Drink Pink! Have a wild strawberry mojito at The Rum Barrel!

Drink Pink for the cause continues this month at The Rum Barrel! 

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we're serving up Sweet Revenge drink specials all October long. A portion of all proceeds from every Sweet Revenge pour goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

Try the Wild Strawberry Mojito, $8, pictured left. It's your favorite cocktail with Sweet Revenge, a 77 proof wild strawberry sour mash!

Rum Club at The Rum Barrel samples the Rums of Barbados

KEY WEST, Fla. (October 9, 2012) -- Join The Rum Daddy Paul Airtrip and rum connoisseurs from across Key West for FREE rum tastings and FREE cocktail samples of the Best Rums of Barbados with the Rum Barrel's Rum Club on Oct. 9.

From 5:30 p.m. through 8:30 p.m., Rum Club tastings on the Rum Barrel scenic open-air Quarterdeck will feature the lovely Mount Gay Rum Girls, Mount Gay 1703, Cockspur 12 Year, Malibu Black, Mount Gay Extra Old along with classic rums and colas, and cocktail specials.

For the ultimate rum tastings, the best in cane spirits cocktails, and just some plain fun, check out the Rum Barrel Rum Club. Food and drink specials are available during Rum Club meetings. 

Also at The Rum Barrel next week:

• Tuesday, October 9: Bradd Shadduck, acoustic musician, at 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 10: Tony Roberts, Key West singer/songwriter, who plays a mix of folk, reggae and rock, at 7 p.m. 
• Thursday, October 11: Open Mic Jam with guitar blues legend Larry Baeder and Dora at 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, October 12: Jonathan Williams at 7 p.m. 
• Saturday, October 13: Lo Fi's, a three-piece rock band, at 7 p.m.

Taste of the Rum Barrel Rum Bible: Caicos Cooler

2 oz. Rum
1 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Banana Liquor
2 oz. Orange Juice

Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour into cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a pineapple wedge.

Rum Barrel's Hops Review Board convenes Sept. 5

The second meeting of the Rum Barrel Hops Review Board will convene on September 5 at 7 p.m. at the Rum Barrel.

Photo courtesy letspartymagazine.com

The rotating 5- to 7-member panel of Rum Barrel regulars, fans and beer connoisseurs meets every quarter--or three to four months--to decide what bottled beers and beer on-tap will be served at the bar for the next quarter. The panel does blind taste tests on up to a dozen beers and rates each one. The top four or five beers are selected for future serving.

A How-To Guide to Beer Tasting

"We wanted to provide customers with a rotating selection rather than the standard fare because there are a lot of new beers always coming out. We also wanted people to feel part of the process," said bar manager Robbie Riley.

To join next week's panel, leave a comment on the Rum Barrel's Facebook page saying why you'd like to be a panel member. To join upcoming panels, email Robbie Riley at Robbie(at)rumbarrelbar(dot)com with a brief paragraph on why you'd like to be a member.

Taste of the Rum Bible: Castaway

If you're stranded on a desert isle, this would be the cocktail you'd want to have with you. Well, this and water and a tent, food and clothing supplies and a scheduled cruise ship pick-up.

Castaway

CASTAWAY

2 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Banana Liqueur
1 oz. Cream of Coconut

Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.

This drink is taken from the Rum Barrel's Rum Bible, a rum tome compiling a comprehensive listing of the finest rums in the world.


FUN RUM FACT: Although some rum is bottled directly from the still, most rum is aged and then blended before it is bottled for consumption.  Once the spirit is bottled, the aging process is arrested and little change occurs.

Taste of the Rum Bible: White Shark

White Shark drink

WHITE SHARK

2 oz. Light Rum
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Sambuca
2 oz. Cream of Coconut
1 Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream

Blend ingredients with ice until smooth. Pour into a chilled hurricane glass. Dust with coconut shavings.


This drink is taken from the Rum Barrel's Rum Bible, a rum tome compiling a comprehensive listing of the finest rums in the world.

Why Bacardi Reserva Limitada is sort of a big deal

Back in the early days of the Bacardi rum distillery, Maestro de Ron (rum master) Luis Planas created a special blend for the Bacardi family to honor the founder, Don Facundo Bacardi Massó. It was exclusive to the family for generations before it was released in 2003 to celebrate the inauguration of the Bacardi Visitors Centre in Cataño, Puerto Rico, and then to select locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

When Bacardi released it in the U.S. in 2010 as the company's top-of-the-line "founder's blend", there were only 6,000 bottles on the market! It's still a coup to procure a bottle.

Aged and mellowed in lightly-charred American white oak casks for 10-16 years, the deep reddish-gold dark rum has woody aroma and a nose of vanilla, oak and dried fruits with a rich, mellow taste. Rum experts say that it should never be mixed since it is the ultimate expression of Bacardi craftsmanship.

In fact, Bacardi was just awarded the International High Quality Trophy for its Reserva Limitada, among other rums. The prestigious Monde Selection International Institute for Quality Selections presents this honor to a product that has achieved a high quality level for three consecutive years after Grand Gold and Gold Awards.

The bottle may look similar like the Bacardi 8, but it's very different in caliber and cost. It retails for roughly $15 a shot at The Rum Barrel.

Taste of the Rum Bible: Rum Jungle

With four kinds of rum, how can you resist?

RUM JUNGLE

• 1/2 oz. Light Rum
• 1/2 oz. Dark Rum
• 1/2 oz. Coconut Rum
• 1/2 oz. Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
• 2 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 2 oz. Orange Juice

Blend ingredients with ice until smooth. Pour into a chilled goblet. Garnish with a whole banana.

Taste of the Rum Bible: Hurricane Wind

Not to call the real thing on us or anything...

Hurricane Wind

2 oz. Malibu Rum
1 oz. Southern Comfort
1 oz. Mango Nectar
1 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Grenadine

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

A Taste of the Rum Bible: The Dark & Stormy

We're keeping it simple and classic but no less yummy with our Rum Bible recipe this week: the Dark & Stormy.

DARK & STORMY

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 4 oz. Ginger Beer

Instrux:

Pour rum over ice in a Collins glass. Fill glass with ginger beer. Garnish with a lemon wedge.


Got any yummy rum recipes you'd like to share?

Kona Longboard at The Rum Barrel

 

Kona Longboard drafts are now available at The Rum Barrel. w00t!

Rum Barrel featured drink: Pirate's Grog

The word grog originally referred to a drink made with water--or a weak beer--and rum. It was introduced into the Royal Navy by British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon, who wore a coat of Grogham cloth and was nicknamed "Old Grogham" or "Old Grog."

PIRATE'S GROG

2 oz. Light Rum
1 oz. Spiced Rum
2 tbsp. Amaretto
2 tbsp. Grenadine
1 tsp. Lime Juice
1 tsp. Lemon Juice

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker and shake well. Then strain into an old-fashioned glass and garnish with a twist. Enjoy!

A Taste of the Rum Bible: Castaway

Try this puppy for a sweet and yummy summer drink. Imbibe responsibly!

2 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Banana Liqueur
1 oz. Cream of Coconut

1. Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker and shake well.
2. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.

Although some rum is bottled directly from the still, most rum is aged and then blended before it is bottled for consumption. Once the spirit is bottled, the aging process is arrested and little change occurs.

This ain't no ordinary beer

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial I.P.A.

Beer with us for a moment while we brag about the beastly cold Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial I.P.A.s available right out the cooler at the Rum Barrel.

As Dogfish's first continually-hopped beer, it's been called the best IPA in America by Esquire Magazine. What does continually-hopped mean? It's a method that allows for a pungent, but not crushing hop flavor, during the boil. What does that mean? It tastes great!

They also use this appropriately named device called the 'Me So Hoppy' to dry-hop the beer during conditioning. Check out the vid. Then stop by for a brew!