Celebrating the 115 Years of Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

1939 Cuba

     Today is Ernest Hemingway's 115th birthday.  It makes me think of all the places, people and events that made up this incredible life.   Born in Cicero, IL (Chicago), then traveled all over the world to have his live end in Ketchum, ID  

     Learned to hunt and fish at a family cabin in Northern Michigan, an ability that would follow him through out his life.  He was on the high school paper mostly writing about sports.  Later he would get a job with the Toronto Star, where he feels like he learned to be a writer.  "On the Star you were forced to learn to write a simple declarative sentence. This is useful to anyone. Newspaper work will not harm a young writer and could help him if he gets out of it in time."



WWI 1918

     Served as a ambulance drive for the Italian Army during WWI until being injured.  He also received the Italian Silver Medal for Bravery.  he covered the Spanish Civil War as a correspondent and the same during WWII including such battles as the D Day Landing.

     From his early short stories to the novels his writing followed the lessons he had learned working as a newspaper writer, simple and easy to read and understand.  This is the formula that mad his books so well liked and finally earned him a Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.

Ernest, Gregory and Patrick in Cuba

     He was married four times and lived all over the world, but he has really left his mark on Key West, Paris, and Havana.  The houses that he lived in in Key West and Havana are revered and visited daily by hundreds and hundreds of people.  The displays of his "stuff" and his lifestyle make for a very interesting visit.

Marlin Fishing in Bimini

    Happy Birthday to the Man, he lived larger that life and he remains as the "man's man" even 53 years after his passing.

Summer Sunsets at the Hurricane Hole

     One wonderful thing about the summer is the late sunsets.  I'm off work and at one of my favorite hangouts on the water and get to enjoy these beautiful sunsets nearly every day.   Yesterday was no exception.  I just hope that you can enjoy your last vestiges of daylight like I get to.  ;o)

National Daiquiri Day

     Today is National Daiquiri Day here in America.  I really can’t think of a better way to celebrate it than by enjoying an original Cuban Daiquiri.  The daiquiri’s broadly accepted history credits a U.S. engineer Jennings Cox with creating the daiquiri.  


     Following the Spanish-American war of 1898 he was sent by the Spanish-American Iron Company to manage mines in the Sierra Maestra region of Cuba .  As you'd expect the conditions were harsh, yellow fever was endemic so the engineers were given good wages and a tobacco ration, plus Cox also negotiated a monthly ration of the local white rum.  One of the mines that Cox worked in was located in the village of Daiquiri, for which the cocktail was named.   

La Floridita Daiquiri

* 1 1/2 ounces rum (Matusalem Platino)
* 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1/4 ounce simple syrup (Cane Syrup)
* 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
* Splash of fresh grapefruit juice
* Lime wedge for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with about 4 oz. of ice and blend until smooth (about 30 seconds) pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.

     This is the original “Frozen Daiquiri” and was the fourth attempt by Constante Ribalaigua to create the  Daiquiri Floridita in Havana.    Jennings Cox created the original Daiquiri, a shaken version that contained rum, limon verde, and sugar, all shaken over ice.   Hemingway himself was a diabetic, and could not drink cocktails with sugar, so Constante, head barman and owner of El Floridita came up with a special Daiquiri for “Papa”.    Hemingway as the story goes told Constante to take the Daiquiri Floridita and drop out the sugar and double the rum, and Hemingway’s  “Papa Doble” was born.

     Hemingway proudly owns the El Floridita house record of 16 double Daiquiris.  He didn’t want sugar in his Daiquiri; those 16 drinks, if traditionally made, would have involved nearly two cups of sugar.  If the alcohol didn’t kill him, the sugar certainly would.

 

Papa Doble

* 3 ounces rum (Matusalem Platino)
* 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
* Splash of fresh grapefruit juice

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with about 4 oz. of ice and blend until smooth (about 30 seconds) pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge. 

     Enjoy your National Daiquiri Day the way you want to, but if you haven’t tried a daiquiri, then find a place that can make you a real one or just make your own, but do try one.  ;o)

The Spirits Business Announces the Top 10 Best Selling Rums for 2013

     I find it interesting every year as the top ten lists of spirits sales are announced what has transpired in the past year.  Here is what the Spirit Business has found to be the results of the marketing and the promotions to get you to try and hopefully consume their rums.

     However, the brand didn’t quite make it into our list of the world’s best-selling rum brands, beaten by 200,000 case sales of its nearest rival.

     Ask many of the  rum producers and they will concur that 2013 was somewhat transformational for the category, despite overall declining volumes among the top-selling brands.

    The category continued to experiment with flavors and ageing methods and also continued its ascent up the premiumisation ladder with the launch of an increased number of sipping variants.

     Growth could be clawed back this year as, according to data agency Euromonitor, global rum volumes will experience a solid 17% rise between 2011 and 2009 to 1.7 billion liters.

     Based on figures outlined in The Spirits Business‘ “Brands Champions 2014” – where the exceptional category performers are picked out from among the million case selling brands – we identify which are the most popular rum brands across the globe.

    The number one spot could soon by usurped as top-performing Philippines rum Tanduay, which declined to publicize its results for the past year.

10. Appleton

2013 case sales: 1.2m
2012 case sales: 1.2m
Growth in 2013: 0%

Sales of Gruppo Campari’s Appleton Estate have remained remarkably steady for the past few years, with 1.2m nine-liter case sales every year since 2008. However, as some other top-selling brands experience declines, 2014 marks the first year that the Jamaican rum has entered into the top 10 best-selling rum brands list. The distillery released the world’s oldest commercially available rum, the Appleton Estate 50 Years Jamaica Independence Reserve, in June 2012. One month later, Italian drinks group Campari acquired Lascelles de Mercado, the Jamaican company that owns Appleton Estate, for US$414.8million. 

9. Montilla

2013 case sales: 1.5m
2012 case sales: 1.7m
Growth in 2013: -12%

After experiencing slight to stagnant growth over the past five years, Pernod Ricard’s Montilla rum, experienced a 12% decline, dropping from sales of 1.7m cases to 1.5m cases. However, the brand still managed to climb one place to ninth best-selling rum brand. The rum, consumed predominantly in Brazil, has yet to repeat its pre-recession success and smash back through the 2m case mark. The rum was launched in 1957 and is named after the the municipality Spanish Montilla.

8. Madira

2013 case sales: 1.8m
2012 case sales: 2.0m
Growth in 2013: -10%

Another brand which experienced a significant decline in 2013 is Madira rum, which slipped from 2m case sales, to 1.8m. Owned by Indian drinks group Tilaknagar, the brand’s decline comes just one year after witnessing a staggering 43% uplift in volumes, making it the fastest growing rum brand of 2012, and the fastest growing spirit on the year’s list of Brand Champions.

7. Cacique

2013 case sales: 2.2m
2012 case sales: 2.1m
Growth in 2013: 5%

Venezuelan Cacique rum, owned by drinks giant Diageo, is the top-selling rum in its home market and has also gained in favour across the world. Amid a wealth of declines in 2013, Cacique managed to report volume growth of 5%, from 2.1m to 2.2m. Launched in 1959, Cacique means “chief of the tribe” in Spanish. The brand, a blend of several rums which have been triple distilled and aged for two years in white oak barrels, includes Añejo, 500, and Antiguo variants.

6. Contessa

2013 case sales: 2.5m
2012 case sales: 2.4m
Growth in 2013: 4%

Owned by Indian drinks company Radico Khaitan, Contessa XXX Rum experienced a return to growth after four years of flat sales. In August last year, Radico revealed that its profits had grown almost 11% thanks to the performance of its premium brands, including Contessa rum.

5. Brugal

2013 case sales: 3.5m
2012 case sales: 4.1m
Growth in 2013: -13%

Brugal rum, owned by UK drinks group Edrington, saw the most significant decline out of the entire million case-selling rum brands in 2013, falling 13% from 4.1m case sales to 3.5m. Despite being the number one best-selling rum in the Caribbean and Spain, Brugal failed to meet expectations in Southern Europe last year, causing Edrington to adjust its view of future cash flow. Despite its struggles, Brugal’s sales grew 22% in the US, driven by those in New York, Boston and Chicago.

4. Havana Club

2013 case sales: 3.8m
2012 case sales: 3.8m
Growth in 2013: 2%

Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club rum continued to experienced success in 2013 with a 2% uplift in sales. Despite missing out on the key US spirits market due to sanctions over trade with Cuba, Havana Club remains one of the most well-known rum brands in the world. The brand experienced a blow in 2012 when a long-running trade mark battle with Bacardi over its own Havana Club rum title –  a US-based rum brand produced in Puerto Rico – came to a head and the US government refused to let Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club renew its trademark in the country.

3. Captain Morgan

2013 case sales: 10.3m
2012 case sales: 10.0m
Growth in 2013: 3%

Jumping from fourth to third place on this year’s best-selling rum brands list is Diageo’s category colossus Captain Morgan, which experienced a 3% lift in case sales in 2013, from 10m to 10.3m. The brand has pushed ahead with its innovation strategy in recent months, challenging Bacardi’s dominance in the white rum market market with the release of Captain Morgan White Rum. It also enhanced its premium credentials with the launch of a limited edition Sherry Oak Finished Spiced Rum last year. However, the brand has experienced its fair share of set-backs in recent months. In March this year, Diageo launched legal action against Heaven Hill’s Admiral Nelson’s rum, alleging it uses “copycat” branding. Meanwhile, in February this year, Diageo was forced to pull an advertisement for Captain Morgan in the UK after the ASA ruled it linked alcohol and “aggressive behavior”.

2. McDowell’s No. 1 Celebration

2013 case sales: 19.0m
2012 case sales: 17.7m
Growth in 2013: 7%

Moving up from third to second place this year is McDowell’s No.1 Celebration rum, owned by Indian drinks company United Spirits. McDowell’s is the fastest growing rum brand among the million case sellers, experiencing an increase of 7% in 2013, moving even closer to the 20m case milestone. The brand was launched in 1991 with case sales of just 100,000, but has grown rapidly in years since to become to second best-selling rum brand, hot on the heels of world’s number one. The McDowell’s umbrella also has brands included in our list of the best-selling Indian whiskies and the most popular brandies.

1. Bacardi

2013 case sales: 19.1m
2012 case sales: 19.8m
Growth in 2013: -4%

Despite a 4% decline in 2013 to 19.1m cases, Bacardi has retained its place as the world’s best-selling rum brand. The Bermuda-based company – the world’s largest family-owned drinks firm – continued its foray into the flavored rum category last year and also boosted the super-premium end of its portfolio with the launch of The Facundo Rum collection, a limited edition range of aged sipping rums. It remains to be seen if Bacardi can cling on to this position next year if Philippine brand Tanduay rum discloses its results.

You can Read more at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/07/the-worlds-10-best-selling-rum-brands/

     I hoe that this slow down in 2013 will be followed by a growth of the category in 2014.  With the move to more premium rums and the overall quality of the rums being produce, I feel that it category is due for a resurgence in 2014.  ;o)


 

The Historic Bahia Honda Bridge

     Between 1905 and 1912, Henry Flagler and his crews built the Florida East Coast Railway that ran from Miami to Key West.   The Bahia Honda Channel was very deep compared to the other crossings and a different approach to bridging it was required.  Flagler's engineers decided to us a truss construction method to traverse the channel.   The center span utilized a "Parker Truss"to connect the 247 foot opening, the 186 foot spans used "Pratt Trusses", and smaller 128 foot "Pratt Trusses" on the remaining 13 spans.  All of these trusses were connected by pins making it the longest pin connected bridge in America.

     The Railroad operated until the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 blew the train off of the track and did serious damage to the rail bed.   The bridge was late sold to the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District and converted to vehicle usage.  Unlike the other bridges that the highway could just be widened and laid right on top of the existing rail bed, there was no way to widen the rail bed within the trusses.  The answer was to build road bed on the top of the bridge.  The Bahia Honda Bride was the first to be bypassed and by 1972 after the west end deck girder was removed.  
    

 
   While most of the bridge is now abandoned, the east end of the highway bridge is used by the
Bahia Honda State Park for pedestrian traffic.  The Gap is the water entry into the Beautiful Bahia Honda Bay.  The view from the bridge offers a spectacular view of the surrounding keys.

     Unfortunately, the bridges days are numbered.  The corrosion of the steel trusses and the falling
debris from the bridge is rapidly becoming a serious problem.  There is a plan being considered for it's removal in the near future.  If you haven't seen of visited this amazing piece of Henry Flagler's historic railroad, do so before it is gone.  This is an amazing sight to see and to see from atop of it.  ;o)

Hurricane Season is a Month and a Half Old, So Far So Good

     Summer is a double edge sword down here in the tropics, it is beautiful, relatively calm winds and beautiful sunshine most every day.  This is the perfect time to be out on the water and enjoying the good  life.  The water is crystal clear and you have a clear view of the bottom with all of the exciting wild life every time you are out on the water.

     The other edge of the sword is that it is hurricane season.   All of the warm weather raises the water temperature of the ocean and the gulf to the point that it is good fuel for hurricanes and very strong thunder storms as well.   A couple of good solid thunder storms with lots of rain helping to  keep the water temperature in check is also a very nice event, keeping things in check.

 















     Even though the water temperatures are very warm right now, the forcast is still good.  There are no tropical disturbances in sight and the weather remains beautiful.  I can deal with the warm, but we really don't need a major storm to start kicking up this year.

     I guess that hurricanes are the price you have to be willing pay when you live in your paradise here in the tropics.  Thunder storms that can kick up at any time and the occasional hurricane are not as much of a problem is you keep yourself prepared.   Just be ready and have a plan in mind to deal with it and then just ride it out, preferably with a good supply of great rum.  ;o)

 

 



Summer is Daiquiri Time

   Summer is Daiquiri time,. and with Hemingway Days getting underway here in Key West it is time for some Daiquiri ideas.   I find the Daiquiri one of the most refreshing cocktails ever, and one that you can make easily and quickly on the patio or the aft deck of your boat.

    All you need is some rum, sweetener, and lime juice.  Then you get to let your imagination loose and make it a special cocktail of your own.   I love to experiment with the daiquiri format and it is always amazing to me how good they usually turn out to be.

Here is an idea I had a while back that turned out to be pretty good.  Give it a try and enjoy the afternoon time where ever you do that kind of thing. 

XO Daiquiri 

·         2 oz. Mount Gay XO

·         ½ oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

·         ½ oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

·         ½ oz. Lemon Juice

·         2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Pour all ingredients into a blender with 1 cup of Ice blend until smooth.  Pour into a Martini glass and garnish with a lime or lemon wheel.

Caribbean Rum Company Introduces Cane Rum

    Chris Blair form Caribbean Rum Company dropped by the Rum Bar yesterday to introduce me to a new white "cachaca style" rum.   Made from 100% premium Mexican red and blue cane.  The fresh harvested cane is immediately pressed and sent to fermentation  where it spends the next five days fermenting naturally with no additives.

    The rum is column distilled to 190 proof, filtered and cut to 100 proof for bottling.  The rum has a distinct aroma of grassiness and sweetness.  On the palate, it is clean and smooth, but the high proof and the unaged qualities of it burn a bit in the back of the throat.  The finish is a nice one that lingers for a while with a dry "agricole" like finish.

     This is a mixing rum, but it would fit very well for a Caipirinha or a T Punch.  I has a clean quality that would lend itself to these cocktails very well.   I think that it is also a good fit for a Mojito or other tiki style cocktails as well.

     I do like the rum, it is unique in its flavor and still a very clean tasting white rum.  ;o)
 

Summer and Back on the Water - Paradise!!

    After the past winter of extended snow and just plain lousy weather it is real nice to see the winds calmed down and the warmth back so a day on the water can be pure pleasure.  Hope you take an opportunity to get out and relax with some beautiful scenery and a picnic lunch out on the water this summer.  Enjoy the experience. 

The International Spirits Challenge Award Presentation Monday

     "The Honorable Artillery Company London is the 2014 setting for celebrating quality and excellence in spirits. Here the world's leading drinks producers, design specialists, marketeers and retailers meet for this prestigious event and to pay tribute to some of the finest spirits, designs and campaigns in the world."
     Trophy winners will be officially presented their awards by the International Spirits Challenge for the Tasting, Design & Packaging, and Marketing awards.
     Guests will enjoy a grand three course dinner accompanied by award winning wines and spirits, superb entertainment, divine cocktails and the opportunity to sample the Gold and Trophy winners from the challenge in our tasting zone.
     "The International Spirits Challenge is the most authoritative, respected and influential spirits competition in the world. The ISC recognises three key areas of the industry: Tasting, Design & Packaging and Marketing."
      The competition is founded on a rigorous and independent judging process, which serves to encourage the high calibre of spirits, designs and campaigns entered into the competition each year. Receiving more than 1,000 entries from nearly 70 countries worldwide.

The Gold , Silver and Bronze winners have already been announced for 2014 and there are some old rum friends that have been named winners in the Gold, Silver and Bronze levels.

Awards	Points
Trophy	90 to 100
Gold	80 to 89.9
Silver	70 to 79.9
Bronze	60 to 69.9
Special Awards
Individual Distiller of the Year
Distiller of the Year
Supreme Champion
Outstanding Contribution

Gold Winners

1. Doorly's XO
2. Pusser's
3. Chairman's Reserve
4. Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros

Silver Winners

1. Dos Maderas Luxus
2. Plantation St. Lucia
3. Santa Teresa 1796
4. Botran Reserva

Bronze Winners

1. Bacardi Reserva Limitada
2. Plantation Original Dark
3. Havana Club 7 Anos
4. Botran Solera 1893

These are not all of the medal winners, but some of the ones that are familiar to most of us around the American rum world.  There are winners in every category of spirits, and wines as well.  All of the Trophy and Special Awards will be announced at the Awards Dinner on Monday night.  ;o)

Siesta Key Introduces a New Distiller's Reserve Expression

     The first batch of the Siesta Key Distiller's Reserve Spiced Rum  will be available for sale at the Drum Circle Distillery  2212 Industrial Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34234
(941) 358-1900 at 10:00 AM on July 12th.  This is going to be a first come first serve event, so plan on being there early.    The details and the rules of the event are available on the Drum Circle website.   You can find out all about the times etc. there.
    

     "Distiller's Reserve" was created by Troy Roberts for his own personal enjoyment, but this personal expression became very popular among his many friends.    Siesta Key Distiller's Reserve Spiced Rum will be available on July 12th to the public at the tasting room of the distillery on a first come basis. Supplies are still very limited and it is currently only available for purchase at the distillery tasting room.   This is batch #1 and a real collectable, and based on the original spiced expression is sure to be a winner in your collection.

     "The Distiller's Reserve spends time in barrels in a traditional solera method. In the solera method the oldest rum is never fully emptied from the barrels. The flavors from the real spices, honey, and Florida sugar cane continue to refine over time. The result is a very special spiced rum best enjoyed neat or on ice."

     "Siesta Key Distiller's Reserve is hand-crafted in small batches in Sarasota, Florida at our small, artisan distillery. We make our spiced rum by infusing our award winning rums with real spices and then adding honey for a bit of sweetness. We do not use any artificial flavors or sweeteners and you can taste the difference. "

     I have a bottle coming to me, and look forward to reviewing it for my self, but if you want you bottle, there are only a very limited supply.  If you want yours be first in line at the drum Circle Distillery in Sarasota when it goes on sale at 10:00 AM.   Troy will be there to sign your bottle and care of as many of you as the limited supply will permit.  Remember there are only 300 bottles in existence. 

 

 

Marijuana Legalization Paralleling Post Prohibition Issues

I found an interesting article of how the new problems created by the legalization of marijuana are ending up paralleling the problems of post prohibition era in the 1930"s.  This is  a very good read.

By the time Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president of the United States in 1932, the Great Depression had been underway for three years—and Prohibition had gone on for what the literary critic and crank H.L. Mencken quite accurately described as nearly "Thirteen Awful Years." A quarter of the American workforce was unemployed. FDR had run on Repeal, proposing a win-win solution: The federal government would allow states to reopen the breweries and distilleries to create much-needed jobs, then heavily tax the alcohol to pay for what would become the New Deal.


Prohibition, which started as a "noble experiment" in 1920, ended up rolling out the red carpet for organized crime. Violence wracked cities as criminal syndicates fought over territory while the police force, politicians, and Prohibition Bureau agents were bribed to look the other way. Citizens widely disregarded the law of the land, and even congressmen employed their own bootleggers, despite the fact that most voted "dry."

The 18th Amendment had made the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol illegal. It wasn't illegal to possess alcohol—the powerful Anti-Saloon League understood that people would rebel if they couldn't drink the stocks of booze they already had at home. Instead, drys naively believed that people would finish off what was in their liquor cabinets and then simply stop drinking.

Prohibition didn't snuff out the liquor traffic as planned; instead, it merely deprived buyers and sellers of recourse in the courts when sales went sour. Bootleggers met the American public's undiminished demand for drink with a robust but unpredictable supply. Consumers had no dependable idea what they were buying, often winding up with rotgut industrial alcohol repurposed as "gin"—topped off with water in the bathtub, hence the term bathtub gin—or "Scotch," the same brew blended with some food coloring and iodine.

So Americans were sick (sometimes literally) of Prohibition. But the logistics for repeal were tricky: If Prohibition ended, how should the country control and regulate alcohol? With so much money at stake, and with a robust black market currently controlling sales, it wasn't going to be easy to create a new legal regime.


John D. Rockefeller Jr., a teetotaling Baptist and the richest man in the country, turned his back on Prohibition in a June 6, 1932, letter to his friend, Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler. The letter was printed on the front page of The New York Times the next day.



Read More at http://reason.com/archives/2014/06/04/how-not-to-legalize-a-drug

This is one of the best researched articles that I have ever run across on the subject of "post prohibition era" and the problems that the US had to face to control alcohol and get the criminal element out of the picture.  ;o)

Pusser's has New Expressions for Europe and Great Britain

     Pusser's is offering some new expressions to Great Britain and the Continent this year.  Nothing
new on the horizon for the US market though.  We will still have out usual Blue Label and Red Label versions.

     Pusser’s Rum has lowered the abv of its Blue Label and launched a Spiced expression to attract the navy and a younger audience.

     In an effort to regain distribution with naval bases and mess bars, Pusser’s has lowered the abv of its flagship blue rum to 40% – the maximum strength allowed in military bases.

      The new 40% abv expression, which contains the same blend of rums as its 54.5% predecessor, will be rolled out this summer at a new, lower RRP of £20. The US and US Virgin Islands will continue to get the Pusser’s Blue Label 42% abv rum.

     The original Pusser’s Blue 54.4% will be rebranded as Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof in new black and gold packaging.

Pusser’s Spiced Rum

      Simultaneously, the brand will also launch Pusser’s Spiced, a 35% abv blend of rums steeped in ginger, citrus, vanilla, cinnamon, anise and other spices for seven days.

     George Freegard, international brand manager for sales and procurement at Pusser’s, said: “With the launch of Pusser’s Spiced, we hope to attract a younger audience with the rum’s unique ginger qualities.”

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/07/pussers-rum-lowers-abv-to-attract-navy/

     The one thing about living in the US, is we are the last to get the new cools rums in this world.  Oh well, there are so many good things I don't need to dwell on the not so good.  ;o)

 

Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival Cancelled for 2014

     What would have been the 5th Annual Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival has been cancelled for 2014 and will return in 2015.
  

    Cheryl Collymore notified the judges this past week to give us the bad news.  "We just wanted to let you know that it is with real regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival in 2014. We have been trying to put something together for this year, but the economy in the Eastern Caribbean is real tough at the moment and it has proven to be impossible."

     The website  states it so clearly, and I'm really going to miss the trip there this year.

Returning in 2015

 

Returning in 2015 The Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival

 

 

 Read more at http://www.rumandbeerfestival.com/

The Caribbean Journal Reveals "America's Top Ten Rums"

Caribbean Journal's

America’s Top Ten Rums - 2014

As America celebrates its independence, there’s no better way to celebrate than with rum, one of the most important spirits in the country’s history. So for the second straight year, we will mark the Fourth of July with Rum Journal’s rankings of the 10 best rums made in America. (Note: we didn’t include rums from Puerto Rico and the USVI, as we consider them in our annual Rum Awards as Caribbean rums). Here they are:

1.      Papa’s Pilar Dark Rum

Named after the fishing boat of Ernest Hemingway, this 24-year-old rum lives up to its famous namesake with a blend of American and Caribbean rums blended and aged in Kentucky. The company will soon open a distillery in an old Hemingway haunt, Key West, Fla. (The blonde rum is also a tremendous spirit).  

2.      Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum

Relatively new to the scene, Lost Spirits is a California-made show stopper. It’s a Navy Style rum, a rich, hearty spirit that hearkens back to the glory days of raw, powerful rum. And it’s powerful — at 68 percent ABV. In fact, it reminds of a classic Demerara rum — it’s that good.  

3.      Siesta Key Spiced Rum

Troy Roberts’ Siesta Key rum, made at his distillery in Sarasota, is an exceptional spirit, particularly the Spiced variety, which has won Rum Journal’s Spiced Rum of the Year for two years running.  

4.      Dancing Pines Cask Rum

This rum is about as far from the Caribbean as you can get — the hard winters of Colorado. But Dancing Pines’ small-batch distillery produces some very solid rum, particularly the copper pot still Cask Rum, aged in charred oak barrels.  

5.      Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum

Former Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar rose to prominence in the spirits world with his excellent Cabo Wabo Tequila, and he’s crafted an equally good rum in Hawaii. This white rum is actually a rhum agricole style rhum, meaning it’s distilled from sugar cane juice, not molasses. It’s Martinique meets Maui.  

6.      Koloa Kaua’i Dark Rum

Another stunner from Hawaii, Koloa’s Dark Rum variety is a remarkably complex rum with an emphasis on coffee and cacao. And the Kaua’i distillery also produces a very good spiced rum, too.  

7.      Thomas Tew Single Barrel Rum

This rum from the Newport Distilling Company in Rhode Island is a rich rum that embodies the spirit of the rum that was once produced en masse in New England.  

8.      Prichard’s Fine Rum

Prichard’s comes from its eponymous distillery in Kelso, Tennessee. While it comes from the heart of Tennessee, it gives its neighbours a run for its money with a simple but robust taste.

9.      Bayou Spiced Rum

Louisana has long had a kind of kinship with the Caribbean, for a number of reasons, and the link continues with the entry of Bayou rum. The rum comes from locally-sourced cane, continuing a centuries-old tradition of rum-making in the state. And the spiced rum is actually quite good — it doesn’t taste artificial and has a unique, provocative flavour.  

10.  Cane & Abe Small Barrel Rum

This rum comes from the Old Sugar Distillery in Madison, Wisconsin, using locally-sourced ingredients. It’s not extremely complex, but it’s also quite smooth, making for what has become the new archetype of American-made rums: small-batch, smooth and bold.


Read all about it at http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/07/03/americas-10-best-rums-2014/

     Congratulations to all of America's finest rum distillers for making this esteemed list .  You can be proud to be one of the Caribbean Journal's best, it is a real honor.