The Kōloa Rum Company operates the first-ever distillery on the Hawaiian island of Kaua`i and produces three rums – white, gold and dark.  Kōloa Rum is made from pure raw crystal sugar from Gay and Robinson, the last plantation to operate on the island, and it’s handcrafted and distilled in small batches in the company’s 1210-gallon, hand-hammered vintage copper pot still.

Back in March, Kōloa won two silvers (for dark and gold) and a bronze award (for white) at the Polished Palate Rum Festival in Ybor City, Florida. Then, in May, Kōloa scored a gold medal for its dark rum at the Rum Renaissance Festival in Miami.  Needless to say, my interest was piqued.

Kōloa Dark Rum is a deep mahogany, and on the nose it gives a bouquet of molasses, vanilla and cola.  Tasted neat, molasses, vanilla and some toffee are present, plus a hint of spice.  It finishes warm and sweet, and overall very smooth, especially impressive for a rum that’s seemingly quite young (there’s no age statement to confirm the exact age).

Mixed into an añejo daiquiri and mai tai, Kōloa worked pretty well. In the daiquiri I adjusted the spirit to lime to sugar proportions to account for Kōloa’s relatively sweet taste.  The result was serviceable, but Kōloa seemed a bit out of place in the daiquiri. It fared better in the mai tai, but generally, I preferred sipping it straight.

All in all, a pretty good rum.  It’s very smooth and easy to sip straight, but powerful enough to stand up in most cocktails. As of now, Kōloa is only available in Hawaii and California, but look for distribution to continue heading eastward.

Stats:
- 40% Alcohol by Volume
- $33

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Nearly all holidays call for a drink.  Take Christmas, July 4th and Arbor Day, for example.  But while these drinking occasions may hide behind Jesus, national independence and trees, respectively, one holiday in particular mans up and makes drinking the sole focus – National Scotch Day.

I’m not sure of National Scotch Day’s origin, but that doesn’t bother me much.  Any holiday that promotes the sweet ambrosia that is whisky is a day worth celebrating.  To commemorate the occasion, I’m uncorking my bottle of The Balvenie Madeira Cask, a limited edition 17-year-old offering from The Balvenie that’s finished in barrels that once held fortified Madeira wine.

With a deep nose of warm spices and dried fruit, plus the taste of sweet vanilla and raisin, it’s a nice way to spend the day.

Broker’s Gin is distilled near Birmingham, England in traditional pot stills, and though Broker’s Gin was created in 1998, its recipe dates back 200 years.  Broker’s is a London dry gin, with the base spirit distilled from English wheat, and it’s crafted with a bevy of herbs, spices and fruits imported from around the world.

On the nose, there’s no mistaking Broker’s for anything but a London Dry style gin. It’s an uncompromising, unapologetic classic gin, with very apparent juniper notes and some citrus.  It adds a bit of cinnamon and coriander to the mix, plus some floral notes, which ups its complexity and results in a pretty pleasant smelling spirit.

Tasted neat, the juniper flavor jumps on your palate, with more citrus and some peppery spice.  The mouth feel is a bit heavy and oily, coating the tongue as the flavors work their way around the mouth. Throughout it all, Broker’s remains very smooth and drinkable.  It finishes very warm and lingers on the tongue with a bit of spice.

Adding a bit of ice tempered the oily texture a bit, and adding a lemon peel brought out more of the gin’s citrus notes.  While the ice-and-lemon-peel variety works well enough, it kills some of the juniper and spice you get when tasting Broker’s neat.

Mixed into a martini, Broker’s Gin holds its own.  While some new western style gins are quite popular these days, for me, nothing makes a martini quite like a London Dry style gin.  To compensate for Broker’s relatively high proof (94), I stirred with ice a bit longer than usual to get the proper dilution.

Overall, Broker’s Gin is a quality spirit.  It’s a gin that shines through in martinis and other classic cocktails and stands up well when mixed with tonic, which, despite its popularity as a gin mixer, often overpowers the spirit entirely.  Plus at only about $20, it’s a hell of a bargain.

Stats:
- London Dry Style
- 47% Alcohol by Volume
- Bottle top adorned with a nice hat
- $20

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F. Paul Pacult is the publisher of Spirit Journal and a recognized expert in the field.  The man tastes eight liquors every morning—when he says his palate is at its best—and has reviewed thousands of spirits in his illustrious, booze-soaked career.  And at Tales of the Cocktail on Thursday, Pacult led a seminar on how to taste spirits.

Before taking a whiff or sip from the six glasses in front of us, Pacult walked us through his tasting process, which includes the following rules:

1. Don’t think too much, and let your senses talk to you. We all eat food, so we already know how to gauge whether or not we like something.
2. Follow the same format each time. This helps to build a memory library from which you can recall spirits at a later date.
3. When possible, taste blind.
4. Identify a spirit by first eliminating what you know it isn’t.
5. Don’t overtax your palate. Pacult tastes no more than eight spirits per day, but this number varies by individual.

Other takeaways from the seminar –

- Pacult thinks that smell is the most powerful sense and resource, and more helpful than taste when evaluating spirits.

- He likes to swirl his glass before taking a sip, but notes that some experts believe this puts out too many aromas at one time.

- Pacult does not like Bluecoat Gin.  At all.

- “The scientific term for Jameson Gold is yummy.”

- “Gin is such a lovely invention. There’s the wheel, and then there’s gin.”

To prep for Wednesday’s start to Tales of the Cocktail, some people rest their livers, while others expedite their demise with some Rusty Nails.  I chose the latter.

The Drambuie: Revisited, Revived & Remixed event at the  Roosevelt Hotel featured the classic Rusty Nail cocktail, plus four modern variations, live jazz and glitzy cocktail servers with big feather hats.  The four Rusty Nail cocktails were created by bartenders from Portland to Milwaukee to New York City, and each took the Rusty Nail base (Scotch and Drambuie) and added ingredients and flavors to form innovative variations, detailed below:

Encrusted Nail – Chad Doll, Milwaukee

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh lemon juice
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Peychaud’s bitters

Rusty Compass – Meaghan Dorman, NYC

Drambuie
Compass Box Peat Monster Scotch
Heering Cherry Liqueur
Orange twist

Southern Nail – Lance Mayhew, Portland

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh-brewed iced tea
Fresh-squeezed lemon

New York Nail – Duane Fernandez, NYC

Drambuie
Dewar’s Scotch
Fresh-squeezed lemon
Ginger syrup
Fresh basil

I recently sat down with Chris “Ludacris” Bridges in Dallas to discuss his cognac, Conjure.  As the majority owner of Conjure, Ludacris went to France in early 2009 to research his new cognac. He spent time with Birkedal Hartmann’s master blender, and the pair used more than 40 types of brandy before deciding upon a combination that reflected the rapper/actor’s taste.

Here’s a sampling of what Ludacris had to say about Conjure:

Q: What got you interested in producing your own cognac?

I’ve been a cognac drinker for a long time.  Louis XIII was pretty much my favorite, so I wanted to make something that was as close to Louis XIII as possible, but for a way more affordable price.

Q. How involved were you in the production process?

I went to France to help handcraft it because I want everybody to feel like they’re part of the experience when they buy a bottle. I’m not just another celebrity attaching my name to something; I’m actually invested in it. It’s one VS, one VSOP and one XO cognac all mixed together. That’s why it’s so smooth. It’s higher quality cognac for a better price.

Q: Who do you imagine drinking your cognac?

Just like my fan base, it’s extremely versatile.  There is no limit.  As I like to say, it’s the "new brown in town."  There’s no one demographic. If I had to say, it’s for the sophisticated, luxurious, innovative individual who’s creative and is not afraid to take a chance on something.

After sampling the cognac neat in a snifter, Ludacris encouraged me to mix it with some pineapple juice and ice. Not normally my thing, but sure. The result was actually pretty good, in a very-drinkable-and-tastes-like-juice kind of way.  As a sipping brandy, I found it too sweet, overly fruity and lacking balance, but it works as a mixing spirit, which is how I imagine most people will consume Conjure. 

Did you know there’s a Secret Sherry Society? Neither did I, but it exists, and among other endeavors, it apparently provides guys like me with sherry cocktail recipes.  From the Society –

The leaders of the Secret Sherry Society selected these drinks through a specific tasting and pairing process. The society, formed by a group of individuals whose primary concern was the artful dissemination of the secrets of their favorite beverage, Sherry, is a lively bunch of Sherry experts that travel around the country sharing their passion for their favorite beverage.

Sherry Margarita

1 ½ oz Dry Sherry
1 oz Tequila
2 oz Fresh Orange Juice
¾ oz Grand Marnier

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glad with ice; shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice. Pairs perfectly with Mexican Tacos.

Delores Park Swizzle

1 oz Amontillado Sherry
1 oz Tequila
¾ oz Ginger Syrup
¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice
¼ oz Velvet Falernum

Top with 4 dashes aromatic Bitters, and garnish lavishly with mint. Serve over crushed ice. Pairs perfectly with Pad Thai.

The Smoked Palomino

2 oz Dry Amontillado Sherry
1 oz Crema De Mezcal
1 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
¾ oz Fresh Lime
½ oz Simple Syrup
¾ oz Club Soda

Add kosher salt to rim of glass, garnish with lime. Pairs perfectly with Jamaican Jerk Chicken.

On June 28th, 12 Miami bartenders competed in Gran Sierpe Pisco’s "Iron Chef" mixology competition.  Contestants were tasked with creating signature Gran Sierpe cocktails using secret ingredients, which ranged from ponzu sauce to chocolate bacon to garlic.  The end result was some weirdly creative cocktails, with DJ Love of Mercadito’s coming out on top.

His winning drinks –

Tahini Surprise (pictured)

Egg white
1 lime, squeezed
1/4 inch scallion, chopped
3/4 oz demerara
1/2 oz Tahini Paste
1 chunk Pineapple
1/2 oz Dolin Blanc
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
2 oz Gran Sierpe Pisco

Combine lime, scallion, demerara, tahini and pineapple; muddle thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients, dry shake.  Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice in old fashioned glass.  Garnish with fresh cut lime twist.

Ponzu Pisco

Egg yolk
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz demerara
1/2 oz Ponzu Sauce
3/4 oz Domaine De Canton
2 oz Gran Sierpe Pisco
3 oz Japanese Beer

Combine all ingredients except beer.  Dry shake.  Shake with ice and strain into champagne flute. Top with beer.  Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg and angostura orange bitters.

Summer is an exciting time, especially for that one guy at your office who waits all winter to break out his seersucker suit. If you work for Congress, you probably wore one too on annual Seersucker Day.  But you don’t have to buy new clothes to hop on this trend – just down a Seersucker Cocktail and you won’t care what you’re wearing.

New York mixologist Brian Miller created the Seersucker cocktail by starting with Flor de Cana rum.  He added cinnamon bark syrup, muddled strawberry and lemon juice to complete the drink.  Served over crushed ice, it’s a nice way to stay cool during the summer months, especially if pin stripes aren’t your thing.

The Seersucker

2 oz. Flor de Caña white rum
1/2 oz. cinnamon bark syrup
1 oz. lemon juice
1 1/2 strawberries

Muddle one strawberry, then shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a pilsner glass with crushed ice. Garnish with ½ strawberry.

According to some new research commissioned by Chivas Brothers, nine out of 10 consumers believe that a whisky’s age statement serves as an indicator of quality. But oddly enough, most of these same consumers don’t understand what an age statement actually means.  The research notes that 90 percent of drinkers don’t realize that an age statement refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle. Nearly half (48%) believe an age statement refers to the average age, while 35% believe it signifies the oldest whisky present.

To combat this lack of public knowledge, Chivas Brothers—whose portfolio includes Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet, and Royal Salute brands—launched a campaign called The Age Matters.  Started July 1, 2010, consumers are encouraged to look for age statements on their whisky bottles and to understand the significance of guaranteeing the product’s age.

By law, all Scotch whisky must be aged for at least three years. Age is important, as much of a whisky’s flavor is due to its time spent maturing in oak casks.  But with many Scotch brands producing expressions differentiated as cask strength, quarter cask, Sherry/Madeira/Rum casks and more, there’s a lot more to a bottle of Scotch than just its age. Plus, older whiskies aren’t necessarily better, a point neglected in the campaign. But that said, I’m all for education when it comes to demystifying spirits for consumers.

Here’s a video of the Age Matters campaign.