Then there is the rum itself.  These days overproduction, money-saving short cuts, and the marketing world’s love of trying to make every spirit as neutral flavored as vodka by promoting over filtration of taste and smell in the name of the almighty dollar has stolen the very identity of some spirits.  Somewhere along the way someone convinced us that dark is bad, and white is good.  Christ, didn’t we end this discrimination years ago? Didn’t we settle this in the 60′s?

Anyway, rum is a good thing.  It can be made anywhere in the world, and is not as restricted as so many other liquors are making rum a much more varietal opportunity for the distiller and the blender.  Beisdes, most rums are made from molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, so it starts with a recycled product, and that is a good thing.

I do prefer aged, amber rums to silver/white/unaged/blanco rums.  Why?  Becasue so many of these are the very product of what I hounded on before.  They are tasteless, flavorless and uncharacteristic creatures and lost of their predecessors lively distinctive boldness.  Imagine John Wayne versus Justin Beiber.

Back in the day, even clear rums had character.  They stood proud.  I mean American Eagle proud.  Rum after all was the first native spirit of America.  In fact most rums of that day were not aged either other than the rocking trips a barrel would have taken in a ship’s hold or on the back of a wagon.

So, an ingenious idea:  bring back the old clear rum!  And it has been done with Denizen (not to be confused with the jeans line, though I bet they would make a helluva pairing).  Released just last year, Denizen is a magical blend of rums from Trinidad and Jamaica that create a full flavored rum that yes tastes like rum.  The initial nose is sweet like the smell of fresh sugarcane (what a novel idea!), the color is clear, and holds well at 80 proof.

The mouth feel is medium heavy with notes of tropical fruit and sweet.  I do not detect pepper, and the heat is low.  The finish is clean and refreshing.  Now that is a tasty rum.

Denizen is a blend of 5 rums from Trinidad that are aged up to five years then blended with fifteen rums from Jamaica by blenders in Amsterdam, who have been blending rums since 1723 (Jamaican rums as a category tend to have more wight to them than their brothers and sisters of Puerto Rico and St Croix).

Now, I did say this was a clear rum made up of 20 aged rums.  So how is it clear?  The color has been filtered.  Yes I did bash on filtering earlier, but look back and read again.  I said filtering  flavor was bad. While filtering color while not ny most favorite thing, it is just damn near impossible and WAY too expensive to try to do rum in pot stills and mellow fora short time.  We are subjects of our own technological design.  Personally I would love to have a Jeep I could still work on with having to hook it up to a turbo charged  Hewlett-Packard HP-2700 Chromatigragh

So, Denizen, defined from within, an inhabitant.  I suggest you give Denizen a try and give your inner rum lover a treat.  Retailing for under twenty bucks, and far superior to most of its counterparts, trust me when I say you will love this rum and leave the bat behind!

Most of us when thinking about Prohibition tend to think of the big cities  and the stories coming out of them about mobsters and speakeasies.  Precious little is written about the small towns like Santa Fe or the Southwest in general.  So I offer you a few tidbits about Prohibition and Repeal in New Mexico

• In 1917,  over 66% of New Mexicans voted for statewide Prohibition.  This is two years before to 18th amendment took place.
• The Editors and journalists of The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper wrote many articles pushing for Prohibition and favored the Temperance Movement.  During Prohibition they drank at a speakeasy on the end of East Palace Ave.
• The owner of The Santa Fe New Mexican, Bronson Cutting, maintained what was called “the finest wine cellar in the Southest”  throughout Prohibition
• Will Shuester, our famous artist and creator of Zozobra, was a bootlegger.
• It is estimated that there were twelve operation stills with a block of the Plaza.
• The Matador was once a speakeasy
• Al Capone, Chicago’s famous mobster, would sometomes hide out in Santa Fe when the heat was on.  He stayed at Bobcat Bites Ranch (now restaurant)
• Most illegal bars in Santa Fe were in someone’s house
• In 1922, twenty cases of illegal hooch was seized on its way the State Republican Convention
• Santa Feans voted 2768 to 201 to bring back the booze in favor of the 21st amendment
• New Mexico ratified the 21st amendment on November 2, 1933

Belly up to the bar, folks.  Why?  BECAUSE YOU CAN!!!!!

This belief usually comes with drink (or two).  So for the Holiday Season I want to share some very fun, and in some cases very unique drinks that can easily be made at home.  These are all kid as well as grown-up friendly, and a great chance to spend time with the little imps.

A couple years back I did a post on homemade eggnog, which you can get to by clicking the little blue words.  This year I want to pass along several recipes that you can include in your ceremonious celebrations.  First up…..Rompope.

Rompope (rum-po-pay) is Mexican Eggnog, slightly heavier than other flips (spirits, egg, spice) and used quite frequently as a cooking ingredient throughout Central America.  The dates back to around 1607 where Spanish nuns, many from well-to-do fans were sent to The Santa Clara Puebla in Mexico.  And because they were from the high-end of society these nuns( known as La  Claristas) were accustomed to the best foods, and the best drinks along with the knowledge of quality service.  They were often called upon to wait tableside when royalty was in town!  But most importantly, they were great at making sweet treats.  To this day the local nuns still make Rompope for the town.

Here’s what ya need:

• 8 egg yolks
• 6 cups whole milk
• 1 -1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• rum
• cinnamon sticks for garnish

Here’s what ya do.

Grind the almonds to a fine powder.  Beat the egg yolks until completely creamy and yummy (this is the part the younger kids can do).  Heat the milk over medium low heat and add the sugar and ground cinnamon until dissolved.  Add the milk mixture to the almonds while warm(this is a part the older kids can help with).  The temper the milk almond mixute to the eggs slowly!!!!!  Then add about a cup of rum.  Why Rum?  Why not tequila?  Well, I’ll tell ya.  Tequila may be the spirit Mexico is known for, but it wasn’t around in Santa Clara yet.  It actually was just getting its start in the town of Tequila around the same because it is believed that the Spanish bought the distillation process to Central America.   Rum would have been more available in that the Spanish had brought sugar cane to the Caribbean and Americas.  So we use rum.  Good rum.  And I would suggest a Gold even Dark Rum.

Place in the fridge and it’ll keep for about 3 months, though I doubt it will last that long.  Now if you would like the kiddies to have join in,  just leave the rum out and give them the NA version.  Without booze though the shelf life comes down to about 10 days.

To serve simply pour about 6 ounces into your favorite stemware (The kids will love they get these glasses too!) and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

So how then do we use this in a culinary application?  Here ya go……

• Substitute Rompope for the cream in flan
• Use it as the milk in a Tres Leches
• Pour it over berries
• Add it to ice cream
• Add a little to your coffee.
• Make popcicles

Have a happy start to your Holiday celebrations!

This does take a little planning, so start early.

SHOPPING LIST

• I bottle cranberry juice
• 1 bottle Sparking apple cider
• Whole clove
• whole allspice
• 1 orange
• apple, cranberries  or other decorative fruits (optional)
• Booze of choice (we’ll get there in a few)

First make an Ice Mold: get a large container (1/2 a milk jug, Tupperware, plastic jello mold) and fill it 3/4 with water and set in the freezer.  Don’t worry, your turkey should be thawing somewhere else.  Toss a few cranberries and apple slices in there as well to make it decorative.

Next step: In a saute pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of whole allspice, and 1 tablespoon of whole cloves (couple cinnamon stocks is good too) until fragrant.  Meanwhile put 1 container of cranberry juice in a pitcher.  Once the spices are fragrant, toss them into the pitcher.  Take one orange and slice into wheels, nad toss in the pitcher as well.  Now put everything in the fridge til the next day.

Last Step”  When you are ready to serve, pour the contents of the pitcher into a punch bowl, gently add your ice mold, then top with 1/2 a bottle of sparking cider.

But what about the booze?  No worries!  This punch is designed for fun for the whole family. Have the booze to the side (and away from Uncle Jerry) so the kiddos feel included.

What should the booze be:  In this punch I like 1 oz bourbon, and 1/2 oz Southern Comfort (yeah I have one of those stories too, but don;t worry, this is good!).  Brandy is yummy as is Spiced or gold rum.

Wanna see a vid of me making The Scarlet Punch?  SantaFe.com and I have teamed up for a new video series called “Straight Up with the Santa Fe Barman”

I admit, they got under my skin.  And with my blood boiling hot enough to light up a Blue Blazer, I did my best to remain calm on the exterior:  I am in the hospitality business after all.  I also needed to keep my ego in check.  I felt challenged, and not in a curious way but in a way that made me wanted blind side them both with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

I have had some pretty terrible drinks in my life in various bars.  I have seen technique defended to a bartender’s dying breath that was as wrong as two left shoes.  But I have never EVER, pointed it out to the bartender. I sat quietly, did my best to choke down the drink, tipped admirably, and made sure not to order that drink again from them.  If asked, I will chat in conversation, not as instruction.  It would be like walking into the kitchen and correcting a chef’s saute technique.  Insult.

I was wrong in my presentation, however.  I have had many French 75′s in my day.  It was one of the first classics I “learned”, nad shame on me for not pursuing a little more research in this drink.  I am very proud of what I know about cocktails, mixology, and drinking history.  But I am not so proud that I cannot admit when I am wrong.

And in this case I was wrong.

After going back and looking at some research, I discovered that the French 75 is a long drink! Served in a tall glass over ice!  Never knew it.  It had always been served to me chilled in a champagne flute.  Who knew?

Everyone but me apparently  (the two ego boobs asked for it in” um m…what’s it called?  Oh, a ‘martini’ glass.”like BAr X served it (it’s a cocktail glass, sweetheart).

This has sparked a mission for me during the quiet winter months.  I plan on going back to the basics a little.  Running some fundamentals and reminding myself that even and old dawg like me still has plenty of room to learn.

French 75

• 2 oz London Dry Gin
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons simple syrup
• 4-5 oz brut champagne

Shake gin, lemon, and simple syrup with ice and strain into an ice filled collins glass.  Top wth champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

So to all the folks in the past twenty years that I have incorrectly made the French 75, I apologize.  And to the girls that came in last night, I thank you for sparking this post, and my new quest.  Next time please leave the attitude at home with your jaded boyfriends.

The first round competition was held at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino’s Club Warehuse last Sundaty, and the evening had many highlights as the bartenders showed off their talents.  The top 8 bartenders will compete again this Sunday November 13 starting around 2pm at The Eldorado Hotel for a cash prize of $1000!

Here are the Finalists:

Alex Velez, Amavi
Sergio Perez, Luminaria at Inn of the Loretto
Veronica Rae Raffensperger, Eldorado Hotel
Forrest Wynn, Milagro 139
James Reis, Inn of the Anasazi
Melanie Liparulo, Sleeping Dog Tavern
Adrienne Miller, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Todd Walker, Secreto Lounge at Hotel St. Francis
Tony Fiorina, Milagro 139
Dana Luttrell, Tiny’s

Come out and support you favprite Santa Fe Bartenders!  Tickets are acavilable from the Santa Fe Harvest Festival website.

So on to the drink:

Smoked Sage Margarita

• 1 1/2 oz Reposado tequila ( Ilegal Mescal is even better)
• 1 oz orange liqueur
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• smoked salt
• 2-4 semi dried sage leaves

Serralles grew up in the family business, playing around the distillery as a child.  As an adult, he radiates a Willie Wonka-like excitement that illuminates his passion for family, people, and his home of Puerto Rico.  He is a man looking to act on the best decisions for everyone.  I had a chance to speak with Roberto while visiting Destileria Serralles about his operation and what has changed since we chatted last year:

THE AWARDS

Chris:  You are the 6^th generation distiller at Destileria Serralles, maker of Don Q Rums (one of my favorites by the way).  What other products do you make?

Roberto:  Palo Viejo, BlackBeard Spiced Rum, local brands:  Ron Llave and Granado (all aged rum).  For the local market, cane based Nikolai Vodka, cane based Calvert Gin, an entire line of liqueurs.

C:  You left Puerto Rico and pursued a degree in environmental science at the University of Oregon.  What brought you back to the rum business?

R:  Dad called and said the company needed help finding a solution for treating our wastewater, which at the time was around 300,000 gallons of high organic content water.  I started as a consultant on the project and after I finished my dissertation, I moved back to Puerto Rico fulltime.

C:  Congratulations on receiving the 5 Star Diamond Award!  What was that like for you and your family?

R:  Ecstatic!! Very rewarding and fulfilling. It’s great to be recognized as a leader.

C:  Your father, Felix Serralles, was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award:

R:  He was genuinely shocked and at a loss for words (which is unusual).  It was a surprise for him and he was emotionally taken.  His speech captured the whole element of family (once you are in you never get out!) and his recognition of Silvia Santiago (Senior Vice President of Manufacturing) as integral to the creation of Gran Anejo was a nice touch.

C:  We spoke last year about all the sustainability efforts you have created for your family’s distillery.  Is there anyone else who is working on or is operating a sustainable distillery?

R:  A lot are trying….

C:  Are others looking to you for advice on how to make their operations more sustainable?

R:  Yes, I get a lot of calls.

C:  Things have a changed a little since we spoke.  What is happening now and what are you working on for the future?

R:  Since last time we talked, we have expanded our reused water filtration system and we have expanded our industrial composting operations.  These are two critical components of our industrial ecology perspective since the treated water will now be used for any service requirements at the distillery (except for production of rum per se) and for any type of irrigation since it will be colorless.

In the past, the treated water, though clean, still had some color and this limited the types of irrigations that could be used.  Expanding the composting operation will allow us to divert more biomass from ending at our scare landfill spaces on the island.

Next frontier on the path towards sustainability is looking at reducing our footprint with packaging materials. We are researching the introduction of recycled content in our packaging and POS materials. We’re aiming for that to hit the market in late 2012.

C:  Outside of developing a completely sustainable distillery, does Don Q do other things to give back to the community?

R:  We have supported numerous philanthropic entities in PR over the last one and a half centuries.  The main focus of our philanthropic giving revolves around health and education for underprivileged families in the Ponce region (Centro San Francisco y Centro Sister Isolina Ferre, being the two entities we support the most).  We support the arts in Ponce.  I am in the Board of Trustees of the Museo de Arte de Ponce and we support numerous environmental initiatives on the island.  This list is by no means exhaustive as we do a great deal of giving on a yearly basis.

C:  How many people do you employ in Puerto Rico?

R:  600 direct, 900 in-direct

C:  Recently, you invited me to visit the DonQ Rum distillery and I was most impressed with the operation.  What was it like growing up around there?

R:  It was a great place to grow up – my brothers, sister and I had a lot of great hiding spots as children.

C:  In Puerto Rico, everywhere I turn I see the Don Q logo, and DonQ rum is the most popular rum sold here.  In fact, Don Q Gold was the rum used originally in the Pina Colada.  What is happening to increase your presence in the U.S.?

R:  We built an organization Serralles USA and currently have around fifteen employees. We have grown our volume from 40,000 cases in 2008 to 200,000 in 2011.

THE WARS 

C:  What is the Rum Excise Tax Cover –Over?

R:  There’s a federal excise tax of $13.25 for every proof gallon and there are two proof gallons per case.  The amount of the excise tax collected by US Treasury is “covered-over” to the treasury of Puerto Rico and the USVI in the same proportion as the volumes of rum shipped to the USA from the two territories.

 C:  Last year Diageo, the owners of Captain Morgan Rum stuck a deal to move their operation to the US Virgin Islands.  How does that affect you?

R:  It’s a big blow to our capacity and profits… 75% of capacity and 90% of profits.

C:  How did they (Diageo) pull this off?

R:  46% of the total cover over was the offer from the USVI; $60M per year.

C:  How did the US Congress allow this to happen?

R:  Charlie Rangel was “committed to the USVI”; he turned a blind eye to this issue when he was running the Ways & Means Committee.

C:  Do you know of any other examples of this?

R: Not at this scale.

C:  How much does Puerto Rico receive from that tax annually? And how much of that is attributed to sales of Captain Morgan?

R:  PR receives $400M of which $120M is Captain Morgan.

C:  It’s almost seems that the US Government, by not addressing this, is allowing taxes to be used not to their original intent.  Not to mention US tax dollars are being given to a British based business?  How is that legal?

R:  Their rationale is that this part of an economic development program to bring about 50 jobs in the USVI. The program is too loose – lacking in structure.

C:  With the taxes gained by Puerto Rico from the sale of rum moving away, how will this affect budget of Puerto Rico?  What about the people?

R:  This is a massive hit to Puerto Rico’s social programs. The money from the excise tax cover-over program supports funding for schools, hospitals, roads, beaches and parks.

Roberto, thank you for taking some time to speak with me.  I am most impressed with Don Q and all that your company does not only for people but also for the world and all of our future.  Salud!

I have nothing against celebrity endorsement: it has been a part of the industry for years, but I do have a problem with someone acting the way Combs did. Why?  Simple.  Vodka, though it is the number one selling spirit in the world, has a shaky and questionable reputation amidst craft mixologists.  Is has been asked whether vodka is a viable spirit category, and some bars even choose not to carry vodka in response the question of viability.  Personally I have argued in the past that vodka IS useful in many ways.

But then here comes someone with an attitude about his spirit, and gets in someone else’s face for drinking something a rival spirit.  Even if it was a sponsored party (which is wasn’t), and I had been invited, I would have had one drinkof Ciroc….maybe….out of obligation.  But I am not a vodka drinker, and would have switched to something else as well.

Imagine someone standing outside a shop screaming at people for going anywhere else.  Not cool!  Not Good.  Bad image.  And maybe Ciroc wants to go with the bad boy image, but does the spokesman have to act like a child? “If you’re not gonna play MY WAY then I’m not gonna be your friend!”

I hope the Ciroc executives choose to step up like the ESPN execs did with Hank Jr.  It is uncalled for behavior.

Diddy did apologize for his acts via Twitter and did so repeatedly.  I commend him for that.  But I do suggest he make a phone call and personally apologize to those that were directly involved.  I hope he is truly sorry.  Anyone else in any other business would have been fired the next day.

The award ceremony was held at The Museo Del Arte in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I was honored to be a part of the guest list.  Distileria Serralles’ President, Felix Serralles was also honored with A 5 star Diamond Lifetime Achievement Award.  “I am not usually at a loss for words like I am tonight,” says Serralles in his speech,”because this is something completely unexpected.”

In speaking with Roberto Serralles, Vice President of Distileria Serralles,”He (Felix) was genuinely shocked and at a loss for words (which is unusual). It was a surprise for him and he was emotionally taken.  His speech captured the whole element of family (once you are in you never get out!) and his recognition of Silvia (Santiago, VP in charge of manufacturing)) as integral to the creation of Gran Anejo was a nice touch.”

The award couldn’t have come at a better time for the Serralles Family, who have been in operation since 1864.  The Serralles Distillery are the producers of Captain Morgan Rum, at least for the rest of this year.  Diageo, the wold’s largest producer of psirits in the world, has decided to move the production of Captain Morgan to St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

With this move, Puerto Rico will lose approximately $120 million in annual tax revenue generated by the Rum Excise Tax Cover-Over, a tax of $13.50 for each proof gallon of rum sold in the U.S., $13.25 of which is given back  to the territory of origin.

“This is a massive hit to Puerto Rico’s social programs. The money from the excise tax cover-over program supports funding for schools, hospitals, roads, beaches and parks.”, says Serralles.