Merry Christmas From Our House to Yours

 Marta and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, here is to a great day with those closest to you.  Hope all your Christmas wishes come true.

Winter Solstice Cocktail

     With the start of winter upon us, it is time for something that fits the season.  This is a frozen daiquiri style cocktail with a taste of the Caribbean.   Snow is for the people that live up north, I'll take my "snow" in a daiquiri.

Winter Solstice

• 2 oz. Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum
• 1 oz. Siesta Key Gold Rum
• 1 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
• 3 tbsp.  Crème de Coconut
• Juice of 1 Lime

Combine all liquid ingredients in a blender with ice; Blend until smooth.  Dip rim of a martini glass into coconut flakes, then pour in the contents of the blender.   Garnish with twist of lime.

Florida Senate Bill Gives Craft Distilleries Several Needed Breaks

Senator Greg Steube

     Senate Bill 166 filed by Senator Greg Steube of Sarasota, if passed will drastically curtail the restrictions on the state's craft distilleries.   SB 166, which would allow distilleries the freedom to sell more of their own product on-site and reduce the license fee for craft distilleries by 75 percent.   A craft distillery will be defined as one that is a licensed distillery that produces 250,000 or fewer gallons of distilled spirits on its premises in a year.  

     Such a business would pay just $1,000 a year for a license under the new bill, while those "engaged in the business of rectifying and blending spirit liquors and nothing else will continue to pay $4,000 license fee.   More importantly, the bill would remove restrictions on how much distilleries can sell directly to customers.  Currently the law only allows customers may purchase two bottles of each expression per year.

     St. Augustine Distillery co-founder and CEO Philip McDaniel, said he likes what he sees in the language.   "Passage of the 2013 law that first allowed Florida craft distilleries to sell their product on site in face-to-face transactions, has already grown the industry by a five- fold factor," McDaniel said. "It has helped keep many new businesses afloat."  McDaniel said he simply wants the same ability that wineries and micro breweries have to sell directly to customers.   The spirit businesses will still require the services of a distributor to sell liquor at retail outlets.  

     There has not been any other action on the bill, which was filed Tuesday. But St. Johns County Sen. Travis Hutson said he's seen the bill and likes what he sees.  Hutson said, "I am a strong proponent for parity in the industry, and the current language as I've seen it helps even the playing field to allow these local, small businesses to survive or fail on their own merit without government picking winners and losers.”

Winter Kayaking in the Florida Keys

Heading out under the bridge into the Atlantic

     One of the great things about living in the tropics is that you can do so many outdoor and especially water related things pretty much year round.   Marta and I love to jump in our Hobie Kayak, pedaling or paddling out to the small mangrove keys in the area around the Bahia Honda.

Sponges and Coral

Some days are better than others, winds and high seas can make it a bit uncomfortable, but other than that you can head out most anytime.

Eek, Shark

     Last week we saw young sharks, rays and many types of fish on out ride.  There are always a wide variety of birds that fill the skies, that the species change with the seasons.  Now it is a lot of pelicans, egrets and vultures, summertime is seagulls and terns and frigates and ospreys year round.  The surprise of the day was when a manatee surfaced as we returned to the harbor.  Our evening sunset cruises seem to find a pod of dolphins that come through the area between the bridges.

Egret

     Speaking of sunsets, they rarely disappoint,

Pelican

and even when they don't happen because of clouds the cocktail cruise is always enjoyable.   Sunsets and cocktails are probably the most relaxing thing that I do.  These change with the seasons also in the spring and summer the sunsets migrate to the north side of the bridge giving a completely different look than those of the winter when the sun sets on the south side of the bridge.  The view of the sunset through and under the old rail bridges are so intense and colorful.

      Life in the Florida Keys is wonderful in so many ways and 80 degrees in December is one of the best.

Winter sunset cocktail cruise at Bahia Honda

Richard Seale on Age Statements and Value of Rums

     An age statement is a very valuable and useful indicator of value.   Never confuse value with preference.   When a premium price is demanded, the consumer is entitled to know what might have driven the value.  Time drives value and increases rarity so age is one (acceptable) answer to the consumer.   We dismiss (authentic) age statements at our peril because multinationals are only too happy to sell us perceived value over real value - think vodka.   Lifestyle brands over authentic brands.   It is more profitable.

     Age statements in rum have been shamelessly corrupted - from outright false to downright misleading.   The proliferation of corrupt age statements should not diminish the value of real age statements.   Quite the contrary, shun the 'frauds' and invest in real value.

     Never combine the use of 'new barrels' with quality and value.   Refill barrels have an equal or sometimes more important role to play in spirit making.   A seasoned used barrel is not available 'off the shelf, it has to be created.   It is not like a second hand car, it may even be a classic.  It is an irreplaceable part of the spirit maker's wood library.

Moreover, there is a beautiful world of aged, yet distillate driven spirits to be appreciated and those are not made with new barrels.

Are Top Rums Moving into Whiskey Territory?

     Rum seems to be making strong in roads in the “top shield” area of brown spirits.   Many top quality rums can be purchased at a savings of 40 to 80 percent savings over equivalent age Whiskeys and Cognacs.   This is something that I have been telling customers for years working behind the bar.   I have had the pleasure of introducing many bourbon, scotch, Irish and Canadian whiskey drinkers to mid to upper end rums leaving most pleasantly surprised hoe good that the rums really are.  

     This is a scene that keeps repeating itself around the world.  Whiskey drinkers are being turned to quality rums.  There are different rums that match up to different whiskeys and Cognacs, you can’t just pick one rum to offer all brown spirit drinkers.   I have surprised many bourbon drinkers with a 12 year old El Dorado or Flor de Cana, and the Plantation Trinidad or Real McCoy 12 Year lends itself to Scotch drinkers.  I have also found that once you break the seal if I may, the are willing to do some tasting other upper end rums.

     In an article in Forbes, it was noted.  “The friction that has manifested itself is due in large part to common misunderstandings among consumers about rum. As with any spirit, ingrained perceptions are difficult to break. Rum, with its history of having been marketed as a fun-time drink, best mixed into cloyingly sweet and often fruit-heavy concoctions, or otherwise infused with enough spices and flavorings to cover up whatever character the spirit itself may once have possessed, has historically been uniquely susceptible to this sort of stereotyping.”

Read More at http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianfreedman/2016/05/19/is-high-end-rum-the-new-whiskey/#3383927d3402

     I am glad to see so many people being willing to take the brave step outside of their “Whiskey Box” and introduce themselves to rum.  Those with an open mind will find that there are a number of great rums out there that ill fit into their palate range and will continue to enjoy them at a later time.

Angostura States All is Well After Age Statement Allegations

     Angostura, a Trinidad rum and bitters producer has “reviewed all internal processes” and found all is “in order” following allegations about the “integrity” of its rum age statements.   Acting CEO Genevieve Jodhan confirmed that all bulk rums exported by Angostura conform to the importing country’s rules of origin, citing compliance with internationally accepted manufacturing process standards.  In a statement released by Angostura, the business confirms it is “audited three times per year by an external accredited business standards company”.

      

     Genevivieve Jodhan  stated that all is accurate regarding the brand’s international rum portfolio.    Angostura Reserva, Angostura 5 YO, Angostura 7 YO, Angostura 1919, Angostura 1824 and Angostura 1787 all carry the Authentic Caribbean Rum (ARC) marque.   The marque is accredited by the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) and guarantees products bearing it are made from fermented molasses, distilled, aged and bottled according to Caribbean Common Market and the age statement is that of the youngest rum in the bottle.

     Claims of Angostura “buying bulk rum” and repackaging it for sale, “in breach of the European Union’s rules of origin” are simply not true.  Internal records and documents indicate that we have not breached any country’s rules of origin.”

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/12/angostura-all-in-order-following-age-statement-allegations/

Kayak Life

     Here we are in the final weeks of Fall, 2016 and we are still able to be out in the kayak for a sunset cocktail cruise.  It is so beautiful here in the keys at sunset when the days keep getting shorter.  December 21 marks the shortest day of the year and the beginning of the Winter.  Here is to many more days of kayak cocktail hour at Bahia Honda this winter.

Bahama Bob's Cartavio After Dinner Cocktail

     Cartavio rums yield a very special flavor profile that lends itself very well to this the profile of this cocktail.   Tis is a wonderful semi sweet cocktail that lends itself to a wonderful after dinner cocktail for your holiday enjoyment.

     Cartavio Solera has a very smooth and balanced taste that reveals the skillful blending in the solera of 12 year old reserves matured in  Slovenian, Bourbon and Sherry white oak barrels, it’s dark amber color with slight aromas of toffee, nuts, banana and spices.

     Cartavio Black Barrel that is being used in the syrup has a special flavor that makes it work so well in the syrup.  It is 2 years old, this dark gold color with light sweet barrel aromas, that yield a flavor of oak and a slight touch of dried fruit on the palate.

Bahama Bob's Cartavio Cocktail

• 1 1/2 oz. Cartavio Solera Rum
• 1 1/2 oz. Bahama Bob's Cartavio Black Honey Syrup
• 3/4 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake until fully chilled.   Strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice and serve.

Bahama Bob's Cartavio Black Honey Syrup

• 2/3 cup Cartavio Black Rum
• 1/2 cup Pure Clover Honey
• 1 tsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1/8 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

Place all ingredients into a pan and heat at 275 degrees until it begins to biol.  Make sure that you are stirring all of the time.  Reduce the temperature to 125 and keep stirring for another 5 minutes.  Allow to cool until it reaches a temperature that won't burn you to the touch and put into a dispenser.  Store in a refrigerator until needed.

Sugars in Rum that Get There from the Aging Barrels

Former Bourbon Barrels Filled With Rum

     There are small amounts of sugar in all rum. Most aged rums will have some sugars dissolved from the oak cask and often some from optional Caramel coloring.  Total amount of sugars are quite low, usually well below 1 gram/liter, but in certain cases it is quite possible to reach a few more grams per liter.   The sweet aromas of rum matured in used bourbon or new oak casks mostly come from sweet aromatic vanillin and fruity esters, not from the sugars.  However, sugars can have a significant role in the case of casks previously used for sweet wine or a sweetened spirit.

Barrels Repaired in Cooperage

     Another source of sugars in rum is wood. Oak is composed of three main macromolecules; cellulose, Hemicellulose and glucose.   Cellulose breaks down very slowly in alcohol-water solution extracting very small amounts of glucose to the rum.  Most sugars extracted from the cask come from hemicellulose, most of which are 5 carbon sugars.  

Large Aging Warehouse in Trinidad      Probably the most important factor considering the amount of sugars in rum is the previous content of the cask. The most common type of cask is an ex-bourbon cask.  These will impart minimal amounts of sugars, often well under 50 mg/l/year and overall well below 1 gram/liter even during a long maturation.  The charred American oak cask used for bourbon is quite low on sugars to start with and the bourbon will extract a major part of the available sugars.

Rum can, and often does, contain added sugar or other sweeteners.  Most sweetened rums are sugared at the bottling phase, but sometimes sugar or molasses, cane juice, fruit etc has been added already into the cask and some of that sugar is bound to get into a cask that was used previously for rum.  Up to 40 grams/liter sugar contents have been reported in rum and up to 100 g/l in spiced and flavored  rums, but when the sugar added directly to cask the finished product is usually in the range of 5-20 grams/liter.  Oloroso Casks Filled with Rum    Significant amounts of sugar can be extracted from a sweet wine cask.   Sherry is by far the most used ex-wine cask in the rum industry.   Most sherries, such as fino, manzanilla, amontillado, palo cortado and most olorosos, are dry wines in the range of 0-5 grams/liter of sugars and add very little sugar to the cask.  The sweetness perceived in the olorosos often comes from high amounts of glycerol, not as much from sugars.  A notable exception is Pedro Ximenez wine, which nowadays is produced almost exclusively in Montilla-Moriles, a Spanish Denominación de Origen.  It is a sweet wine produced from late harvested dried PX grapes and it typically contains by law over 212 grams/liter of sugars. It is quite sweet even compared to other sweet wines, such as port that has 100-150 grams/liter, Sauternes at 100-200 grams/liter or a Tokaji that has 60-500 grams/liter.     What does this all mean in the finished product?   It basically that sweetness in you rum may not be coming from added sugars.  By aging in final finishing in casks that were used for finishing sweet spirits and wines can impart their sweetness to the rum as it is being aged.  This is a process that takes time in the barrel, but it does give you not only a sweetness, but picks up some of the previous fill in  the barrel.  I love rums that have been finished in wine casks, they add a really nice finish to the final product. There is a lot more information you can read on the subject at http://whiskyscience.blogspot.dk/2016/12/sugars-in-whisky.html?m=1

2016 Key West Lighted Boat Parade

     After a delay because of high winds last week last night Key West had its annual Light Boat Parade in the Historic Seaport.  This is an event that draws great crowds on the land a huge group of boats participating and watching the boats as they parade past the judging stands.

     Every year there are so many beautiful holiday decorated boats to show all of them, but it makes for a fun night hanging out on the dockside and watch.   The other option for watching the parade is aboard one of evening party boats that are moored along the route and enjoying the parade while enjoying adult beverages.




     There were __ boats entered in the parade and
the color and the imagination of the builders is always spectacular.  There is everything from basic outline lighting of the boat and masts to complete animated scenes all in lights.  This is always a wonderful evening along or on the water.

Connecting Key West to the Mainland Part 3

Florida City, The beginning of the Overseas Highway

     The outbreak of World War II signaled the importance of Key West militarily to the U.S. Navy.   The existing Overseas Highway had many wooden bridges and sharp turns make it difficult for trucks carrying military equipment to reach Key West.   The Navy presence in Key West required stronger bridges to support its operations and security patrols.   Authorities at that point chose to utilize the entire route of the previous Florida East Coast railroad right of way, shortening the road by about 14 miles.  

The Stretch Connecting Florida City with Key Largo

     In the Upper Keys, a used drawbridge was installed at Jewfish Creek and the rail bed converted into a new highway from Key Largo to Florida City, bypassing Card Sound.  The Navy paved and upgraded the bridges to handle the very heavy loads of vehicles supplying parts and supplies to the Key West Base.  The Lower Keys faced similar problems and from Sugarloaf Key along the coastline to Stock Island was bypassed for the same reasons as the other areas, the new highway would run for the most part along the original railroad route.   Some of the remains of this route are still visible. This new route did however pass through the Boca Chica Naval Base, these were eventually rerouted to the outer perimeters of the base.  By creating the two bypasses, travel along the Overseas Highway was shortened by 17 miles, but at a cost of $5 million, authorized in February 1942.  

        Travel reasons were not the only considerations, the railroad bed through the Everglades was almost a direct route to the mainland, and a fresh water pipeline along with power and light transmission lines were built alongside Overseas Highway.   

 

The New and the Old Bahia Honda Bridge

     The official Overseas Highway dedication for this third major modification was given in July 2, 1944.  "I dedicate this road to the greatness of the Keys," said Governor Spessard L. Holland as he and his wife cut the ribbon atop the Bahia Honda Bridge. America had a road that allowed trucks, busses and autos to drive from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West along U.S. 1. This was a much larger celebration than the 1938 highway opening. 

      The railroad maintenance village on Pigeon Key served as headquarters for the Toll and Bridge Commission.   All construction, maintenance and operations were directed from this small island. Tolls were one dollar for the vehicle and driver, plus 25 cents for each passenger.   A increased pressure to drop the tolls resulted in the road tolls being lifted completely on April 15, 1954.  

     

The New and the Old Seven Mile Bridge

      1944 to 1978 was mostly a period of maintenance period except for a few significant changes in the Upper Keys.  The road was widened to four lanes on the Island of Key Largo, Tavernier in 1966, then to Rock Harbor to Lake Surprise in 1971 - 1972 and finally the Tavernier to Rock Harbor section was completed.  In addition there was $1.1 million spent to repair the Long Key Bridge in 1966.       In fact, all the bridges were deteriorating from relatively heavy use in an extremely harsh salt-water environment.   The beginning of the end was signaled when chunks of concrete began falling off of the 1938 built Bahia Honda Bridge overhead concrete slab.   In 1968, it was announced that two two-lane concrete spans would replace the old elevated railroad bridge at a cost of $7.9 million in July 1969.   Dedication ceremonies were held in August of 1972 when a 1901 Oldsmobile replica was the first car to pass over the new bridge which lies alongside the original double decked bridge.   One by one, most of the old rail bridge crossings have been replaced.

Key West at the End of the Road

     Today the road is being maintained with a few up grades here and there, but for the most part it is how it is going to be for quite some time.   It is a road that took over a hundred years to come about and one of the engineering wonders of the world, but more important it provides the keys with a reliable means of coming and going to the mainland.

Connecting Key West to the Florida Mainland Part 2

Ferry "Key West"

      The ferry service was not adequate, it had a very limited capacity, slow, unreliable, inconvenient and relatively expensive for the service it provided.  The ferries would often run aground, or be delayed due to low tides.  One ferry captain commented that there was not quite enough water for swimming and too much for farming.   Key West was not satisfied, so plans were being made to bridge the water gaps, in order to eliminate the ferries.   Army engineers estimated that it would cost another $7.5 million, but money could not be attained for the project.

     Monroe County was already in debt to the hilt, so the Overseas Highway Bridge Corporation for a toll road was formed in 1932.  Plans to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to borrow $10.7 million to be amortized over 19 years, at which time the highway would be deeded to Monroe County.  The United States was in the midst of a depression, times were hard and money scarce.  October 12, 1932 the Reconstruction Finance Corporation forwarded its request to President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress, had placed $3.3 billion in the hands of the federal Board of Public Works. On July 4, 1934, the government created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Both Key West and Monroe County had declared bankruptcy at this point and FERA was sent in to bail them out.  Some of the “Bonus Army” veterans were sent to the Keys to build a highway from Lower Matecumbe Key to Grassy Key. The engineering and supervision were under the State Road Department and the veterans had their own supervisors making the coordination between the two groups problem some.  There were three FERA work camps were built at Snake Creek on Windley Key, at the upper end of  Lower Matecumbe Key and at the lower end of Lower Matecumbe Key.   By 1935, about 700 veterans were at work. There hadn’t been this much dredging, digging and concrete operations seen in the Keys. 

Aftermath of the Hurricane of 1935

     Labor Day, September 2, 1935, train crews were called to form a train to evacuate the veterans in the Keys from the approaching hurricane.   About an hour later, locomotive number 447 pulled a train out of Miami in route to Lower Matecumbe.   The train was too late. At about 8:24 that evening the clocks and much of life stopped in the Islamorada area.  Suddenly, the wind and a 17-foot storm surge of water turned the train cars over. Locomotive number four-forty-seven had a mission impossible.   Four-hundred-and-twenty-plus lost their lives that night. Over one-half were veterans and their families.  One ferry boat was lost.  All of the large concrete railroad bridges stood tall and straight. Many miles of the rock-made causeways and rail beds were washed out. Only a eight of the concrete highway bridge piers built by the WW-1 vets remained as evidence of the veterans' work.  

Laying the Road Bed over the Rail Bridge

     The debate to rebuild the railroad or build a complete highway began.  After the Hurricane, transportation in the Florida Keys was by plane and ship.  Pan American Airways flew to Key West. Using the remaining car ferries the City of Key West and Florida Keys, a temporary landing for limited automobile travel was quickly planned by the WPA to the lower end of Upper Matecumbe Key.  Two additional steel Mississippi River automobile ferries, were brought on line and the Lower Matecumbe Key ferry landing was restored after washed out fill was replaced.

     The Florida East Coast Railway was out of business, it was bankrupt just like Monroe County.  Monroe County's whose population, of which resided in Key West, needed to have either the railroad or the highway in order for the county to survive.   The highway in the Upper Keys was not seriously damaged by the hurricane, so the emphasis had to be put on the completion of the highway to Key West.  The Florida East Coast right-of-way from Florida City to Key West was available for $640,000 plus some tax debts being forgiven.  The Public Works Administration approved a loan to the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District for $3,527,429.   The District in turn issued revenue bonds to be repaid with road tolls. The grand total was now about $8 million, roughly one-seventh what it cost Flagler to build the railroad, and roughly equal to the Army Corps of Engineers estimate just to bridge the water gaps.   Bridges for the highway had to be much wider than the width of a railroad track, work was contracted out and the repurposing of the railroad bridges to highway bridges got under way in May of 1937.  Steel beams were laid across the more conventional bridges and a layer of reinforced concrete encased the beams. Each bridge was given a nine-inch high and a twenty-inch wide curb. The road itself was twenty feet, curb to curb. All of this was done without loss of life.   The big challenge came when they reached Bahia Honda Key, this was a narrow trestle style bridge across the deepest section of the waters. The top of the camelback trestle rose a dazzling sixty-five feet in the air. The final solution was to build a concrete road slab on top of the trusses and start the rise and decent before reaching the high point of the bridge for safe auto travel. The Bahia Honda Bridge was the finally bypassed when a new four-lane bridge was constructed in 1972. 

President Roosevelt Arrives in Key West

     The highway was opened for traffic on March 29, 1938.  The nation was first made aware of the Overseas Highway on February 18, 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt passed through the Upper Keys in route to Key West.  Key West mayor, Willard Albury, met the president at the west end of the Bahia Honda bridge on West Summerland Key where he accompanied the president to Key West and a tour of the mothballed Key West Naval Facilities.   It was a long time coming, but it was finally finished and there was a road from Key West to the Mainland.  

Connecting Key West to the Florida Mainland Part 1

Train on the seven mile railroad bridge

   The possibility that a highway from Key West to the mainland was first uttered in a political address by George W. Allen in 1895. The first real step that would indicate the coming of a land transportation system in the Keys was the railroad.   Post offices came along with the railroad providing daily deliveries of people and goods. The Overseas Highway really came about because of the 1935 hurricane that destroyed Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway.   This is basically true, but the highway actually started happening before that.   The building of the Overseas Highway really began in 1917.  Monroe County floated a $100,000 bond issue to build roads, and trails, on Key Largo, Big Pine Key and the Cow Key Channel Bridge between Key West and Stock Island.

Florida Year - Round Club (Angler's Club) Key Largo 1930's

    What really sparked the need for the Overseas Highway was the rapid growth of the real estate market. Monroe County was only accessible by the railroad and the Miami Motor Club wanted to give its winter tourists a suburban fishing ground. The real estate interests wanted vehicular access to the thousands of undeveloped acres in the Upper Keys.  Dade and Monroe County commissioners met jointly and decided to connect Key Largo with the mainland.  They wanted to follow the railroad route, but the Miami’s interests wanted a route that would help the fishing, that was the Card Sound route, which finally one out.

   Monroe County residents voted a $300,000 bond issued in 1922 to construct a road from the Key Largo Anglers Club, which began at the turn of the twentieth century as a small fishing camp and trading post on the Bay side of Card Sound, that became part of the “Florida Year Round Club in the early 1930's. to the Key Largo Train Depot.

Ferry Boat "Key West" around 1934

      Dade County completed the 11 miles of road from Florida City to Little Card Point, between Card and Barnes Sound.  Monroe County built the drawbridge and connected the Dade County road to the existing North Key Largo road.  The roadway and bridge were severely damaged in the 1926 hurricane, a decision was made to raise the bridge height from five to nine feet as a result of the damage. Until the completion, in March of 1927 an auto ferry towed by a powerboat transported cars from Florida City to the east end of the Card Sound bridge.   The road was also made serviceable as far as Islamorada during that same time period.  J. Otto Kirchheiner, chairman of the Monroe County commissioners, was the first to drive a car using a combination of roads and ferries from Key West to the mainland on July 18, 1927.   .    Key West had built a road as far as No Name Key and the construction of a ferryboat pier began at Lower Matecumbe and No Name Key connecting the two ends of the keys.    January 16, 1928, three ferryboats at a cost of $850,000 were put into operation between Lower Matecumbe Key and No Name Key. One ferry would go east and one ferry would be returning west.   The third was kept in reserve or in maintenance. However, one ferry burned eight months later. This was a 41-mile ferry trip.  Each ferry could take 20 cars and the trip took about four hours. The toll was $3.50 for vehicles under 14 feet up to $6.50 for vehicles over 16 feet, driver included. Passengers were charged $1.00 each.  Officially for the public the Overseas Highway opened January 25, 1928. 

     

The Special Problem of Converting the Bahia Honda Trestle

The Days of the Train

     When the time came o convert the Bahia Honda trestle to a highway bridge there were several problems that had to be overcome.  The structure of the bridge meant that it could not be taken apart and just lay the reinforced concrete beams on the old road way.  The structural integrity of the bridge would be lost.  Therefore the roadway had to be laid down on top of the structure.  There was a problem there as well.  The hump in the center rose to fast to just follow the shape of the bridge, so it had to be gradually ramping up to the peak and back down.

Looking at the Deteriorating Roadway Today.

Protect Yourself from Law Suits from Your Holiday Party This Year

     Holiday gatherings are supposed to be a time to build the morale for those who don’t get to spend time on a social basis.  Their purpose is to encourage people who don't normally socialize with colleagues to enjoy themselves and talk about things other than work.   These parties are usually a lot of fun unless someone manages to ruin it by getting out of hand by too much of a good thing.  This is where the party can get out of hand and wind you up at the wrong end of a nasty suit.   Here are some ways to help you keep out of trouble without having to scrap your holiday party.  These apply whether you are having a company party or just a gathering of friends at your house. 

You Don't Need This Guy at the Party

     First and most important most important is to have a good handle on the amount of booze available to those attending.  Diminished capacity of a party goer from overdrinking is not a defense to claims of harassment or assault and that hosts could ultimately be held responsible because they created the environment for that conduct to take place.  It is after all your place and your responsibility to control the behavior of the people that you have invited.    You shouldn't have an open bar with unlimited drinks at any of your holiday parties.  Limit the drink menu and to make sure to have one person to pour and serve the booze, preferably someone that is not a guest of the party.

Give up Your Keys if You are Drinking

     Getting people back home after the party is the next consideration.  In to many cases, people will leave the party and drive home after imbibing way too much.    Have cars and taxis available to make sure that those who have had too much to drink get home safely.

Can't Wait to see This Party on You Tube

     In today's world of social media, smartphones are always present and people will always be taking pictures and videos of moments they think are funny, particularly if somebody starts acting up at the party.  Today these holiday parties are no longer a private party, but rather an open party.  Party goers should be reminded of basic ground rules before posting or sharing any scenes from a holiday party.   The old days of what goes on at the party stays at the party are long gone and there are expectations of privacy when you are hosting a holiday party.

     It is always important to remember when you get a group of people together, not everyone has the same values and opinions.  It's not appropriate in the general society and not appropriate at a holiday party to belittle or treat other guests with disrespect.   It is never easy to keep everything under complete control at a holiday party, but paying attention to what is happening at the party that you are hosting will limit the chances of a problem that could wind up with you in an ugly law suit at the end of the night.

     Here is to a wonderful season of holiday parties and the safety and happy conclusion to what are supposed to be happy events.

    

Organic Rum? What's the Difference?

Organic Rum

      True, if you're changing your eating and drinking habits to reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals, switching to organic rum isn’t likely to do you much good.   The chemicals you're trying to avoid are entirely taken out of the picture during the processes of fermentation and distillation.   There has to be another gain to the consumer to make it worth going for.

      Puerto Angel Rum which came to the USA in the summer of 2015 is one of my favorite rums, but it is because of how it is made more than the use of organic sugarcane.   The cane fields are just minutes from the distillery, it only takes a few hours for the cane to go from the cane cutting, to the crushing, then to the fermentation tanks.  Puerto Angel Organic Rum is USDA Organic rum, distilled from freshly squeezed cane juice at the Krassel family-owned distillery which does produce some of the finest artisanal spirits.  The family opened the distillery in 1938, and established their own organic sugarcane plantation in the high levels of the Oaxaca Mountains, Mexico. 

Organic Sugarcane

     But thinking about the bigger picture, and looking at secondary benefits, organic rum made from organic sugar cane can reduce the overall spraying of pesticides and the resultant contamination of soil and groundwater.   Drinking a rum distilled from organic sugar cane can have an impact beyond the drinker's immediate environment, and also provides a financial incentive for growers to use more earth friendly farming practices.  Florida’s sugarcane fields are a huge source of pollution of the waterways and the everglades, that could help all of us if they were to use more earth friendly farming practices.   "There is a historic load of phosphorus already in Lake Okeechobee that came from the sugar farms."  There is a current load, though it is not a major percentage that is coming from the sugar farms.  The key is to keep reducing this load.

     I feel that the organic rum is a good thing because of what it does to improve the quality of the earth more than the quality of the spirit.  Distilling removes the impurities from the spirits, making the organic card a moot one as far as the finished product goes.