The Moon is Nearly Full and the Zombies Are Riding

   Fantasy Fest is getting underway OFFICIALLY tonight with the Zombie Ride.   The nearly full moon will make this an eventful evening, There is a Zombie party at the Rum Bar on Duval Street this evening as well.   Everyone of the Zombies, be careful and have a great ride this evening.  ;o)
  

Zombie Bike Ride Tomorrow

     The 2013 edition of the Zombie Bike Ride goes off from We Cycle on Hwy 1 Stock Island at 6:30 pm tomorrow.   This is one of the great events of the Goombay - Fantasy Fest week.   Nearly 4,000 "Zombies " will mount bicycles and ride the 3 mile course to the finish on Duval Street.  There is a Zombie Beach Bash on Smather's Beach from 4 til 7 and a Zombie Den at Fogarty's on Duval Street.   The Hurricane Hole right next to We Cycle is offering cocktails out side in the staging area for all of the riders to purchase in preparation for the start of the ride.

    Last year the huge crowd rolled on to Key West from the Cow Key Bridge in droves.  This year they have promised even more of the living dead rolling into town. 

     If you haven't signed up yet, you can register on line at http://zombie-bike-ride.myshopify.com/products/wrist-band-registration

     Look forward to seeing all of you riding over the Cow Key Bridge again this year as I return home from work on Sunday.  ;o)

    

DUSA and Tito Cordero Win Golden Rum Barrel Awards

     DUSA the Venezuelan rum distiller that produces "Diplomatico" rum was named the recipient of the Golden Rum Barrel at the UK Rumfest last week.    Located in La Miel, Lara in the mountains of Venezuela, this very green distillery produces some of the finest rums in the world.  The honor is a well earned one for the distillery and all of the people there that make the process work.

Tito Cordero

     Tito Cordero,  Maestro Ronero (Rum Master) is only the third Master Blender at DUSA in the company's history.   This very talented man has taken the Diplomatico line of rums to a pinnacle of fine taste and true quality.   His creativity and ability to work out side of the box to create these fine rums  is unlike any other.    The Golden Rum Barrel award for distiller of the year was well deserved .

    

Ian Burrel

     “This year’s Golden Rum Barrel Awards plays tribute to the pioneers within the industry whether blend or being,” said Ian Burrel, founder of the UK Rumfest.

     “Rum’s rising popularity throughout the world can be attributed to many of these esteemed individuals or brands and we are thrilled to announce such an incredible range of distillers, master blenders, ambassadors and rum blends from all over the world.”

 

     DUSA and Tito Cordero are responsible for such wonderful rums a Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, Ambassador, Single Vintage 1997, and 2000, and the rest of the Diplomatico Line of fine rums. 

     I would like to pass on my personal congratulations to my friend Tito Cordero and the rest of the people that make everything happen at DUSA.  Keep the fine rums coming .  I just can't tell you how excited I am about tasting your new Single Vintage 2000 later this year.   ;o) 

Fantasy Fest and Goombay Begin Saturday in Key West

Fantasy Fest Brings a Super-Powered Celebration to Key West

 

 

 

By: Lauren Tjaden

     Have you ever dreamed of being Superman, a muscle-bound bloke who can leap buildings in a single bound? Or maybe you’d prefer to be the Joker, cloaked in green, purple and a twisted smile. Or maybe the Bionic Woman, a shapely do-gooder who humbles Fembots, is more to your liking.

Key West’s outrageous annual costuming celebration, Fantasy Fest, Oct. 18-27, 2013, is the ideal place to unleash your inner comic-book superstar, because this year’s theme is ‘Super Heroes, Villains... & Beyond.’

‘Beyond’ is an apt description not only for this year’s theme but for the Festival in general. It’s beyond crazy, beyond belief -- and beyond popular. In recent years, its attendance has surpassed 100,000 people, or more than three times the population of the island itself.

The gala includes events like a 5K run, a pet parade, and contests galore.  It includes Fantasy Fest Street Fair, a mile-long extravaganza of arts, crafts, food vendors, libations and costumed frivolity that spills down Duval Street. And it includes a plethora of parties --toga, pajama, bikini, pink and even tighty whitey parties – to keep the most dedicated reveler reeling.  

The world-renowned Captain Morgan Fantasy Fest Parade, Oct. 26, 2013, 7 p.m., caps off the celebration.

You should go. Because as Spider-Man said: I believe there's a hero in all of us that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride.

   This is the BIG ONE here in Key West and the one you don't want to miss.   I'll be sending pix and stories of the fun all week long next week as things unfold.  Parade night I'll be at my usual place don Duval Street selling the street side booze and watching all of the fun.

 

     Don't forget the Zombie Bicycle Ride coming this Sunday afternoon either.  Lots of zombies and lots of fun.    ;o)

 

 

Marques de Cuba Habanero: "El Ron Prohibido"

     Fraternity Spirits World announced they were offering their new prohibition rum, "Marques de Cuba Habanero".   This is a rum is that originated in Mexico during the 1700's.   Large numbers of barrels filled with Spanish sweet wine arrived in the new world , after the wine was depleted,  the barrels would be refilled with high quality Mexican produced rum and sent back to Spain.  

     Tequilera Corralejo produces the new rum offering, "Marques De Cuba Habanero ‘El Ron Prohibido’". By the year 1700, Spanish ships were arriving in the colonies of the New World loaded with products from Spain. One popular product was sweet wine stored in barrels, which were later emptied after use. These empty barrels were filled with "Chinguirito", which is rum that was produced in Mexico, and shipped back to Spain."

 

 

     As the rum aged in the sweet wine barrels during the trip back to Spain, it absorbed wood flavors and aroma from the sweet wine barrels, which gave it very special characteristics. The resulting rum became very popular in Spain.   "Chinguirito" was also known as Habanero because the last stop on the way back to Spain from the New World was Habana, Cuba.

 

     The kick-off for "Marques de Cuba Habanero" will be at the TFWA(Tax Free World Association) World Exhibition in Cannes from October 20 to 25.  This is a show for "Duty Free and Travel Retail Premium" vendors.   There are several other spirits producers that will be having a kick-off for their newest spirits at the event.

 

     I'm looking forward to my next trip to the Caribbean in December and a chance to pick up a bottle of this unique rum at one of the "Duty Free" Shops at the airports.  ;o)

 

This Blog has "Gone to Hell"

     No, I didn't just make a pun out of a title, I went there in July.   Hell is a little wide spot in the road in the West End of Grand Cayman.    As I left Georgetown and headed up to West End, I found myself "on the road to Hell"

    

     "Whatever lies behind the name, it’s definitely an appropriate one. The black, jagged rock formation gives an intimidating impression of what Hell may be like.   These jagged rock formations occupy an area around half the size of a soccer field. Walking  among the rocks is no longer permitted, to prevent any further damage to the site.    However, two observation platforms give a fascinating view of Dante's Landscape.

     The rock outcrops are not lava, despite the appearance of same. They are limestone and dolomite that has been eroded over the years by algae.  The resultant land form is called a phytokarst. The algae attacks the calcium in the limestone leaving "the devil's garden" made up of the harder dolomite. These shapes are what you can see in Hell today. There is no more erosion expected, because the algae requires water to stay alive. The rock was originally bright white in color, but has been blackened by the algae, giving rise to its devilish look today.

     The Hell Post Office is one of the biggest attractions in Hell.  You can send all of your friends a "Post Card from Hell", as I did and so many others as well.   All in all quite a unique experience, "going to Hell".  I guess you can say it was a "Hell of an experience".   Maybe I need to "get the Hell out of here" and put this blog to bed.
 

More Ideas from Vintage Cocktails with Rum

     Last week I worked with some of the vintage Vodka Cocktails and substituted rums.   I was very pleased with the results, so this week it is Bourbon's turn.   I have done this before, with Mount Gay Black Barrel and XO to yield some very interesting and flavorful libations.   Today I'm going to try this with a Panamanian rum called "Zafra".  This rum is very well suited to the task, it has great bourbon notes and other fine attributes that make it perfect for the cocktails.

     As most origins of the older cocktails go, there are a several versions of how the “Sidecar” originated.   One version, says that it was developed in a Paris bistro during World War I by a barman for an American Army captain in Paris "and named after the motorcycle sidecar in which the good captain was driven to and from the little bistro where the drink was born and christened".     It seems that the cocktail was a huge hit at “Harry’s Bar in Paris as well.   Like many other cocktails out of the past, there are several theories and tales of their origins, but the cocktail is what really matters and not who created it.




Zafra Sidecar

• 1 oz. Zafra Master Reserve Rum
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau
• 2 oz. Sweet and Sour

Place all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until chilled.    Strain into a chilled Martini Glass with a sugared rim (Sugar in the Raw).  Garnish with an orange zest.

    Try some other rums if you like, but look for the strong bourbon or cognac notes in the rum.   Just one note the original was said to be made with cognac or brandy, this later became bourbon in the 1940's.   Anyway try this version I think you will really enjoy it.

Pilar and Cojimar

     Papa Hemingway would spend much of his life in pursuit of game fish all over the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans.   He has been pictured in Joe Russell's boat "Anita", and many others. but the majority of his fishing time was aboard his prized fishing yacht "Pilar".     Though purchased while living in Key West, most of her productive days were spent in Cuba.     Cojimar, the little fishing village just to the east of Havana was her home for many many years.

     There is a painting in the La Terraza de Cojimar Restaurante and Bar that shows her sitting just off of the dock and the Spanish built fort used to protect the eastern side of the bay from attacks by pirates and war ships.

     After their fishing expeditions Hemingway and Captain Fuentes could be found at the La Terraza de Cojimar  enjoying some great food, drink and sharing their stories with the rest of the local crowd of fishermen and friends.

     Today Pilar stands fully restored at Hemingway's home in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba.  Hemingway and his Captain Fuentes seats are preserved at the restaurant and bar they so regularly would hang out.

     Old Man and the Sea became a Nobel Prize winner and the town still remains a sleepy little fishing village with a very colorful past.   It still has the warmth and friendly people that drew Hemingway to it in the 1940's.   ;o)

That's Right, Ian's Alley Rum!

Mancos Valley Distillery
 

     Ian's Alley Rum is very interesting small batch craft rum made in the mountains of Colorado.     Mancos Valley Distillery is the dream come true of Ian James, who spent two decades as a commercial brewer in Durango and Cortex, Colorado.   Economics and the real world facts of too many craft breweries in the area pushed him toward building the distillery.   Hidden in the back alley, Ian's homemade still produces a very nice white rum.   The still is located in the back room of the bar that serves many fine "boat drinks", made from his craft rums made in the back room.   The bar also has live entertainment  on a regular basis.

     The rum is made from evaporated cane juice and pure Rocky Mountain snow melt.  The mash is fermented on site in an manner that combines the old world with modern technology to make this very interesting rum.     The process is carried out by Ian.  From the cane to the bottling of this rum takes about two weeks.   It is processed in five copper clad pots that were made from pieces and parts he had collected over the years as a brewer.   The "cane wine" is double distilled in pot stills and then past through a third polishing still before bringing it down to 80 proof and bottling.  The initial 75 gallons of mash yields about seven cases of Ian's Alley Rum.  The process was worked out by Ian in a "trial and error" method, but the results are worth the efforts.


     This is the product of a small town, it also is a very nice and smooth white rum that I find very refreshing in this era of sugared and flavoring to hide the low quality of many distillates out there on the market.   Ian's Alley Rum has a very distinct flavor with hints of an agricole influence, made from evaporated sugar cane juice, instead of molasses, yielding a flavor that is sweet and still pretty neutral.  The finish is clean and has virtually no burn.   Ian's Alley Rum is a great rum for mixing, and is also available as a spiced rum.   There is also a coffee liqueur that is made there as well.


    Pretty impressive products from this 7,000 foot high town in the Mancos Valley of Colorado.   I'm not going to say it, but this is truly a "Rocky Mountain High".  ;o)

Brugal's Especial Extra Dry

     I've been working with a lot of Vodka recipes and converting them to made with rum.   One of the problems with the conversion has been finding a rum that isn't to sweet.   I've finally run across the answer to the problem.  Brugal's Especial Extra Dry, the perfect white rum for making cocktails like martinis, cosmos, or any other of the dryer vodka cocktails.  

     This is a crystal clear dry rum that is absolutely perfect for mixing your sophisticated dry cocktails.  I've been experimenting with several new and classic ideas, Especial has made the change over is seamless.  Just use the Brugal Especial Extra Dry instead of the vodka and you will be amazed at the flavor and smoothness of your new found cocktails.

    I got a hold of a fresh cucumber the other day and started doing some experimenting with it along with the Brugal Especial Extra Dry and found a really tasty combination.





Cucumber Especial

• 2 oz. Brugal Especial Extra Dry
• 2 Cucumber Slices
• 3/4 oz. Agave Nectar
• Juice of 1/2 Lime

Lightly muddle the cucumber, agave nectar and the lime juice in a shaker, add the rum and shake until chilled.  Strain into a Martini Glass and garnish with a cucumber slice floated on the surface.

     This is a very light and unique tasting cocktail that I found very refreshing and perfect for an after work cocktail on the aft deck at sunset. 

Frangipani

     The "Frangipani" is another of the 50's era cocktails that has been bounced around and cynicized as a "dumbed-down Hemingway Daiquiri", but upon examination of this cocktail you will find it to be a different and enjoyable cocktail.  The addition of more grapefruit juice replacing the lime and the addition of sweetener in some versions makes this a very different experience.   There is very little information on this cocktail out there on the web, but it seems to appear every now an then in the historical cocktail discussions.

     I've found two very different recipes for this delicate cocktail, and I do have to admit, both sound very interesting.

Gourmet Frangipani

• 1 oz. Golden Rum (Good Aged one)
• 1 oz. Grapefruit Juice
• 3 dashes of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Place all ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice and shake until chilled.   Strain into a Martini Glass and serve.

     The second version is significantly different, in that it is made with pineapple juice instead of Grapefruit Juice.

Frangipani #2

• 1 oz. Golden Rum (Good Aged One)
• 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 3 dashes of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Place all ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice and shake until chilled.   Strain into a Martini Glass and serve.

     the two recipes yield very different cocktail flavors.  The Frangipani #2 is much sweeter and it is easy to over do it with the Luxardo.   The Gourmet Frangipani is really tart like a Hemingway Daiquiri, but the flavor is significantly different.   Don't be afraid to add a few drops of cane syrup or agave nectar if it is too tart for your palate.  Try both of them, and see where it takes your taste buds.  ;o)
    

Non-Essential Government Functions

 This morning I found an article in the Fayetetville Observer that I found very interesting and would like to share with you.    It deals with the government shut down and "non-essential" government functions.   I too if they are really "non-essential" why is our government wasting the hard earned tax payer's dollars on it.   In this particular case alcohol research.   
Prohibition was repealed on the 5th of December, 1933, and there is still way too much money being spent to further limit the free choice of the people of the United States.   It is illegal to serve alcohol to minors or persons with known alcohol addiction, in addition it is illegal to drive a vehicle with a blood alcohol level over.08%.  That pretty much covers the subject.

Op-ed: Anti-alcohol research should be cut

 

By Edward Peter Stringham

 

During sequestration, thousands of nonessential government workers have been told not to show up for work. My question is, why should government be doing anything nonessential in the first place? 

I can think of a million nonessential things that government should stop doing, but let me focus on one. 

Eighty years after the end of Prohibition, the government hires scores to "scientists" to study whether there should be restrictions on drinking. Despite the scientific language of their arguments, much of their arguments are driven by a moralistic set of assumptions against alcohol. (Let us put aside, for the moment, that Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine.) 

Take, for example, the "Cost of Alcohol" study recently developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such studies routinely make fanciful claims about how alcohol is bad and costs the economy an astronomical $220 billion. Their estimates include not just the cost of problem drinkers but how drinking decreases productivity. (Let us put aside, for the moment, that my research of 10,000 Americans found that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more money than otherwise similar nondrinkers.) Their studies are usually accompanied by proposals to tax, regulate and restrict alcohol. 

As an economist, the methodological flaws in the CDC estimates have often surprised me, and I have long wondered why government agencies could fund such bad research. 

But, then I came across a statement published by Thomas Babor, a well-known practitioner within the public-health industry. In Babor's own words, "In a democracy, politicians and policymakers often need to be shamed into doing the right thing, and costs to society have the ability to shame, blame and even defame." 

Every once in a while, true motivation is revealed. Concerns for accuracy and proper methodology are secondary. The cost of alcohol estimates are not designed to be accurate - they are designed to "shame, blame and defame." 

Babor and other advocates are deciding for us what the "right thing" is, and science to them is not a factor. Far from being analytically valid, societal cost of alcohol estimates are really just lobbying numbers. One would think the CDC would have better things to do with scarce resources. Every dollar spent on "cost of anything" studies by the CDC is a dollar taken from taxpayers or a dollar that adds to the trillions of dollars of government debt. 

 

You can read more at http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/07/21/1270479   .

 

     I think if some thought was given to this kind of waste by our government officials a lot of the problems that we are facing right now would be reduced.     Government of the people and by the people is a great thing, but "government manipulating the people" is a "train wreck".

Thank You for Sharing

     Southern Wine and Spirits, America has just announced the participation and pledged support of the Florida tax Credit Scholarship Program.   This is a very admirable gesture on behalf of this fine spirits industry company.  It makes me proud to be a part of an industry that is still helping out others in a slow economy

     "Southern Wines & Spirits of America pledged $25 million to help schools by donating to Step Up For Students this year.

 

      The Miami-based company, the second-largest private company in South Florida, is supporting the nonprofit through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

 

     On Friday, Southern Wine & Spirits President and COO Wayne E. Chaplin visited Yeshiva Elementary School in Miami Beach to honor award-winning teacher Dana Sostchin.

 

     "Through our support of Step Up For Students scholarships, our company has helped more than 13,000 students attend schools like Yeshiva Elementary," he said.

 

     Southern Wine & Spirits has donated $60 million to Step Up For Students since 2010."   

     It is the caring for the people of our communities that makes this country strong, and I think that it is a great thing that Southern Wine and Spirits has done by making the donations to this program.   ;o)                                    '

    

 

 

 

 

1000th Post

Sampling Abuelo Centuria at the aging bodega in Pese, Panama

    Today marks a mile stone for Bahama Bob's Rumstyles, this is the 1000th post for the blog in just a little under three years.   It has been a lot of fun covering the wide variety of subjects and places that I probably would not have visited if not for collecting information to bring you in the blog.

      I've had the opportunity to sip Abuelo Centuria from the barrels of the solera in Panama.  Plus tour the distillery and be their guest for a week in order to know the operation better.

Tasting fine Diplomatico Rums at Hacienda Sururo

     I've been able to meet great blenders and distillers like Richard L. Seale, Tito Cordero, and Don Pancho Fernandez and call them my friends.  Along with so many more people and places that I probably would never have seen.    

    In the past three years I have visited more distilleries on more islands and countries than I would have ever believed existed before then.  From Puerto Rico, to Trinidad and many islands in between and from Venezuela to Panama and even Cuba and Grand Cayman.

Rum Shop in Bridgetown, Barbados

     It has been a blast sharing the back country of Key West to the Rum Shops of Barbados, along with a good number of back yard bars and Rum Labs with all of you.   Three years of adventures with the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, has been an experience like no other.  It has been a chance to sample rums and visit with so many of the people in this industry that make the world of rum happen.

     I think about all the experiences that I have had in the past 3 three years and one of the most exciting has been the chance to visit Cuba and follow the trail left by Ernest Hemingway as he lived very large in the Havana area.  Places like El Floridita, Sloppy Joe's, La Bodeguita del Medio, Ambros Mundos, Finca la Vigia, and Cojimar ( Fishing Village).   The chance to see Pilar and so many more of the things that made Ernest Hemingway such a special person.   

     It was everything from the opportunities to meet so many special people and being able to be behind the bar at so many famous watering holes.  It was a thrill to stand behind the bar at the Bacardi Building in Havana.

    I would be remiss if I didn't take this time to Thank Mike Streeter and Robert and Robin Burr for getting me into the wonderful world of rum and urging me to start this blog.   Hopefully there will be a thousand more to come.   Thanks to all of you for sticking with me on this adventure.   ;o)

.

 

Stormy Mornings

     Sometimes the massive clouds of a morning thunder storm are very beautiful, yesterday morning these babies were dancing around and banging into each other making all kinds of noises.   Then the rain started and filled a bucket or two, thank goodness, I was still in the office and not out riding the scooter to work.   I guess that a little bit of rain, (about and inch and a half) has to fall into all of our lives once in a while.  ;o)

Rum for a Sazerac?

     I ran across an old 1950's era cocktail book the other day and I thought about how many of these old cocktails could be resurrected and brought back into the modern era of cocktails.   Rum being my primary interest, I try to make sure that it is being used as the primary spirit in the mix.   I had a customer come into the Rum Bar the other day asking for a Sazerac.   As I made the cocktail I thought there are a number of rums out there with notes of Cognac and it got my pea brain churning on how to make this classic cocktail a rum based cocktail for today.

       The Sazerac cocktail first appeared in the early 1800's when Antoine Amedee Peychaud mixed Cognac with his Peychaud bitters. By 1859 the cocktail became the signature cocktail of the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans.   The Sazerac name was taken from the coffee house that made it so famous.  The exact reason for the substitution of rye whiskey for the Cognac in later years is unclear, but price and availability of Cognac vs Whiskey may have had something to do with it.  The whiskey base version is generally what is used today.   The cocktail had a huge resurgence in the 1950's, an still to this day will be requested.

    Here is what I am thinking.   Take a rum like Abuelo 7 Anos that has definite notes of cognac as a base for the Rum Sazerac, I think that this exquisite rum would really make for a fine cocktail, especially one that there are not a lot of other flavors added to bury the fine flavor of the rum.


Ron Abuelo 7 Rum Sazerac

• 2 oz. Ron Abuelo 7 Anos Rum
• Dash of  Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters
• Lemon Zest

Place the rum and the bitters in a shaker half filled with ice and shake until thoroughly chilled.  Place a few drops of Absinthe in the Old Fashion Glass and swirl and dump it out.   Strain into the Old Fashion Glass and add a twisted lemon zest and serve immediately.

     I think you will find this cocktail very interesting and enjoyable.  The complex flavors seem to work very well.   Give this one a try, I feel like you will really enjoy it.  ;o)
   

Undisturbed

   With a little more time, it is easier to explore some of the more remote keys to the north and to the west.  I love the little oddities that I always find as I roam around these places.   It is the unusual that always catches my eye as I wander around on the land or drift around the perimeter.
Here are some photos of  just what I am talking about.  Take a trip with your eyes and see all that you can find by looking a little deeper that just scanning the surface of this world.  Enjoy the excursion.  ;o)

Sang Som Rum Another Rum From Thailand

       Sang Som Special Rum is a newer brand making it's first appearance in November of 1977.  It is not an unknown brand though, currently holds a position of 70% of the rum sales in Thailand and again beginning to be seen internationally as well.   Sang Som is the flagship brand of Thai Beverage Plc.. Thai Beverage, Plc. also produces Mekhong, Ruang Khao, and Sang Som Gold Medallion, all made from sugar cane.  My friend Jack DeVan brought me this bottle back from his visit to Thailand last month.  

     Sang Som has won gold medals in Madrid in 1982, 1983, and 2006 Dusseldorf in 1983, these medals are prominently displayed on the label.

    The rum is made from crushed sugar cane and aged in whiskey and bourbon barrels.  You pick up the classic grassy notes immediately with sweeter dried fruit later.   The sweet palate is natural and not unlike some of the better agricoles.  It has a warm finish that is smooth and very long lasting.

   A very nice surprise and I can understand why it has won so many gold metals.  ;o)