Barbancourt & Haiti Earthquake

We learned through the Rhum Barbancourt twitter account that the proprietors are safe - but no word on the condition of the distillery. For those seeking to help the country, donate to charities where all the money goes to the victims such as Catholic Charities or Doctors Without Borders. And to help the distillery, purchase a 15 year old Rhum Barbancourt.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Spirits

Most people are aware of the unique and savory beers produced by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery at their Milton Delaware location, but you may not be aware that they distill a line of spirits at their Rehoboth Beach Dogfish Head Distillery. We first learned of this fact during our research on American Rum Distillers. Currently they produce three styles of rum: Brown Honey Rum, Wit Spiced Rhum, and a Dark Rum. The Brown Honey Rum is double-distilled, and then aged in American oak with Wildflower Honey. The Wit Spiced Rhum is triple-distilled and aged with Curacao orange peel and coriander. The Dark Rum is the same as the Brown Honey rum, just not aged with honey.

But rum isn't the only game in town. they also distill a Gin clone, the Dogfish Jin, distilled with several botanicals including pineapple mint, juniper berry, green peppercorn and rosemary. And then there's the vodka. The flagship is the Blue Hen Vodka which is quadruple distilled and then charcoal filtered. For those who like infused varieties, the vodka is also distilled with vanilla, Belgium dark chocolate, blood oranges, mango and even pomegranate.

At the brewpub, customers can sample four combinations so we choose the gin, vodka and two rums, the Brown Honey Rum and the Dark Rum. The latter was not very impressive and actually rather harsh. It didn't have much aroma and the harshness overwhelmed any ability to taste the distilled molasses. The Brown Honey Rum was tamer and I liked the honey finish; but just a little too sweet for my tastes. However, it is a far superior product than the Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon. The best surprises, however, were the gin and vodka. I normally do not care for gin, but the Dogfish Jin displays a nice balance between the spirit and the botanicals. Sometimes the spices overwhelm the product, but not here - this was nicely done. My favorite, however, was the Blue Hen Vodka. This is money. Its extremely smooth - barely any burn. After dampening a little with a couple drops of water, a nice aroma arose and the taste became sweeter and even smoother. I'd have to say this version is on par with the Cold River Vodka from Maine Distilleries. No wonder the guy at the Dewey Beach liquor store said he couldn't keep this in stock. And next time you travel to the brewpub to drink some Midas Touch or Raison D'Etre - remember - there's also an array of spirits available.

Tax Dollars to British distiller for Captain Morgan rum

As a general rule, we feel that any intervention by the government into the wine-beer-spirits industry usually causes more harm for both consumers and producers. And yet, we are left scratching our heads in bewilderment in this one instance in which the federal government is actively trying to assist a spirits producer. According to the Chicago Tribune, the administration is giving London-based Diageo PLC - makers of Captain Morgan - "$2.7 billion in tax breaks in building a state-of-the-art distillery on the island of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands". We have many reasons to doubt the logic of this move.

First of all, Diageo PLC is the world's largest spirits producer and made a $2.62 billion net profit from June 2008 to June 2009. Second, with record deficits, do we really want to subsidize billion dollar companies - talking about corporate welfare. Finally, Captain Morgan is currently produced in Puerto Rico - so its not like the government is trying to entice a company to move production from another country. The company is moving from one U.S. territory to another.

"The Virgin Islands government will finance the new $165 million distillery by issuing bonds... and the estimate it will create 40-70 jobs on the island." Let's do some math, if 70 jobs are created that means they spent $235,714 per job each year for 10 years. On the other hand, the Puerto Rican government claims that their island could lose up to 300 jobs. I have a suggestion, why don't we just let Diageo PLC use portions of their $2.62 billion net profit to finance the move.

American Rum Distillers

While viewing the results of the 2008 International Rum Competition, sponsored by Polished Palate, I was quite surprised to notice that several American companies were awarded medals. I was under the misguided, but probably common belief, that rum wasn’t produced in North America. Upon further research I learned that in fact, there are over a dozen micro-distilleries in the United States crafting several styles of rum from sugar cane.

The history of rum is closely aligned to the history of the Americas. See And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis. In brief, Christopher Columbus introduced sugar cane into the West Indies from cuttings he obtained from the Canary Islands. Sugar production became integrated with the slave trade and it was plantation slaves who first discovered that molasses - the bi-product of sugar cane refinery - could be fermented into alcohol. In some cases, rum is also produced from fermenting pressed sugar cane as is the case in most French speaking Caribbean islands. Eventually the actual production of rum moved to colonial New England, with its abundant supply of skilled artisans (metalworking and cooperage). The rum trade was so vital to the colonial economy that the introduction of the Sugar Act in 1764 was one factor that sparked the American Revolution. However, over the next century grain became cheaper than molasses and simultaneously consumer’s tastes drifted towards grain spirits and beer. In the 20th century, the consumption of rum received an unexpected boost from Prohibition. Consumers headed to Cuba in search of sun and alcohol and discovered Bacardi while at the same time rum runners competed with Canadian whiskeys to supply the underground economy. Today there is a renaissance in the rum market as the versatility of the spirit is displayed in multiple white, dark, spiced, and aged styles. Rum is no longer just an ingredient in daiquiris and mohitos.

There are currently over a dozen American micro distillers producing rum from some form of sugar cane. And in most instances, these craft distillers use only local ingredients – including domestic molasses. The most logical place to start is Hawaii – where sugar cane flourishes as in the Caribbean. On Maui, Braddah Kimo operates Haleakala Distillers - the only licensed distillery operating on the island. Mr. Kimo is a skilled artisan. Not only is he the master distiller, but he also built the entire distilling facility himself. His rum is made using fermented Hawaiian molasses diluted with Maui rainwater, double distilled, and then aged in used Bourbon casks. Haleakala Distillers offers several styles and the Braddah Kimo's Extreme 155 Rum and Maui Dark Rum were awarded silver medals at the 2008 International Rum Competition.

Hawaiian molasses is also distilled on the mainland. Dave Classick - both Sr, and Jr. - use an Alambic Pot Still to distill fermented molasses into rum. Their distillery, Essential Spirits Alambic Distillery, located outside of San Francisco in Mountain View, sells two styles of rum, a Silver and a Gold. Further north in Napa, Charbay Winery & Distillery triple-distills Hawaiian sugar cane syrup in their Alambic Pot Still. They also sell two styles of rum, the platinum Tropical Island’s Cane Rum and the Tahitian Vanilla Bean Rum. The later is “made with our distillers' own extraction of pure beans.”

Elsewhere in the United States, Louisiana is the most likely source of molasses. New Orlean’s Celebration Distillation won several awards at the 2008 International Rum Competition, a gold for their Old New Orleans Crystal Rum, a silver for their Old New Orleans Amber Rum, and a bronze for their Old New Orleans 10 Year Old Rum. As expected the company uses Louisiana grown molasses and then ages the rum in used bourbon casks. Celebration Distillation also uses a custom made distilling system that is a combination of a pot still and column still.

The first legal post-Prohibition distillery to open in Tennessee is best known - not for sour mash whiskey - but for their rum. Prichards' Distillery makes several styles of rum, but the best selling is the Prichards’ Fine Rum. This spirit is made from Louisiana molasses distilled in a copper pot still and then aged in new charred white oak barrels. Their white Crystal Rum is made from the same molasses distilled five times in the copper pot stills. A couple other distilleries that use Louisiana molasses are Triple Eight Distillery (Nantucket) and Tuthilltown Spirits (New York). Another New England rum maker, Newport Distilling Company (Rhode Island), found a different source: Westway Feed in Chicago. Each of these companies age the rum in American oak to create three separate brands: Hurricane Rum, Hudson River Rum, and Thomas Tew Rum.

Both Graham Barnes Distilling and Railean Distillers proudly state that they use only Texas ingredients in their rum. Graham Barnes uses molasses made from Rio Grande Valley sugarcane and a proprietary process that removes several insoluble particles before fermenting. After fermentation, the liquid is distilled using reflux column stills, then blended with filtered Hill Country water, and then double filtered through activated carbon. The finished product is their Treaty Oak Platinum Rum. Railean Distillers is located near Galveston Bay in San Leon – once home to Jean Lafitte and an assortment of other pirates, sailors, and fishermen. The Railean family distills the Texas cane molasses using a Bavarian Holstein copper pot still that the distillery believes creates an” ultra-pure cane spirit”. The Railean White Rum is bottled after diluting with water whereas the Railean Reserve XO is aged in new charred American Oak casks. No used bourbon barrels here. These rums were also entered into the 2008 International Rum Competition and received a silver and bronze respectively.

In the Pacific Northwest, rum is created from an unorthodox source: brown cane sugar. Bardenay Distillery in Boise, Idaho prefers the brown cane sugar since there is more molasses in brown sugar than in processed white sugar. This means that the sugar has a higher mineral composition – basically more nutrients for the yeast to feast on. An added benefit is that the rum is distilled directly inside their restaurant providing a sweet aroma for their patrons. Rogue Distillery and Public House in Portland Oregon follows a similar approach - distilling fermented brown cane sugar.

There are several other rum distillers producing small batch rum not mentioned in more detail. Like those listed above, these craft distillers deserve a look from any interested party. There’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Delaware), Forks of Cheat Winery (West Virginia), New Holland Brewing Company (Michigan), Penobscot Bay Distillery & Brewery (Maine), Charbay Winery & Distillery (California), and Temptryst (Texas). In fact, Temptryst was the most highly awarded distillery at the 2008 International Rum Competition. It will be interesting to view the next few year's results to see if American rum distillers can continue to compete with the traditional sources in the Caribbean and Americas. Or was this just a one-time chance occurrence?

International Rum Championship

On March 27-29, almost 148 sugar-cane based spirits were judged at the 3rd Annual Polished Palate International Rum Festival. Held at the Don Vicente Inn, in the heart of Ybor City, Tampa, this event is the only only such recognized competition for sugar cane-based spirits in the United States. Besides the rum competition, the festival included a dinner and rum tasting on the 27th, the Rum on the Bar B (Q) dinner on the 28th, and the grand tasting on the 29th.

The rums were divided into several categories whereas the cachacas where divided into three categories. Several spirits that we tasted at this year's South Beach Food & Wine Festival did quite well. The Moleca Double Distilled Cachaca won Gold in the Unaged Cachaca category and the Moleca Double Distilled Gold Cachaca won a Silver in the Aged Cacahaca category. The Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum won Gold in the Dark Rum category; the Ron Barcelo Imperial Rum won Best in Category for Rum Aged Less Than 8 Years, and the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum won Best in Category in the Rum Aged 9-15 Years. Here are the results for categories that included a Best of Category:

• White Rum: Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum
• Dark Rum: Temptryst Reserve Rum
• Rum Aged Up To 8 Years: Ron Barcelo Imperial Rum
• Rum Aged Up To 9-15 Years: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum & Pyrat XO Reserve Rum
• Rum Aged +15 Years: Ron Millonario Solera Reserva Especial & Ron Zacapa 23
• Rum Liqueres/Cream: Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur & Santa Teresa Araku Ron Y Coffee Liquer
• Spiced Rum: Montecristo Spiced Rum
• Aged Rhum Agricole: J.M. V.S.O.P Rhum & Madras Rhum
• Rhum Agricole Liqueur: Madreas Prune Liquer
• Flavored Cachaca: Ypioca Red Fruit Cachaca

Washington D.C. Wine & Food Festival - Spirits

In our never ending quest for new and exotic spirits, the Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival delivered brilliantly with two spirits from neighboring South American countries. From Peru, we discovered pisco, a brandy made from grapes. If you've never heard of this spirit, don't be disappointed, Pisco Ku is the first pisco sold in the United States and has only been available for the past three weeks. This brandy is made from a blend of several indigenous grapes which means its made in the Acholado (Half-breed) style. Pisco made from a single grape variety is called Pure, whereas pisco made from the muscat grape is called Aromatic. Ten pounds of grapes are used to make a single bottle. The Pisco Ku is similar to grappa but without the tannic finish. That is because only the grape must is fermented; the stems and skins which are included in Italian and Chilean grappa must are removed. The result - a spirit that is extremely smooth like a good Vodka, but with a slight grapey flavor similar to grappa. Another interested note about pisco is that by Peruvian law, pisco must be made to proof in a single distillation - i.e. the fermenting grape juice must be distilled exactly at 40 proof the first time - no second or third distillations are permitted.Plus no additives may be added to the pisco that could alter its flavor, odor, appearance or, of course, alcoholic proof. Pisco Ku is marketing their brand as an alternative to Vodka - suggesting it as a mixer with orange juice, cranberry juice, or lemons. I think it's perfect neat or I plan to try it how I like my grappa, adding it to an espresso.




The second discovery comes from neighboring Ecuador and is a brand of rum: Zhumir Seco Soave and Zhumir Aguardiente. Each brand is made from a different rum making style. The Seco Soave is made in the traditional fashion, by turning the sugar cane into molasses and then distilling the syrup. The Aguardiente is made by distilling the sugar cane juice directly and reminded me a little of cachaca. Even though neither are aged in wood - they are smooth and ready for sipping. The most popular brand on Saturday was their pre-mixed Zhumir Pina Colada and on Sunday their flavored Zhumir Limon - the Aguardiente mixed with lime juice. We went a step further with a few daring souls and mixed the Pina Colada with the neighboring Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur Liquor that we discovered in south beach the previous weekend. Now that was a cocktail.

The next step is to determine if these brands are the best spirits Peru and Ecuador have to offer........possibly the Zhumir Reposado Reserva Especial or Zhumir Reposado.

8th Annual Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival

We were fortunate to count ourselves among the 35,000 attendees to the 8^th Annual Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival. We participated in the Friday Trade Tasting and the Saturday General Tasting. There were hundreds of different types of wine, beer, and spirits to taste as well as cooking classes given by the Food Network’s personalities. Even though the festival runs over four days and nights – there is still not enough time to adequately attend each event. This year we once again chose to spend the majority of our time experiencing the amazing wines and spirits; and sadly we did not witness any of the cooking demonstrations. On Friday we allocated our time to tasting red wines from the United States and France and on Saturday, we spent the day tasting white wines, sparkling wine, and spirits. And as a disclaimer, we probably tasted only a third of the wines and spirits poured at the festival and those mentioned below are just a subset of the wines we enjoyed. And remember, in all cases - trust your own palate.

One of the first wines we tasted was a new brand from Seven Daughters, their red and white blends. Each wine consists of 7 types of grapes, hence the name, and is marketing to the value consumers –the wine are priced near $15/bottle. The red is majority Merlot with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Syrah, Carignane, and Sangiovese. If you think this blend different, the white consists of Chardonnay, Symphony, Riesling, Orange Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and French Colombard. These blends are rather unique. We followed that with a few more traditional wines and found great merlots and cabs from Beaulieu Vineyard, Sterling Vineyards, Bedell Cellars, and Trefethen Vineyards. At Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards we discovered their 2004 Grand Detour Pinot Noir which was very similar to our favorite Oregon pinot, the 2006 Pinot Noir from Cubanisimo Vineyards. Our friends at Cubanisimo were also pouring an excellent rose and we listened to trade customers inform the Collada family how fast their wines fly off the shelf. Cubanisimo is also a favorite on the many cruise ships departing Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Of the Zinfandel wines we tasted the 2003 Geyserville from Ridge Vineyards (Santa Cruz) stood out. This wine is a blend of 76% zinfandel, 18% carignane, and 6% petite sirah. From Washington State we liked the 2002 Col Solare Red Blend made from Woodinville’s Col Solare Wines. This is a Bordeaux styled blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot had was both smooth with texture. Another Bordeaux-styled wine was poured by Walla Walla’s Spring Valley Vineyard, their 2003 Uriah. This wine is predominately merlot and is incredibly smooth and flavorful.

Luckily a few Bordeaux wineries participated in the festival and two of the best were from Chateau Lascombes, their 2004 (50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot) and 2005 (52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot). Both wines were amazing, but both in their own way. The 2004 was a lighter with more texture while the 2005 was fruitier and spicier. And winemaker, Dominique Befve, was present to inform us how this Margaux winery is becoming one of the regions top wine producers. From the Médoc region, we enjoyed the Chateau Greysac Medoc 2003 and the neighboring Château Larose-Trintaudon Haut-Médoc 2003. Both wines retail for less than $20 and show once again that there are affordable Bordeaux wines. You just got to find them. The final wine we’d like to note came from across and down the river, the Château Simard St. Emilion 1998. This wine is released after having aged 10 years in the bottle after fermenting in stainless steel. With this wine, you don’t need to wait to see how a wine ages, and at $30 you don’t pay for it. We left Friday’s tasting a little early in order to interview barbecue champion Chris Lilly – which is posted below.

We started Saturday by tasting white wines and started with one I noticed the previous day, Maison Trimbach, a winery that has been making wines in Alsace since 1626. The French Alsace region is the home of excellent Riesling that the American public normally associates with Germany. We tasted their Gewurztraminer which is made dry with a slight spicy finish and the Riesling “Reserve” – a classic grand cru wine. Both wines are perfect beach wines. Napa’s Trefethen Vineyards also produces a good riesling, the 2006 Estate Dry Riesling. This wine is very refreshing with a citrus\ green apple flavor with a nice acidic finish. We found two very good chardonnays, the classic Grgich Hills Cellar Napa Valley Estate Grown and Oregon’s Domaine Drouhin’s 2006 Chardonnay Arthur. Both wines are crisp and fruity with slight hints of oak that give texture but not butter. We found a good Sauvignon Blanc with Mendocino’s Parducci Wine Cellars. Their 2006 Sauvignon Blanc has a lemon and pineapple flavor with a very refreshing acidic finish. A similar wine, and perhaps our favorite white, was the classic Bordeaux blend from Yountville’s Cosentino Winery and their 2006 Cosentino The Novelist. This wine is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon that is partially fermented is French Oak barrels. This wine is similar to the other Sauvignon Blancs with citrus flavors and an acidic finish, but this wine has a stronger floral aroma and more texture and feeling. The wine is also reasonably priced at under $20.

Of the sparkling wines we tasted two California wineries stood out. Napa Valley’s Mumm Napa was pouring two sparklers, their Blanc de Noirs and Brut Prestige. The rosé Blanc de Noirs is made primarily from Pinot Noir grapes where the grape’s skins are removed quickly to produce the pink color but retain the fruit flavor. The Brut Prestige is primarily Chardonnay and is much drier but with similar structure. Both are great value wines, priced below $20. Sonoma’s Gloria Ferrer Winery was also pouring their Blanc de Noirs as well as their 2000 Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvée. The cuvee has a little more Chardonnay than the Blanc de Noirs and is aged 6 years on the yeast. We had an interesting conversation with two wine experts while drinking this sparkler that showed that even educated consumers have different tastes. One preferred the Cuvée whereas the other preferred the Spanish Segura Viudas - one was too carbonated – the other too one-dimensional and their exchange was worth videoing – maybe next time.

Turning to spirits, one of the first we tried is one making a comeback in this country, absinthe, this one produced by Lucid. Absinthe was first commercialized in the early 1800's and is made from various herbs such as Green Anise and Sweet Fennel and the Grande Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). This gives the liquor a black licorice taste. The spirit mixed with water poured over a sugar cube which accents the black licorice taste. Another favorite was the Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur Liquor, made from aged Virgin Island rum, Dutch cream, Black Tea from India, other spirits from Holland, and several Asian spices. This concoction is delicious over ice or used in as in ingredient in the Chai Coloda – basically the Chai Cream, Cream of Coconut and pineapple juice. This is the taste of South Beach. The next spirit was the Cachaça Moleca, think of cachaca as the Brazilian form of rum with a slight tequila flavor. Moleca produces two versions, a Silver which is used as a mixer (simply lime and sugar is our favorite) and the Gold sipping cachaca. The Gold is fabulous - aged three years in oak and extremely smooth with a slight wood flavor. This is as good as any expensive sipping rum and will be a regular at our home bar.

Speaking of rum, we tried several excellent brands and four stand out. The Ron Barceló IMPERIAL has been made in the Dominican Republic since 1929 and is a smooth sipping rum. According to its literature, it was selected as “The Best Rum in the World” by the Beverage Institute of Chicago in both 2000 and 2001. It reached the highest qualification (97/100) never before awarded to a rum by the Institute, after calling it “a superb world-class drink”. Next was the Flor De Caña, a Nicaraguan rum made by the same family since 1937. Our two favorites were the 12 year old Centemario and the Limited Edition Centemario 21 – aged 15 years. One of the best is the Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, from Venezuela. This dark brown rum has hints of vanilla and a slight toffee finish; and very smooth. Our favorite was Vizcaya, a Dominican Republic rum made from the Cuban tradition where the rum is produced directly from sugar cane juice, instead of converting the sugar first to molasses. The Cuban family responsible for Vizcaya has been making rum in Cuba since the early 1820’s but was forced out after Castro nationalized people’s assets. This rum is smooth and slightly sweet with honey flavors and a vanilla finish.





As you can see from our commentary – the Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival provides an excellent opportunity to sample extraordinary wines, spirits, and food. Next year we plan to spend a little more time in the cooking demonstrations and we thank Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Robin Insley Associates for giving as an opportunity to cover this event. And to see how much fun you can have next year, watch the video below.

Update: We apologize for the lack of audio for the videos. We tried to imitate our good friend Dezel at My Virginia Vine Spot and interview attendees, but after reading the manual for our cheap digital camera, we learned that it does not record audio. Time for a new camera.