Pat Croce’s Rum Barrel the new home of the Key West Gator Club

KEY WEST, Fla. (August 13, 2012) -- The Southernmost Philly sports bar takes on the University of Florida's orange and blue as the new official Key West Gator Club.

Owned by former Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce, the Rum Barrel welcomes the Gator Nation from the Sept. 1 season kick off for the first season game against Bowling Green State University scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with the traditional Rum Barrel tailgate on Front Streetwith free beer and hot dogs in the lead-up to game time.

"We're excited about our new headquarters for southernmost Gator fans," said Greg Oropeza, KWGC president. "We're encouraging all UF alumni, fans, and friends to come out to the Rum Barrel on game days to cheer on the Gators."

Visitors and fans alike can view all University of Florida football games with like-minded allegiance at the Rum Barrel, complete with food and drink specials. A signature Rum Barrel/Key West Gator Club T-shirt will also be available for purchase at the bar, its online shoppe and via the fan club website, events and its members.

"We're very happy to host Key West Gator Club, especially with Island Dogs across the street hosting the Seminoles. It's going be great rivalry--the Front Street battle of college ball," said general manager JC Picco.

The Rum Barrel will team up with the KWGC for the Aug. 26 Conch Cup Golf Tournament between local clubs from the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami.

A new menu, online ordering and Philly game specials!

There's a bunch of new things going on at the Rum Barrel that we had to share with you!


ORDER DELIVERY & PICK-UP ONLINE

Rum Barrel customers can now order food and some sodas online from our new menu and have it delivered or come in to pick it up. How convenient is that?! Here's where to order.


WE'VE LAUNCHED A BRAND SPANKING NEW MENU

And speaking of menus, have you seen our new one? Bet you're wondering what's new and what's no longer on it. Wonder no more!

• Captain Kidd's Crock was replaced with the Chicken Artichoke Dip
• The Balboa is now House Pulled Pork
• We added the Cuban Burger and Asian and Tropical Ribs
• We're no longer serving homemade chips; instead it'll be crinkle cut fries
• We added a mac and cheese side

DRAFT & BUCKET SPECIALS FOR PHILLY GAMES

Look out for draft and bucket specials during Flyers and Sixers games for the rest of their seasons! 

• $2.50 Yuengling Drafts
• $14 Imperial Buckets (5 per bucket on all buckets) 
• $16 Yuengling Light Buckets
• $20 Bud Light Platinum Buckets

SxSe

SxSe tweeps hang out on The Rum Barrel Quarterdeck.
Photo courtesy of Soul of Miami

Last weekend, we hosted a fabulous group of tweeters (that would be Twitter folk) from all over the country, who had their 4th annual SxSe tweet up this year in Key West.

Check out this round-up of their trip/event on Soul of Miami. Looks like they had a blast! So glad we could be part of it!

The Soul of Miami blog post was also linked on South Florida Daily Blog.

Why Key West is a great place to stay on a Florida Keys holiday

Travelbite.co.uk ran a great piece on the perfect Key West holiday. And we couldn't agree more with their recommendation to stop by The Rum Barrel when you're in town.



Photo courtesy Travelbite.co.uk

 Here a taste of what they said:

"After your meal, why not get into the island spirit with a visit to Pat Croce's Rum Barrel, which claims to offer the largest selection of rum in the world?"

And might I add, we do have one of the largest rum selections anywhere... We've seen the stumbles to prove it.

For more tips on other hawt places to visit in Key West, check out the rest of the article HERE.

Lori and Desi's seaside paradise wedding

One of our gorgeous servers Lori held her wedding reception on the Rum Barrel rooftop. Looks like her crew had a blast! Check out her blog post on the wedding adventure here.

Crazy time

Things have been crazy busy on the Rum Barrel deck. One of our top highlights was the recent Key West Songwriters' Festival. Missed Bo Bice? That's OK. We grabbed a shot or 200 of him on-stage...




Bo Bice and crew rock out on the Rum Barrel Quarterdeck

  
and, of course, with the lovely ladies...




Yes, that's me, Kat C., in the middle like a yellow Wednesday!

Then before we could take a breath, Zane Lamprey with HDNet's Drinking Made Easy TV series--"the celebration, education and enjoyment of adult libations"--descended on the Rum Barrel to try out our famous Kill Devil drink for the show.

Here's what @pat_croce tweeted: "Zane, Steve and I just drank Kill Devils at the Rum Barrel. I'm thru!"

They don't call them Kill Devils for nothing! So, yes, there's always something fun going on at the good ole' RB.

Check out our May events calendar for more details!

RB in the press: Delicious Mischief

Journalist, radio host, author and playwright John DeMers has eaten his way through 136 countries, so we're stoked that he choose to Rum Barrel to stop for a rum drink or five and try out our amazing burger. Here's what the host of Delicious Mischief had to say:

"In a bar with more than 160 rums and its own Rum Bible, how do you decide what to drink? Well, if you’re doing a radio show, you sit down with rum guy Alan Gold at the Rum Barrel and taste the afternoon away. On the air, I think we tasted a mere six different rums, with Alan offering intelligent commentaries on each. It was Alan, in fact, who updated and expanded The Rum Bible a few years back when the Rum Barrel got even more serious about its rums.

Photo Credit: John DeMers

"I’m not sure what would qualify as the ultimate “rum cuisine,” but at the Rum Barrel on Front Street, the Original Burger is a mighty good way to address the odd feeling leftover from a rum tasting on a semi-empty stomach. And yes, the potato chips are made right here too. Another signature dish, which I felt duty-bound to sample, was the Philly cheese steak spring rolls, perfect for dipping into a bowl of melted white American cheese."

Thanks, John! Read the rest of his article, A Day of Key West Eating and Drinking.