La Bodeguita de Medio, Just Down the Alley to the Fun

     In 1942, the small Bodega La Complaciente, in the old Havana district was bought by Angel Martinez.    He immediately renamed the bodega Casa Martinez.    Angel Martinez sold typical Cuban products and, from time to time, served dinner to the regulars. But mainly, the clientele visiting Casa Martinez, were there to have a drink and conversation with their friends.  One of the main attractions was a brand new cocktail, the Mojito was made with rum, mint, sugar, lemon and club soda.   In 1949, Silvia Torres “la china” was hired to prepared the food at the Casa Martinez.    The Casa Martinez soon became Havana’s fun and a culinary center.    The crowds were drawn by the bohemian charm of the place.  You could find writers, choreographers, musicians and  journalists meeting there in a subdued atmosphere of the little bodega.    Encouraged by a need for restaurants in Old Town Havana by the end of the 50s, the place started growing in popularity to outsiders as well.

 

    On April 26, 1950, the name Bodeguita del Medio was officially adopted.   Among the first clients was Felito Ayon, a charismatic editor, who rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde of Havana, and put Casa Martinez on the map amongst his acquaintances. It is the way Felito Ayon used to indicate the location of the Bodeguita to his friends, that made popular the expression Bodeguita del Medio, that was to become its official name in 1950.

     Numerous artists and celebrities were regulars of the Bodeguita : the poet Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gabriela Mistral, Agustín Lara, Nat King Cole, Marlene Dietrich, Nicolás Guillén and Ernest Hemingway. “My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita” can still be read on the wall today, in Hemingway's handwriting.  Here of late, there has surfaced some evidence that the plaque’s authenticity.  It has been said that a publicist forged the signature.  It is still a great story and the framed grocery bag that it is written on is still displayed above the bar.

 

    In September 1997 a bomb went off in the Bodeguita as part of a bombing campaign against several tourist spots in Havana injuring dozens and killing Fabio di Celmo, an Italian tourist.   No-one was killed in the Bodeguita del Medio, but dozens were severely injured.   It was said that just moments before the blast, the barman had posed for a picture with a tourist who later turned out to be a Salvadorian mercenary, Ernesto Cruz Leon, who was arrested and convicted for planting the bomb.

 

   The little "bodega in the middle", is one really fun place to visit, but be ware that the place is virtually always crowded and may take a while to get to the bar for one of their mojito's.  While you are waiting there, you cam pull out your Sharpie and sin your name on the wall of the place and join the hundreds of others that have already done so.   ;o)  

Havana's Sloppy Joes is One of my Favorite Bars as Well

     It was Prohibition in the United States that convinced Jose Garcia Abeal, the original owner of Sloppy Joe’s to switch from food service to liquor service.   American tourists were coming to Havana for the nightlife, gambling and all the alcohol they could get their in a legal manner.

     Sloppy Joe's was welcoming tourists for over four decades, serving 80 cocktails plus the bar's own brand of 12-year-old rum.    During the 1940s and 1950s Sloppy Joe's was a magnet for American celebrities as well as tourists wanting to mingle with them.   It has been described as "one of the most famous bars in the world" with "almost the status of a shrine." by the Los Angeles Times.    The Cuban Revolution of 1959 saw the bar's business take a nosedive, with 90% of Sloppy Joe's clientele being Americans, who had been banned from Cuba.


     A fire in the 60’s closed the establishment for good.   The building in which the bar was housed remained intact, resembling a ghost town with its single-piece mahogany bar and photos of celebrities.    The slow-paced, extensive restoration, undertaken by The Office of the Historian of Havana, began in 2007.    Located on the corner of Calle Animas and Zulueta in Old Havana, just  behind the Plaza Hotel.

     The bar, was the part of the set for the movie Our Man in Havana starring Alec Guinness,  Sloppy Joe’s is the bar in which the character (Jim Wormold) was approached enter into the secret service.

    Renovation work on Sloppy Joe's was completed in April of 2013, and its doors opened to the public on April 12th.    The facade closely resembles the images from the 1950s, down to the sign on the corner, above the arches. 

  The really great news is that they are still serving the fine cocktails that made Sloppy Joe’s famous in the first place.  I spent several afternoons and evenings there enjoying the people that work there and their wonderful cocktails.  ;o)

El Floridita One of the Fun Bars in Old Havana

     When I'm in Havana, there are two really fun bars that I like visiting.  The El Floridita and  Sloppy Joe's.   Both of these bars are steeped with history and famous clientele.   The music, food and cocktails at both of these bars will bring you back again and again.   This is the first of two articles about them.  Today's is about the El Floridita.

     The venerable El Floridita first opened its doors in 1817 as “La Piña de Plata”, silver Pineapple to us Americans.  In 1914, Constantino Ribalaigua Vert was hired as a barman, Constante, as he was known by the patrons became bought the  El Floridita in 1918.    Constante is credited with inventing the frozen daiquiri in the early 1930s.    Constante made use of a snow cone type ice shaver and a mixer that you would see in an ice cream shoppe to make milkshakes to create these wonderful frozen masterpieces.   Today, El Floridita still boasts the motto, “la cuna del daiquiri” or Cradle of the Daiquiri.

     Famous customers share a history with El Floridita.  Ernest Hemingway was a common fixture at the bar.  It is a short walk from the Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway maintained a room from 1932–1939.   Hemingway’s children also noted that in the early 1940s Hemingway and his wife, Martha Gellhorn, frequently drove from their house outside Havana, Finca la Vigía to El Floridita for cocktails.  Hemingway’s history at the bar is preserved by a life-size bronze statue sculpted by the Cuban artist José Villa Soberón that sits in “Papa’s” favorite seat.

     The establishment was frequented by many generations of Cuban and foreign intellectuals and artists. Ezra Pound, John Dos Passos and Graham Greene, the British novelist who wrote Our Man in Havana, were also frequent customers.  Movie stars like Spencer Tracy, Errol Flynn and Marlena Dietrich were regular patrons of the famed watering hole as well.

   

Summer Beach Bar Fun Time is Upon Us

     When I think about beach bars all around the Caribbean, It seems that the
Soggy Dollar always come to mind.  It is one of the coolest beach bars ever, beautiful soft white sand, no dock, so you swim up to the beach from your boat to get the party going.

     The Soggy Dollar is the birthplace of the Painkiller, and if you can score a hammock, you can just make the rest of the world go away.  Mic, the bartender is the best when it comes to personality and his knack for cocktail preparation.  His Painkillers are to die for and his antics keep you smiling for the entire visit.

     Sitting on White Bay on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands this bar draws people from all over the world to worship the sun, enjoy the beautiful blue water and wander in the sands of the beautiful beach.   If you are in the virgin Islands, be sure to make arrangements to get to Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar, I assure can you, it is a place and an experience that you will never for get it.  ;)

It's Just a Way of Life

     There is nothing in the world that says "laid back" like a comfortable pair of Flip-Flops.

Port Au Prince and Barbancourt Distillery

     July 6th, I start a two week vacation and distillery tour to Haiti.  I'm really excited about visiting the Barbancourt Disillery there and seeing how all of those fine rums are made.  This is going to e a fun trip for me, after doing some promotional work and developing some cocktails around this fine "rhum", I'm being offered the opportunity to visit the factory and see first hand how it is made.

     In 1862, Dupré Barbancourt, a native of the Charente region in France, put the finishing touches to a recipe for rum that still bears his name today. Using a double distillation method usually reserved for the very finest cognacs, he discovered this rum of incomparable quality that has always received the highest international distinctions.

      Today, the distillery is still a part of the Barbancourt family that has been making "rhum" to the same exacting standards for 153 years.   According to Barbancourt , the flavor and the quality of this fine rum comes from the unique distilling method and the quality of the "sugarcane juice" from which it is produced.

     “La Societe du Rhum Barbancourt prides itself on producing it’s rums from pure sugar cane juice, no molasses. The sugar cane is harvested from November to June and comes uniquely from la plaine du cul de sac. This region produces a unique sugar cane variety that gives the distinctive bouquet and aromas so particular to Rhum Barbancourt.

     I'm really looking forward to the visit and thanks to the hospitality of Alain Lafalaise and the people of Barbancourt, I'm going to be able to understand more about their "rhums" and how they come about.  ;o)

Questionable Trademark Disputes

     Here of late, there have been a number of trademark issues happening in the alcohol related industries.  There have been a good number of suits between spirits and wine and beer with the same or similar names.   The issue of a trademark is almost a personal one for the owners of many of them.  I relates to being what their company is and stands for.  It doesn't matter that on company is selling rum or vodka and the other is selling wine, they are feeling cheated by having to share a name.

trade·mark

ˈtrādˌmärk/

noun

plural noun: trademarks

1. 1.

   a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.

    

 

   "The "relatedness" of the goods offered under dueling trademarks is one of the key considerations when a court or the trademark office is weighing if they're confusingly similar to each other. And it isn't as simple as whether liquor and wine are the same product; courts are instead weighing the more nuanced question of whether consumers might think the two different bottles came from the same company."

     "Consistent with trademark law in general, the stronger the mark, the stronger the scope of protection," said Thomas J. Maas, an attorney with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and an expert in beverage industry law. "But we are seeing decisions from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and from federal district courts finding a likelihood of confusion even when the marks are used with different types of beverages." 

     "Whether you are a brewer, a distiller or a vintner, beware that limiting your trademark clearance search to a specific type of beverage might end up causing more headaches down the road," Maas said.

 

     The trademark issue is one of strong importance to many people and it seems to be equally strong between different categories of alcohols.   I've seen the results of this in the misuse of cocktails as well as brands of spirits, beers and wines.  I really don't know the answer to this, but that is what the office of trademarks and the courts are for to figure out what is really confusing to all of us "stupid Americans" who can't tell a cocktail from a beer, from a wine, from rum.  This is a really complicated thing.  It wastes millions of dollars and ties up the courts over stuff that I really have to question to what end it is really gaining.  ;o)  

 

 

 

Caps Maison Offers Their Own 10 Year Old Rum Expression

     Cap Maison in collaboration with the St. Lucia Distillery, makers of Chairman's Reserve and many other fine spirits, are producing the 10 year old rum for the luxury resort on the island.  

     New to our extensive selection of Caribbean rums is our extra aged 10 year old Rum that is distilled by St. Lucia Distillers using both pot and column stills producing an aromatic fine clear spirit. Following extensive aging in repurposed old port barrels our premium rum is then aged at Cap Maison using the famous “Solera” aging system in single 10L white oak medium toasted barrels guarantying a consistent and superior quality.

     Our home aged rum is the base spirit of our tropical signature rum toddy ("Cap Maison Elixir") and will be bottled, labeled and sealed in front of our guests as a unique personal take away souvenir of St. Lucia and Cap Maison.

 

     The idea of rum being aged right in the resort is a great way to bring you guests into the world of rum that they can bottle at the resort and take home with them.   This is a trend that I have seen in the past few years that is really working for many resorts.  The Landings on Great Harbor Island in the Bahamas has done this for years and is now producing  their Afrohead rums for sale to the general public very successfully.

 

     This is a fine idea for the resorts of the Caribbean and anywhere else to follow to create a very special interest in their resort or restaurant for the rum lovers to come to their place and try the fine quality rums of the resort.  The rums that cannot be found anywhere else.  I would love to be able to do this type of thing where I could visit a distillery and pick the aged rums that I want for my special expression, then be able to finish age the rum on the premises and present it right out of the barrel for the customer.   This is what I call very special treatment for the customers.   ;o)

 

    

Exploring Boca Chica Channel

     Yesterday was a day off, and I jumped into the dinghy for the first time in a long time and went off to explore Boca Chica Channel, just one channel east of the one I live on.    There is nothing more fun for me that to jump into the dinghy and head out to so many fun places out in the keys  where thee are usually no other people around.  The waters around many of these mangrove keys are usually very shallow and make it hard for so many boats to even get to them.  The dinghy is a perfect vessel to carry me there and back.



     As I enter the channel from the Atlantic side,
I see many birds soaring over my head.  Most of them are my feathered friends, but with the landing pattern for NAS Key West turning to final approach along the channel there are also some very interesting military birds thee as well.

    Boca Chica Channel is a mooring for a number of sailboats.  It is also a great way to get from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.  You will see all types of boats along the way.   Today I am following along the edge of the mangroves to see what all is lurking there of interest.  I love to follow along the mangroves because they offer so many sights that you would miss if you follow the center of the channel.  Marine life, birds and interesting reptiles.



     I found myself relaxing with a little help from a gentleman that brought a lot of rum to the waters off the coast of America during the days or the Prohibition.   Here is to a great day off for you as well, and I hope you to can find a place to unwind like I do on your days off.  ;o)

 

Top 10 Bars of Key West

     With more bars per capita than anywhere else in the United States, Key West has a smorgasbord of watering holes. The island’s “Its 5 o'clock somewhere mantra” means daytime drinking is perfectly acceptable, and finding the best happy hour is a sport. Key West’s rich rum-soaked history is filled with pirates, rum runners and famous writers.  Hidden treasures and swanky martini lounges, craft beer lover’s refuges, are worth seeking out.

     The Rum Bar in the front of the aptly named Speakeasy Inn features rums from around the world.  There are wine bars, Jazz Clubs bringing you soothing live music nightly.   For a view of the famed sunset, plant yourself on a colorful stool at Sunset Pier slightly removed from the masses on Mallory Square. Old Town is pedestrian friendly, and these bars were made for hopping.

 

Here are the Top 10 bars for you to visit in Key West.

 

Captain Tony's

10  Captain Tony's Saloon

The battle over Hemingway's favorite watering hole ends here. Captain Tony's Saloon was the original location of Sloppy Joe's (and its previous incarnation as a speakeasy) where the famed author haunted a bar stool until 1938.   History lesson aside, today it's the definition of a dive bar--license plates on the walls, bras and undergarments strewn on the ceiling. The bar stools have patron's names on them (literally), and the place is lacking of any natural light. The "hanging tree" where 19 pirates met their fate grows through the floorboards and out the ceiling. Like a handful of other Key West pubs, not much has changed here since Hemingway ordered his first scotch and soda.

9 Aqua Nightclub
This all-welcome, gay night club has creative events every day of the week from afternoon to evening. Stop in for no-limit Texas Hold'em poker tournaments, Aqua's American Idol karaoke with proceeds that go to charity and dueling bartenders who sing as they shake and stir their cocktails. Their nightly drag shows, featuring the Aquanettes, get rave reviews from locals and tourists alike for the caliber of the performances and the hilarity that ensues.

 

8 Little Room Jazz Club
Opened in late 2012, the Little Room Jazz Club is a refreshing change in the hectic (and similar) Duval Street music scene. Find a new favorite glass of wine from the extensive listing, as you listen to live jazz, blues and even Cuban-fusion bands.

 



Rick's (Durty Harry's)

7 Rick's Key West (Durty Harry's)
With eight bars built in to this complex, you can easily party all night at Rick's Key West. The Duval Street institution offers late night karaoke (until 4:00 a.m.), the Durtbags cover band, and several DJs that turn up the bass into the wee hours of the morning. The live music roster is sure to have patrons on their feet with rock-and-roll covers of bands like Blink 182, Godsmack, AC/DC and others.

 

6 Vinos on Duval
Located on Duval just next to the Tropical Inn, Vinos on Duval it's a refreshing change of pace. The intimate environment invites conversation, and sharing a bottle and cheese plate is the way to go. They have an extensive selection of reds, whites and sparkling wine, and the list is constantly changing to keep things fresh and exciting. Not a wine connoisseur? No problem. This is a great place to find a new wine that you love, and the bartenders will guide you in the right direction.

 

Sunset Pier

5 Sunset Pier
Nestled between Key West Harbor and Mallory Square, Sunset Pier is all about location, location, location. Of course the live music, vivid decor, Caribbean fare and lip-smacking libations don't hurt either. Each night thousands of visitors flock to Mallory Square for the famed sunset celebration, and while Sunset Pier is in the heart of the action, it offers a bit of a buffer between you and the crowds. The menu is a mix of Key West seafood classics like conch fritters, crab cakes and raw bar favorites paired with Cuban cuisine.

 

4 Virgilio's
Tucked behind La Trattoria restaurant, Virgilio's (named after the founder of the restaurant) is an elegant indoor/outdoor cocktail bar popular with the swanky over 30 crowd. Perfectly mixed martinis are the house specialty in yummy flavors like mint chocolate chip and Key lime pie. If you have trouble choosing from their extensive selection, the bartenders can help you find the right drink to fit your mood. Kick back either on the outside patio covered with a tree canopy or at the second bar under the roof. Nightly, people hit the dance floor for live music, usually jazz, blues or Latin.   If you're feeling peckish, you can also nosh on items from a limited menu by the restaurant.

 

The Porch

3 The Porch
Steps from the controlled chaos on Duval Street, The Porch is a craft beer lover’s refuge tucked into the front of a 1839 Victorian mansion. They have 18 brews on tap and plenty more in bottles with selections changing with the seasons. Wine aficionados will also be pleased with their full wall of wine, interrupted only by a flat screen TV playing B-movies (ironically of course). The décor mixes historic architectural details like pressed tin ceilings and chandeliers with 80s music, a Buddha statue and an R2D2 in a Santa hat. It's been likened to "Cheers" on acid.

 

The Green Parrot

2 Green Parrot Bar
Filled with mix of local characters and visitors-in-the-know, "The Parrot," is not your typical dive bar. As the oldest watering hole in Key West, they've got nothing to prove, and their motto, "No Sniveling," illustrates their no-nonsense approach to slinging stiff drinks.   Tropical breezes and ceiling fans keep the open-air bar cool, and the old-school jukebox mixes B.B. King with The Temptations and New Orleans Funk. They only have popcorn to munch on, but there is a BBQ joint next doorif you get hungry.,

 



The Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn.



1 The Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn
Stop by and visit with "Bahama Bob" at the Rum Bar at the Speakeasy Inn. The friendly mixologist is well-versed in the art of bartending and world of rum. While the staff at the fraternity-style pubs on Duval Street toss together a Jack and Coke, Bahama Bob will make you a Pain Killer from scratch (with fresh ground nutmeg), and mojitos muddled with mint and lime juice (no mixers here).  If you are new to rum, a sampler lets you ease your way in, and the bartenders are happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

Read more at http://www.10best.com/destinations/florida/key-west/nightlife/bars/

 

 

     This is a very rewarding for all of us that have worked so hard for the past 6 1/2 years building the Rum Bar to what it is today.  Anne, Barbara, Scott, Jill and Mindy have teamed up to make this bar what it is today and  we are as a group very proud of this honor.  It is really rewarding to have USA Today 10 Best publish this and to be rated Number 1.   WOW!!!!  ;o)

Tips or Wages for Bartenders?

     An old debate has arisen again about whether wages or tips are the better way for bartenders.   As a bartender and a bar patron, I can see both sides of this issue.   As a confident Bartender/mixologist, I feel that I would rather take my chances with tips.  There are several reasons for this.  First of all it is like being a salesman in any other field.  I look at them like sales commissions for selling of any other industry.   For the less out going people, the tips are much slower to fill up the jar.   For them, a salary might be a better way.

     There are several others on both sides of this issue who have com
forward in an interesting article I read just the other day.

     “There is nothing like the rush of a busy night and watching the tip jars fill up rapidly”  
 
I believe having your income based on tips rather than a set salary is part of what keeps service industry staff hospitable.     When you know your money is based on performance, well, you perform.   There is nothing quite like amazing service – you remember it.   As Maya Angelou once said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you make them feel.”   A good bartender can make everyone’s night, and should be paid accordingly. If you’ve ever seen the best bartenders work a room, it’s an art form, and they deserve to be suitably compensated. As a bar owner, it is important to foster an environment that encourages the bartender to go above and beyond, and a tip income is one of the best ways.   "Those at the top of their game create the money they make. I have seen bartenders turn a usually slow Monday night shift into one of the most profitable by creating an environment that encourages guests to come back time and time again."

     On the other hand, one of the biggest benefits we hope to provide by offering our staff a fixed

salary is quality of life and a regular schedule – this industry is notorious for its chaotic lifestyle. What’s more, if you’re working for tips you become incentivized to work Friday and Saturday nights. By eliminating that incentive and creating an even playing field, it enables us to have some quality control over the other nights and be consistently great.   Ultimately, the biggest issue this will solve is consistency of pay. By having a set salary, our bartenders are never going to run into that scenario. Being in an industry that can cull you off on your way to work and not pay you is so absurd; that should not be legal. With us, we’ll be paying bartenders every week regardless, and if they work more than 40 hours, they’ll receive extra.   There’s a guy called Michael Lynn who’s a doctor at Cornell University and has written more than 50 papers on tipping. He shows if you have bad service, you still tip the same amount out of habit – you just don’t come back to the venue. By removing tips, the pressure is really on us because people will be more outspoken about the service they receive.

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/06/should-salaries-replace-tips-for-bartenders/


     I guess that it is like so many other issues there are valid arguments on both sides, but your performance behind the bar is still the most important issue.  I feel you have more incentive when your pay is based on that performance.   ;o) 

Blue Chair Bay Introduces New Flavored Expressions for Summer

     Independent spirits company, Fishbowl Spirits, owned by Chesney has launched its new flavored expressions in the United States just in time for summer.

     The Vanilla Rum has a silky flavor of exotic natural vanillas combined with soft, delicate Caribbean rum, yielding a warm and lingering finish of creamy vanilla .  The Banana Rum Cream exudes flavors of caramelized ripe banana with notes of vanilla to the original  white Caribbean rum for a gently sweet and warm distinctive flavor
.

     David Farmer, president of Fishbowl Spirits, said: “As the popularity of Blue Chair Bay Rum and the laid-back lifestyle it embodies continues to grow, so does our dedication to adding flavors to our portfolio for our fans to enjoy.”

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/06/kenny-chesney-launches-two-new-rum-flavours/?article-source=newsletter&source=441&date=2015-06-04