Barbados is often referred to as the Birthplace of Rum. You can make the case for cane spirits appearing elsewhere before Barbados–for example, in Brazil a century or so earlier, or even in India–but Caribbean rum as we know it today is considered to have started in Barbados, before spreading rapidly to other islands.
Author: mpietrek
UK RumFest 2018 in Photos
The 2018 UK RumFest, back for its 12 iteration, once again brought together a stellar array of rum brands, industry leaders and hyper-enthusiasts to celebrate all things rum.
Clairin Casimir’s U.S. Recall – A Deeper Look
On October 10, 2018, the New York State Liquor Authority caused a stir within the cane spirits community. The subject: A press release regarding Clairin Casimir, distilled in Haiti and imported to the U.S. by La Maison & Velier, is being voluntarily recalled due to the presence of lead. If you’re a clairin consumer, this naturally might be a cause for concern. Below, I’ve assembled some background information which helps put this recall into a broader context.
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American Single Malt – The Next Great American Whiskey
When it comes to whiskey, most imbibers assume that categories like bourbon, single malt Scotch and Irish whiskey have been around since the dawn of time. However, the official, legal recognition of these categories is a relatively recent phenomenon. If you were to go back to 1950 to survey the global whiskey market, you wouldn’t find single malt Scotch whisky for sale. However, you might be surprised to find Mexican and Canadian “bourbon” on the shelf.
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Two Centuries in a Bottle: Drinking the Harewood House 1780 Rum
Every camera in the room is trained on a lone man struggling to open a rather plain brown glass bottle, unlabeled except for a paper tag around its neck. The red wax sealing the neck is not giving way easily to his run of the mill corkscrew. Sukhinder Singh, co-owner of The Whiskey Exchange, has opened countless rare and historic bottles in his time, but this bottle of obviously very old bottle is vexing him.
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California Rum Festival 2018 In Pictures
The 2018 edition of the California Rum Festival saw the four-year old-event hitting its stride. Held in the Soma Arts building for the third year running, many of the prior year’s small kinks were absent. People lined up around the block to get in, good rum flowed, and the international rum family joyously celebrated together–before, during, and after.