Angel's Share
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® GotAPRIL 2019 FROM THERum? GraSS TO YOUR GlaSS, SINCE 2001! COOKING WITH RUM - AngEL’S SharE - CIGAR & Rum - MUSE OF MIXOLOGY - RUM HISTORIAN - RUM IN THE NEWS - CocktaiL SciEntiST - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - THE RUM UNIVERSITY 6 10 18 30 36 Got Rum? April 2019 - 2 CONTENTS APRIL 2019 5 FROM THE EDITOR 6-9 THE ANGEL’S SHARE - RUM REVIEWS 10-13 COOKING WITH RUM 14-17 THE RUM UNIVERSITY - FERMENTATION 18-21 THE MUSE OF MIXOLOGY 22-23 THE RUM UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 26-29 THE RUM BIOGRAPHY 30-33 THE RUM HISTORIAN 36-39 THE COcktaIL SCIENTIST 40-43 RUM IN THE NEWS 44-50 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 52-55 CIGAR AND RUM PAIRING 40 44 52 Got Rum? April 2019 - 3 Got Rum?® Printed in the U.S.A. A publication of Rum Runner Press, Inc. Hutto, Texas 78634 - U.S.A. Tel/Fax +1 (855) RUM-TIPS © 2019 by Rum Runner Press, Inc. All rights reserved. April 2019 Editor and Publisher: [email protected] Executive Editor: [email protected] Cigar and Rum: [email protected] Angel’s Share: [email protected] Rum Historian: [email protected] Rum in the News: [email protected] Cooking with Rum: [email protected] Cocktail Scientist: [email protected] Webmaster: [email protected] Director of Photography: [email protected] If you would like to submit news or press releases, please forward them to: [email protected] You can download the free electronic version (low-res) of this magazine, or purchase the high resolution printed version at: WWW.GOTRUM.COM The printed version of “Got Rum?” is produced with FSC-certified paper, which means it is from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources. facebook.com/GotRum @Got_Rum FRONT COVER: Rum & Cola INSIDE SPREAD: Golden Tears of Joy FROM THE EDITOR April Breezes “There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by” William Cullen Bryant American Poet and Journalist April is upon us, wildflowers and warmer mornings are now the norm. Whether you are planning to enjoy the outdoors or to hide from nature for a while (pollen allergies anyone?), April in the American Southern states is pretty on the eye and is one of my most enjoyable times of the year. Q2 also marks the release of some industry reports that I like to keep a close eye on. One of these reports is Impact Databank’s annual Distilled Spirits Hot Brands. The 2018 report is What I find most telling is the very telling: consumers’ preference for mainstream Tequila, some of which is translating • I believe it is the first time in many into rums being aged or finished in ex- years that there are NO rums in the Tequila barrels. top 30 spots. Will this become a solid trend? Author • While Tequila’s top spot comes at Harold “Hal” Borland wrote that “April number 7 (Hornitos), the rest of the is a promise that May is bound to top-30 list is crowded with it! keep.” Only time will tell. The report’s criteria leaves out many Cheers, successful rum brands by design, as it only takes into account established brands with double digit growth in 2016, 2017 and 2018, plus a minimum Luis Ayala, Editor and Publisher 2018 volume of 200,000 9-liter cases. http://www.linkedin.com/in/rumconsultant I know many small/craft brands and private labels are thriving, they are Do you want to learn more about rum but don’t want simply flying under the radar of this to wait until the next issue of “Got Rum?”? Then join the “Rum Lovers Unite!” group on LinkedIn for report. updates, previews, Q&A and exclusive material. Got Rum? April 2019 - 5 THE ANGEL’S SHARE by Paul Senft Havana Club Añejo 3 Años Curiosity, it can get you in trouble, or it can lead to fun discoveries. When exploring rums, curiosity is a driving force behind every product I choose to review. Cuban produced Havana Club rums, often seen as “Forbidden Fruit” in the United States of course would make me curious since so many times I have found that “Forbidden Fruit” is rarely worth the trouble. In our recent travels I was gifted this particular bottle of rum. The rum is created by distilling fermented molasses using a copper lined My name is Paul Senft - Rum Reviewer, column still. The liquid that is created Tasting host, Judge and Writer. My during this process is called aguardiente exploration of Rums began by learning to and is placed in American white oak craft Tiki cocktails for friends. I quickly barrels and aged for two years. The learned that not all rums are created aguardiente is removed from the barrels equally and that the uniqueness of the and filtered before some of it is bottled spirit can be as varied as the locales they are from. This inspired me to travel with and sold; while the rest is blended with my wife around the Caribbean, Central other rums and put back into barrels for America, and United States visiting additional aging. It is my understanding distilleries and learning about how each that this additional aging is the age that one creates their rums. I have also had actually appears on the bottle. The rum the pleasure of learning from bartenders, is blended to 40% ABV and bottled for brand ambassadors, and other enthusiasts from around the world; each one providing local and international sales. their own unique point of view, adding another chapter to the modern story of Appearance rum. The rum label on this product provides The desire to share this information led me the basic information about the product to create www.RumJourney.com where I on the front and back labels. The rum share my experiences and reviews in the has a light straw color in both the bottle hopes that I would inspire others in their and glass. Agitating the liquid creates a own explorations. It is my wish in the pages of “Got Rum?” to be your host and medium band that spins off fast moving provide you with my impressions of rums legs before quickly evaporating, leaving available in the world market. Hopefully a large quantity of pebbles in their wake. my tasting notes will inspire you to try the rums and make your own opinions. The Nose world is full of good rums and the journey is always best experienced with others. The aroma of the rum was full of surprises for me. Nosing the aroma Cheers! reminds me of sweet muscadine wine, Got Rum? April 2019 - 6 toasted coconut, sweet pineapple, fresh cut herbaceous tobacco and ending with a slight note of charred oak. Palate The first sip delivers a rush of sweet fruit, toasted coconut and minerals. Additional sips slow things down and it is easier to define the fruit notes as cooked pineapple, sweet grapes, honey, fresh cut oranges and a zing of lime. There are light undertones of ginger that is highlighted by a hint of black pepper, tobacco leaf, charred oak and minerals that mingle with the fruit flavors in a long pleasant finish. Review This time curiosity paid off in a good way. I enjoyed the complexity of the rum and was quite comfortable sipping it neat. However, it really does shine in traditional classic cocktails as well as other drinks that call for an immature rum. When I think about Donn Beach or Victor Bergeron and their bar teams developing Tiki cocktails back in the 40’s and 50’s; it is easy for me to imagine this being the kind of Cuban rum they were using in their recipes. This is a fun one to experiment with and I will make sure to try and keep a bottle in stock for the bar. I am well aware for the readers outside the U.S. this is probably old news, but for those of us dealing with the ongoing embargo and restricted distribution of Cuban products in America, it is good to know if a product is worth the luggage space. In this case I definitely recommend picking a bottle up on your travels. www.havana-club.com Got Rum? April 2019 - 7 THE ANGEL’S SHARE by Paul Senft Havana Club Añejo Blanco When an established and well known Nose rum company like Bacardi releases a rum line that shares the name of an The aroma of the rum leads with established global brand you know there turbinado sugar, vanilla, with a touch of is more to the story. Havana Club Añejo citrus before the alcohol note dominates Blanco was released to the U.S. market the profile. in 2016 and is reported in the press documents to be based on a recipe that Palate the Arechabala family used in 1934 to create the original Cuban Havana Club Sipping the rum delivers a swirl of product until their rum company was sugary vanilla, pineapple, raisins and nationalized by Fidel Castro’s regime in lime notes. As these settle some light 1960. When the family fled Cuba and mineral notes of salt, sulfur laced char, went into exile, they took the formula and raw alcohol take over and meld with with them. the other flavors in a long finish. What we see on the shelves in the United Review States is Bacardi’s rendition of that product after they purchased the recipe The notes in the rum are combative when from the Arechabala family in 1994.