture of any spirit and a soft drink and with only one spirit in the blend.  

    This brings me to today's story.   There is a group of guys that were "sitting around drinking some Coronas and telling lies", when they got this idea to start a new business.    Marcus Alden, Lloyd Williams, Greg Scott and Ken McFarland "took the bull by the horns", if you will and built their own distillery and developed their own "grog".   The boys all had strong engineering and distillation backgrounds and were able to create a reflux column still and a more traditional pot still.  Ye Olde Grog Distillery of St. Helens, Oregon was born.  They  make whiskey, vodka, and a pair of grogs.     

     The Dutch Harbor Breeze Grog is a 100 proof Whiskey based grog that was named for "it's smoothness.  The 70 proof Good Morning Glory Grog, a vodka based grog sweetened with blue agave nectar and four natural flavors.   Both of these are young spirits that are colored with caramel.   They were aimed at the college aged crowds in Oregon originally, but now they have reached the east coast and the Florida Keys.   Though not in the true grog spirit (not made from rum), they are a good mixing spirit that can fulfill the spirit side of a good cocktail.   The marketing and the packaging of these grogs is very unique and shows a great deal of creativity as does the entire program.  ;o)

Wishing I Could be on a Beach

     Today it is windy and chilly here in Key West.  It is one of those days that you think you need to head a little farther south.   Sometimes I guess I really don't realize how good I have it down here, but it is nice to dream for a while of being on a really cool beach where it is really nice and warm.   You know what I'm talking about, one lonely strip of sand that you can't get to without a small boat.    You don't have to be in the freezing north to feel the winter time blues, it happens here as well.    The good thing this year is that the cool down has been a very gradual one, but now it is jacket time here in the keys.

     I was thinking about Barbados or Antigua, the temperature there is still in the 80's and the beaches are calling me back there again.   Isn't it funny how now matter where you are, the season changes have an effect on you mood.    I'm still wearing shorts, and sad because I have a jacket on instead of a tank top.      Oh well, this too will pass and I'll be back on the water cruising out to the beaches of Mud Key, Boca Grand, Snipes, and the Marquesas soon enough.

     I'm thinking back to last January, we all got bundled up and headed out to Boca Grand in a pontoon boat for a birthday party.  All of us bundled up like a bunch of Eskimos, even though it was in the 70's that day.    The fun part of the day was that we were at the beach especially because it was January.   I guess that verbalizing my thoughts does make me feel better, but I still miss the warmth even though most of you wouldn't mind our temperatures right now where you are.   ;o)

My Fine Feathered Friends

Frigate in St. Thomas

    it is really interesting as I peruse through my many thousands of pictures that I have taken over the years down in the keys and in my travels.   I keep finding that there are always a large number of pictures of birds that I bring back with me.   I guess that I find that the many varied species of these birds are a source of contentment when I get the chance to photograph them and bring them back for my enjoyment over and over again.

Boobie in the British Virgin Islands

    It amazes me to see the expressions on the faces of the many birds as they fly freely overhead.   The gorgeous colors and shapes of their bodies and wings draw me in over and over again.   These birds from my home in the marina to all over the Caribbean  get my attention every time.    The really cool thing about all of these is that is all for free every where I roam.

Egret and a Green Heron

     At home I have a pair of wading birds that greet me every morning as I walk down the dock to my office.  An beautiful white Egret and a Green Heron that are having their breakfast as I wander by.  The have gotten use to me as I drift by and are not the least bit bothered by the interruption as I quietly slip past them.

Venezuelan Bananaquit

     On my last trip to Venezuela, I saw for the first time parrots, and many other very colorful birds that I have never seen before in the wild.  I found it very refreshing to see the birds that a so very common place here in America in cages flying free in the wild. 

     It really doesn't matter what parts of the Caribbean or the United States that I travel, I'm able to find a very large number of interesting land and sea birds to photograph.   Take a look up into the sky and enjoy the aerial performances that are all around you every day anywhere you are.  ;o)