MOJITOS!!!!!!!!

Mixed up a number of tasty Mojitos tonight with friends over to swim, eat and drink. Two problems though:

1. My limes were aged so their juice was slightly bitter. No problems though I simply tossed in some extra mint and some sweet lime juice and vola', no more lime problems.

2. No soda water. AARRGGHH! I had to use plain tap water. The first few drinks weren't the best but after 2-3 I didn't even notice.

The funnest part of tonight's mojitos...using my Bob Chinn's Crabhouse Mai Tai Tiki Mug.

Fish House Punch

Now this looks like a tasty creation. Apparently it was a favorite of George Washington. Way to rock the RUM, George. Wow, this one takes an ENTIRE BOTTLE of RUM. Now that's some fun drinking. If I have a chance, I might stir some of this up over the July 4th weekend!

I didn't discover this recipe on my own. The Forbidden Island Tiki Bar in Alameda, CA sent out their weekly email and mentioned this one.

Fish House Punch Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (6 to 8 lemons), strained
1 (750-ml) bottle Jamaican amber RUM
12 oz Cognac (1 1/2 cups)
2 oz Peach Brandy (1/4 cup)
Garnish: lemon slices

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.