danimal

&nbsp &nbsp Hi Ed,<br> Ybor was a great event, wasn't it? One Barrel rum won a gold medal, and that was especially nice. What's next, an event in Jamaica?<br>&nbsp <br> &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Dan

A fellow came into the bar and said "give me a good spiced rum", and I replied "Please make up your mind".

Hi Voodoo, I'd recommend juices with the One Barrel. Try something like a punch made with cranberry and orange juice. Tropical juices such as mango and papaya are also worth a try. In the end, only you can decide what tastes good to you, so sit down with a bottle and a few mixers and experiment. Please let me know if you find anything that works for your taste. Dan

Hey Dog, what have you tried so far? One Barel seems to mix well with just about everything that I've tried. Dan

Bill, hats are an important part of the rumrunner's wardrobe. We spend long days in tropical climates with the cruel sun beating down on our noggins. A little portable shade, or "skypiece" as Kinky Friedman would say, is a fine thing to have while standing on a dock somewhere waiting for a shipment of rum to load up. They're also great for deflecting tropical showers. Dan

Hi Ed, there's no good answer for what, exactly, separates a premium from an average rum. It's completely subjective. Ronrico could start calling their mass market rum "premium" tomorrow and who could argue? Who could care less? Not me. There are some inexpensive rums that are very high quality. In my opinion, One Barrel rum is an example of that. Would we call this kind of rum "premium"? The same holds true for expensive rums that are unimpressive. Are these rums premium or just overpriced? Marketing doesn't make a great rum. A fancy bottle might not contain a drinkable rum. A rum that's aged for five years in the tropics might be nasty to drink, while a rum aged at altitude might not become remarkable after seven years. "Premium" is subjective. If I say my rum is premium, it's true. However, it's only true for me. Others are free to disagree. I'll see you in Manhattan at Rumfest. It should be a great time. Dan

Hi Ed, is there any way that we could get this article? Even a condensed version would be Ok. Dan

Hello again, I love a good rum and Coke. That's not something that, as a rum enthusiast, I'm ashamed of. Yes, a shot of good rum is a heavenly thing. Don't get me wrong. But a good rum and Coke is excellent, too. Now, I've often wondered why a rum and Coke tastes so much better in Latin America than it does here in the USA. It turns out that it's the Coke! In the USA, we formulate Coke with "high fructose corn syrup", whereas south of the border they use cane sugar. Well, here in Arizona you can get Mexican Coke, and it makes a much better rum and Coke than the domestic stuff. You can order Mexican Coke at the link below, plus lots of other interesting sodas. Try it. Dan www.popsoda.com

Hello all, 10 Cane is available on the web for US$34. I'll have to try it myself! Dan http://www.hitimewine.net/iStar.asp?a=3&dept=84

<blockquote>Hi Ed, </blockquote>here in Arizona we like cold drinks. I'm a big fan of sitting out by the pool with a frozen drink in my hand. My preference is to pour a drink so cold that it's hard to get the drink out of the blender, since the heat will thaw the ice soon enough. </blockquote> You're right: liquor will dehydrate you quickly. It's smart to keep plenty of water at hand. <blockquote> <blockquote>Dan </blockquote> </blockquote>

Elixer, rum is informal, so there's no right or wrong method of serving it. I like a shot glass or even a wine glass for drinking rum straight. A tall glass for mixed drinks, a short glass for rum-rocks. I've sipped rum from a mug, too. Dan

Ed, it's good to have you back. I was in a bar the other day and they were crushing their own sugarcane. How does the syrup compare against the taste of fresh squeezed? Dan

Hi, I think that cedar is far too porus to be used for ageing rum in the tropice. I've been a cooper in my past, and cedar is great for lots of things but you'd lose too much rum to evaporation if you used cedar barrels. Now, from what I've heard there are cachacas that are aged in barrels made from a local wood. I'd like to try that someday. Dan

Hey Ed, have a good time. You'll find a bottle of One Barrel waiting for you when you get back to the USA. If you write up a review, please send me a copy. Dan

<blockquote> Hi, </blockquote> from what I've read, it's very easy to over-age rums in tropical climates. The aging process is a sum of many chemical reactions, and chemical reactions happen much more quickly at higher temperatures. Aging a rum too long allows the flavors of the wood to overpower the flavors of the rum. Idealy, the flavors are balanced and complement eachother. <blockquote> </blockquote> This is one of the reasons why rums are often blended, so that the flavors can be balanced. Often, a two-year-old rum will be blended with some five-year-old rum, for example. n this way, the distiller can make the rum taste just the way he wants. with the same level of woodieness from batch to batch. The label should indicate the age of the youngest rum in the blend. <blockquote> <blockquote> Dan </blockquote> </blockquote>