New Book Sneak Peek

Though I am busy with work and traveling during the holiday season, I am squeezing in time to write. I have three projects that I am currently working on for December and early 2012.

Today, instead of posting a blog about liquor, beer or wine, I decided to post a sneak peek of a new project that I am working on. The new book is called Booze Hound Prose: Poetry from the Bar Stool. This is a working title and will be my second release in a little over a year. I have been dying to publish again.

The book will include original poetry and toasts along with favorite quotes on drinking based on personal bar sittings, stories I have been told, and travel adventures. I have been plugging along and hope to have it out before Christmas.

Here is a little sneak peek of one of the poems that I wrote this morning and will be included in the book. For those of you that don't know, a "Dram" is a liquid measurement in Scotland. You will often hear locals asking for a "wee dram" of scotch since you will never hear the Scottish order "shots." This loosely translates to around a 1/2 ounce pour in the US. You may think that is not that much, but in Scotland, where you consume high octane scotches around 140-proof, they can catch up.

I hope you enjoy.

Drams by the Bay

I ordered a scotch,

on my pad I did notch,

while drinking drams by the bay.

This chair so supple,

I’ll just have a couple,

while sipping the night away.

I decided to order,

a dram near the border,

my spirits will surly sway.

For I am in Scotland tonight,

tasting notes I do write,

a few more nights I just may.

With a friend I do sit,

we talked for a bit,

where my path ahead does lay.

Haggis before me,

with dram number three,

in this pub for the night we will stay.

I put back the dram,

Happy I am,

While drinking drams by the bay.

Wines for Thanksgiving

Those of you who how me, know that I currently work for a winery called Oyster Bay out of New Zealand. Though I could take this time for a shameless plug for our wines as perfect varietals for Thanksgiving, I will instead introduce you to some others besides our great Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot for the up coming holiday.

A  mix of European and Native traditions, Thanksgiving originated from European festivals that were held before and after the harvest cycles to give thanks for a good harvest. At the same time, Native Americans had also celebrated the end of a harvest season in what is now called America. When Europeans first arrived to the Americas, they brought with them their own harvest festival which celebrated their safe voyage, peace and good harvest.

Today, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Federal legislation in 1941 made this holiday official though this annual tradition has been prevalent in the United States since 1863.

The holiday is often associated with families and friends gathering across a feast table, giving thanks and enjoying dishes from greens and yams to hams and the traditional stuffed turkey. With this white bird you may think of whites wines, but recently reds have found a way to the table to accompany all of the flavours of the season. Here are a couple of wines of interest.

For Starters:

Cava - Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad Brut, NV, 12% ABV (Spain)Only Champagne can come from from France, so other countries have been making sparklers to keep up with the trend. A sparkling wine cleanses the palate and this bottle will surely be the talk of the table with its elegant packaging. This sparkling Chardonnay is straw yellow in colour and has a nose that is lightly smokey, with hints of honey. The palate is strong with dried fruits.

For the Main Course:

Gruner Vetliner – Josef Bauer, 2008, 12% ABV (Australia)For the lighter palate, I offer this value selection which I just tried last night.  This wine goes through stainless steel fermentation, thus creating clean, bright aromas of green apples. The palate is as well energetic and full of  minerally, apple fruit and a little of the classic white pepper associated with most Gruners.

Viognier – White Hall, 2009, 14% ABV (White Hall, VA)In my continued attempt to sway consumers towards Virginia wines and away from the over-oaked California Chardonnays, I offer this alternative. This wine has a nose of peaches and apricots and an intense palate of citrus (orange and grapefruit) with slight spice and a finish of soft vanilla.

Grenache – Writer's Block (Steele), 2009, 14% ABV (Lake County, CA)I am a huge fan of the Writer's Block series and this one is no exception. It's lighter body (compared to their fuller varietals of their Cabernet and Syrah) pairs well with all side dishes at the table including the canned cranberry. This wine has hints of strawberry and cherry on the nose and a lightly spicy finish.

The Ending:

Port – Warre's Otima 10 Year Tawney Port (Porto, Portugal)A perfect ending to a huge meal is always a good glass of wine. Otima is a great port that comes in both 10 and 20 year agings. This wine is full of aromas of almonds, died apricots, cocoa, and rich vanilla from oak barrel aging. It will work well with the spice of a rich pumpkin pie.

The Rum Diary

The Rum Diary was written as a fictional account of the alcoholic endeavors of the writers of the San Juan Star in the late 1950’s. Hunter S. Thompson, wrote the story outline in the early 1960’s at 22-years old, but did not publish his work until 1998. He later cited that this was because politics controlled his life for most of the 60’s and 70’s.

In honor of the screen adaptation of this third novel by Thompson, I have decided to revisit the topic of Rum. Some may remember the post “Rum, Dominos, and Baby Jesus” from January where I go into the history of rum. You can take a look at this post again for more information, but basically Rum is an alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products through a process of fermentation and distillation and is then aged in oak barrels.

The majority of the world's rum production occurs in the Caribbean and Latin America, but is also produced in Australia, Fiji, Mexico, Hawaii, The Philippines, India, Reunion Island, Mauritius, and South Africa.

There are many different grades/qualities of Rum:

Light Rum (called silver or white Rum since they are filtered after fermentation) has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. The majority of Light Rum comes out of Puerto Rico.

Gold Rum (called amber Rum) is medium-bodied Rum that is aged. These gain their dark color from aging in wooden barrels (usually the charred white oak barrels that are the byproduct of Bourbon Whiskey).

Spiced Rum (Rums that obtain their flavor through addition of spices) is significantly darker in color and includes spices such as Cinnamon, Rosemary, Absinthe (aniseed), or Pepper.

Dark Rum (also known as brown Rum, black Rum, or red Rum) is aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum with hints of spices.

Flavored Rum (rums infused with flavors of fruits) come in many varieties such as banana, mango, orange, citrus, coconut or lime. These are generally less than 40% alcohol.

Overproof Rum (rum that is much higher than the standard 40% alcohol) can have an ABV greater than 60%, and some reach as high as 75% to 80% ABV.

Premium Rum (such as with Cognac and Scotch) was created as a market exists for premium and super-premium rums. These are generally boutique brands that sell carefully produced and aged rums.

Here is a list of Swig Knowledge’s Top 5 Rums of the Caribbean:

1.       Mount Gay Rum (Barbados) possesses the oldest surviving deed (1703), making Mount Gay Rum the oldest existing brand of rum in the world. Mount Gay Rum is sold in 66 countries across the world with its primary export market being the United States.  It has a stong bond with the sailing community and is the sponsor of many regattas across the world. Today, Mount Gay  produces: Sugar Cane Brandy, Silver Eclipse, Eclipse Black, Eclipse, Special Reserve, Extra Old, 1703, and a handful of Flavored Rums.

2.       Goslings (Bermuda) was started by James Gosling who set out from England in 1806 bound for America. Instead of going on to America, Gosling landed on Bermuda and in 1824, the company rented out their store front which they still maintain. The company started formulating what would eventually become known as “Black Seal Rum” and holds the trademark for the Dark 'N' Stormy cocktail.

3.       Myers's Rum (Jamaica) is named after the brand founder Fred L Myers. This molasses-derived blend of up to nine Rums has been produced since 1879. The dark rum is commonly used in mixed drinks and is also a common cooking ingredient in food recipes.

4.       Cruzan Rum (U.S. Virgin Islands) was founded in 1760 and has been maintained by the Nelthropp family for eight generations. Today, Cruzan is known for their many flavored Rums and their Overproofed Rum called “Estate Dark” which comes in at 151 proof. The correct pronunciation is "kru-shun".

5.       Don Q (Puerto Rico), named after the legendary Spanish fictional character Don Quixote, was created in 1865 when Juan Colon imported a still which he purchased in France and produced his first few casks of Rum for family and friends.  The Don Q brand began world circulation in 1932 and is responsible pumping $120 million a year back into the Puerto Rican market.

As you can see, I did not include the mass produced Rums such as Bacardi and Captain Morgan (Puerto Rico) or Havana Club (Cuba). Although they are decent quality Rums and contribute to 80% of Rum sales worldwide, I felt that they do not represent the original Rum making process.

Honorable Mention (My favorite Rum right now – not based in the Carribean):

Ron Zacapa Centenario (Guatemala) is a popular premium rum created in 1976 to celebrate the centenary of the foundation of Zacapa, a town in eastern Guatemala.  It is made using the concentrated first pressing sugar cane juice (virgin sugar cane honey) rather than molasses and is aged and blended using a unique aging system traditionally used for sherries. Early Zacapa bottles came in a bottle covered in a “Petate” (a hand-woven matting made from palm leaves which dates from the Mayan period). More recently they feature a band around the middle of the bottle.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to grab a bottle of Rum and find a beach…especially with winter approaching the Northest!