National Rum Day

Here are a few thoughts to celebrate  National Rum Day!

“The only way that I could figure they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life’s most delightful elixirs, which studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum or bourbon in it.”

~ Lewis Grizzard

Rum is a staple here at Da’ Reef, it is the coin of the realm, often used to repay a debt or a thank you for a favor.

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels.

Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies as well as in The Maritimes and Newfoundland. This beverage has famous associations with the Royal Navy (where it was mixed with water or beer to make grog) and piracy (where it was consumed as bumbo). Rum has also served as a popular medium of economic trade, organized crime, and military insurgencies (e.g., the American Revolution and Australia’s Rum Rebellion).

For more on the history of rum click below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum

Rum has been described and celebrated in song and verse through the ages and I have included some of those words of wisdom for you all to ponder.

Pour a glass of your favorite sugar cane juice and toast the day.

“In light rum, there is freedom

in dark rum, there is wisdom

in water there is bacteria

Drink more rum.”

• Ben Franklin

 

 

 

Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest–
…Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest–
…Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”
Louis Stevenson

“The Best ideas come while sipping Rum”
-Pavol Kazimir

“All roads lead to rum.”
-W. C. Fields

“Why is the rum gone”

–Jack Sparrow

 

Rum Quest/Mekhong rum

I know it has been way too long between rum reviews and for that I can only beg your forgiveness.

Believe it or not…  tasting all that rum kind of dulls your senses. Soon everything tastes the same, hence a lack of rum reviews.

Then something new comes along and awakens your senses and tests your taste buds.

This, my friends, is the essence of Mekhong rum,

the Spirit of Thailand.

This spirit is made from 95% sugar cane, (Thailand’s climate helps create some of the best sugar cane in the world) 5% rice and a secret mixture of herbs, spices and caramel.

The alcohol content 35% is low, which according to the distillers, should lead to making better mixed drinks.

The nose on this rum is rewarding and yet it does not yield the flavors hidden in the complex body of this fine spirit.

Now, you are wondering, just what does this  rum taste like?

It tastes like the far east, it tastes like The Smoking Budda, (all you locals know just what I mean!) it tastes like your favorite Thai restaurant, it tastes like this!

There is ginger, toffee, citrus and vanilla on the tongue, a warm smooth finish. When I taste this rum I get a flavor I can only describe as green. Bamboo? Sprouts? Celery? Lemongrass? Who knows? But it sure is interesting.

Check Mekhong’s web site. It is full of information on this very different and tasty rum. Get some if you can, it was not very expensive and certainly worth a try.

A Key West Intermezzo

Gidget & I have returned, begrudgingly, from Key West after spending 6 awesome days filled with great music, terrific tasty food, spectacular sunsets and lots of fun.

We certainly got our Jimmy Buffett on, with visits to Capt. Tony’s saloon, Sloppy Joes, and the Green Parrot. I had a cheeseburger in paradise at Garbo’s grill, a tiny (and I mean tiny) food cart on Caroline St. and of course had a drink at Louie’s Backyard!

The rich history of Key West blends in  nicely as the cruise ships of today can be seen from the tower where the wreckers watched for ship wrecks on the shallow reefs. The business of salvaging goods and lives were key to the area’s economy.

Earnest Hemingway

Hemingway’s home

spent a good part of his life here and Key West helped create his legend, from his home filled with 6 toed cats, to his drinking at Sloppy Joes.

Not all of our travels were spent in bars,  restaurants, and museums, which would not make good journalism for a watersports blog now would it.

The keys are surrounded by nature and we took a stand up paddle eco trip through a mangrove filled bay where we spotted a nurse shark (I knew right away it was a nurse shark from the hat with the red cross on it)

The ecosystem of the mangroves is quite complex and simple at the same time. Our guide, Elio, did a wonderful job in sharing her knowledge with us.

Eco tour from reef warrior on Vimeo.

A sea slug and horse shoe crab were a couple of inhabitants of the area we got to meet close up, but I thought the Cassiopeia jelly fish were the most amazing sight, Thanks to the crew at Geiger Key Paddle Hut for this great experience.

We had hoped to get a few more paddle trips in but the breeze filled in for a couple of days so there was nothing left to do but rent a Hobie cat for an afternoon sail.

A vacation would not be compete with out a quest for local rums, and our quest lead us to Key West’s Legal Rum Distillery http://www.keywestlegalrum.com

The owner is Paul Menta who is a kite sailing, rum loving, waterman as well as a chef and restaurateur.

We tried all the rums available and brought a few home, a proper rum quest review will be fourth coming.

I need to send out one more acknowledgement and thank you to Shana Walsh of The Otherside boardsports.

A great little shop where Gidget bought a new, much-needed windsurf harness, Shana was of great help and answered all our questions. Check it out if you find yourself on Islamorada.

Key West and the Florida Keys are a great place, full of fun adventures and scenery, the natural beauty of the state parks,  from the nite life of Duval St. to the wild chickens of Key West, where if you look hard enough you may find the answer to one on life most perplexing questions, “Why did the chicken cross the road”

why does the chicken cross the road from reef warrior on Vimeo.

 

New Flash! “Minions” join Reef warriors

Yes even the “minions” can’t resist the sprit and culture of the Reef warriors. Welcome to the clan “minions”. Turns out we have a lot in common, and they love Rum too.

National rum day

Happy national rum day Reef Warriors! The greatest day of the year. Time to celebrate the best spirit in the universe and the only spirit to be endorsed by pirates.