Tommy Bahama White Sand

I don't like to sip many white/silver/clear rums but the Tommy Bahama White Sands RUM is pretty good. It's sweet, smells a bit like suntan lotion and generally reminds you of its name (ie. the beach). It has a slight burn on entry and a sweet but light coconut flavor with a hint of charcoal left on the palate. While I wouldn't drink it straight very often it makes for a fine mixing RUM in either a Mojito, a Cuba Libre or a full mixed drink like a Zombie.

Pirates For Jesus!

This might be the greatest album cover of ALL TIME. I simply lose my breath when gazing upon its greatness. The costumes, the netting, the scary children, the even scarrier ventriloquist dummy. Alas, it's not mine...no, I do not own this treasure. I found it on another blog. I guess I will have to continue my quest to attain a copy of this wonder for myself.

Rum Renaissance Results

The results from Rum Renaissance RUM competition are in and "Ministry Of Rum" has posted the medal listings. I am quite surprised at a few of the results including the sheer number of Gold medals issued. I know that there isn't a limit on Gold medals but come on, everything cannot be the best. The reason you have Gold, Silver, Bronze is to distinguish the best of the bunch. Not everything deserves a medal. According to "Ministry of Rum" 44 of 65 RUMs, or 68% of them, received Gold medals. That's simply too many earning Gold.

Some of the "head scratchers" that I noticed included Bacardi Gold received a Bronze medal. How on earth did this win ANY medal? I cannot help but think this was done because Bacardi was a primary sponsor. I also cannot believe that Don Q Cristal got a medal, let along a Silver medal! This stuff is PURE swill. It's not even good enough to be a mixing RUM.

There are a number of medals I agreed on including Gold medals to Tommy Bahama White Sand, Flora de Cana 4yr. Gold, Mt. Gay Extra Old, Cruzan Single Barrel, Cubaney 8 Años Solera Reserva, and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. There are a number of RUMs listed that I've never tried and some I've never heard of. Of these, a couple really peaked my interest including Admiral Rodney (from St. Lucia), Opthimus 25 Años Summa Cum Laude and Batiste Rhum Blanc (St. Barts).

So check-out the results here and review the list yourself.

Carmen Miranda, Busby Berkeley & Esther Williams

So I have been on a Carmen Miranda kick lately. I watched "That Night In Rio" Sunday night and today Netflix sent me the 1943, Busby Berkeley directed musical "The Gangs All Here". TGAH bonus features include a special documentary on Berkeley and his use of dancers, props, choreography, etc. on a MASSIVE scale (see the "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" shot below). The documentary prompted me to seek out other Berkeley movies which led me to Esther Williams..."The Million Dollar Mermaid." While reading more on Williams, I came across this postcard from a Williams movie set built in Cypress Gardens, FL. I thought the image was so cool, I just had to post it. That's Esther holding the skis up front.

Gifted Rums

A friend of mine at Southern Wine & Spirits emailed me an article covering the Rum Renaissance weekend in Miami this past weekend. Over 100 RUMs were available for tasting and it looked like a wonderful weekend. Check out the link above for more information.

The article also included a link to the Rum Tasting organizer's website so I thought I would share it here. Robert Burr, father and son, write for the site sharing lots of great information covering the wonderful world of RUM. You should checkout GiftedRums.com if you have a chance.

Vinyl Kings!

I just saw a short documentary on Paul Mawhinney and his amazing record collection. Over 1 million albums, 1 million singles and 6+ million songs. Paul's nearly 70 and can no longer care for the collection so it is for sale. As of yet, no one had stepped up to aquire the collection who's value has been placed around $50 million but is being sold for $3 million.

Here's the short documentary.

Here's Paul's homepage.

P.S. I had to add this interview also. I don't know who this guy is but he's very odd and a bit creepy. Collecting every record ever made...yikes, you might as well shoot yourself in the head...ain't gonna happen.

P.S.S. I could do this all night long but this clip had to be posted. This is EXACTLY how most vinyl guys are.

Martin Denny's "Quiet Village"

Exotica music consists of a mixture of light jazz, Hawaiian music, percussion, jungle calls, etc. Martin Denny, along with Les Baxter and Arthur Lyman, are considered the Kings of Exotica music. I found this clip last night of Denny's band performing "Quiet Village" on Webley Edward's "Hawaii Calls" program. "Quiet Village" was the biggest Exotica hit ever produced. Watching this clip gives you an understanding of the Exotica sound.