You Can Buy the Products of Florida Distilleries at the Distillery Now

     Rick Scott, Governor of Florida signed into law two bills that will redefine business for state distilleries.   HB 347 / SB642 will set a precedent for the alcohol industry.    


"There are several sets of interests that have to be taken into account when drafting alcohol legislation, which makes it one of the trickiest industries to represent from a legal perspective," said Blau, the chair of Gray Robinson's national alcohol beverage and food law practice. "You have stakeholders with concerns in the public safety and health and wellness sectors, while also having to consider implications at a political and economic level. The fact that this bill was able to pass in its first session, with little to no opposition on the voting floor, is truly extraordinary."

 

 

 

 



Drum Circle Distillers in Sarasota

     "From a legislative standpoint, we were able to work with key legislators and leaders in the alcohol industry to pass a bill that everyone could support," said Unger, the lead lobbyist on the effort out of Gray Robinson's Tallahassee office.

 

     This legislation will make Florida a place to build an alcohol distillery and could lead to significant growth for the state.   Allowing the distilleries to have a showroom at the distillery and be able to sell the products can help make the distilleries a destination, and a place to truly show the value of their products.

 

  

Cape Spirits in Cape Coral

     JoAnn Elardo, owner of Cape Spirits in Cape Coral, Fla., can finally hire the help she needs to offer tours due to the added revenue the distillery will bring in from alcohol sales. Cape Spirits manufactures Wicked Dolphin Rum.  "Before we were just a name on a shelf," said Elardo. "Now we have marketing capability. We can make our distillery a destination and put our stamp on our product."

 

    This is going to be a boom for all Florida and legislation that is long over due.   ;o)

 

 

 

Grog and Bumbo: Pirates to Politics

    In the world of rum history there are two very old mixtures that come to mind.  Grog and Bumbo, these were mixtures that were a big part of the nautical scene for the past three centuries.   Grog is  basically a watered down navy rum that is some cases lime juice was added.   Bumbo is a combination of rum, sugar and water wit a topping of fresh nutmeg, and maybe cinnamon.  

     Grog is the drink of choice of many a British Naval sailor, as well as some pirates.    It seems that after the capture of Jamaica, the British Admiralty took the sailors off of beer and brandy and started the tradition of a rum ration instead.   Some
85 years later Admiral Edward Vernon watered down the rum and added lime, creating Grog.   This name came from Vernon's nickname "Old Grog".   Grog is a very tasty thirst quenching blend that is simple to make and always satisfies. 

     On the other hand, Bumbo adds a sweetener to the grog and some nutmeg for flavor.  This blend of "spiced" grog seems to be the drink of choice of pirates and other swashbucklers of the high seas.   The merchant marine and the pirates didn't suffer from scurvy as did the British Sailors, mainly because their voyages were of a short haul nature.  As a result the citrus could be dropped from the grog and sweetener and spice added making a much tastier blend.

    There was a political candidate running for the House of Burgess in 1758 who prepared 160 gallons of "Bumbo" for 391 voters turning the voters into "Bumbo" and swinging their vote his way.  Guess who the candidate was, none other than George Washington.   This ploy was known as "swilling the planters with bumbo".

     Bumbo and Grog are not only a fun rum cocktail, but are historically significant as well.  There was another less know mix call the "Traitor" which was made with honey, orange juice, rum , and nutmeg.


Bumbo

• 2 oz. Dark Rum
• 1 oz. Water
• 1 oz. sweetener ( Simple Syrup , Agave Nectar, Cane Syrup or Honey)
• Top with fresh ground Nutmeg (add Cinnamon as an option)

Place all ingredients in an ice filled shaker and shake until chilled and strain into a Collins glass with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

   Try this I think you will enjoy it this summer on the patio or the aft deck of the boat..   ;o)

Happy Wednesday

   Internet problems all day, so here is a happy sunny morning picture to brighten up your day.   Hopefully everything will work right tomorrow.   ;o)

Rums Hold their own in F. Paul Pacult's Top 120 Spirits List

     F. Paul Pacult has issued his 2013 "Best Spirits in the World" list and rum has done pretty well this year.   The number 8 pick is Brugal's Papa Andres 2013 Edition, and the 14th is Ron Abuelo Centuria, they

are both fine rums that I have had the pleasure of enjoying in the past few months.   Both of these fine rums should be proud to be in the top 15 of this prestigious list of spirits.

 

Here are the top 10 Spirits in the world according to F. Paul Pacult.

 

1) TIE Angel's Envy Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

1) TIE Highland Park 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

2) George T. Stagg Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2012 edition)

3) Elijah Craig 20 Year Old Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

4) Christian Drouin 1992 Pays d'Auge Calvados

5) St. George Spirits Single Malt Whisky XXX 30th Anniversary Edition

6) Longmorn 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

7) Parker's Heritage Collection Master Distiller's Blend of Mashbills Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

8) Brugal Pap� Andres 2013 Edition Rum

9) Bowmore Dorus Mor 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

10) Colonel E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof Uncut & Unfiltered Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeyese

 

Other rum notables:

 

14.  Ron Abuelo Centuria Reserva de la Familia Rum (Panama)

17.  English Harbour 25 Year Old Reserve Rum (Antigua)

27.  Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Independence Reserve Rum (Jamaica)

30.  Mount Gay 1703 Old Cask Selection Rum (Barbados)

38.  Clement Tres Vieux Rhum Agricole Grande Reserve 10 Year Old Appellation (Martinique)

46.  Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaican Rum (Jamaica)

66.  Bacardi de Maestros de Ron Vintage MMXII (Puerto Rico)

79.  Depaz Blue Cane Rhum Agricole (Martinique)

86.  Dos Maderas 5+3 Year old Superior Reserve Rum (Guyana / Barbados)

92.  Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera (Venezuela)

95.  Flor de Caya Centenario 21 Limited Edition Rum (Nicaragua)

97.  Rhum Barbancourt Reserve Speciale 8 Year Old Rum (Haiti)

98.  Charbay Rum (USA)

105. Rhum Clement Cuvee Homero Rhum Vieux Agricole (Martinique)

 

    This is an impressive showing on the part of the rum industry and noting that as a class of spirits the efforts to put more efforts into higher quality and less as a pure volume spirit is really beginning to show.  ;o)
 

 

 

Butter and Nuts: Frozen Summer Cocktail

    We are headed into summer finally and it is time to clean up the blender and start making those delicious frozen cocktails.  For most people it is a Pina Colada or a Strawberry "Daiquiri" when you talk about frozen cocktails, but today I've got a new one for you right out of "Cocktails & Tails"

Butter and Nuts

·         1 ½ oz. White Rum

·         1 oz. Butterscotch Schnapps

·         ½ oz. Amaretto

·         1 oz. Cream of Coconut

·         ½ oz. Orange Juice

·         ½ oz. Pineapple Juice

Place all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until smooth.   Pour into a pint glass and garnish with fresh ground nutmeg, orange wheel and cherry.

 

   Give this one a try it is a great change from the ordinary frozen cocktails and perfect for a patio or poolside afternoon.   ;o)

 

 

The Sun Has Returned to Key West

    Finally, we are seeing the return of the morning sun and some of the grey skies from all of the humidity is starting to turn blue again.   This just lifts my spirits and makes me want to write and have fun again.   Enjoy our sunny day for yourself and make the day worthwhile and have some fun.  ;o)

International Rum Conference Winners Announced

 
 
     The winners of the International Rum Conference held in Madrid, Spain were announced yesterday.   The competition is broken up into categories as follows with the double gold medal winners.

Rhum Agrícole Classification, produced with 100% fresh sugarcane juice, recognized under A.O.C.1 or produced in French territories. Possible variants: alambique still, continuous column still or mix of both distillates.

•Rhum Agricole White: Clement Canne Bleue 

•Rhum Agricole Aged, 5 years or less: Clement Rhum Vieux VSOP

•Rhum Agricole Extra Aged, 6-10 years(Rhum Vieux): Cuvee Homere Clement Vieux Agricole

•Rhum Agricole Special Harvest (Rhum Millesimes): Baton de Cannelle Entier

•Rhum Agricole Fruit Flavored, with possible variants depending on proof: Mangue Passion

 

Molasses or Cane Derivatives Classification. Possible variants: alambique still, continuous column still or mix of both distillates.

•White Rum: Don Q Crystal

•Aged Rum 5 years or less: Don Q Anejo

• Extra Aged Rum, 6-10 years: Roble Viejo Extra Anejo, Ron de Jeremy Reserva, and Cubaney Reserva 7

• Extra Aged Superior Rum, 11-15 years: Zaya Gran Reserva 12 Anos and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva

• Premium Aged Rum, 16-20 years: Cartavio XO

 

This is an impressive list of rums and a good many of these winners are available for your own tasting at the Rum Bar here in Key West.  Stop by and see me and I'll introduce you to some of the winners from Madrid.   ;o)

 

Only a 50% Chance of Rain Today

   It keeps getting better, but Andrea is such a bitch.    She just won't go away, I need some sunshine in my life.    She drenched me coming home from work yesterday, and just missed me in the dinghy last night, fooled her.   I really want to see the sunshine for a few days now, these gray skies aren't making it.  I know that the sun is waging a great war against the clouds, I see it trying to break through, but it just hasn't made it yet.  I hope I feel more inspired tomorrow, all I need is some sunshine. :o)

Blue Sky This Morning and a Papa's Pilar Blonde Cocktail

     This morning has shown with a blue sky, something that I haven't seen in quite some time.   I welcome the change for the better and today is a good one for a new Papa's Pilar Blonde Cocktail.  Papa's Pilar Blonde is a full flavored rum that goes unfiltered and has retained a blonde color from the 3 years in the barrel, and more flavor than most white rums.  This makes for an interesting mixology issue, being a full flavored rum might not fit well with all conventional mixers.  This is an interesting and refreshing summer cocktail that I think you will enjoy made with Papa's Pilar Blonde.

Papa's Highball

• 1 1/2 oz. Papa's Pilar Blonde Rum
• 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• Dash of Bitters
• Top off with Barritt's Ginger Beer

Place all ingredients except the Barritt's Ginger Beer in a 12 oz, highball glass filled with ice, shake until chilled, and top off with Barritt's Ginger Beer.  Garnish with a lime wheel and enjoy.

    I hope we can really have a summer, and I can enjoy more cocktails like this one to refresh my afternoons.   Think Summer, maybe we can have one and the rains can become our normal 30 minute to 1 hour events and not these seven day dirges.   This will help the psyche as well as being refreshing.   ;o)

Seven Rainy Days in a Row Really Get Me Down

     The good news is that it is not snowing.    This continuous rain we have had in the past two weeks is really beginning to wear on me.   2013 seems to be a year of weird weather all around the world.   Tornadoes all over the Midwest, snow in June, and for us almost a continuous rain for a week or more.

     The great news is it won't last forever and we will be able to get back to our spring weather with some sunshine and smooth waters.   I'm hoping that we can get back to a normal weather pattern not just here in the Keys, but all over this world, this is just plain odd. 

   Anyway, I'll put on my "foul weather" gear hop on the scooter and get off to work and hope there are some people there I hope will need cheering up and I'll be able to help them enjoy their vacations in the rain.    I'll put on my fun barman face and have some fun behind the bar today hoping that this mess will soon pass.   I guess it is like anything else too much of anything is sometimes just to much.    Do I need to start working on the Ark?   ;o)

The Real McCoy Rum: The Prohibition Tradition

Captain Bill McCoy

     The Real McCoy 5 Year Old Rum is a rum created out of the traditions of prohibition era Florida rum runner Bill McCoy.  If you wanted the really good stuff Bill McCoy was the man you got you liquor from.   He sold only the best spirits, and not the watered down ones that many others offered.  His liquor became known as "The Real McCoy" for being the best available. 

     Today through a collaboration between  Bailey Pryor and Richard L. Seale, there is now a rum bearing the Real McCoy name that truly lives up to the legend.   Pryor who researched, and produced the documentary featuring the "Real McCoy" and the American Prohibition Era got the inspiration to create a rum that would truly make Captain Bill McCoy proud of him.    Richard L. Seale from Foursquare Distillery in Barbados was contacted to create a true rum to fill the bill, if you will.   The Seale family tradition of rum making is one that is as legendary as Bill McCoy's honesty and reliability for the delivery during the prohibition ear.

     The results are in and they have truly done what they set out to accomplish.   The rum is amber colored, medium viscosity, showing fine legs in the glass.  This is a true sipping rum with an initial sweetness that fades to a spice and dried fruit in the back of the palate.  It finishes with a slightly peppery and long lasting fruitiness.   Having just received the bottle, I'm looking forward to trying to mix this rum in a way not to loose the delicate and very smooth flavor of the rum and yet create a well balanced and sophisticated cocktail.   I'll let you know what I end up with.   The rum is so good out of the bottle, that it is going to be difficult to improve on the taste.   ;o)

 

Taildragger Rum: An Agricole Style White Rum

     Taildragger White Rum is a very flavorful white rum made for first pressing sugar cane, it is unaged and not filtered at all.     Coming from the "Caribbean Isle" of Plainfield ,Illinois, this is a very fine rum that is hand made in a small batch artisan distillery by Toby Beall.     Toby is the founder and head distiller at Tailwinds Distilling Company and the driving force behind the rums.   The quote on the bottle reads, "We are bringing America's first spirit back home."    Toby believes that filtering removes as much flavor as it does color, leaving the rum tasteless as well as colorless.   He is right, because this is not a "cachaca" , but a very nice white rum.  

     The aroma is one of a cane field and the clean sweetness is very inviting as you breathe it in.  On the palate it has a sweet and mildly grassy taste that is quite normal for a "agricole  style" of rum.  The rum is extremely smooth and the flavors linger long after the very soft finish.   Actually sipable with a cube of ice to open it up, this is a first class and flavorful white rum.  

     It would be a great rum for a Mojito, Daiquiri, or even a T Punch, though not actually an agricole rum, a lot of the agricole flavors do come through.   I feel that Taildragger White Rum will be a welcome addition to your personal collection and when made more available, to  the shelves of any bar.    It seems to like cola, coconut water, lime, tonic and other mixes without over powering the cocktails balance.   If you should get the opportunity to try this rum, I feel you will be surprised by the flavor and smoothness of an unaged white rum. 

     They also have an Amber Rum that is aged in French Oak  barrels, but as of right now I haven't had the opportunity to try this one.  If the amber is as I expect it to be, it will be one fine rum, based upon the quality of the white rum.   ;o)

Sunday Morning Beauty

   I just love getting up just before sunrise and see all of the beautiful and unusual morning artwork mother nature has in store for me as I depart the boat.   Today was no exception.  ;o)

Saturday is Beach Day

   Saturday is the traditional day to get out to your favorite place, for me it is a nice secluded beach on one of the keys just off of Key West.
Maybe one of the beaches of the Marquesas Keys to our west.   Days on the beach wandering with the sand between your toes and the warm waters of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico make it hard to resist the beaches away from the hustle of Key West.  I find the "wildlife" very fascinating along these beaches.

     This is also a great time for a fun cocktail that you can take with you and enjoy as you walk down these beautiful beaches or at your own special place.   Beaches are made for relaxation and fun, so pack up a lunch or some snacks and try this fun little cocktail, I know that you will enjoy it.

 

 

Bahama Bob’s Beach Juice

· 1 ½ oz. Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum

· 1 ½ oz. Atlantico Rum

· ½ oz. Butterscotch Schnapps

· 1 oz. Crème of Coconut

· ½ oz. Lime Juice

Place all the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake thoroughly. Pour into a pint glass and grind fresh nutmeg on top and garnish with an orange and a sprig of mint.

 

   Anyway the important thing is to get out and enjoy your Saturday and the beach, have a great time whatever you do.  ;o)

Angostura dropping 10 Cane and Foursquare Distillery will Be the New Producer

     Angostura has made the decision to drop the contract with Moet Hennessey for the production of 10 Cane Rum.   In a statement issued by Angostura, "After almost a decade working with Moet Hennessey, Angostura decided not to renew the contracts since it did not bring the returns necessary to continue the business."   It seems that part of the 10 Cane operations were actually closed for a few years because of insufficient demand for the rum.

     Sir David Seale, Chairman of Foursquare Distillery in Barbados said at the announcement of the contract, "It is Barbados gain over Trinidad and Tobago".   Barbados Industry Minister, Donville Inniss said, "Barbados is not a low-cost location for manufacturing and as a result the have to tap into the niche areas, rum is a product that is synonymous with Barbados and they will have to exploit fully the rum industry.

Richard L. Seale

     Foursquare Distillery Managing Director Richard L. Seale said, "The future development of Barbados partly rested on the rum industry and the contract with Moet Hennessey could result in many indirect jobs, increased economic activity and between 10% and 30% more exports.  "This product has a short potential to sell in the region of two to three-hundred thousand cases and to become a major global brand when you want it to sell a million cases."

    10 Cane Rum was first introduced in Trinidad and Tobago in 2005.  The name comes from the fact that it is made from first pressing sugar cane in stead of molasses.    It is said that it takes 10 stalks of sugar cane to make each bottle of 10 Cane Rum and thus the idea behind the name.   This is a true premium white rum and now being produced at one of the truly innovative and quality distilleries of the world.   This should be great association.   ;o)

Ocumare Anejo Especial: Fine Rum from Venezuela

     Ocumare is a line of fine rums made in Ocumare du Tuy, Venezuela, a location they have being producing traditional rums from since 1950.    The company originated in Caracus in 1938, but by 1950 they grew to the point where they needed to improve the equipment and needed more space.

     The skills of master distiller and bottler Andres Colmenares comes clearly through when you taste this fine rum.   This is an extremely smooth rum that glistens with a rich reddish brown color.  This rum teases you with a complex aroma of caramel and brown sugar, plus notes of vanilla, wood, and spice.   From the first sip, the very viscous rum send notes of sweetness and caramel that turns to a chocolate and finishes with a lasting reminder of caramel and a note or two of licorice.   The experience is one that is well enjoyed and remembered.

     I am looking forward to seeing this wonderful rum on the shelves here in America very soon.  It will become an instant favorite once it reaches the shelves here in America.   ;o)

    

Ron Diplomatico Blanco: The Elegant White Rum

     Ron Diplomatico Blanco from Venezuela is one of the absolute premier white rums in the world.  This is a pure and clean rum for the use in your premium cocktails that you want to be a cut above the ordinary.   First introduced at London's UK Rumfest in 2008, it has been a favorite of many cocktail masters since it's inception.   With it's light creamy feel on the palate and an unmatched softness for a white rum this is the one you need to try. 

     Made from only aged rums that vary in age from 2 to 6 years, this is a blend of light column and heavy pot still rums that have been distilled multiple times and finally charcoal filtered to attain the brightness and clarity so distinctive of this rum.  

     From the aromas that rise out of the rum you immediately know that this is a very light rum.  There are notes of sugar and floral aroma that lead you into the tasting of this rum.   You will notice a sweetness immediately, with hints of vanilla, cocoa, and  a citrus notes in the later part of the experience.   There is a long and sweet finish to this rum retaining some the palate complexity noted earlier, with a smooth, no burn finish that will make your cocktais superior ones.

    I use this as a base for many of my daiquiri recipes as well as for many other high end cocktails that call for a delicate smooth touch to make the cocktail well balanced and flavorful.

    This rum runs about $40.00 here in the United States, but for those very special times when only a fine white rum will do, Ron Diplomatico Blanco is the only rum to use.   You will find this rum in my Rum Lab and in the Rum Bar here in Key West as a resident white rum that is used in my highest quality cocktails.   ;o)

Memorial Day on Boca Grand Key

    A bit windy, but a beautiful day to get together with some friends and explore Boca Grand Key.  The ride through the Lakes Passage was a bit choppy, but we survived and got to enjoy the beautiful beaches and marshy areas of Boca Grand Key.   There were not as many birds like usual, buy the flowers, the ocean and the company made this a great day of resting and marveling at what nature was throwing my way.

     Once on the beach it was time to explore and look at all of the fun things that we always seem to find on the beach as we wander along the shore.   Mangroves in blossom, with their bright purple flowers, sea oats, and all kinds of other interesting things that inhabit this protected key.  Even the Grasshopper posed on this day for his portrait.


  
     The birds as they swoop over us are always a great show to watch.  Today a sea gull kept us entertained as he fed from the surface of the water.   He kept swooping down and plucking fish from the surf as he enjoyed his lunch and put an aerial extravaganza on for us on the beach.


     The water was like a virtual water color print with its palate ready for you to dip your brush in and paint your own picture.   Today was one of the days that I have so missed s far this year, the strange weather hasn't allowed enough trips out to sea to suit my liking.   I thoroughly enjoy a day out on the water for a second week in a row.  ;o)

Memorial Day 2013

    This is a day that we celebrate all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.   It is a day that we give special thanks to those who went before us to make us free to live our lives with all of the freedoms that we enjoy everyday.    It is a day where I would like to say "Thank you for your service to all of those who took the time to serve in the military."   

     I will enjoy this day as a thankful person living is a country where we are free to think, act and live a live we want to.   Remember your life is yours to make the way you want it to be thanks to those that gave of theirs to defend these rights. 

Memorial Day Salute to our Veterans and Military Men and Women

  For all of our service men, women and veterans, a special thanks for your service and protecting the flag throughout the years.

 

 

 

Down the Lakes Passage to Boca Grand

    To the West of Key West is an area known as the Lakes Passage, a waterway between several very interesting Keys that are for the most part uninhabited.   These are a haven for birds, reptiles, mammals and fish, all a part of the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges.   There are Keys like Archer Key, Mule Key, Barracouta Key, Man Key, Woman Key, and at the end of the Lakes Passage is Boca Grand, a unique key with a pond in the middle and rumors of crocodiles, raccoons, a wide variety of birds and eagles living in the center areas of the key.  The only areas that you are allowed to walk on the key is on the beach, the rest is protected for the preservation of nesting areas and the wildlife in general.









     I love to wander this beach and watch the birds and fish as they interact with each other in the tidal zone between the beach and the deep water.   There are times that the fish are so thick that you can't tell the fish from the water, they look like a massive cloud of brown in the water.     These become favorite feeding grounds for gulls and other fish eating birds. 

     There is about three-quarters of a mile of beach to wander and it is always changing as you wander from one end to the other.   The constant tides and storms wash new debris onto the beach making for interesting pickings as you walk along the beach.

     Eventually you reach the end and it is time to return to the boats and the rest of the people that have come out to visit Boca Grand for the day.  Relax, have a lunch and beverage, clean up around you and head back to the reality of Key West.   These days out and around the waters of Key West never disappoint me, there is always so many new things to see and do out there.   Just can hardly wait for the next outing on the waters around Key West.  ;o)

    

Memorial Day Weekend Kick-Off

    Today is the beginning of the Memorial Day Weekend, this is a traditional beginning of summer event that usually includes a ton of drinking and party time.  I just want to say that I want to see all of you back here still safe and sound on Tuesday.    Drinking is a great fun thing if you do it in a responsible manner.   Drink to your hearts content, but stay out from behind the wheel if you are enjoying your favorite tipple.  

    The same is to be said if you're out on the water, you can do a lot of damage if you 're boating under the influence as well.  It is just as important to maintain if you are responsible for the safety of your passengers on the boat.   It is a weekend when many people are getting out on the water for the first time this year and not paying as much to their driving as they should.  You have to be the one that is aware of your surroundings to survive. 

    Have a great and fun Memorial Day Weekend, but please make it a safe one.  ;o)

Meeting Patrick Hemingway in Key West.

     It was one of the honors of my life to have been able to meet Patrick Hemingway, middle son of Ernest Hemingway here in Key West last Friday night.   Talking with him and enjoying some of the stories of Cuba and the memories of his father were just heart warming.  He is now in his eighty's and a memory as sharp as though everything had happened just yesterday.   

     He related some of the stories of summers in Cuba at Finca Vigia, the Hemingway home in San Francisco de Paula outside of Havana.   He told of his first camera a Rolliflex he received from his father that he was given to his father when he went to China with his third wife Martha Gellhorn, who was on assignment for Collier's Magazine. 



Ernest, Patrick (left) and Gregory at Finca Vigia

     Patrick was born June 28, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, but traveled to Europe, Wyoming and Idaho during his childhood, though his permanent residence was Key West, Florida.   After his parents divorced, he would visit his father at Finca Vigia in Cuba quite often.  The start of World War II found Patrick accompanying his father on improvised attack missions in the Gulf of Mexico on his father's boat Pilar.

    Patrick Spent 25 years in Africa as a safari guide and teacher at the College of Wildlife Management in Tanzania. 

     Patrick edited his father's last book about Africa and published it in 1999.  The book was one of fact and fiction from an East African expedition Ernest and Martha went on during 1953 -54.   Toward the end of the trip Ernest was in two successive plane crashes in which he was reported dead.  Ernest was said to have read about his death in the newspaper when he wandered out of the jungle.    Patrick took the 800 pages of the unfinished manuscript and edited it down to about half the size and published "True at First Light".   Patrick was more than qualified to do the final editing for he had been present through most of the safari.


     Today Patrick lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he has been his residence since 1975.  There he oversees the Ernest Hemingway Intellectual Properties and the Hemingway Foundation.

    Papa's Pilar Rum is the latest of the projects he has been involved in and seems to thrive on the active life he still leads. ;o) 
    

An Incredible Rum with an Incredible Story

     JoAnn Elardo of Cape Coral, Florida, came up with an idea for making rum in the center of Florida using the resources of her surroundings.   Today JoAnn Elardo and her associate Chris Spiro have the distillery and a  bright Turquoise colored building on Pine Island Road between Nicolas Parkway and Santa Barbara Blvd. that jumps off of the landscape.   From this little building comes an award winning silver rum that is pure Florida.

     Wicked Dolphin is an artisan hand crafted rum.   Made in a 660 gallon pot still from 100% Florida Sugar Cane purchased from local farms.   Barrel aged and blended on site at the family owned and operated distillery in Cape Coral, Florida for the highest quality.     The "Silver Rum" as a bit of a straw color that comes from the barrel aging, and has not been filtered out.  Filtering will remove the color, but it also removes some of the flavor of the barrels.   

     Wicked Dolphin won a best in class at the American Distilling Institute spirit competition and a gold medal at the 2013 Miami Rum Renaissance competition.   Winning medals in the first two competitions tells a lot about the quality and the process that is being followed by the team.

   There was a legal issue posed by a prohibition era law in the state of Florida preventing the sale of rum where it was produced.   The had a beautiful building and you couldn't even tour the distillery, plus you could not buy the rum on site.  This posed a serious problem for the success of the business.  Ms. Elardo said "Everybody has distillery tours, if you go to Colorado, New York, or even North Carolina it didn't make sense that Florida didn't have those tours"  The Wicked Dolphin team went about to change the law.  According to JoAnn Elardo, "it was a long process and a lot of times discouraging", but worth while when Bill 347 passed unanimously.    Now the people cat tour and taste the product before they purchase it.

The project is headed straight for success and has already proven itself with two prestigious awards for their Wicked Dolphin Rum.  This looks to be a new Florida Distillery that has the talent and the means for growth and quality Florida based rums.  ;o)