Rum (General)

Rum Review: Old New Orleans Crystal Rum

Matt Robold — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:04:33 GMT

As you and I continue our August Spotlight on Old New Orleans Rum, we come to the first product in their line of offerings, the Old New Orleans Crystal Rum. I say first because I have to start somewhere; and after the distillery tour, why not start with the most basic of any company's rum: their white / blanco / crystal / plantinum / claro / blanc...you get the idea.

The crystal rum is created by distilling blackstrap molasses produced from Louisiana sugar cane. The rum is then briefly aged in a barrel at a very high proof - 157 proof (just under 80% abv) to be exact. The aging and blending of the rum, combined with the addition of a few drops of water per bottle, bring the rum back down to the more standard 80 proof (40% abv). Madagascar vanilla is also added to the batch to provide some smoothness and additional flavor to the product.

The rum is produced in small batches - as are all the Old New Orleans rums. In fact, only 500 gallons are produced at a time. This affords the small cadre of rum fanatics at Celebration Distillation a great deal of control over the final product.

The bottle for the Crystal is the standard Old New Orleans bottle, with a white label on the front, and their trademark artwork on the back-interior. The artwork appears on every bottle of Old New Orleans Rum, regardless of the offering, and is actually created by the owner and founder of Celebration Distillation and Old New Orleans Rum, James Michalopoulos - who is probably better-known for his work as a painter and artist than as the entrepreneur behind a line of New Orleans-produced rums. OK, perhaps not to the frequent readers of this site...but I'm sure there are people out there that follow art more closely than rum. To each their own I guess.

Appearances

The rum, both in the bottle and in the glass, is nearly crystal clear. There is a slight yellow hue to it when you hold the glass up to the light. Giving my glass its ceremonial swirl reveals decent legs that run down the sides of the glass and back in to the bowl.

Nose

I was very excited to get to this review because I was doing so with a brand new tasting glass. I recently received the Flare sipper from Spirit Sippers. I decided to use this review to compare it and my usual non-specialized tasting glass. There will be more on this in a future piece, but I figured I should mention that I've changed part of my review process by using an additional glass type.

The Crystal Rum has a strong vanilla note on the nose - which is to be expected. The vanilla is quickly followed by the scent of toasted sugar, and then the familiar scent of alcohol vapor. The alcohol scent is fairly mild, but expected in a white rum due to the short aging period.

All in all the nose is fairly simple, but very pleasant and rich.

Palate

And now to the best part: the tippilng. The entry is very sweet and sugary. The initial flavor is sweet enough to almost be a syrup, especially in combination with the buttery texture to the body. The rum is very rich, with vanilla and toffee flavors all the way through to the finish. The burn is minimal...almost non-existent. Just like the nose, the rum is very pleasant. I wouldn't consider it to be an "every day" sipper, but it is definitely a spirit that you could drink neat or on the rocks - and that's not something I say very often about white rums.

In fact, the only other white rum I can think of that I've enjoyed this much neat is probably Oronoco from Brazil - although the flavor profiles are stunningly different. Whereas the Oronoco is a light and refreshing spirit, the Old New Orleans Crystal seems to cling tightly to its Louisiana culinary heritage with a rich and buttery texture. It's a completely different experience.

This difference in body is really intriguing. Based on the heaviness of the body, the rum didn't strike me as ideal for a daiquiri. Still, I made one up and tried it out. It's a very different drink with the New Orleans Crystal. Heavier, richer...not terms you generally associate with a daiquiri. At first this difference was a little off-putting, but with some additional lime and slightly less sugar on my second glass, I found a mix that was just terrific. I'd recommend that any cocktail that calls for sugar and white rum should have the sugar portion reduced if using the New Orleans Crystal - you just won't need it.

The Long & The Short Of It

Maybe I'm going soft in my old age...but I really enjoyed this white rum. I did. Not that I don't like white rums at all, but I very rarely find one that really captures me. The Old New Orleans Crystal has a unique flavor profile that I can only call "intriguing". It's sweet - perhaps too sweet for some - but very good and very full-bodied. And at less than $30US per bottle, its combination of quality and affordability make it a bottle that you really should have on your shelf.

Dood's Rating: 4 Bottles of Rum Out of 5

Dood's Other Rum Reviews

Filed Under: rum,rum reviews,new orleans

Mixology Monday: Local Flavor

Matt Robold — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:58:39 GMT

Is it really time for MxMo again? Really? Didn't we just do this like 2 weeks ago? I could have sworn I just finished writing about Hurricanes and why Pat O'Brien's is not where to get them. Well, too soon or not, it's time for another monthly foray into my pretend-life as a mixologist.

This month's round-up is being hosted by Save The Drinkers, who chose to give us a great deal of latitude on the topic of Local Flavors:

The idea is to post one of two types of drinks:

Option 1: Gather ingredients that are representative of the culture/geography/tackiness of your respective cities and make a drink with a truly place-based style. For example, huckleberries are native to the geographical area where I live, as are elderflowers, potatoes, and extremely conservative, closet-case politicians. (I’m just saying!)

Option 2: Dig up an old drink that came from your city and revive it! If you can find the original bar, that would be even more interesting.

Seems simple enough. I happen to live in Orange County, California. Home to - well - oranges, strawberries, watermelon, and a psuedo-Hollywood vapid lifestyle underscored by a button-down corporate culture lead by a maniacal company with a mouse as its mascot. Let's just say there were a few different directions I could go with this one.

I sat around discussing the possibilities with my brother. Strawberries are out of season, oranges sound a tad obvious, and while watermelon does sound intriguing, I live alone and that's a lot of leftovers. My brother, ever the helpful gent, suggested, "Do a cocktail but 'Disney it up'...you know, no booze, all syrups and mixers and water, and then charge $14 for it!" I know he was joking, but there seemed to be something deviously cool about this idea. A cocktail inspired by the driving force behind much of what has come to define Orange County.

Having already stated that I didn't want to actually use oranges, I decided instead to go with liquors and liqueurs that would lend an orange flavor to the drink on their own. I stared at my rum shelf and the rum choice was all but obvious. I had to use the Pyrat XO rum. It has strong orange notes to it, as well as that semi-industrial, unrefined pot-still flavor that you find in some rums. The combination of the two, while quite tasty in some drinks, manages to give the rum a rather "manufactured" rather than "crafted" taste. That was perfect for what I wanted to do.

Now that I had my base spirit, I needed a concept. I'm bad at concepts. I tend to drink 2-ingredient cocktails or sip rum neat because I'm lazy and it requires less thinking and actual work than what, say, Rick does. I pondered the kind of drinks associated with Southern California. I thought of Bloody Marys, Margaritas, Beverly Hills Iced Teas....and then lightning struck my brain. Using the Beverly Hills Iced Tea as inspiration, I moved on to my other ingredients: orange liqueur (more orange! MORE!!), agave nectar, and champagne.

I didn't have any champagne, but before running out to the store to buy some, I figured I'd give the rest of the recipe a test run. I mixed together the ingredients, poured over crushed ice, and topped with soda just to give it a little bit of the effervescence that I was going to get from the champagne. The drink actually wasn't bad. It wasn't great, but it had all the elements I was looking for. It was orangey, it had a psuedo-manufactured taste to it, and it was somewhat light. The agave nectar gave it some tanginess that I thought was pretty good - plus it was agave in SoCal - I'm a genius. It still wasn't quite right for a $14 House-of-the-Mouse cocktail. So this morning I ventured out to the store and secured a small bottle of brut champagne, and the one thing I thought was missing most from the night before: mint.

Everything in place, I set about mixing my new creation: The Tragic Kingdom

Tragic Kingdom

1 oz Pyrat XO Rum
.5 oz Orange Liqueur (Clement Creole Shrubb)
.5 oz Agave Nectar
2 dashes bitters (Angostura)
14 mint leaves

Combine rum and mint leaves in a shaker and muddle well to release the menthol into the rum. Add orange liqueur, agave nectar, bitters, and ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass, half-filled with crushed ice. Top off with champagne, garnish with a mint sprig.

Once completed, I gave the drink a quick stir to better mix in the champagne, and took a sip. The drink was actually pretty darned good. It had plenty of the orange flavor to it, but it was balanced fairly well with the mint and the champagne. I handed it to a nearby victim - err - mother, and almost didn't get my glass back. It was light and refreshing, and far too good to actually be anything that they'd really serve at the theme parks (if they served cocktails at the theme parks).

Thinking that these ingredients might be a bit high-brow for what they would serve at the resort, I tried to cheapen it up a bit, substituting Sailor Jerry for the Pyrat, and orange curacao for the Shrubb. While I don't think that the curacao substitution was particularly harmful, the swap for the Sailor was fatal. The drink was just not that good. In fact, it was so far below the original recipe, that while shaking the crushed ice out of the blender, the glass jumped up and smacked itself on the blender, sending a large piece of broken glass skittering across the counter. The drink (once remade sans-glass) was sweet in all the wrong ways, and left a rather odd aftertaste in the mouth.

No, the first time seemed to be the charm. This drink (which I'm currently sipping again) is actually a pretty good summer drink: light and citrusy, with that curious tanginess from the agave nectar and the refreshing effervescence of the champagne. In a way, I think it kind of captures the odd mixture of the local cultures, and the facade of manufactured refinement that these former agricultural towns try to hard to put up. And, in the end, just like OC itself, it turns out to be pretty darned enjoyable. Of course, it won't really capture OC unless someone will start paying me $20 for one of these bad boys. Any takers?

Be sure to check out Dood's other Mixology Monday entries

Filed Under: mxmo,rum,agave nectar,orange liqueur,mint

Distillery Tour: Old New Orleans Rum

Matt Robold — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:59:46 GMT

During Tales of the Cocktail this year, I decided to make a trip down to see Celebration Distillation – home of Old New Orleans Rum. I wanted to get an inside look at how this small American distillery was producing a unique collection of rums that they claim captures the essence of the Crescent City in a bottle.

I spent the morning putting together some notes, and then grabbed a taxi from the Hotel Monteleone to the distillery. The two buildings are only about 3.5 miles apart, but I didn't want to end up lost and figured a cab would be the right way to go. The drive there took a tad longer than I had expected as we navigated the numerous one-way streets of the French Quarter and then traveled through several neighborhoods that were still showing signs of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. It was a rather jarring reminder that – despite the signs of improvement in the French Quarter – New Orleans has still not fully recovered.

My plan worked like a charm, and we ended up lost in a cluster of industrial buildings, driving up and down rocky, uneven roads. Eventually we found ourselves on the other side of the tracks (literally) and after some searching about, we finally found a modest warehouse on Frenchmen Street in the Gentilly neighborhood with a sign for Old New Orleans Rum, and figured we'd found the right place.

My cab driver gave me his phone number so that I could easily get a ride back (for those of you who wish to go on this tour, I later learned that the friendly people at Celebration Distillation will be more than happy to arrange a taxi back to your hotel), and I ventured inside the open warehouse.

Stepping through the office door, I wandered directly in to the tasting area, where I ran in to Ben Gersh – General Manager for Old New Orleans rum. Ben seemed to be in a hurry (he was preparing to leave for a session at Tales), but stopped and asked me if I was there for a tour. When I responded that I was, he directed me to join one that had just started – pointing in the direction of 2 men being led by another gentleman through the distillery.

The interior of the warehouse was filled with barrels and equipment. The rums produced by Celebration are distilled and aged all within the walls of this dusty warehouse. There are a few tables scattered about for filling out paperwork, and a small tiki-style bar next door to the blending room.

Looking around the distillery you'd never guess that during Hurricane Katrina this building was filled with water to heights more than twice my own, causing extensive damage and loss.

Cassidy Reese – Brand Ambassador, Office Manager (and awesome bartender in the tasting room) – described the aftermath of the hurricane:

"We had approximately 14 feet of initial flood water and when the water settled it was at about 8 - 9 feet. We had to completely gut and redo the bottom floor of the distillery. Mainly the only thing that we seriously salvaged and saved post-Katrina was the column still which was cleaned and repaired and is our greatest work horse."

That still is the original still purchased by owner James Michalopoulos on a trip to Europe. The still was not originally designed for producing spirits, but rather perfume. Michalopoulos purchased the still with no real spirit in mind – just a desire to create a spirit from local produce in New Orleans. Once back in New Orleans, he found himself surrounded by sugar cane fields and the choice was obvious: New Orleans Rum.

Prior to Katrina, Celebration Distillation had been producing rum for about 10 years. After the distillery was nearly wiped out in 2005, Michalopoulos didn’t surrender. Like the city, he started the process of rebuilding.

Cassidy explained some of the effects this had on the distillery and its rums.

“Prior to Katrina our rum was made using only the column still and post-Katrina we purchased a great deal of equipment from a local brewery that went out of business and from the equipment we built our pot still (which greatly enhanced and honed the flavor) as well as all of the large cylinder holding tanks you [see through-out the distillery].”

Upon catching up to the tour, I was introduced to Chris Sule, the head distiller for Celebration. Chris joined the distillery after Hurricane Katrina, coming not from a distilling background, but rather one of brewing beer.

Chris explained that all the rums produced in the distillery are produced in 500 gallon batches. He pointed out the new pot still, which is actually a converted brewing tank. According to Chris, the difference in shape from a traditional pot still imparts a lot of “candy flavors” into the rums produced here.

Chris escorted three of us through the distillery, stopping to show us the equipment used at each step of the process. He even allowed us to sample the distillate and the varying stages, including a finger taste of the 185-proof distillate, and sipping the 150-proof - both of which were actually rather fruity and flavorful.

Next we sampled the batch of 5-year-old single barrel (not available in stores…or anywhere other than from Chris himself actually), which was spicy but smooth, with notes of caramel, pear, cloves, and a peppery finish. From there, Chris took us in to the blending room – which is one of only 2 spaces in the entire distillery with air conditioning (the other space being the office/tasting room).

In the blending room, Chris explained more of his philosophy on creating rum – a philosophy of “taste, not science”. When asked about the process for removing impurities from his creations, he explained that while they do remove some, “if I removed all my impurities, I’d be making vodka.”

Chris then pulled out a bottle of the Old New Orleans 10 Year Old - yet another product of Katrina. As the story goes, upon returning to the distillery after the hurricane, the staff discovered several barrels of old stock floating around the room. As it turned out, some of these barrels were from the distilleries initial batches. 17 barrels of 10 year old stock were blended into a single rum to create the premier item of the Old New Orleans line of rums - available only at the distillery and select bars and restaurants. Shortly after explaining this that Chris apologized, saying that he had to run to Tales of the Cocktail for a presentation. He thanked the three of us for coming and was whisked away by Ben Gersh, leaving only poor Cassidy to deal with a blogger with a notepad and an insatiable thirst for rum.

As with any distillery tour worth its salt, one of the highlights of the Celebration Distillation tour is the time in the tasting room. I bellied up to the bar and Cassidy began pulling out bottles and cups. As she poured each rum, she gave a little background on how the rum was created, as well as the people involved (Celebration Distillation has a kickball team?). As we worked our way through the entire line, Cassidy also made a few of the distillery's signature cocktails, including the New Orleans Cajun Iced Tea. A dangerously tasty and equally powerful drink, it definitely hit the spot on such a hot day.

New Orleans Cajun Tea

1.5 oz Old New Orleans Cajun Spice Rum
0.5 oz simple syrup

Fill a hi-ball glass with ice.
Add the rum and simple syrup, and then fill the glass with unsweetened iced tea.
Stir and serve with lemon garnish.

After chatting for nearly 90 minutes with my new best friend, I looked at my watch and realized that I needed to hit the road to make it back to the Monteleone in time for my next session. I called my cab driver and told him I was ready, thanked Cassidy, and set about to take a few additional pictures.

The visit to the distillery was easily one of the highlights of my time in New Orleans. The staff are friendly and fun, you'll learn a lot about rum, and you even get to have some great cocktails. This tour is definitely something everyone should consider a must-do event when in the Crescent City.

Celebration Distillation
2815 Frenchmen Street
New Orleans, LA 70122
Ph. (504) 945-9400
www.oldneworleansrum.com

Be sure to check back for reviews of the all of the Old New Orleans Rums!

Check Out Dood's Other Distillery Tour Write-Up At Refined Vices

Technorati Tags: rum, old new orleans, distillery tour

August Spotlight: Old New Orleans Rum

Matt Robold — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:02:40 GMT

Having just spent a week in New Orleans carousing with other spirit and cocktail bloggers, listening to various expert panels discuss the past, present, and future of spirits and cocktails, and sampling a few wares from various producers, one might say I've got the Crescent City on the brain.

I had so much fun in New Orleans that I'm going to dedicate the entire month of August to Old New Orleans Rum. Starting next week with a review of the distillery tour I was lucky enough to join while I was in town and then running through the entirety of their line of rums - from white to amber to spiced to the 10 year old - we'll make some cocktails, open a few bottles, and talk about how to make rum with a perfume still.

So I'll bring the rum, you bring the crawfish po'boy and the gumbo, and we'll spend the month of August having fun, cajun style.

Filed Under: rum, old new orleans rum, new orleans

Mixology Monday: New Orleans

Matt Robold — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:19:42 GMT

Home safe and sound from Tales of the Cocktail, and I'm still nowhere near caught up in all of my writing...or my detox. It was a dizzyingly enjoyable trip that included a lot of different cocktails that are special to the city that calls itself "The Birthplace of the Cocktail". I sat in bars with bartenders, industry people, and fellow bloggers drinking Sazeracs, Absinthe Suisses, Vieux Carres, French 75's, and a littany of other fine drinks...and for this month's Mixology Monday, Paul Clarke has chosen to honor the New Orleans cocktail experience by naming New Orleans as the theme. You can catch the round-up at the Cocktail Chronicles.

So many classic and fantastic cocktails to choose from, I spent some serious time debating which one should be my submission. Then I stumbled across this photo from Tales:

That's right. A collection of self-proclaimed cocktail snobs participating in the holy ritual of drinking Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon Street. We didn't do it because we wanted to do it, we did it because people always say that when you're in NOLA, you HAVE to have a Hurricane at Patty-O's.

The Hurricane was invented at Pat O'Brien's during World War II. There was a shortage of whiskey and a gluttony of rum available for making drinks. So the industrious folks at Patty-O's came up with a drink that would allow them to sell drinks with rum in them. They served them in hurricane lamps, and a New Orleans tradition was born!

The only problem with this ritual is that the Hurricanes there are...well...horrid. They're sickly sweet (dare I use the blogger hot-word "cloying"?), spiritually weak, and just all-around bad. It's the nectar of the college tourist. The drink of the non-discriminating palate. I believe the scientific term is "swill" (on a side note, the good news on those drinks is that they ended up being free).

So my choice was made for me, I had to go storm chasing and make a great Hurricane.

I figured I'd start at the bottom and work my way up. So I went and looked up the recipe for Pat O'Brien's Hurricane on their very own website:

Pat O'Brien's Hurricane

4 oz Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Rum or a good dark rum
4 oz Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix

Mix ingredients in a 26 oz. hurricane glass, fill with curshed ice, garnish with an orange and a cherry.

Needless to say, this is a recipe I cannot recreate. I don't have any of the Patty-O's rum or hurricane mix - and I am not ashamed of this fact at all. "Proud" would be a better word.

Moving right along to recipes worth trying, I searched the Internet and various bar books to discover that whatever the Hurricane originally was, it has since been so tinkered with and abused that there doesn't seem to be a definitive recipe available. So I cracked open one of my "free with purchase" bar books that litter my countertop and located a recipe that seemed to have some promise.

Hurricane #1

1.5 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Light Rum
1.5 oz fresh orange juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1oz pineapple juice
.5 oz passion fruit syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine ingredient in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a lime wedge.

I still lack an ice crusher, so I did the best I could with a mallet-like device and a plastic bag full of ice. I mixed the ingredients and tried the drink. It was OK. It wasn't too sweet. It wasn't too sour. It wasn't too good. It was incredibly weak and nothing really stood out about it. It tasted like one of those Dole "Orange-Pineapple-Strawberry-Lemon-Mango-Bamboo" juice drinks you can buy in the grocery store.

Of course, looking at the proportions, it's rather obvious that the spirit in this isn't all that much. I should have probably read the top of the page on this recipe:

The original hurricane was superpotent, with double the rum.... If you wish to attempt the classic formula, do so at your own risk.

Oh. Right. We can't have anyone tasting their rum. What was I thinking?

No more fooling around. I went back and found Jeff Berry's recommended recipe for a Hurricane, which is both simple and potent.

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Hurricane

2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz passion fruit syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a glass with crushed ice.

Simple. Elegant. Straight-forward. I mixed the drink and poured it into a new glass. The flavor profile is a universe away from the first recipe. The flavors are strong and the drink was rather tart. It may be that I had an extra-sour lemon, or that there's something "off" with my passion fruit syrup, but this drink was puckery.

I had a few sips and decided it needed just a minor tweak to balance the sour flavor. Luckily I had just been to Hi Time and purchased a bottle of Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur, which seemed like it could very easily do the trick.

The liqueur is incredibly sweet, so you don't need a whole lot. Trayce had suggested that no drink really needed more than a cap-full, which is about a 1/4 ounce. I poured the liqueur in as a floater, and then stirred the drink a bit to mix it together a bit more.

This was better. The sour flavor was still prominent, but not lip-smackingly so.

Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's Hurricane (Modified)

2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz passion fruit syrup
.25 oz passion fruit liqueur

Shake with ice, strain into a glass with crushed ice.

Check out previous Mixology Monday Entries!

Filed Under: rum, mxmo, new orleans

Tale of the Cocktail: 2008 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition

Matt Robold — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:10:52 GMT

Tales of the Cocktail may have officially started on July 16, but for several intrepid rum-lovers, the festivities got going on a little earlier.

On Tuesday, July 15, Ed Hamilton opened the 2008 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition. This year's competition saw 24 judges sitting on a panel to judge more than 60 different rums and cachacas. Ed had separated the different spirits into their core groups: whites, golds, aged, flavored/spiced, cachacas, and this year saw only 1 rhum agricole and 1 overproof rum (the suspense for who will win the Gold for those categories will not be killing anyone).

The judges were an accomplished group of rum experts from around the U.S., ranging from famous authors to respected bar owners to sommeliers to fantastic bloggers and other who have been reviewing rums and other spirits for years...and some guy that must have compromising photos of Ed or something. It was an impressive group with whom to be seated.

Ed got everyone seated in a room at Arnaud's, and laid out the ground-rules for the tasting. The rules were fairly simple. Nose and taste the rums, write down a score in 4 different categories (aroma, initial taste, body, and finish), and add up the total. Our sheets had spaces for any comments we wanted to make, and we were given another space to specify whether or not we felt the rum was deserving of a gold, silver, or bronze medal. Each scoring category was rated from 0 - 25, adding up to a possible 100 if we found a perfect rum. The only additional rule that Ed supplied was: please do not talk to each other while judging. This was to hopefully prevent the power of suggestion from affecting the final outcome.

We began the day with the flavored/spiced rums, 19 of them in-all. Glasses were laid out on sheets of paper with 1/4 to 1/2 ounce in them, with a number next to each glass. The judges all began the process of nosing and tasting the spirits, which had already filled the room with a fruity perfume due to a problem with the cork covers that Ed had brought to preserve the nose. These being the flavored rums, there was plenty of nose left.

This being my first experience sitting as a tasting judge, I was a tad nervous. The intense, silent focus in the room was reminiscent of taking an important test in school. Martin Cate, from Forbidden Island, had warned me about this the night before, saying, "You'll feel like you're taking your SAT's or something." The only sounds in the room were those of sniffing and the occasional glass clinking.

Every judge seemed to have their own approach to working through the samples. Some nosed all of the glasses first and then rated the noses for the entire group before moving on to the palate, while others worked through a single rum at a time. Most (but not all) judges made use of a spit-cup to prevent intoxication, which could be a real concern with so much spirit on the tables. Between tasting the various samples, judges would cleanse their palates with bottled water and neutral crackers.

After roughly 90 minutes, the judges had all turned in their scoring sheets, and Ed revealed which rums were which numbers. The judges gathered closely around the bar, taking pictures and taking notes on which rums matched their tasting notes and scores. There was a great deal of conversation about the difficulty in judging flavored rums because most of the classical rum characteristics that one looks for are covered with the flavors and spices. Personally I tried to determine what the producer was trying to accomplish (e.g. is this peach or mango?), and then judged by how well I thought their offering demonstrated that desire, or if I could even pinpoint their goal at all.

Following a quick lunch, the judges all filed back in to the room and took their seats in front of a collection of 12 aged and premium rums (followed by a separate rating with a single rhum agricole), and the process was played out in a similar fashion. The rums ranged from well-known and common in the US to rums that are currently not on the market. There were a few surprised looks at the reveal. Blind tasting is very different from what I typically do, and many judges were discussing that in a blind tasting you'll often find that you score your usual favorite rums as the worst and your least favorite rums as the best. Some of that has to do with how your palate changes from hour to hour based on things like what you've eaten or how you feel, and some of it is just the universe making fun of you.

This entire process was played out twice more on Wednesday. In the morning a selection of 18 gold rums was placed in front of the noses and palates of the judges. The reveal followed, and in the afternoon a segmented session first of 7 white/silver/platinum rums, followed by 4 cachacas, and then a single overproof.

After 2 days of drinking rum from 11 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, the judges and their exhausted palates turned in their final scoring sheets and made their way back to the Hotel Monteleone. After dropping off bags and other sundry items, several judges went with Ed Hamilton to Margaritaville (of all places) for ti' punch. Ed makes a fantastic ti' punch, and the people behind the bar had no problem letting him work in front of the bar to make the drinks.

Finally, on Saturday, July 19, The Minsitry of Rum posted the results of the 2008 Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition. Congratulations to all of the medal-winners!

For those of you interested in reading more about this year's Tales of the Cocktail, be sure to check out the group blog: TalesBlog!

Tales of the Cocktail Live Blog: Potions of the Caribbean

Matt Robold — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:36:20 GMT

10:27am - Finally got my wireless working so I won't be using my blazing fast cellphone for this. I don't think there were this many island shirts and straw hats at Jeff Berry's tiki-themed Spirited Dinner. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, Wayne Curtis, Martin Cate, and Stephen Remsberg. Behind the bar toils the entirety of what we've been calling the "Tiki Track" - Rick Stutz (Kaiser Penguin), Craig Herman (Tiki Drinks & Indigo Firmaments), Blair Reynolds (Trader Tiki), and Mrs. Beachbum - while Heather (Tiki Mama) breaks up materials for Martin.

10:35am - I tried to help Heather break up the stuff, and now I'm bleeding and need to see the nurse and call my mommy.

10:36am - Jeff stands up and introduces the rest of the panel and the bartenders, which I've already done, so no need to recap that. On to the slideshow! Jeff breaks out his "laser pointer", which is a fishing spear! I need one of those!

10:38am - Jeff begins to detail the pirate's life in the Caribbean as it related to drinking. Circa 1673, punches had become all the rage, originally from the SubContinent, and invaded the Gulf, where ingredients were eventually replaced with rum and any citrus (instead of only lemon).

10:42am - Jeff reviews the recipe for Meeting House Punch.

4 Barrels of beer (approx. 120 gallons)
24 gallons West Indies Rum
35 New England rum
35 pounds loaf sugar
25 pounds muscavado sugar
465 lemons

10:44am - Apparently, drinking rum from the barrel used to be called "sucking the monkey". Jeff's illustrations are...um...suggestive. This phrase came about because naturalists traveling with sailors would occasionally store samples of taxidermied monkeys in the barrels of spirit on the way home, and you would drink the spirits out with a straw. Similar story for "tapping the admiral."

10:47am - Flash-forward to the 1920's and Don The Beachcomber as we move in to his numerous punches - which had a slight kick to them (he was a fan of 151 rum). His famous Zombie cocktail (actually most of his cocktails) were essentially souped up Planters Punches.

10:50am - Catch up to Prohibition. Time to discuss the famous Sloppy Joe's bar in Havana. The inside of this bar was perhaps the only part of Cuba that any Americans ever saw when they visited. The bar was ridiculously long, and well-stocked. While locals never visited the bar, tourists practically lived there.

Apparently, the Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West is not quite up to snuff. It was opened by a friend of Hemmingway's who was named Joe, and actually decided to plagerize the name of the bar at Earnest's request.

10:55am - Speaking of Hemmingway, here come our La Florida Cocktails:

1 oz Rhum Clement VSOP
1/8 oz Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb
1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth
1/4 oz BOLS White Creme de Cacao
1/8 oz Grenadine
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

10:58am - From Hemmingway to Trader Vick and his tiki creations. He took inspiration from the drinks like the La Florida and tinkered with the concept until he finally came up with our well-known and loved tiki drinks: the mai tai, fogcutter, and scorpion.

11:00am - This just in: Jeffrey Morgenthaler is STILL at the pool. And from there we go to the "Castle Special" from the Castle Harbor Hotel (also known by everyone else in the world as the Mai Tai). Then to the "Lime Tree Cutter" from the Limetree Hotel (fogcutter ripoff), etc. During the boom in tourism in the Caribbean in the '50's, the Hilton resorts essentially ripped off these famous drinks - and then eventually just hired Trader Vick. Of course, the Trader's stint at the Havana Hilton was short-lived, as one Fidel Castro took power in Cuba roughly 5 months later.

11:07am - Wayne Curtis has taken over to talk to us about the various bars in Havana. Wayne, being a real journalist (unlike say....me), was able to go to Cuba for research purposes. He's sharing pictures and stories of his visits to the hotels and clubs that were once the center of the drinking culture in the Western Hemisphere. Apparently things have gone a bit downhill. "I don't care what your political leanings are, [these drinks] are not a good argument for Socialism."

11:10am - Havana reviewed, on to our Rum Pots:

1.5 oz El Dorado 12-year Rum
1/4 oz Fee Brother French Vanilla Syrup
1/2 oz Funkin Passion Fruit Puree
3/4 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Shake well with ice cubes and pour unstrained into a glass.

11:14am - And now we discuss the bane of the tropical drink...the scourge we all know as the Pina Colada - brought to you by Hilton! Of course, the Pina Colada cannot be considered ALL bad. Not that it's good, but it did eventually lead to the Pain Killer. And speaking of good drinks, that brings us to Martin Cate!

11:18am - Martin takes us on a tour of the islands and their various important spices and flavors. He gives us an overview on how the spices and flavors are mixed in to rum punches based on a very simple formula. Everyone say it with us now:

One of Sour
Two of Sweet
Three of Strong
Four of Weak

Congratulations, you can no make your rum punches! Go forth and imbibe!

11:23am - Martin's buried cocktail joke (for pimento dram) had everyone in stitches. I'd try to recount it, but there aren't words. I'm going to beg for a copy of the preso and see if I can post it...or if I'm even luckier someone will have it on video and it'll end up on YouTube.

11:26am - Stephen takes over as the Jasper's Jamaican Cocktail is handed out:

1.25 oz Cruzan Estate Dark Rum
1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 Tsp Fee Brother Rock Candy Syrup

Shake well with ice and strin into a glass. Dust with nutmeg.

11:33am - Stephen's a bit hard to hear, so I've slowed down my updates (which probably makes all of you happy). Jasper's theme in his cocktails was largely that one should be able to taste the rum in their drinks. Not to the point that the rum was overpowering, but at least such that you knew you were drinking rum...as rum drinks should be!

11:37am - Jeff wraps things up with the requisite jab at the drive-thru daiquiri and accepts thunderous applause. More applause now that they're handing out Hubig's New Orleans Style Pies to everyone. Great session. Greatly entertaining and wonderfully informative. If you went to something else, you really missed out.

Cheers!!

Rum Review: Clement V.S.O.P.

Matt Robold — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:21:24 GMT

OK, so maybe I'm a little crazy for trying to squeeze in a rum review the day before I start my Tales of the Cocktail adventure. I've been called worse. Sometimes though, there's just a rum that calls to you...that sits there on your shelf, taunting you, flirting with you with it's curvy bottle and long neck and puppy-dog eyes - whispering to you as you walk past of the sweet nectar inside and the wonderful times you two could have together if you would just take her out. For quite some time now I have been resisting the charms of that pretty little bottle of Clement Rhum V.S.O.P, but I finally had to relent.

I had first met Clement on my maiden visit to a friend's bar, Bourbon Street in Fullerton's SoCo District (that sound you hear is my brother disowning me for calling the area anything other than "Downtown Fullerton"). One of the things I've been enjoying with rum's current resurgence as a spirit of choice is the wider variety and better quality of the selection available at various bars. This being a friend's bar, I seated myself at the bar and did my requisite scan of the stock, prepared to have to give a lengthy speech to John for his lack of a good rum selection. Then she caught my eye...the amber-hued minx behind the bar, winking at me with the promise of great things to come.

I had not yet tried Clement's VSOP offering, and this meant that I could do so without being required to shell out the cash for a whole bottle - that was now completely optional. A one-drink stand, a casual relationship, "we're just friends" were all options, but none ruled out something longer-term. After having a glass or 2...or 4...I picked up a bottle the next day.

Clement Rhum Agricole got its start in 1887 when Homere Clement - then mayor of La Francois (Martinique) - purchased a sugar plantation out of bankruptcy with the goal of converting its focus from the production of sugar to the production of rum. Clement drew his inspiration from the industrious Frenchmen turning grapes into Cognac in the South of France, and thus Rhum Agricole was born (according to the Clement website at least).

V.S.O.P. (Very Special Old Pale - which I doubt is a literal translation of the acronym considering its non-English origins, but let's not get tied up in semantics) is a designation usually reserved for Cognacs. The Clement V.S.O.P. begins life as a white rum (rhum) distilled from the pressings of freshly cut sugar cane. This rum is then placed in French oak barrels for over a year before being moved to charred Bourbon casks for another 3 years of aging, during which the spririt develops additional tannins and its characteristic coloring.

Appearances

The rum is a light amber color in the glass, somewhat like a diffuse honey. Swirled about the glass and then set back down, the spirit holds firm, with legs slowly developing and then moving in a very slow manner back to the bowl. These legs, they walk, they do not run.

Nose

First nosing reveals an alcohol smell up front, followed immediately by strong fruity notes. The scent of green apple is particularly prominent. There's the typical vegetal smell one would expect from a rhum agricole, as well as oak from the time in the various barrels. The nose is earthy and light, with a slight vanilla sweetness.

With the Clement, I did notes on the nose twice for each sitting because the time spent out in the air made such a huge difference. After 5 or 6 minutes in the glass, the nose becomes sweeter and richer. Notes of toffee and toasted almonds seem to materialize out of nowhere.

Palate

There's a bit of a spicy burn on the entry, which I'm noticing seems to be a standard characteristic of the rhum agricoles. There is a lot of flavor here. This is a busy rum. There's almost too much going on to nail anything down.

The taste of the oak is very pronounced - easily the strongest flavor. The vegetal notes that were present in the nose are little more pronounced, while the green apple flavor is more subdued and mingles with the flavor of roasted nuts.

The body has a light, oily quality to it, and carries with it a peppery spice.

After leaving the glass to rest for a bit and updating my nosing notes, I found that the flavor had changed in a similar manner, suddenly imbued with a rich, sugary toffee flavor. I don't know how they do that, but I'm not ruling out voodoo or black magic - and I'm OK with that.

The Long & The Short Of It

This is a specatacular rhum (rum). It's both as delicious as it is versatile, allowing you to enjoy it neat, with an ice cube (or two), in a nice ti'punch, or in a more complex cocktail (although there are those who are even now wincing at my suggestion of such a thing). If you've never had a rhum agricole and you see this sitting on a store shelf (or your friend's liquor cabinet and he's not looking), be sure to grab a bottle, take it home and get to know it.

Dood's Rating: 4 Bottles of Rum Out of 5

Dood's Other Rum Reviews

Tales of the Itinerary

Matt Robold — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:39:57 GMT

It's getting close...so close that I can already taste the gumbo, feel the sticky humidity, and the soothing coolness of the next cocktail in my hand.

That's right, Tales of the Cocktail is nearly upon us. I'm so excited - and so ridiculously busy getting prepared for it - that I can hardly hold still. I'm very eager to get started, to sit in on the numerous sessions, sample the expertly made cocktails and superbly prepared food, and to meet my fellow cocktail and food bloggers. Clothes have already been picked out, bottle carriers prepared, and my itinerary largely planned out.

I say "largely" because there are so many good sessions going on, and many of them simultaneously, that I can't say for certain which session at which time I really want to go to more. I am trying to stick to sessions related to rum and rummy cocktails, but I'll admit that I'm venturing out of my box from time to time...and the temptation to do so more looms very large (one cannot live on rum alone...although I admit I haven't really tried...perhaps that'll be a good experiment for August...).

Anyway, for those of you planning to attend Tales, I figured I'd post my current plans. Also, you may want to check out Chuck Taggart's latest contribution to the Tales Blog, detailing more places to eat than you'll likely have time to visit.

Monday: July 14

Arrive in New Orleans around 11:30 pm. Check in to hotel and sleep. Simple enough.

Tuesday: July 15

11am - 5pm: Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition - I'll be sitting down with several people far better qualified than I to sample and rate various rums. Now accepting bribes for better ratings - please email me and I can give you my PayPal account info...

Wednesday: July 16

11am - 5pm: Ministry of Rum Tasting Competition - the legend continues!!
5pm - 6pm: Collaborative Cocktail Blog Reception - I'll be getting there a little late, depending on when the Tasting Competition wraps up, but I'll be mingling with "more than 30 of the world's most widely read spirits-and-cocktails bloggers" at a cocktail reception being hosted by Cabana Cachaca. I'm still not sure how I got an invite to this...obviously there was a slip-up. Either that or the description should read "more than 30 of the world's most widely read spirits-and-cocktails bloggers, and some guy with a rum fetish."
9:30pm - ?: Save The Daiquiri Party

Thursday: July 17

This is going to be an odd day because this is the day I'm planning on paying a visit to Celebration Distillation (makers of Old New Orleans Rum) for a tour of their facility and a sample or two of their wares. Right now I have no sessions planned for the morning, even though there are several that I would like to see. I'm still trying to figure out how much time I need for the tour and tasting, and what schedule will work best.

On a side note, I was originally going to post a review of the New Orleans Dark rum that I've had on my shelf for some time last week, when it was brought to my attention that they don't even make that rum anymore. So after this trip, I'll be sure to post reviews of everything that they DO make, because I'm bringing it all home with me.
4:30pm - 6pm: Latino Libations - Latino drinks go far beyond tequila shots and frozen margaritas - regardless of what your college roommate tried to tell you.
8pm - 11pm: Spirited Dinners - A tiki-themed dinner hosted by Beachbum Berry and Wayne Curtis and Chef Chris DeBarr? Um, yes please? Check out this ridiculous menu for the night! If I die on this trip, please don't let it be until after this dinner.

Friday: July 18

10am - 12pm: I DON'T KNOW! Brunch Drinks? Amori Amari? Jerry's Kids? This will probably be a last-second decision made based on a combination coin-toss and reading of tea leaves.
12:30pm - 2pm: Rum, Ron, Rhum - I wrote up a preview of this for the Tales Blog way back in April (was it really that long ago?). I mean, c'mon. I think I'm required to attend this session by both Federal Law and religious doctrine.
2:30pm - 4pm: The Three Amigos - This was actually another hard one to decide on. Do I attend this or do I go for the History of Liqueurs & Cordials? Right now I'm leaning towards learning more about the cocktail, the punch, and the sling as the 3 families of spirited drinks.
4:30pm - 6pm: Sensory Perception In Mixology - Another block of time that has me wanting to be in multiple places at once, but I can't pass up Darcy's panel on how and why things taste they way they do. Plus, the idea of finding out if my friend's assertion that I am a "Super Taster" sounds intriguing....assuming that assertion turns out to be correct.
8pm - 11pm: Rum and All That Jazz - A night of good rum and good music. I don't know what could sound better, especially in the Crescent City. Hosted by Cellebration Distillation, this just sounded too good to pass up.

Saturday: July 19

10:30am - 12pm: Potions of the Caribbean - The Bum is at it again, with a panel discussion of tiki and other exotic drinks and the people behind their creation.
2:30pm - 4pm: Cocktail Garnishes - I swear I'm not stalking Jeff Berry...really. I'm not. Stop looking at me like that.
4:30pm - 6pm: Making Your own Cocktail Ingredients - It started with an infusion, then a syrup, and now every time I see some ingredient that I could make, I'm tempted to make it. I figure with this session, my journey towards the Dark Side will be complete.
6pm - 9pm: Tiki Block Party - I don't know that this needs much of a write-up.

Sunday: July 20

10:30am - 12pm: Bartending Techniques 101 - I'm torn here between learning to be a better bartender and seeing people set drinks on fire. It's a tough choice.
12:30pm - 2pm: The Flowing Bowl - Who doesn't love a good bowl of punch?
Rest of the Day: Write and recover

Monday: July 21

Fly home, work a half day, collapse from exhaustion.

I think that pretty much covers it. For those of you attending Tales, I look forward to meeting you. For those of you not attending, I hope you'll follow this and other blogs as we wade through the warm tides of spirits and cocktails. Cheers!

Correction: Hi Time Shipping

Matt Robold — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:54:21 GMT

In my last entry, I made the erroneous claim that Hi Time Wines does not ship to people outside of California. Mea culpa, I was operating without having done sufficient research, and basing my claim on word-of-mouth from a few non-Californians that had lamented that Hi Time didn't ship out of state. Forrest, from Hi Time, informs me however that this is not true, and that you need to check their shipping rules for your own particular state because you may be in one of the lucky states to which they do ship!

So my confusing maze of confusion gets more confusing, but the good news is, more of you can order from Hi Time than I thought before, and trust me when I say that this is a good thing.