Merry Christmas to One and All

     With the arrival of Christmas Eve this year we are met with many new opportunities to spend time with our families and friends.  This is a time that we get to share our love and feeling for those that surround us.  

     I have so many friends from so many places that my life has taken me,  I really appreciate the people that have touched my life over all of these years and had such effects on my life.   I am living a very blessed life, I've got to visit places and meet very interesting and brilliant people
through my lifetime, and I really appreciate all that they have brought to my life.



     To all of my family and friends it is wonderful to be able to share experiences and ideas from all of you.  This live I live is in many ways because the people that I surround me give me so many inspiration to try things I might not have even though about without them. 



    It is my hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas this year and thank you all for all the presents of inspiration and ideas that you have brought to my life.  ;o)

A New Cocktail Trend Toward Tart Emerges

Master of Mixology Constante Ribalaigua

     For years now, I have worked hard to cut down the amount of sugar I put into my cocktails and still be able to have an enjoyable flavor.   Ernest Hemingway once told Constante Ribalaigua , famed barman and owner of the El Floridita in Havana to delete the sugar and double the rum in his daiquiri.  This provided a very tart and tasty daiquiri that still lives on today as the Papa Doble or Hemingway Special.  

     There is a trend in the making now for a much tarter line of cocktails in New York.  "That's how the wind has been blowing," said Kevin Denton, the creative bar director at the restaurant Alder in New York. "There has generally been a backlash against decades of overly sweet cocktails."   This is something that I have felt for years, especially in the line of the "high fructose corn syrup" chemical flavorings out there for use in the sickish sweet "sugar bombs" that have been popular for many years.

 

     The prohibition years were filled with very tart cocktails that featured "vulgarized" vegetables and fruits.   Today there is a huge switch to a variety of bitters being experimented with to give the cocktail an unusual flavor without the use of sugar.  "Bitters is one of the flavors that has been deeply explored. The second stage is the nuance of bitters as modifiers," said Alex Day, co-owner of the bar Death & Co in New York.

 

Enjoying a Papa Doble with "Papa"

 

     If the public takes to these tart cocktails the way that they have taken to the "Papa Doble", this could be a really fun year in the cocktail industry.  Tart cocktails go back as far as Ancient Egypt and China relating to their use of herbs to flavor alcohols.   I think that this will be a welcome trend, with the reduction of sugar in the cocktails, this should also help reduce the number and severity of the hangovers the next day.  ;o)

 

 

 

 

Diageo’s Bundaberg Rum Brand: Official Partner of the International Cricket Council 2015 Cricket World Cup.

    " Bundaberg will be the official rum served at next year’s Cricket World Cup.   As part of the partnership with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Bundaberg Rum products will be supplied at a number of Cricket World Cup venues.  ‘We are delighted to be partnering with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and supporting Australia’s biggest summer of cricket with Australia’s favorite rum,” said Adam Ballesty, marketing director for Diageo Australia.   'As friends get together to watch their teams at home, at pubs or in venues across the country compete for cricket’s crowning glory we hope they celebrate every special moment with Bundaberg Rum.'"

 

    This is Diageo’s second venture into the world of sports sponsorship in the recent past.  It has joined Formula One and now the ICC Cricket World Cup.   This is something new for Diageo and I hope that it is something that other spirits industry companies will follow suit with.

 

     Bundaberg is the best known rum from Australia and a perfect fit for the ICC Cricket World Cup.  Cricket and Bundaberg Rum, this is a great idea.  ;o)

Strutin' His Sunday Best

   This is an unusual sight on Duval Street, a Heron just out there strutin' his Sunday best with all the rest of the tourists.   It never ceases to amaze me what you can see as you sit in front of the Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn and look out on to Duval Street.

The Holiday Party "Hangover"

     The fun of a holiday party can end in serious problems if they are not carefully monitored.  You will usually find too much drinking and carousing  before the party is over, followed by too many people headed out in their cars when they shouldn't be driving.  This is a formula for disaster, and a formula that too often is self fulfilling. 

      I read an article in Law 360 that make some good points on how to reduce the chances for post party problems this year.

     Gathering workers together for holiday merriment is a beloved tradition for many employers, but holiday parties can open the door to discrimination and harassment claims, as well as other potential legal problems.  

     A festive setting can build team cohesiveness, but it can also magnify employees' natural human tendency to do silly or even offensive things, particularly if alcohol is involved. That can give potentially litigious workers a stand-alone justification for a legal claim or add ammunition to the arsenal of someone alleging a broader pattern of unlawful conduct.     

     "Bad behavior happens at work a lot, but parties and after-hours events tend to bring out out the worst in a lot of folks," Fisher & Phillips LLP partner Andria Ryan said.  

     Of course, companies can completely stave off potential holiday party-related legal liability by declining to hold any celebration at all. But for the droves of employers that don't want to be lumped in with the Grinch, here are some steps that can mitigate risks. 

You don't need this guy to happen

     Limit Alcohol Intake 

     At the top of the list of smart moves for employers holding holiday parties is limiting how much alcohol workers drink. Drinking is the main culprit when it comes to employee misbehavior at office parties, lawyers warn. 

     "Having an open bar and no rules regarding consumption can be a recipe for disaster," Ford & Harrison LLP partner Aaron Zandy said. "Unfortunately, alcohol can cause employees to act unprofessionally and to do things they wouldn't otherwise do." 

     There are a variety of steps employers can take to keep alcohol consumption down, the most obvious of which would be having a party that's entirely free of any alcoholic beverages. Most of Ryan's clients don't go that far, she said, but noted that some companies hold family events where the presence of spouses and children can stymie rowdy behavior. 

     If a dry party isn't in the cards, encouraging moderation in advance is a good idea, as is avoiding an open bar. Using drink tickets to allot each worker a reasonable amount of holiday cheer can work, though workers may hand those drink tickets off to one another. 

 

    Serving food also makes sense - it won't limit the amount of alcohol consumed but can curb intoxication. Keeping hard liquor off the menu can also be a sound decision. Even someone who's determined to get drunk on the employer's dime will have to work harder at achieving intoxication if less concentrated drinks are the only options.  

     "It's a lot harder to pound beer and get smashed," Kelley Drye & Warren LLP partner Mark Konkel said. 

     Konkel also noted that bringing in a professional bartender to serve workers can be a smart move, because a veteran barkeep will be trained to notice when a patron has had too much. Regardless of whether a pro is behind the bar or a worker volunteers for bartender duty, they should know it's OK to cut someone off. 

     "Whoever is serving should be instructed by the employer to be willing to pour shorter drinks or take other steps to mediate consumption of alcohol," Konkel said. "It's a work-related party, it's not a frat-house party." 

 

Read more at   https://www.law360.com/employment/articles/602544/how-to-avoid-a-legal-hangover-after-your-holiday-party

If you keep the points of this article in mind this year you will more likely to have all of your employees back for the start of 2015.   Have yourself a fun and joyful party, but keep things to a level where the "hangover" made the party not worth having.    ;o)

 

 

Last Bottles of 18th Century Rum Sell at Auction

     The last of the Harewood Estate rums were sold last week at the Christie Auction House in
London.  This is the last of the bottles found tucked away in the wine cellar of the Harewood Estate last year.  These rums were produced in Barbados on a plantation not too far from the Foursquare Distillery.

The final 16 bottles of the Harewood Rum Collection – the oldest rum ever to be sold at auction – have been bought for more than £135,000.

     The last bottles in the ancient collection of Harewood rum have been sold at auction.   The collection of light and dark expressions dating back to the 1780s was discovered in the cellar of Leeds stately home Harewood House last year.   Hidden beneath thick cobwebs, the bottles were uncovered by wine trade professionals Mark Lascelles and Andy Langshaw as they conducted an inventory of the cellar.   An initial collection of 12 bottles was sold for six times its estimate at Christie’s in December 2013, fetching £78,255.  Another auction took place in London last Thursday (11 December), when a 16-strong collection of Harewood rum sold for £135,713, bringing the combined total of Harewood rum sales to £213,972.  

      Chris Munro, head of Christie’s wine department, said that bottles of the Harewood dark rum achieved “world record prices”, selling for £11,162 each.   All bottlings were distilled in Barbados, shipped in barrels to the UK, and bottled at Harewood House.   They were sold as part of Christie’s Finest and Rarest Wines and Spirits auction, which also saw a rare bottle of The Macallan 1955 to 1986 smash its pre-sale estimate of £15,00-£20,000 to fetch £30,550.

     Proceeds from the auction will go towards the Geraldine Connor Foundation to help disenfranchised young people in the performing arts.

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/12/last-bottles-of-18th-century-rum-sell-at-auction/

     This was an amazing discovery, and one that will most likely never come around again.  The bottles will long be treasured by those who were able to get one.  I know that Ian Burrell treasures the one he bought at the first auction.  ;o)

Diplomatic Relations are to be Resumed with Cuba.

     Yesterday, President Obama announce that there will be a resumption of normal diplomatic relations with the Island Nation of Cuba.  The resumption of diplomatic relations opens the way for Americans to enjoy unrestricted travel to Cuba and bring back the rums and cigars that have been banned from American shores for more than fifty years.   This is a big step for the people of Cuba and a first step for those of us that enjoy the fine Cuban Rums produced by the Island that lies just 90 miles to our south.

     It is my belief that the Cuban Rum Industry will be looking at the opportunities to export their spirits to the United States as soon as possible.  The US was one of the biggest importers of Cuban cigars, sugar and rum during the pre-embargo years.    This is an opportunity for many Americans to not only visit Cuba, but to experience a marvelous culture that only a few of us have enjoyed in the past 50 plus years.

   From the people at Bacardi, "We hope for meaningful improvements in the lives of the Cuban people and will follow any changes with great interest," Bacardi said in an e-mailed statement. "In the meantime, we continue to support the restoration of fundamental human rights in Cuba."  Bacardi says it's taking a wait-and-see approach on Cuba after the United States on Wednesday said it would open an embassy on the island nation following the release of a U.S. government subcontractor from prison. It marked the most significant change in the U.S.-Cuba relationship in decades.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     This is an important first step and I look forward to the day I'll be able to step on a ferry here in Key west and an hour or two later be arriving in Havana for all the fun and culture that Cuba has to offer.  ;o)

 

Tuesday Afternoon Hangin'

    I finally got caught up on the maintenance work on the boats and I choose to just hang in the boat and do some writing.  I'm at the dock in Key West Harbour Yacht Club, taking some pictures and doing some writing.   This is the perfect atmosphere for stimulation and the creative juices are flowing and the words are just flowing.


     The Pelicans are back in town and they are here sleeping on the pilings, giving the marina a very calm and peaceful feeling.   The winds are down and the boats are coming and going as I just sit here listening the some great songs from the 60's and 70's.  


     The serenity of the of the day reminds me why I live here especially in the winter, yea there are some cooler and windy days, but for the most part the days are in the mid 70's and light breezes that keep you really comfortable,allowing all the fun activities wearing only shorts and t shirts.  


      Here's to another sweet Key West afternoon with mother nature at all of her beauty and calmness.   She has been a bit cranky over the past week, but today she is at her best behavior and giving us a super December day to be.   ;o)

Those Christmas Parties are Upon Us

     That time of year is back again and here is an idea for another fun Christmas Cocktail.   I'm kind of a Caribbean Cocktail nut, so here is an idea for a cocktail that combines Christmas with the Caribbean.   The idea of a creamy egg nog like cocktail with the fruitiness of the Caribbean.




Bahama Bob's Caribbean Christmas Cocktail

• 1 1/2 oz. Rum Chata
• 1 oz. Siesta Key Spiced Rum
• 1 oz. Brinley's Shipwreck Mango Rum
• 1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 oz. Half and Half
• 1/2 oz. Amaretto
• 1/2 oz. White Crème de Cocoa

Place all ingredients into a blender with 1 cup of ice and blend until smooth and creamy like soft serve.   Pour into a 16 oz. glass swirled with choclate and garnished with grated fresh nutmeg, cinnamon and hard chocolate.  Top with whipped cream and a cherry.





     I hope that you enjoy the cocktail and the holiday season, but remember to drink responsibly this holiday season, I want to have all of you back for 2105.  ;o)

Drunk Pix Posting: Oops

     Don't you just hate it when you drunk Facebook pictures of yourself or your friends post picture of
you when you are drunk and doing something stupid?   Well, hark, Facebook is making an attempt to prevent this.
     Yann LeCun, a professor at New York University, who oversees Facebook’s Artificial Intelligence Research lab, wants to build a “digital assistant” that will recognize if you have been drinking and intervene if you are about to upload a potentially embarrassing snap.

     Speaking to Wired, LeCrun explained that the digital assistant would be there to essentially tap you on the shoulder to ask, “are you sure you want your boss and your mother to see this?”

“Imagine that you had an intelligent digital assistant which would mediate your interaction with your friends, and also with content on Facebook,” Mr LeCrun said.

     Facebook is already able to recognise your face and your friends in order to easily tag them. But LeCrun’s digital assistant would take the so-called “deep learning” technology even further making it possible for the social media site to decipher between your drunken self and sober self.

     The assistant could also protect users from their friends, warning users if a friend is about to upload a potentially embarrassing image of you.

     Launching the AI lab last year, LeCrun said: “Facebook has created a new research laboratory with the ambitious, long-term goal of bringing about major advances in Artificial Intelligence.”

     LeCrun’s digital assistant is currently in the early development stages, but its introduction onto the social networking site could one day become a reality.

 

Read More at  http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2014/12/facebook-to-detect-and-block-drunk-snaps/

 

This is one of the really positive things that Facebook has been working on and something that will help keep a lot of people out of trouble, especially during the holiday season.

Imagine Crossing The Bahia Honda Bridge Driving to Key West

     The Bahia Honda Bridge is an abandoned and rapidly deteriorating  railroad bridge at Bahia Honda State Park in the  Florida Keys.  The derelict  bridge connecting Bahia Honda Key with Spanish Harbor Key.   It was originally part of the Overseas Railway that the state of Florida purchased from the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) after the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.  It was converted for automobile use as part of the construction of the Overseas Highway in 1938.   The bridge was part of the Overseas Highway until its replacement Bahia Honda Bridge was opened in 1972.   Two spans of the bridge were removed to accommodate boat traffic later and form the water entrance to the Bahia Honda Marina.  I hear people being scared of crossing the now existing bridges, but can you imagine crossing this one?  ;o)

 

Road Deck of the Bahia Honda Bridge today, note the painted centerlines still there.

 

Siesta Key Does it Again with Toasted Coconut

     Drum Circle Distilling has done it again with their new Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum. When you open the bottle it is like opening an oven where mom  was baking macaroon cookies.  It is a true toasted coconut aroma and not he typical contrived coconut aroma.  The natural aromas just truly draw you in to the wonderful flavors that are in there waiting for you.

    When you first pour it into the glass the golden colors and the aroma are just wonderful and you can't stop yourself from taking that first sip of this wonderful new rum in your hand.  Bottled at 35% ABV, there is a warmth to the flavor and you get to continue to enjoy the macaroon like flavor you found from the aroma.  The rum is very smooth and buttery as it coats your palate, and finishes slowly leaving behind a lingering flavor.

   The flavor is created by placing mesh bags filled with shredded toasted coconut into the holding tank with the premium small batch Siesta Key Rum and allowed to infuse.  This is a more difficult method to get the flavor into the rum, but the results are so worth the time and effort. 

     The initial response from the visitors at the distillery has been very positive.  There has been a strong desire  on the part of the visitors to have it at home.  Right now it is only available from the distillery showroom, but you will be able to get it through normal distribution some time in mid January.   As soon as it gets to my distributor, it will be on the shelf at the Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn in Key West. 

     Don't miss out on this one, I know that flavored rums are not always the highest priority of rum lovers, but this one might just change your mind.  ;o)

The Hawaiian Shirt is Back Again and Again Today

Bahama Bob in 2000

     It its all about the way that I dress that spawned the nickname "Bahama Bob" and the Aloha style shirts that I so enjoy wearing.  It is amazing to me how that it keeps returning again and again.  In an article in the "Huffington Post", there is a great history of the shirts and  how they are returning again to the mainstream today.  This is a feeling that I have enjoyed several times in my lifetime as the style seems to be an everlasting one that really makes me smile a lot.

Bursting At The Seams: The Trend Grows In Popularity

Nixon in the 50's

     The word "aloha" was thrown around a lot in the '30s as tourism grew, but Musa-Shiya Shoten, an inspired shirt-maker, was probably the  first person to ever use "aloha shirt"in print. He ran an ad in a 1935 issue of the "Honolulu Advertiser" for "Aloha" shirts: "well tailored, beautiful designs and radiant colors: 95¢." Later, Ellery Chun noticed the hot trend and trademarked the phrase as a way to keep his store in business during the Depression.

     According to Dr. Bradley, aloha shirts of the '30s were technically "hash print," or a "hodgepodge of images [slapped] onto a shirt using linoleum stamps." During the war, stationed servicemen bought tons of these shirts, which served as a colorful antithesis to their uniforms, but it wasn't until a design house led by Alfred Shaheen hired salaried artists in the '50s that the style really took off.

Elvis in the 60's

     "I masterminded the look," Shaheen is quoted as saying in "The Aloha Shirt." "I wanted a certain look that was different from everyone else's. I would not do hash prints or chop suey prints. I avoided bright or garish colors ... I wanted my stuff to blend into a man's pair of pants or into a woman's jacket or skirt."

     Shaheen's mass-produced shirts were sold in 3,600 stores on the mainland, as well as stores in France, Hong Kong, London, Samoa and Cuba. Today, they fetch tens of thousands of dollars each at auctions. One of Shaheen's early designs, the Tiare Tapa, was worn by Elvis on the cover of "Blue Hawaii" in 1961.

     The 1960s also saw a huge shift in aloha shirt design: the reverse print, a more subdued style that looks like a shirt sewn inside out. Design house Reyn Spooner first put the reverse print out and locals loved them. "The reverse shirt was something special," Pua Rochlen, president of Jams World, told Hope in "The Aloha Shirt." "It was for the kama'aina, not for the malihini tourists."

When Shirt Hit The Fan: The Hawaiian Shirt's Fall From Grace

     The 1970s and '80s were a dark period for aloha shirts. The popularity of a mustachioed Tom

Tom Selleck in the 70's and 80's

Selleck in the television series "Magnum, P.I." had every paunchy guy thinking he could look as macho as Magnum if he, too, wore aloha shirts. Rochlen told The Huffington Post that the Hawaii style presented in "Magnum, P.I." "wasn't about embracing unique fabrics, color, art, and imagery." For instance, Magnum's Jungle Bird shirt -- which is now included in theSmithsonian's collection -- was a basic print: a blue shirt with parrots on it. But as Rochlen points out, "it was Tom Selleck. He could have been wearing toilet paper and we would have chased the best toilet paper in the world."

     The real blow to aloha shirts' cred came later, according to Hope, who says you can pinpoint the date to August 1993, the month the brand Tommy Bahama was born.

     Tommy Bahama ushered in a new era for island resort wear.  It championed a Jimmy Buffett Parrothead lifestyle that confused the public's perception of aloha shirts, ultimately dooming the term to nothing more than kitsch.

Read More at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/08/hawaiian-shirt-history_n_6173708.html



Bahama Bob Today

     Today you will still find me wearing the colors of the "aloha shirt" proudly behind the bar at the Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn in Key West.  It is a part of me that I don't see me changing in this lifetime.  One that makes me feel young and full of life , something that the colors and the life of the shirt keep alive in me.  ;o)

Heavy Drinker vs Alcoholic

     In Florida it is illegal to serve only two groups of people.  Under aged and "known alcoholics".  The first is easy to detect, just check the ID of the person wishing to buy spirits.   The second however, that is a different story.  The alcoholic most times appears sober and lucid.  If you don't know the person to be an alcoholic you can get yourself into trouble.

     Now they have made it even harder.  This is an article that I read recently saying that heavy drinkers may not necessarily be alcoholics.  This article is a really good read.

The majority of adults who regularly drink an excessive amount of alcohol are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent, according to a new study.

     Nine out of 10 adults who regularly drink excessively are not alcoholics, new research shows.

     Released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the report revealed that nine in 10 adults who drink too much are actually not alcoholics.

     Excessive or binge drinking is considered as four or more drinks in one sitting for women, or five or more drinks for men; drinking eight or more drinks a week for women or 15 for men; or any level of alcohol consumption by pregnant women.

     Alcohol dependence is a chronic medical condition defined by an existing or previous history of excessive drinking, strong cravings for alcohol, on-going alcohol consumption in spite of drinking-related problems or a lack of control over how alcohol is consumed.

     “This study shows that, contrary to popular opinion, most people who drink too much are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics,” said Robert Brewer, MD, MSPH, alcohol program lead at CDC and one of the report’s authors.

     “It also emphasizes the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to reducing excessive drinking that includes evidence-based community strategies, screening and counselling in healthcare settings, and high-quality substance abuse treatment for those who need it.”

     Furthermore, the study revealed nearly one in three adults is an excessive drinker, most of whom binge drink on more than on occasion.

You can read more at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2014/11/most-excessive-drinkers-are-not-alcoholics/

Two Days on the Water

     All of the repairs and stuff is taken care of this week and I'm headed out on the water for a couple of days.  My plans call for a leisurely  cruise to the east to Bahia Honda State Park and spend a night on the boat there and heading out again tomorrow and cruise back home.  A day away from all of the stuff and papers that have been holding me in the marina for the past few months and being left behind and I'm taking a couple of days for me and Marta.


    A bit overcast as we depart the marina headed to the east and Bahia Honda.  The seas were building a bit, but "Lil Sanity", the boat, is holding her own as we make way through  the waves.   It was a bit rougher that anticipated, but we were determined to make it for out over nighter at Bahia Honda. 



     Upon  our arrival, we secured the boat hooked up the electricity and the water.  Now it is time to relax and wander around and see all of the beautiful sights of this wonderful state park.  The clouds have gotten thicker and a little bit of mist is falling, but nothing to dampen our enthusiasm for this outing.  The afternoon is just flying by and we are thoroughly enjoying the sights and sounds of the park.

    Getting close to dinner time and hanging out in the cabin of the boat for the evening and enjoying the music and some much needed quiet time for the both of us.  It is days like this that keep us going down here in paradise.  It makes it much easier to do what is necessary to be able to stay here for rest of our lives.  ;o)