rum

AlcoHOLidays | Brazilian Independence Day | The Samba

Sips

Greetings and Salutations! Welcome to our next cocktail series, aptly titled AlcoHOLidays.

See what I did there? Of course you do! After all, you’re incredibly intelligent (I mean, you must be, you read this blog!) and it’s too early to be that far into your cups already, right?

So for this series we’ll be taking a look at holidays from all over, looking into the history a bit for each, and then sharing a drink recipe in honor of the most festive occasion. And if we manage to learn a little something in the process, expand our celebratory horizons if you will, then so be it!

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First up on our calendar–this is just so convenient, I tell ya–is Brazilian Independence Day, today, September 7, and today we get a two-for: I’ll be reviewing a new-to-me sparkling wine (from Brazil, natch) and making a cocktail with it, too.

Independence from What?

Or, should I say, who?

Way back in 1500, Portuguese explorers landed on the coast of what is now Brazil and claimed it for their own. Which, you know, probably didn’t go over all that well with the many indigenous tribes already there, but exploration is not for the faint of heart. Or the overly polite. At least not when expansion is the plan.

The Samba, made with Carnaval Sparkling Moscato, in honor of Brazilian Independence Day

After some political machinations in the interest of Brazil becoming it’s own country (no longer part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves), in 1822 Prince Pedro was named Emperor Pedro I–breaking with the monarchy, but not too much. Dad (King João VI) wasn’t too pleased by this, as is to be expected, and the Independence wars continued through November 1823.

Even still, Independence Day is celebrated on September 7th as that is when Pedro reportedly declared

Hail to the independence, to freedom and to the separation of Brazil.
For my blood, my honor, my God, I swear to give Brazil freedom.
Independence or death!

And We’ll Drink to That!

Like we needed an excuse…

Today’s cocktail comes to us courtesy of Carnaval Brazilian Sparkling Wine.

The Samba

2 Strawberries, hulled (or 1 oz strawberry puree)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Cachaςa*
2 oz Carnaval Sparkling Moscato
Strawberries for garnish

Muddle the strawberries in a mixing glass with the simple syrup and lemon juice. Add in ice and cachaÏ‚a, and shake until you’ve got the rhythm down. Stir in the Sparkling Moscato just until chilled and then strain into a champagne flute. Garnish with a spare strawberry.

*CachaÏ‚a is rum, but distinctly Brazilian. While all rum is made from sugar cane, Caribbean rums are made from what’s leftover after the sugar production process. CachaÏ‚a, on the other hand, is the only rum made from fresh sugar cane juice, giving it a decidedly different profile from it’s rummy brethren.

First let’s talk about the Carnaval Sparkling Moscato on it’s own. It comes in both red and white, with the red more a pink–how appropriate that we were just doing rosés last month, right? We opened the red for this cocktail and it’s light, fruity nose matches quite well with it’s soft pink color. Having been tricked before, though, I was trying not to expect any particular flavor from the wine before tasting it and was rewarded with a lightly sweet, fruity sparkling wine. I have no complaints about this wine and think it would make a wonderful celebratory tipple on it’s own.

But in this drink, what do I think? My first thought was strawberry daiquiri–but better. The cachaÏ‚a over the usual rum gives it a somewhat brighter flavor and, along with that little bit of lemon juice, keeps the drink from being syrupy sweet. I used the muddled strawberry method and really like that it turned a very light pink and had a few tiny bits of berry floating around on the bubbles even after being strained. This is something we’d definitely make again.

And what will we be celebrating next week? You’ll just have to come back and find out!

Cheers!

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I was provided samples of Carnaval Sparkling Moscato for purposes of review. All opinions are my own. Historical information on Brazilian Independence Day was paraphrased from the wikipedia entry on the subject.

Plenty of Rum to Go Around–Happy National Rum Day!

Sips

When I posted the recipe for last month’s Chocolate Cherry Frozen Cocktail I mentioned that I hadn’t tried Cruzan’s vanilla or black cherry rums and, well, the good folks at Cruzan couldn’t let that slide and generously sent me a bottle of the vanilla rum to try out.

Oh, man, am I glad they did!

And it just happened to be in time for National Rum Day, August 16!

Since beginning this blog I’ve been making a concentrated effort to taste more spirits neat–after all, if I’m going to use them as building blocks for the cocktails I design, I need to really understand the properties of each alone before combining them with others. This is not always a pleasant endeavor, as some spirits can have a very hard edge and can be bracing on their own.

That was not the case with the Cruzan Vanilla.

Ho-lee cats, folks, that’s some good rum!

I believe I described it as nirvana in a bottle at dinner with friends the next night (and then invited them all over to give it a try, themselves). No one disagreed, I might add.

First of all, it’s sweet. No big surprise, here, as rum is distilled from sugar cane, but the vanilla addition seems to add to the usual rum-sweet that you’d expect.

Second, it’s smooth. Hard edges? More like puffy clouds of silk–and we’re not talking the slubby dupioni, either!

Third, it mixes well. Almost too well, in fact.

Rum and Coke is an easy mixed drink to order and hard to get wrong, but many times (due to the plethora of hard-edged call-brands at the average ladies’ night) you can tell just how much the bartender liked you by how much bite the drink had. Every now and then I like to enjoy a throw-back drink like the R&C (not really a Cuba Libre since I don’t add the lime), and I thought a Vanilla Rum & Coke might be a nice place to start.

If you like Vanilla Coke, you will adore Cruzan Vanilla Rum and Coke. The combination of the two is sweet, sweet goodness, and this is where the danger comes in: you could go through quite a few of these in an evening and not realize how much you’ve imbibed until you go to stand up and miss the floor.

So, as always, drink responsibly.

After the R&C success, I decided to go with another basic rum drink: the Dark & Stormy. I’m renaming the combination of Ginger Beer and Cruzan Vanilla the White Storm–a light-colored drink that is both sweet and tangy, the vanilla and the ginger balancing each other out so nicely, it’s refreshing and perfect for a hot summer night hanging out with friends.

White Storm

2-2 .5oz Cruzan Vanilla Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
6 oz Ginger Beer (or as needed)

Fill a tall glass 3/4 full with ice and pour each ingredient over the ice, topping it off with the ginger beer (measurement was based on my glass, your glass may very). Stir leisurely until cool. Sip and enjoy.

Feel free to skip the lime juice if you’d prefer an even sweeter experience–the tart from the lime is interesting, true, but I could really take it or leave it.

Todd also suggested Cruzan Vanilla would be amazing in a Hurricane, something we’ll keep in mind for Mardi Gras, and I’m salivating over the thought of it in my Christmas-time Rum Balls this holiday.

Cheers!

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FTC Disclaimer: I was provided a sample of the Cruzan Vanilla Rum for purposes of review. All opinions are entirely my own.

A Hot Way to Cool Down

Sips

Ahh, rum. It was my spirit of choice back when I hit the legal drinking age (no, really, I was a goody two shoes and didn’t drink until I was 21*), probably because I grew up watching Aunt Marie mix Pina Coladas at my grandmother’s wet bar and I just thought that was the life, right there.

(*Except for that Thanksgiving we were in Louisiana and the legal drinking age was still 18. And, when unsure of what to order, my companion said “Order an Amaretto Sour–it’s what I get when I’m driving.”)

Rum and coke, fruity rum libations, rum balls, rum cake… rum and I were friends.

Funny, though, when I look back at the cocktails I’ve created over the last couple of years, not many of them have been rum-based! What’s even more shocking is that I’ve been favoring vodka and gin over my beloved rum, and I used to think vodka was the supreme evil after one disastrous night about 10 years ago. (Truth be told, it wasn’t the vodka’s fault, that night can be chalked up entirely to questionable choices on my part, only alleviated by a guardian angel with the patience of a saint.)

Still, rum and I go way back, which is why this recipe that I was sent on behalf of Cruzan flavored rums sounded worth sharing with y’all, today.

Cruzan Chocolate Covered Cherry Frozen Cocktail CRUZAN® CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY

2 parts Cruzan® Black Cherry Rum
1 part Cruzan® Vanilla Rum
1/2 part Chocolate Syrup
1 part Milk
Splash Grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup of ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled glass drizzled with chocolate sauce. Top with whipped cream and garnish with a cherry.

I’m not usually big on frozen cocktails these days, but even I’m intrigued by this one. And while I haven’t tried Cruzan’s Black Cherry or Vanilla rums, I was certainly pleased with their Pineapple rum back when I was on a Caipirinha kick a couple summer’s ago!

~Cheers!

50 Shots of America–Hawaii

Sips

Pearl Bomber CocktailI suppose, pre-Internet especially but before the media made everyone so altogether global, traveling across country or to a different region could really feel like going someplace different. My own travels leads me to believe that’s not really the case anymore.

Except, perhaps, in Hawaii. (Granted, I’ve never been there myself but I’d be more than willing to undertake a research expedition should someone wish to fund it. Purely scientific discovery, you understand.)

A string of volcanic islands (some still active) and part of the Polynesian Islands, The Aloha State was actually a sovereign nation with a functioning monarchy before we, in our “infinite wisdom” started interfering and changing everything. In 1893 a group of American and European businessmen, calling themselves the “Committee of Safety,” deposed Queen Lili-uokalani, formed a Provisional Government (conveniently containing members of the CoS)  and asked the US to annex them as a territory.

Now the US, for what it’s worth, said ‘uh, no, you really shouldn’t have done that: put it back the way it was.’ The Provisional Government said ‘no, we don’t wanna,’ so the US looks at the matter again (under a new President by now) and basically says, ‘oh, wait, you meant THAT monarchy? Oh, no, you’re totally cool, carry on!’  (Sheesh, this empire building is so confusing!) But it’s cool, you know, because 30 years later we finally apologized for taking over a sovereign nation.

Anyway! After 4 years as an independent republic and 60 years as a territory, Hawaii became our 50th and final (to date) state on August 21, 1959.

Pearl Bomber

3/4 oz Gold Rum
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Banana Liqueur
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake ’em like a Polynesian dancer’s hip tassels. Strain into a chilled double shot glass (or two singles–pineapple is the fruit of hospitality, after all) and get a tropical feel anytime, anywhere.

Most folks know that on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, totally out of the blue. It’s what convinced the US to become involved in WWII. I knew that, but I didn’t realize Hawaii wasn’t even a state, yet, when all that happened.

The reason why it wasn’t a state was the ruling class–planters and banks–liked being able to take advantage of cheap, imported foreign labor to work the sugar cane, pineapple, coffee and other plantations (being a state would mean an end to that). But, when the local-born children of those immigrants–now US citizens–grew up they rose up and wrested control from the Republican powers that be.

But, hey, enough politics!

Have you ever worked in a place that observed Casual Fridays? Well, you have the Hawaiians to thank for that!

Known as Aloha Friday in Hawaii, it refers to the casual wear known as Aloha shirts (we call them, predictable enough, Hawaiian shirts)–acceptable business and formal wear on the islands! But it wasn’t always that way. In the 60s the garment industry led the change to casual wear as business attire for the summer months with the recommendation that employers relax the business attire (suit and tie) regulations on the last day of the week. It spread to California and eventually became the business casual we know and live for.

So throw on your Hawaiian shirt, kick back with a Pearl Bomber and Bombs Away!

~~~oOo~~~

And with that we’ve completed our cocktail tour of the United States! Around the country in 17 months (we took some detours on the way) and what’s next? Well, I do have another series coming up that will start on July 1st. Until then I’ll be wrapping up loose ends on some other projects. But this isn’t the last you’ll hear of our 50 Shots!

Episode 9: I Need a Drink

Podcast

Whether it’s celebrating the new year, starting off the 12th Night celebration or congratulating yourself for getting the mammoth end-of-year to-do list, done, a drink with a kick can do wonders. After all, what we call cordials and liqueurs were once known as restoratives!

As I rambled mentioned on the show, one of my many sites is Sips & Shots, where I create a new cocktail a week and post about other beverage interests from time to time. And if my voice sounds a little rough on the recording, all I can say is it’s a good thing I recorded when I did as I woke up with practically no voice at all the next day!

Now, what you’re really here for, the music:

Pumpkin Pie–Russell Wolff
Alcohol–O Sweet Static
In the Bar Tonight–Dakota
Crazy When She Drinks–Lee Rocker
Sipping Tea–The Gentlemen Callers
Cold Beer–Jeff Ronay
Glass of Wine–The New Autonomous Folksingers
Wine of Her Lips–Billy Bourbon
Vodka Kosovo–On Wave
Martini Time–AirFerg
Ginned Up–John Hughes
Gin & Tonic–Sammy Barker
The Old Black Rum–Great Big Sea
The Saltee Tango–Stoat
Only the Tequila Talking (feat. John Popper)–Lisa Bouchelle
Sweet Tequila–Brain Buckit
Whiskey Time–The Whiskey River Band
Nancy Whisky–Murder the Stout
Drinking Like a Fiddler–Dust Rhinos

And that’s us for another month. Please, everyone, if you do imbibe, don’t be a drunken monkey–use a designated drive, take a cab, or drink at home and do so in moderation.

Fun’s better if you can remember it the next day!