This is a Great Day to Just Look Upward

     After a week with my nose is a rum tasting cup and talking to a great group of wonderful people and enjoying some great rum, today is all about putting my feet up in the air and watching the sky pass by.  I just enjoy looking upward and seeing what is passing by my vantage point.  

 

     Sometimes it is the birds, sometimes an airplane, but no matter what does pass it is something for me to enjoy as I lie on the aft deck of the boat and chill out on a warm and beautiful Key West day.  All I can tell you is this is something that always helps calm me and make the rest of the world go away.  Today it is just the sky.  I really don't care what actually passes over right now, because the sky I holding my attention and helping me decompress after a very long, interesting and fun week at the Miami Rum Festival.  ;o)

Rum Chata: A Special Expression

     Rum Chata is a tropically inspired rum cream, with its origins in early Egypt and Spain.  Created from a world wide recipe that starts with five times distilled rum from the Caribbean.    Every delicious batch of Rum Chata is mixed up from scratch and contains its own unique blend of premium Caribbean rum, which is selected for its light and smooth character.   Take that rum and homogenize it with the finest dairy cream from Wisconsin and you have Rum Chata.

     "Chata was originally concocted by the ancient Egyptians for the Pharaohs, a feat easily as impressive as the Pyramids.   The pioneering Egyptian Horchata, which was made with chufa, also known as the tigernut, was so revered that it soon found its way to Spain during the time of the Moorish kings."   

 

     Today, you can find horchata made with this same recipe in most areas of Spain and remaining a very popular summertime beverage.     Chufa plantations aren't exactly a booming business in the Americas, so horchata in the Western Hemisphere is made from a slightly different recipe.   Rice based horchata is now served throughout Mexico and Central America, where the recipe has been passed down from generation to generation.   These  recipes usually include varied mixtures of rice, sugar, vanilla,

 

     I really enjoy working with Rum Chata, it is a very easy expression to mix with in so many cocktails, it fits well with most any thing that I have ever tried.   Today I'm in a Bajan mood, so here is a recipe that you might enjoy.

 

Bahama Bob's

Rum Shoppe Chata

·         1 ½ oz. Rum Chata

·         1 oz. Doorly’s XO or Other Fine Bajan  Rum 

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake until chilled and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice.   Garnish with fresh ground Nutmeg.

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grand Tasting is Happening, Where are You Today?

     This is the final event of the 2014 Miami Rum Festival, and a chance to taste and talk to the people that produce your favorite rums.  It is an opportunity that few people ever get the chance to enjoy.  This a chance to sample the nearly 200 rums at the festival, and talk to the people that produce them.

     Many of my friends are here, and it is always a pleasure to learn more and more about the process of making rum and all of the ingenious methods that the master blenders have come up with to give you the wonderful tastes that you love in your personal favorite rum.  I enjoy not only seeing the friends from the rum world, but so many of my Rum Bar friends are here as well. 


    It is a world of beautiful people, great rum and a chance to be educated by the best of the best in the world of rum.   As you wander through the aisles and taste the rums, you will get the opportunity to talk with all of the people there making you more aware of all the nuances of fine rum.

     I find it a pleasure to sit at the "Ask a RumXP" booth, trying to answer questions about the rums and what we do as judges.  It is always very interesting to take the questions from the visitors, they sometimes as very unusual questions.

     People and Rums make very wonderful "bed fellows", there seems to be a fun aspect to the rum and it is a thread that runs through the people that are involved with it.  If you haven't found out about it, you still have today to get down to the  Miami Airport Convention Center and visit the Miami Rum Festival.  Tickets are available on line at  http://www.rumrenaissance.com/Tickets.html  .

     I know I have really enjoyed the week of "rum fun" here in Miami and will so be looking forward to the show when it returns next year.  ;o)

A Week of Special Events Hosted by Our Favorite Rum Producers

     The breakfast and lunch events of the week have been very special with an introduction to Don Pancho Origenes 8 Year Old, Koloa Hawaiian Rums, Selvarey Rums, The Real McCoy Rums, and Plantation Rums tomorrow morning.   These presentations were very nice and filling, but most important it was a chance to familiarize myself with the history, processes and most important the flavors of the rums they represent.

     Koloa introduced us to their new coconut and spiced expressionsAgricole style rum that is being developed and the new aged rums that will be coming out soon.  There are exciting things coming from Koloa and I'm glad I had the opportunity to hear about them over breakfast.  Did I mention that we also got the opportunity to try the new expressions.
as well as unavailing their plans for the new plant.  They talked about the new Hawaiian

   Selvarey Rum is another new expression from the likes of Don Pancho and Carlos.  They have a 5 year old white rum and their new Cocoa flavored rum.   The chocolate provided Don Pancho with some challenges.  Making a chocolate rum that would be able to survive the heat and shipping without the loss of flavor was a difficult task that was handled after a grueling period in the laboratory.   It is made from real Central American chocolate that was macerated and blended into the rum.   The Cocoa seems to be a hit with the first people in southern California to taste and work with it.  The white is a very smooth 5 year old rum that has been filtered to remove the color.  It is actually just shippable and very flavorful.


     The Real McCoy made our lunch today very interesting with some history of how Bailey Pryor and Richard Seale got together to formulate and create The Real McCoy line of Rums.  It seems that Bailey noticed on a picture of Bill McCoy he had that there was a barrel of rum on the deck of the Tomoka that was marked coming from Barbados.  It turned out that the rum was produced in the Foursquare Distillery.  Upon meeting with Richard Seale, he was really interested in producing the rum for the project.  I find it very interesting that the "The Real McCoy Rum" of today is produced in the same distillery as the illegal rum William McCoy was selling back during prohibition.   Today we got the chance to sample all three of the expressions, the 3 year old white, the 5 year old aged and the 12 year old aged expressions.  All three live up to being the "Real McCoy".

     Plantation is hosting the breakfast this morning, and it will be interesting to see what they have come up with this year.  Plantation did not disappoint us at all this year with new sample expressions right from the aging casks.  These were some ideas with the use of red wine casks and along with some new variants on the old ones.  It is always a pleasure to learn what Plantation has been up to over the year since I have last seen them.   I guess that is why we all look forward to the Plantation pool side breakfast each year.   ;o)

2014 RumXP Tasting Competition Winners

All of the Judges for 2014

    The Judging is over and all of the score cards have been tallied.  These are the results for the 2014 RumXP Tasting Competition.     This is a monumental task to taste and score each of the nearly 140 rum in six sittings over three days in order to give you all of these wonderful winners.

     The big winner this year was Plantation with 8 medals including 4 Best of Class.  There were a lot of new winners as well.  All in all, a good year yielding an extraordinary group of winners.  Below is the list of the winners.  I would like to send my congratulations to all of the winners for 2014.

Agricole Rhum
Best In Class - St. Barth Chic
Gold - St. Barth Cool

White Rum
Best In Class - Ocumare Platino
Gold - Skottlander
Gold - Tanduay Silver

Premium White Rum
Best In Class - Diplomatico Blanco
Gold - The Real McCoy 3
Gold - Plantation 3 Star

Gold Rum
Best In Class - Diplomatico Añejo
Gold - Hampden Estate Gold
Gold - Koloa Gold

Aged Rum
Best In Class - Plantation Original Dark
Gold - Pussers Navy Rum
Gold - Appleton VX

Aged Rum, 4-8 years
Best In Class - Plantation 5
Gold - El Dorado 8
Gold - Abuelo 7

Aged Rum, 9-12 years
Best In Class - Abuelo 12
Gold - Real McCoy 12
Gold - Medellin 12

Aged Rum, 13-18 years
Best In Class - Pussers 15
Gold - El Dorado 15
Gold - Flor de Caña 18

Aged Rum, 19-21 years
Best In Class - El Dorado 21
Gold - Centenario 20

Premium Aged Rum
Best In Class - Don Q Gran Anejo
Gold - Ocumare Anejo Especial Golden Reserve
Gold - Plantation 20th Anniversary 

Super Premium Rum
Best In Class - Mt Gay 1703
Gold - Ron Barcelo Imperial Premium 30th Anniversary
Gold - Centenario 25

Ultra Premium Reserve Rum
Best In Class - Brugal Papa Andres

Special Cask
Best In Class - Plantation Guyana 2005
Gold - Plantation Jamaica 2001
Gold - Plantation Trinidad 1999

Dark Rum
Best In Class - Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum
Gold - Koloa Dark
Gold - Goslings Black Seal

Flavored Rum
Best In Class - Koloa Coconut
Gold - Admiral Nelson Vanilla
Gold - Blue Chair Bay Coconut
Gold - Selvarey Cacao

Spiced Rum
Best In Class - Bayou Spiced
Gold - Blue Chair Coconut Spiced
Gold - Blackheart

Overproof Rum
Best In Class - Plantation Overproof Original Dark
Gold - Rum Fire
Gold - Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum

 

An Evening at the Bacardi Penthouse

     One of the highlights of the Miami Rum Festival is the visit to the Bacardi Penthouse for their annual party.  This year was no exception and an enjoyable moment it was.   The combination of great guitar music, food and fine cocktails made this evening as wonderful as it always is.

      The Bacardi family always are most gracious hosts, offering their wonderful penthouse and museum to entertain the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival VIPs one evening during the week.  

     The tradition of bringing the RumXP back into the tasting room to sample new expressions was continued last night as well.   A new expression of what will become Gran Reserva was tasted and described by Willie Ramos for our information.   This is a part of the Bacardi Party that I always enjoy.  It is great information that will help as they introduce the rums in the future. 

     A special thanks again to the people of Bacardi for their hospitality.  ;o)

Grand Introduction of Origenes Reserva 8 Year Old

     Today begins the series of breakfasts and lunches then evening events to introduce us to all of the new brands of rums that will be available to the world in the very near future.  The highlight of today is Don Pancho Fernandez and Carlos E. Esquivel G introducing the new Don Pancho Origenes Reserva 8 Year Old Expression.   This one along with its older brothers will be here in America in June or July this year.   It will be called Don Pancho Origenes Reserva here in the United States and will also have a new label that was just approved this week.



     The entire line of Don Pancho Origenes anOrigenes are the fruition of his dreams of making a nearly perfect rum for the world to enjoy.  These rums are Don Pancho Fernandez's children and at 75 years old he is a very proud parent ready to introduce them to the world.   Since his early days in Cuba working for Havana Club he has dreamed of producing high quality traditional "Cuban style" rums that were good enough to put his name on them, these Don Pancho Origenes Rums are those rums.

     The Don Pancho Origenes Reserva 8 Year Old Rum has a beautiful dark Mahogany color with a very warm balanced aroma of sweetness and wood.  It is like some other rums that I have tasted in that I can't keep my nose out of the glass.  The first sip sends notes of the distinctive dry subtle nut and fruit flavors that inspires you just let the rum lay on your tongue for an extended time before swallowing.    The finish is warm with some pepperiness in the lingering flavor, it is just the flavor of a great rum and nothing else.  Don Pancho's Origenes Reserva 8 Year Old has nothing added, just well blended and heavy charred Kentucky Bourbon barrel aged rum.

Section of the charred Kentucky Bourbon Barrel

    According to Michael Lindell, Terlato Wines East Region Manager of Artisan Spirits, the 8 Year Origenes, 8 Year, 18 Year, and the 30 Year will be distributed in the United States.
Expression of the rum is expected to retail at $40.00 and is scheduled to be on the shelves in Florida by June or July this year.    All of the expressions of Don Pancho

     The Don Pancho Origenes Reserva will be a featured rum at the Rum Bar in Key West as soon as it becomes available to me.  It will join so many of the other Don Pancho inspired rums already being served at the Rum Bar, like Zafra, Panama Red, Fortuna and Bohemio.  I will keep everyone informed of its arrival.  I feel that everyone will really enjoy it.  ;o)

Judging the Rums

     Today is the first day of the three days of rum evaluation for the RumXP Competition.  We started the day with a good breakfast, an organizational meeting and then it was off to the judging chambers to score the first set of rums submitted for evaluation.   These are blind tastings, we score these rums first on appearance, (0 to 10 Points) aroma, (0 to 20 points) taste, (0 to 50 points) and finally finish (0 to 20 points).  The scores are then added up to give the final composite score that the rum was awarded.  In a way like scoring ice skating, different parts of the performance are given points and the composite is the important number.  This morning we were seated at a table with 20 glasses of rum sitting in front of us, 2 agricole rhums, 10 white rums and 8 gold rums.   That is three categories of rums, and the rums  are only scored against in the category that they are a part of.  

    It is 11 o'clock so let the tasting begin!   It will take between 25 and 45 minutes to sample all of the 20 rums we have before us.  It is necessary to cleanse the palate between each of the expressions in order to score each of the rums fairly.   You need to eat a piece of a very bland cracker and wash it down with water before moving on to the next expression.   Going through the process of first holding the rum up to the light to see if it is clear or cloudy, and if there is anything in the appearance that is particularly attractive to the eye.  Next the glass is swirled and you sniff the aroma emitted from the rum.  Now it is time to taste the expression and note how it appeals to you and how it finishes.

     Finally you total up the composite score for the expression and you are ready to move on to the next one.   This process is repeated for all 20 of the rums that were presented to us in the first round of the competition then again for each of the succeeding rounds. 

     Now comes the fun, we turn in our score sheets and get to see which rums are really appealing to our palates.  Sometimes you are really surprised when you go in for the reveal.   Good notes are taken and it is now time to play or just relax somewhere for a few hours until 3pm rolls around and it is time to begin round 2.   The process will be repeated for the next two days.  After three days of judging the rums and the data is scored,  Friday evening we will present the awards for each of the categories.

Miami Rum Renaissance Gets Underway Today

     After a great day o "Conchy Tonking" our way from Key West to Miami, we have arrived to the beginning of a week filled with great friends and fantastic rum.  We made stops at Baby's Coffee, Cracked Conch Café, Holiday Isle Tiki Bar for an original Rumrunner, Discount Liquors, and Jimmy Johnson's Big Chill before hitting the Florida Turnpike to the Doubletree Hotel and Convention Center for the start of the 2014 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival,

     Matthew Robold, the "Rum Dood" and the staff of the Cana Rum Bar from Los Angeles ran a "pop-up" bar at the Broken Shaker on Miami Beach.  The event featured Plantation Rum and a great time was had by all of us that attended.  

     In addition to the fine cocktails that were provided, we engaged is a lively ping pong extravaganza.  The evening was a first chance for all of us that are involved  in the event to get together since last year.   A lot of fun was had by all who attended, not to mention a chance to enjoy Matthew Robold's fine cocktails before heading back to the hotel and a good night's sleep before the judging gets underway at 11 am tomorrow morning.

     Keep up with the fun and all the adventures we are experiencing as we get to learn about many of the new rums and what the distillers and distributors are up to this year.  ;o)

    

Travel Day Today

     It is finally here and I'm headed to Miami with John Gibbons and Dan Silvers for the fun week of rum and friends at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.
    We are going to be "Conchy Tonkin" our way from Key West to Miami, this is going to be a blast.   Planning on hitting many of the fun establishments along the way.   It is always a fun time when you travel with these guys.



     I'll be keeping you filled in on all of the happenings with pictures and stories of new and well visited rums this week.   I know that my friends from Panama, Barbados, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Mauritius and many more will be present to fill our heads with knowledge about their rums and fill our bellies with fine rum.

     If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, they are still available through  their web site .  www.MIAMIRUMFEST.com     Hope that you enjoy my travels through the Miami Festival of Rum as much as I will living and sharing it with you.  ;o)

The Sun Sets on Another Week Here in Key West

     Happy Easter to everyone.   This week has been a week of anticipation for me.  I leave tomorrow afternoon for another fun filled week of rum and friendship at the 2014 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.   If you haven't attended one of these events, it is an experience that you will never forget, there are people that make rum, mix rum, and drink rum there from all over the world.  You can get your tickets online at www.rumrenaissance.com .  Hope to see many of you there this year.  ;o)

John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum

     John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum is the choice for me when making cocktails calling for falernum.  

     Velvet Falernum has limitless possibilities for mixing very flavorful cocktails. .  This is a very unique liqueur that exudes  flavors of lime, almond, vanilla, ginger, and clove.  I find it to be an essential component for many Caribbean cocktails .   Velvet Falernum is a longtime staple item of resorts and bars in Barbados, and today for its use in Tropical, and Tiki cocktails.   . It is made from an infusion of spices and lime juice into sugar cane syrup and Barbados Rum.     John D Taylor's Falernum,  considered by most to be the original Falernum, and it is today produced in Barbados by Richard L. Seale Ltd.

     Richard L. Seale oversees distilling operations and has a reputation for operating outside of the box when it comes to the use of technological advances in distilling and the overall production of his rums.


Despite being located in a sugar cane plantation , Four Square Distillery gets most of  its molasses from Guyana,    The old sugar cane factory  was separated from the distillery in 1950, with the production of sugar ending between 1987 and 1989.    In 1995 they took over an abandoned sugar factory and after a complete remodeling and the installation of custom built Italian stills, they began producing rum in 1996.

     In Barbados, the "National Cocktail" is "Corn and Oil", a lively cocktail that gets it's unique flavor from the combination of the Bajan rum, John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum and bitters.     You will find that this is a staple to keep at you bar for adding that special twist to your cocktails.  Whether you are making Tiki, Caribbean or most any other cocktails, this is something you need to keep in mind for making you cocktail very special and memorable.

Corn and Oil

• 2/3 of a ice filled glass of John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
• two dashes of Bitters
• Top Up with Doorly's XO Rum

Use a 12 oz. glass filled with ice and add all of the ingredients.  Shake until chilled, and garnish with a lime wheel. 

     There are many uses for John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, and you will not be disappointed with the results in many old and new cocktails as you experiment with it.  Hope you enjoy the results like I have over the past few years since I discovered it.  ;o)

Damoiseau Rhums

     The Damoiseau line of Rhums from Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles Islands of the Caribbean, while not true Agricole (AOC) rhums carry many of the characteristics of many of the fine French style rhums.   

     Roger Damoiseau bought the estate from the Rimbaud family in 1942.  An abandoned factory of the late 20s, that the Damoiseau brothers would spend the next 40 years renovating the estate to it's present condition. Trees had taken root in the buildings and everything was in complete disrepair and needed to be rebuilt.  The distillery would be gradually revived and the Damoiseau Brothers would  begin the manufacture of agricultural rhum and abandon the industrial rum previously produced on the estate.
    

 

     The Damoiseau Brothers cultivate 160 plus acres of cane in Le Moule, Grande Terre and buy the rest of its needs mainly from small planters.  Grande-Terre's indented coastline is surrounded by coral reefs and the island itself is a limestone plateau. Its surface is a series of rolling hills, white sand beaches and cliffs. The island's beaches consist of both white and black sands, as well as beaches of golden sand. Of the two islands, Grande-Terre is home to the majority of Guadeloupe's farmlands and tourist resorts.

 Aging takes place in a cellar built in 1982.  There are over 1400 drums each containing some 53 gallons of Rhum that are being stored in the aging warehouse.   There are many Damoiseau Rhums that are aged for long periods of time and boast tremendously fine flavors.  1953 is one of the Flagship expressions offered by the Damoiseau Brothers.

 

     A friend of mine stopped by the other day and brought me a bottle of Damoiseau Rhum Ambre .  It was time for me to start a research project to determine what I was going to do with it.    Damoiseau Rhum Ambre is a straw colored rhum that is aged for 1 year in oak.   It has a sweetness of vanilla and cinnamon on the nose with a bit of a fruitiness along with an aromatic sweetness on the palate.   This is a definite mixing rhum and one that I think will work well for me to make a Ti Punch with.   Ti Punch is a very popular cocktail among the French speaking states around the Caribbean.   It is time to look for a traditional recipe for Ti Punch that I can use to put my newly acquired bottle of rhum to good use with.

Ti Punch

• 2 1/2 oz. Damoiseau Rhum Ambre
• 1/3 oz.     Depaz Sugar Cane Syrup
• 1 Slice      Lime

Pour the rum and sugar into glass. Then squeeze the lime disc between your finger and thumb, then drop into the drink.   This expels the oil from the skin and little of the juice into the Ti Punch.   Lastly stir and consider adding two or three ice cubes.   Opinions differ as to whether it should be served with or without ice, but most agree that the "real" ti' punch should be served without ice.   However, adding a small amount of ice allows the flavors of the ingredients to blossom.

 

     Ti Punch is similar to a daiquiri, but has a definite French flavor, the combination of the agricultural rhum and the oils from the lime rinds give Ti Punch a truly distinctly flavorful cocktail.  ;o)

 

 

 

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

     Alcohol is a fun and wonderful thing when kept under control, but the misuse or abuse of alcohol like so many other things we encounter in our lives can be disastrous.   Our young people are very vulnerable to the peer pressure and the euphoria of a good buzz, this is something that can lead them down the road to disaster.  This Alcohol Awareness Month is the perfect time to put a little bit of effort into informing the people around us of the perils of alcohol abuse.

The Tragedy of Alcohol Use by Young People

 

     The month of April is designated Alcohol Awareness Month as founded by The National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (NCADD) in 1987. 

     Since the beginning years of this month-long event, many other organizations have joined with NCADD in a collaborative effort to stem the tide of underage drinking, and adult alcohol abuse, through preventative education and awareness events; to bring about further awareness of this most serious and pressing problem within our nation. 

     The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism (NIAA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC), and many other organizations have joined in this effort over the past 27 years to bring about awareness and prevention of the use of alcohol by youth, and abuse of alcohol by adults.Alcohol Awareness Month. 

     I know what some of you are thinking. "every month is something month.   A month for this and a month for that." But let me explain the profound wisdom of the founders of this eventful month, and I know, because I was part of that first Alcohol Awareness Month. The month of April is most significant primarily because it is when many youth will experience their first drink of alcohol. It is also significant due to the Easter/Spring holidays where there will be many festivities involving drinking (can you say "Spring Break"?). And, it signifies the end of the school year in the coming month, a reason for young people to "celebrate." But, Alcohol Awareness Month not only draws attention to alcohol use by our youth, but the Abuse of alcohol by our adult population (for Young People under the age of 21 the term "use" is given, the "use" is illegal). 

     Alcohol Awareness Month empathizes, in the words of the founders, "Increased public awareness and understanding, to reduce stigma, and encourages local communities to focus on alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism and alcohol related issues." This year, above all other past year's events, "highlights the important public health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating individual, family, and community consequences." 

 

     We have learned over the years that Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous, both to themselves and our communities. It is directly associated with traffic deaths, suicide, other directed violent acts, school failure and dropouts, alcohol overdose (alcohol poisoning), unsafe sexual practices, and behavioral problems. Highway statistics tell us that annually over 6,500 individuals under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related accidents and many thousands are injured.

     Read more at http://www.valleymorningstar.com/life/article_e0ff8d88-c1da-11e3-a0e1-0017a43b2370.html

     Talk to you kids and younger friends and let them know that while most of the adult world still takes a drink now and then, we are trying to avoid the binge drinking or over indulging.  There is plenty of time after you are 21 to experiment with liquors, wait until you are not surrounded by so much peer pressure to be stupid.  ;o)