__________________________________________________

Havana Club Rum was recently dealt another blow in their trademark fight in the US. The Supreme Court refused to review the controversial decision which prevented the renewal of their trademarked brand name.

In light of this decision, spirits giant Pernod Ricard announced a new line of fine rums called Havanista. Produced and bottled in Cuba, Havanista is a premium Cuban rum specifically aimed at the US market, which will be launched if and when the longstanding trade embargo is lifted. Havanista will be a celebration of Cuban taste and culture in a genuine Cuban rum. It will benefit from the same high-level production processes and quality requirements as the entire Havana Club range.

Jérôme Cottin-Bizonne, CEO of Havana Club International, the joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and Corporación Cuba Ron, comments: “With Havanista, if the embargo is lifted, we will be happy to bring the unique quality and taste of Cuban rum to U.S consumers.” He concludes: “If you like Havana Club – you will love Havanista!”

Havana Club International has proven its expertise in high-quality Cuban rum through the production, sale and promotion of the iconic Havana Club brand, distributed in over 120 markets worldwide. Havana Club sales have multiplied ten-fold during the past 18 years and should reach the 4 million cases milestone later in 2012.

Acclaimed all over the world, with its key markets being Germany, Cuba, Spain and Italy, Havana Club is listed as No. 3 on the 2010 International Wine & Spirits Reasearch list of Elite Brands and as no. 22 on the 2011 Impact Top 100 list of global spirits brands. 

____________________________________________________

This Fall, Portland’s newest watering hole, Hale Pele, will open with a bevy of tropical wonders for its patrons. 

Located on NE Broadway, in the former space of Thatch Tiki Bar, Hale Pele will offer a list of classic exotic cocktails made with the finest ingredients and craft methods, as well as a list of “New Wave Tropicals” featuring modern spirits & liqueurs. Paired with these world class drinks will be an all new robust contemporary food menu.

For over a decade, Hale Pele owner Blair Reynolds has been passionate about tropical cocktails.  Founder of locally made B.G.Reynolds’ Hand-Crafted Syrups, Blair has created specialty tiki menus for bars in the Pacific Northwest, and lectured at Tales of the Cocktail, Portland Cocktail Camp, and the Great American Distillers Festival. Blair has contributed to several cocktail books, and served as an expert for Imbibe Magazine.

As a long-standing member and officer in the Oregon Bartenders Guild, Blair will bring a commitment to the consistency of the cocktails, using the freshest and highest quality ingredients and spirits available. “Too long has the word tiki been associated with bright red and pink drinks tasting of artificial coconut. Bringing in my years of research and study, I hope to serve Portland the best of tropical drinks both past and present,” says Reynolds.

Hale Pele will also include the great décor you’d expect from a world-class tiki bar, with interactive features, dancing waters, and other wonders from exotic isles. “I’m inspired by the unique décor of tiki bars from times past, and want to bring a bit of the novel fantasy of that bygone era into an exotic, yet welcoming environment. There is a story behind the setting, some of which will be revealed and some hidden. But beware of uncovering the mystery, lest you incur the wrath of Pele!”

For more info, visit the Hale Pele website and check out their Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________

Alnwick Rum was first produced in Northern England during the First World War as a unique and complex blend of pot-still and continuous-still rums from Jamaica and Guyana.  The brand was originally associated with Alnwick Brewery Company Limited and both companies were taken over by Drybroughs Brewery in July of 1978. The Brewery ceased trading in 1986, by which time the rum company had already stopped production.

Lost for over 20 years, the original recipe for this distinguished dark rum was unearther by Ian Linsley, son of the last Managing Director of Alnwick Brewing Co.  Having already unsuccessfully attempted to acquire the limited company some time earlier, Ian was delighted to find it had become available at the beginning of 2003. He was finally able to re-register Alnwick Rum Company Limited and began the complicated process of finding a suitable blender to revive the product. When this was at last achieved, Ian was then in a position to breathe new life into the rum which is based on the age-old recipe.

This distinguished dark rum, which has been enjoyed around the world for generations, is a precise amalgamation of very specific rums from the islands.  The introduction of other selectively aged rums during the marrying process gives this exceptional blend a distinctive, full, round character with a depth of flavor to delight the palate.

The resurrected company is still based in Alnwick and is searching for replacement premises since the original brewery was demolished, despite its listed status, in the 1980s. Development of the new Brewery and Distillery will allow the blending and bottling of Alnwick Rum to finally return to Northumberland. Until then the aged Guyanese and Jamaican rums, which give Alnwick Rum its distinctive full round character, are expertly blended in Holland and the resulting Alnwick-approved blend bottled in Scotland.  The legend lives on!

Have you tried Alnwick Rum?  Let us know what you think of it.  Keep an eye out for more interesting developments from this traditional brand.

___________________________________________________________

Suntan, snapshots and seashells.  That’s what most people bring home from a trip to Miami. But if you are Plantation Rum from producer Cognac Ferrand, you bring home the gold. Gold as in gold medals, and lots of them—far more than any other rum.

Nine Plantation Rums walked away winners from the 2012 RumXP International Tasting Competition held on April 18-22, 2012 at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.  Twenty-five members of the International Rum Expert Panel tasted and evaluated more than 100 rums in a blind tasting.  They gave more awards to Plantation Rum than any other brand in the entire competition. Four different Plantation Rums walked away with the competition’s highest accolade, “BEST IN CLASS” – the first time in the history of this prestigious competition that one brand has won so many Best in Class awards.  It was a definitive statement of the superior quality of Plantation Rum, a brand of rum made like no other on earth – born in the tropics, aged in its homeland and finished in Cognac casks in France at the Chateau de Bonbonnet.

Plantation Rums won:

BEST IN CLASS & GOLD MEDAL

• Plantation 3 Stars White Rum* – launching Fall 2012 in US ($21.99/1L)
• Plantation Guatemala Gran Anejo* – launching Fall 2012 in US ($24.99/750ml)
• Plantation Jamaica 2000 Vintage ($44.99/750ml) – won Gold 2 years in a row
• Plantation XO 20^th Anniversary (Barbados; $44.99/750ml) – won Gold 3 years in a row

GOLD

• Plantation 5 Year Old Grande Reserve (Barbados; $19.99/750ml) – won Gold 3 years in a row
• Plantation Barbados 2000 Vintage ($44.99/750ml)
• Plantation Original Dark Overproof (Trinidad; $29.99/1L)
• Plantation Panama 2000 Vintage ($44.99/750ml) – won Gold 2 years in a row

SILVER

• Plantation Trinidad 2000 Vintage ($44.99/750ml)

Plantation Rums are distilled and aged for a time in their country of origin and then shipped to Cognac, France for their special double-aging, a technique unique in the rum world, where most are finished in Cognac casks before being bottled. 

*Two of the Plantation rums judged – Plantation 3 Stars White Rum and Plantation Guatemala Gran Anejo – are not yet available in the U.S. Plantation 3 Stars is the first white rum offered in the Plantation portfolio and is named in honor of the three rum-producing stars of the Caribbean from which it is crafted: Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. For it to receive a “Best in Class” rating from this group of international rum experts is truly a high honor for this new brand.  Both of these new expressions will launch in the U.S. in Fall 2012. 

“We put 500 years of aging know-how into the creation of Plantation rum.  In fact, we don’t call it aging here in Cognac, we call it “elevage” which means ‘nurturing’ in French,” says Alexandre Gabriel, proprietor of Cognac Ferrand and producer of Plantation Rum. “This ancestral technique that I learned from my grandfather is more arduous but I think that this is the reason why our Plantation Rums offer something unique and special that you can savor with every sip.  When making a great rum there is only one secret formula: time, love, passion and patience. We are proud to see our hard work rewarded, it’s a great pat on the back and a great encouragement for our rum that is ideal for the snifter or for cocktails. Here we call it the Grands Crus Rums.”

For full results of the 2012 Rum XP Tasting Competition click here.

___________________________________________________

Click here for the full story.

___________________________________________________

Havana Club is prepared to launch a series of pop-up ‘Mojito Embassy’ bars in cities across the globe in an effort to introduce new consumers to the world of rum and craft cocktails.  Here’s more.

Just in time for summer, London gets yet another world-class tiki bar. Kona Kai enters the Chelsea cocktail scene. KingLoaf.com has the scoop.

“There’s so much more to rum than meets the eye. And sometimes it’s good to know a little bit of history of what’s in your glass.”  The Rum Barrel Blog dissects the history of cane spirits.

Mitch Brown and Gavin Wright, two laid back businessmen from Beaufort County, South Carolina, start their own liquor brand with a load of fine Barbados rum and a dream.  Watch for good things from Pocotaligo Rum.  Island Packet has the details.

Here’s an “herbaceous” twist on a classic Brazilian cocktail.  Vancouver Sun whips up a Spiced Rhubarb Caipirinha.

There will be plenty of Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum being poured in Atlantic City this summer.  Bally’s Hotel and Casino has announced that Sammy Hagar’s popular Beach Bar will be back for a second season.

CaribbeanJournal.com features Zaya Gran Reserve in their weekly rum rant.  Tune in to see what they think of this popular Trini sipper.

____________________________________________________

About 5 years ago, I introduced my mother to rum.  After being a lifelong teetotaler, I was astonished that she took to it with such enthusiasm.  She’s no party animal, but she does enjoy an occasional rum drink or sipping rum with a few ice cubes.  Like clockwork, after consuming precisely 2 drinks she begins to giggle and falls asleep soon after.  This makes for early evenings, but I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to share these moments with her.  My mom, the RUMMY….who would’ve ever guessed?

So, with Mother’s Day coming this Sunday, why not forgo the typical gift swag and give your Mom something that she’ll really appreciate?  Here’s the official Rum Connection Mother’s Day Gift Guide:

Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 – This sweet, flavorful rum from the Dominican Republic is really fool proof.  It’s mild and silky enough for novice drinkers, but packs enough rich character to appeal to rum aficionados as well.  For my mom, it’ll work as a slow sipper in a rocks glass with an ice cube.  Pick up a bottle at Pacific Online Spirits.

Goslings Black Seal and a 6 pack of Barritt’s Ginger Beer – One of my Mom’s usual Sunday afternoon cocktails is a simple one from Bermuda, the Dark n Stormy.  And come on, what’s not to like?  It’s delicious and easy to make, but be sure to do it right.  Goslings and Barritt’s are the only combination to make a proper D&S.  Hi Time Wine Shop has the hookup.

Doorly’s XO – This is one of my favorite rums, making it one of my Mom’s favorites too.  Made in Barbados by distilling guru Richard Seale, XO represents everything that good rum should be.  From the packaging, aroma, flavor profile and finish, this is sure to be a hit with everyone, including Mom.  Widely available at Total Wine.

Infusions: Spirited Cooking in the Caribbean – This classic cookbook by the Rum Chef Paul Yellin gives the reader insight into a spectrum of interesting rum-spiked dishes from the islands along with a few drink recipes.  I’m not ashamed to say that this is a completely selfish gift that will result in some awesome meals being had at my parent’s house.  Score!!  Available at Amazon.

King Cube Ice Trays – Since Mom is kind of an “on the rocks” type of tippler, why not hook her up with some of the best ice around.  This King Cube Tray by Tovolo makes giant, slow to melt cubes perfect for enjoying that nice glass of rum.  Get it at Keg Works.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there.  May your Sunday be spent in the company of family, good friends and RUM!

Cheers!

Mom & Me - Key West, FL

____________________________________________________

The tiki volcano is erupting all over again, and now Trader Vic’s, the legendary purveyor of Polynesian food, drinks, and fantasy, wants to help us bring it all home. Step behind the bar and into the kitchen at Trader Vic’s and learn how to create the kind of tiki magic that made “the Trader” famous.

It’s all here: recipes for 95 of the restaurant’s best-loved tropical cocktails and after-dinner drinks along with more than 35 party-friendly recipes for pupus, tidbits, finger food, entrées, and desserts—all adapted from the past and present menus of Trader Vic’s. Dozens of tips and ideas for inexpensive, easy tiki decorating and entertaining at home are included, as is a guide to the basics of bartending equipment and techniques. Whether it’s a blowout tiki party for friends or a spontaneous occasion to dust off the shaker, this book brings favorite concoctions from Trader Vic’s into your home.

• An entertaining guide from Trader Vic’s restaurant including 130 recipes for cocktails, pupus, finger food, entrées, and desserts.
• A follow-up to the popular THE GREAT TIKI DRINK BOOK.
• Trader Vic’s has 21 company-owned and franchised restaurants around the world—from Emeryville, California; to Berlin, Germany; and Osaka, Japan.
• Cocktail recipes include the Samoan Fog Cutter, the Tiki Puka Puka, Scorpion, the Kamaiina, and The Original Mai Tai, invented by Trader Vic himself in 1944.
• Appetizer recipes include crowd-pleasing pan-Asian small plates and nibbles, like Crispy Prawns, Cha Siu Pork, Ahi Tuna Poke, and Key Lime Chiffon Tartlets.
• Throw a rocking tiki party using the decorating, music-selection, bar-stocking, and menu-planning tips found here.

_____________________________________________________

It’s a beautiful day and if you’re looking for an interesting cocktail to serve up this afternoon, look no further than the Monkey Business.  Our friend Esteban Ordonez, Don Q’s Corporate Mixologist, has created another rummy concoction that is simple to make and ideal for an afternoon in the sun.  This combination of Don Q Coco, Don Q Cristal, Coconut Milk and Anisette Liqueur is the perfect way to celebrate this beautiful spring day. Enjoy!

Monkey Business

2.5 oz Don Q Coco
.5 oz Don Q Cristal
1 oz Coconut Milk
.5 oz Anisette Liqueur
3 Star anise pods

In an ice-filled glass combine rum, coconut milk and anisette.  Shake vigorously and strain into an ice-filled highball glass.  Garnish with star anise pods and enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

___________________________________________________

The swizzle, as a drink, is typically rum-based with origins in the Carribean.  The island of Bermuda has strong connections to the swizzle dating back to the early 1930s and even claim it as their national cocktail.

The recipe and mixing process are simple: Combine sugar, lime juice, rum and mix well.  Pour into a tall collins glass, top with crushed ice and bitters.  Swizzle the drink by means of inserting a tool (barspoon, swizzle stick, etc) and spinning between your hands.  This process mixes the drink, distributes ice crystals evenly, and puts a heavy frost on the outside of the glass.  Serve and enjoy.

As you can see from the steps above, a tool for properly making this drink is key.  Long bar spoons are a standard behind the counter so they are often used.  For a purist, there are hand cut wooden swizzles made from none other than a “swizzle tree” in the islands.  This is not the simple plastic flamingo topped swizzle stirring stick that you see in frozen tropical drinks!  However, these real wooden swizzle sticks are hard to come by, can be very fragile, and are not always accepted behind the bar as a food safe material.  That’s where the manufactured SwizzleStik comes in.

The new SwizzleStik brings together the functionality of the five-spoked natural wooden swizzle with the convenience and accessibility of other standard bartools like the barspoon.  The team behind this new product has spent over a year developing prototypes and have come up with a final design.  It has a textured grip on the handle, it’s made of material that exhibits strength as well as resistance to cold and high heat and is even more functional that the original.  Can you believe it?…..they’ve built a better swizzle.

So, now they are using KickStarter to offer a risk free opportunity for you to pre-purchase the SwizzleStik.  This is really important as it allows you to get some of the first manufactured SwizzleStiks available, and it also allows them to raise the funds needed to manufacture all of the required molds and purchase initial order quantities to make this product a reality.  If you think this is a worthy project and would like to pre-order the new and improved SwizzleStik, get over to Kickstarter and show your support.

websites:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brianbjohnson/swizzle-stik
www.theswizzlestik.com
www.thebostonshaker.com
www.theuncommongreen.com 

____________________________________________________

Click here for the full story.

____________________________________________________

The May issue of Got Rum Magazine is ready for download and filled with great articles about rum history, cocktails, cane spirits tastings and more. Check it out.

“Co-proprietors Mitch Brown and Gavin Wright announced the launch of their spirits company, Pocotaligo Rum, in early April. A deep appreciation of rum, entrepreneurial spirit, and prompting from friends, led them to develop their proprietary rum formula.”  Bluffton Today has the story.

The Huffington Post pulls together a list of 12 sipping rums that will convert any doubter into a bona fide cane spirits enthusiast.  Here’s the list.

NOLA.com reports: “A cocktail can improve your mood, but can it also boost your health? In a series of workshops in May, Sharon Floyd of Iris explores the relationship between alcoholic spirits and botanicals. The classes are aimed at both bartenders and home mixologists.”

The local government of the US Virgin Islands has announced the continuation of bulk rum tax incentives to Cruzan brand as the battle between USVI and Puerto Rican liquor production continues.  Click here for the full story.

It’s happy hour time.  Our friends at Uncommon Caribbean get their first taste of Dzama Vanilla Vieux Rhum from Madagascar.  What do they think of it?….. tune in to the UC site to find out.

______________________________________________________

Conched in Key West – Round 2

What started off as a group of friends getting together for some fun in Key West has evolved into an exciting annual event to raise money for local charities.  

The second annual Conched in Key West Bar Crawl is being hosted by a group of island enthusiasts & rum aficionados including Team Cocktail, RumShopRyan, Coastlines & Tan Lines, Rum Connection and Hoffman Publications. Offering plenty of fun and games, not to mention a few cocktails, this event promises to be a good one. 

Participating stops include Cork & Stogie, Rum Bar, Kelly’s, Bottle Cap, Smokin’ Tuna, Pearl’s and many more.  With a $30 ticket purchase, crawlers receive a Conched In Key West T-Shirt and drink specials at participating bars.  This year’s bar crawl benefactor is Reef Relief, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and protecting the coral reef ecosystem.

This is your chance to visit beautiful Key West, meet interesting people, have a few drinks and help support a great charity all at the same time.  Be there!

Date:         September 22, 2012
Time:         2pm-? (as long as you can make it!)
Location:    Key West, FL – Duval St.
Price:         $30 (includes shirt, drink specials & charity donation)
Tickets:      www.teamcocktail.com

Follow all the fun on Facebook and Twitter.  

For questions and more information, contact Lyndsey Higgins at lyndsey@teamcocktail.com

______________________________________________________

LH 151 – Wonderfully Bold
by Lance Surujbally

The base liquor for Lemon Hart 151 is made in Guyana (which immediately means DDL) and bottled by Canada’s Newfoundland Liquor Corporation, which also makes the Young’s Old Sam and the Cabot Town 100 proof Demerara, both heavy, dark molasses-snorting rums that pride themselves in not catering to a connoisseur’s sophistication, and for both of which I have a sneaking affection. Previously Pernod-Ricard had owned the marque before selling it on to a privately held concern, Mosaiq, in 2010, and Lemon Hart does indeed have quite a pedigree….it was itself first marketed in 1804 by Mr. Lehmynn Hart as the rum of choice for Royal Navy when he created the Lemon Hart company in that year, having moved the business he started in the late 1700s from Cornwall to London. Whether they market it as such or not, in the darkness and strength of the current product, you can still see the whispers of that old maritime tradition. (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether Pusser’s, Lamb’s or Lemon Hart has the right to the crown of “Navy Rum”.)

Overproof rums are a rather astonishing display of rum-on-human violence, and the only drinks I can come up with where participants run the risk of traumatic injury every time they try some — to my knowledge, only industrial ethanol, Brazilian alcool or Stroh 80 can claim higher alcohol levels. Yet they have their adherents (I am one of them). Yes, you can get drunk faster on ‘em, and yes, they make great cocktails, and yes, for those in penury how can they be beat? – but then they exist on a level beyond that, at a point in space and time where you find ultra-marathoners, HALO parachute jumpers and all those nutso A-types who actually enjoy taking a badass risk every time they try whatever it is they try. This rum is absolutely made for such people.

I remarked once that overproof rums are getting to the stage that they can seriously be considered drinks in their own right as opposed to seeing them as only Tanti Merle’s black cake ingredients or mixologists’ wet dreams.  Unfortunately, like single digit rums or popular blends, they labour under a cloud of perceptive disapproval, often thought of as no more than poor student’s tipples or backdam stand-bys for the bushmen I used to drink with in my youth.  I mean, can you honestly see a guy who waxes rhapsodic over the English Harbour 25 year old buy one of these bad boys? Lemon Hart 151 for sure has little couth, zero class, laughs at complexity, and does not give a good goddamn about any of that (or your tonsils, so be warned).  What it cares about is giving you a concentrated burst of simple, powerful flavours wrapped up in a sheet of such stunning white lightning that, when your DNA settles back from being devolved and you can speak coherently again, you actually can consider the rum as being…well…kinda good.

________________________________________________________________

To read more rum reviews from Lance, tune into Liquorature.com.