St. John, USVI: It's Tough Living

     When you speak of the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John always comes up in a conversation.    St. John is more of a residential island  than St. Thomas, the commercial island  or St. Croix the industrial.   The Virgin Islands National park consumes some 7,000 acres of the island of St. John, giving us some of the most breathtaking and beautiful mountains, valleys and beaches anywhere.    The park also offers history of the many free and enslaved complex civilizations that depended on the land and the sea for survival as far back as 1,000 years ago.   There are many of the most spectacular meeting of the land with the sea with in the park as well.

     The modern civilization live in some very spectacular homes perched on the hills.    These modern day castles boast the ingenuity and skill of the craftsmen that constructed this wonders.   The land appears very arrid, with all of the cacti and other desert like plants that are naturally growing on these hills.   I really don't know who lives in these homes, but there are said to be several well known celebrities that own homes today on St. John.

     I love to travel by boat around St. John and the other islands that make up both the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands.  I love seeing the magnificent joining of the land and the sea plus these "modest" homes that are so interesting as they look down to the sea from the precipice above.

     This is a magic island and one that I never tire of traveling around and seeing the many sights that it has to offer my eyes and camera.   Whether you travel over the land or on the sea you will find more spectacular vistas than you will ever believe possible.    This is a place that keeps drawing me back whether it be in a blog or in person, but either way I keep going back again and again.  ;o)

Day Off in Key West: What Shall I Do?

   There are really so many thing to do here in Key West that it is sometime difficult to try and decide what it is you really do want to do.   I guess that I could travel into town an wander with the tourists and see what is happening on Duval Street, but that would mean that I would be bouncing around with the crowds.    Checking out the entertainment and trying a new cocktail or two can be fun, but the weather is much too nice and it can be hot when you are strolling between the buildings.

     I guess that I can head for the beach and see what is happening down there today.    The sea turtles are about due to be laying their eggs this time of year and it would be fun to see if there are any signs of the turtles coming ashore.   It is always fun to observe all of the different tracks that are in the sands of the beaches.     Maybe I'll just hop into the boat and cruise out to a more deserted beach and maybe get to see more interesting things that are inhabiting these remote beaches and keys.

     I'm really beginning to get hungry, so maybe a trip over to the Hurricane Hole and have some lunch.    There I maybe able to decide what it is that I really want to do today.    It is always easy to sit and have a good lunch and gab with whomever happens to be there.   This will free my mind up and maybe find someone that has something in mind for the afternoon.

     I guess that a trip in the dinghy is really what I need to be doing today to get away from the hustle bustle of this little tourist town that may actually be slowing down with the passing of Memorial Day weekend and heading into the "off-season" and a bit slower pace.   I think that I'll just head out to one of the tiny keys and see what interesting things that I can find there.   Maybe just anchor in the shade of the mangroves and take a nap.

     At the end of the day the only thing that really matters is that I did enjoy my day and I'm ready to return to the Rum Bar and have some fun with my old and new friends that stop by to visit.   I really hate all of these difficult decisions.   ;o)

Diageo to Buy Ypioca

    Diageo, the huge London based distillery consortium has agreed to buy the Brazilian Cachaca brand Ypioca for a reported $453 million.    Ypioca Agroindustrial Limitata is the second largest brand and third largest by volume produces an annual sales of approximately $90 Million in 2011.    Brazil is the real interest for Diageo, who is looking for faster growing emerging markets.   "Brazil is an attractive fast-growing market for Diageo with favorable demographics and increasing disposable income," according to Diageo chief executive officer Paul Walsh.      The transaction is expected to be completed in about a month.    Diageo is also the owner of such brands as Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan, Zacapa, and many more in the spirit world.

     Cachaca is the primary ingredient in "Caipirinhas" a cocktail that is a combination of cachaca, lime, sugar and ice.   Cachaca is fermented from sugar cane crushings, fermented and then distilled.     There are two types of Cachaca, unaged (white) and aged (gold).  The white is bottled straight off of the still and us usually a much harsher version and the most prevalent.   There are some of the white cachaca that are aged in wooden barrels for up to 12 months and then filtered back to the white color.    The aged or gold cachaca is usually rested in wooden barrels for up to 15 years in the case of the ultra-premium cachacas.   Like so many other cane spirits, aged cachaca is used in premium cocktails rather than the harsh white.

     This is an important step for Diageo because it can only grow it's sales by expansion into emerging markets where there are few economic conditions that are going to hold back the sales.   Diageo is looking for at least 50% of it's sales from emerging markets.   ;o)

    

Remembering the Days of Flying in the Caribbean

Turks and Caicaos Arrival

Caliche Rum: From the Distileria Serralles

    Caliche super-premium rum is the brain child of sixth generation rum producer Roberto Seralles along with hospitality and night club impresario Rande Gerber.       The March launch of Caliche Rum at New York's Whiskey Park bar, with Cindy Crawford, Gerber's wife, on hand,  provided a "hot launch" for this new super-premium rum.   The rum took 4 years to get the blend the way they were looking for it to be, Gerber wanted this to be a spirit that he could "drink on the rocks" and be able to share with  his friends proudly.    The name comes from a limestone that is quarried around Ponce, Puerto Rico where the rum is produced.

     The rum is made through the use of multiple distillations and carbon-active filtration to produce the cleanest possible rum.   A portion of the rum is aged in American white oak barrels and some in a solera system, then blended for the desired characteristics of the rum.    The rum has a very nice and smooth flavor with notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak.  The rum is more viscous that other white rums and produced by Distileria Seralles.

     I recently received Caliche at the Rum Bar in Key West, and it is a great upgrade for any cocktail that uses white rum as it's basis.    The smooth aged flavors brings any fine cocktail to life.   Try it in a Mojito, it blends well with the mint and lime flavors of the Mojito to yield a perfect ultra-premium cocktail.
Caliche Rum is now available in Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois, and California, but soon to be available in other places.   This collaboration has yielded a truly fine ultra-premium rum that you need to try soon.  ;o)


       

Botran Reserva in the Rum Bar on Saturday

     Saturday May 26th, from 1 til 5, we will be featuring Botran Reserva at the Rum Bar in Key West.   It will be presented in five special Rum Lab created cocktails for only $5.00 each.   These are usually $8 to $9 cocktails at this special price to introduce you to this very smooth and delightful cane spirit.     

     Botran Reserva is a wonderfully full flavored deep copper colored rum from Industria Licoreras de Guatemala.     It features rich aromas of oak, vanilla, fruity, and mild spice flavors followed by a caramelly oak flavor with hints of sherry.  This is a fairly complex tasting rum has a smoothness with a naturally sweet and smokey finish.

     Botran Reserva is aged in the mountains of Guatemala for 5 to 14 years then further finished through the solera system of aging that features a variety of barrels like American Whiskey, recharred American Oak, and sherry casks all adding to the complexity of the finished product.

    The important thing is for you make it to the tasting of Botran Reserva and experience this masterfully blended rum yourself.   The Rum Bar on Duval Street is the location, and I'll be your host and serving the cocktails.  Hope to see you there.   ;o)

Lemon Hart 151: Now at the Rum Bar Key West

   The legendary Demerara Lemon Hart 151 Rum is now as a staple at the Rum Bar here in Key West.     This classic rum is one of the primary ingredients in many of the classic Tiki era cocktails and one that has not been available for a few years here in the Florida area anyway.     The addition of this legendary rum means I have one more tool to create some of the better cocktails from that era.     I'm looking forward to sharing this rum with you at the Rum Bar and I will be doing some work with it at the Rum Lab as well.    This is a tool that will bring many of the everyday drinks like a Rum Runner or a Pina Colada when you add Lemon Hart 151 as a float.

     The Lemon Hart 151 is not "gasoline" like so many other overproof rums, but rather an earthy and old leather flavor premium overproof rum.   Don't be fooled into thinking this is going to be a smooth, woody and complex experience, because it is not.    This is a full blown 151 proof rum with a healthy burn in the back of the throat and an alcohol equivalent of 2 cocktail in one measure.     This doesn't mean that it doesn't have a good flavor though, because it's the flavor that makes it work so well in so many cocktails.     The reappearance of Lemon Hart151 is going to be a great help to the resurgance of the Tiki cocktails that is currently happening all over the world.

     Lemon Hart 151 is still being produced along the Demerara River in Guyana, but now being bottled in Canada.   This is a must addition to your rum cabinet if you are going to be following in the Tiki culture of cocktail mixing.   Enjoy it either at home or stop by the Rum Bar Key West and let me mix you one of the Tiki Cocktails featuring Lemon Hart 151.   ;o)