If you’ve paid any attention to the high-end rum world as of late, you’ve no doubt noticed a large upswing in the number of special, limited-edition releases by the major players. Guyana’s El Dorado has a healthy handful of special “finishes” (red wine, white port, Madeira, Sauternes) for their twelve- and fifteen-year mainstays. Mount Gay... Continue Reading →
A welcome outcome from the now decade-long focus on authentic craft cocktails is that many obscure ingredients from dusty cocktail books are now available on store shelves and backbars. American spirits importer Haus Alpenz has been particularly instrumental in reviving obscure ingredients, including Batavia Arrack Van Oosten, an older sibling to Caribbean rum. However, in... Continue Reading →
Tequila is big business these days. Consumers have been bitten by the agave bug, eagerly snapping up spendy bottles that fifty years ago would have been labeled “Mexican brandy.” While there are plenty of big brands (Jose Cuervo, Patrón, Sauza) and celebrity-backed brands (Carlos Santana and Casa Noble, Justin Timberlake and Sauza 901) clamoring for... Continue Reading →
Close your eyes, and image a dark, intense sipping rum, created in a distillery surrounded by vast sugarcane fields and then aged for a decade or longer. Odds are you’re picturing an idyllic Caribbean island like Jamaica or Martinique. You probably weren’t thinking of a coastal valley just fifteen minutes from the Pacific Ocean in... Continue Reading →
July 2015 – Mrs. Wonk and I are seeking respite from the stifling New Orleans heat and humidity at Arnaud’s French 75 bar. Tales of the Cocktail hasn’t flown into full swing yet, so it’s just the two of us at the bar. I spy a bottle on the backbar unlike anything I’ve ever seen... Continue Reading →
Imagine you’ve taken a seat at your friendly neighborhood craft cocktail bar. As you scan the bottles, you see all manner of gins, tequilas, rums, brandies, but only a single bottle labeled “whiskey” – no Scotch, no bourbon, and no rye – just “whiskey.” You opt for a classic Manhattan, made with, of course, whiskey.... Continue Reading →
With the rise of craft spirits, established brands are finding themselves under attack by an army of Lilliputians, all touting their small batch, artisanal, hand-crafted credentials to great effect in influencing the buying public. The big players like Tanqueray aren’t all standing still, however. In addition to their standard lineup (Tanqueray, Tanqueray Rangpur, and Tanqueray... Continue Reading →
Every so often, a press release for a new product jumps off the screen to capture my attention. Such was the case when I read about La Quintinye vermouths, which claim to be the first vermouths made with Pineau des Charentes. Don’t feel too bad if you’re not acquainted with Pineau -- I didn’t know... Continue Reading →
One of the best things about Instagram, assuming you follow the right folks, is see a ton of interesting things you wouldn’t see otherwise know about. Recently on my feed I came across Copacabana Rums. Intrigued, I dug a little and learned they have a single rum at the moment, Copacabana 1940, distributed by Barrio... Continue Reading →
Having recently inventoried and loosely categorized my ever-growing rum collection in a spreadsheet (because that’s what wonks do), it’s no surprise that Jamaican rums are among the best represented on my shelves. Why the love affair with Jamaican rum? Distilleries in Jamaica use “muck”--a big slug of bacteria grown in pits in the ground (stay... Continue Reading →
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