Rum Quest month week 2 —–Cane and Abe

Today we sample  Cane and Abe freshwater rum from the good old U.S. of A.

Distilled in Madison Wisconsin,  made from brown sugar from home-grown sugar beets, and aged in american oak barrels this rum was a pleasant surprise.

American Still Life goes into great detail sharing the story of this small distillery in the article  “‘From Garage to Greatness’

A sugary, sweet nose, fair rum legs, and a honey gold hue.

Smooth, smokey,oak from the barrel taste combines with sweet,sweet honey. This rum has a clean, but slightly sour/oily finish often found with pot stilled rums.

A delightful sipping rum to keep on your top shelf.

Rum Quest Month special Mardi Gras edition

Old New Orleans Cajun spiced rum New Orleans, Louisiana

Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are in full swing and I am sure plenty of this rum is being consumed, as liquid courage helping the shy girls to earn some beads.

Before I get off track  dreaming of girls earning  beads, let’s try this unique rum, made from black strap molasses and aged in oak bourbon barrels.

The nose is warm and spicy.

The taste is also warm with spice, lots and lots of spice.

Cinnamon and pepper (cayenne?) are up front and very noticeable, followed by

nutmeg and ginger. The taste is similar to a stick of Big Red Gum. Only better because it is RUM not gum.

The smooth finish is warm and spicy with a hint of pepper.

This is everything a spice rum should be, Keep it on your top shelf for sipping and on your bar shelf to make some great mixed drinks.

CASEY’S TAKE: Cajun Spice is my favorite Spiced Rum of them all, By far! Sip it, mix it. It does everything. Especially in the winter! it warms ya up just right. Make sure ya get 2 bottles, cause the first one won’t last long!

February is Rum Quest month

February has many small holidays, Ground-hog day, Fat Tuesday,  Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s day and President’s day, but this year I am declaring it RUM QUEST MONTH.

With the lake freezing (for the 1st time in a couple of years) and 2013 well under way it is again time to share some rum.

For Christmas, I was sent a bottle of Homere’ Clemente Rhum, from Martinique.

http://www.rhumclementusa.com/cuvee_homere.htm

In the past, we have not been fans of these types of rums (rhums).  Although Rhum Barbancourt Estate Reserve did change our minds and open our horizons.    https://reefwarriors.wordpress.com/category/rum/barbancourt-estate-reserve/    The rhum agricole distillation process http://www.rhum-agricole.net/site/en/gen_agri_indus often has disappointed our taste buds, but not this time!

Homere’ Clement is considered the father of the rhum agricole process and a true genius. http://rhumclementusa.com/verification.php

http://www.spiritsforamerica.com/products_rhum.htm

Many of the rums we have tried over the past few years have had subtle, hidden qualities about them, searching these out was pure wonder and enjoyment.

This rhum is anything but subtle!!! From the dark amber color that fill your glass, to the sweet rich nose, your senses are awakened. The 1st sip slaps you across the taste buds with hints of sweetness from caramelized fruit and oak. There is an ashy, smokiness up front as well but not over powering like a scotch. There may even be hints of tobacco or leather. A dry but smooth finish. This is  a very pleasant wonderful surprise.

This is a top shelf rhum.

Full disclosure, my sister, Janet, sent this rhum as a  Christmas gift. She has now moved up on my list as my favorite sister Janet. Thanks sis!!!!

Later this month,

Cane and Abe

Dos Maderas 5+5 and 3+5

Diplomatico Ambassador

The Night before Christmas………Reef Warrior style

T’was the night before Christmas and all along the beach,

not a sail was fluttering, not from luff to leach.

 

The Reef Warriors were all snug in their beds,

while visions of new gear danced in their heads.

 

Our boards were all stacked up safe from a storm,

while inside we were all cozy and warm.

 

MoonDoggie and Possum sitting comfy on their bums

were enjoying the taste of some really fine rums.

 

When out on the Reef the wind rose in a clatter.

I looked to the wreck to see what was the matter.

 

Out on the lake I saw in disbelief,

Waterman Santa surfing the reef.

 

He sailed like Naish, like Laird he did surf,

making Lake Erie seem like his home turf.

 

He smacked the lip with such authority and grace.

He even put a smile on MoonDoggie’s face.

 

He came through the shore break an old Hobie for a sleigh

so loaded with goodies it filled up the bay.

 

His toes were all gnarly

his nose bent and broke

despite all his scars

his eyes showed pure stoke.

 

Some call him “St Nick”

Some call him “Kris Kringle”

Possum thought to herself

“I wonder if he is single?”

 

Then what to my wondering eyes did appear,

were 8 new boards and lots of new gear.

 

A twin fin

a quad

a SUP board or two

a skinny mast

a folding boom

a quiver of sails 

all brand spankin’ new.

 

On to the deck he unloaded the swag,

a harness, a paddle, a brand new board bag.

 

When he finished his task he grabbed up his rig

 and caught a great ramp that was real freakin’ big.

(alternate verse for our kite friends)

With a pat on his head I helped launch his kite,

as he sailed away he got a jump of tremendous height.

 

The winter swell brought the Christmas Yule tide

And over the white caps Waterman Santa did ride.

I heard him exclaim as he sailed out of sight,

Merry Christmas,

Hit the Lip

and

to All a Good Night!

 

Happy Holidays from Casey and Lou

Reef Warrior gift guide

While Casey has been reviewing sails, https://reefwarriors.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/naish-chopper-review/

boards, https://reefwarriors.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/118-wind-sup-rocks/

https://reefwarriors.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/new-toys-2013-puretwister/

and wetsuits, https://reefwarriors.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/drysuit-vs-wetsuit/

for you to add to your holiday wish list .

I just want to pass on some suggestions for those of us who won’t be restocking the gear quiver this year.

Here are  a few good gift ideas for the reef warrior on your list.

Videos:

There are many cold winter days and nights we long for time on the water.When you need a fix a good video will keep the stoke going.

Here are a couple of fun choices.

The 1st is Unsalted, it is a movie  about the history of surfing on the great lakes.

A must have for anyone who is fond of fresh water.

available at http://www.amazon.com/Unsalted-Surfing-Documentary/dp/B002DQP1RG

Next up is H2Indo, a stand up paddle movie.

I recently picked up a copy at Eastern Mountain Sports here in Amherst, NY.

The movie was very well done and had many great insights to the personalities

of some of the leaders in S.U.P., and lots of great waves. The scenes of Dave Kalama “trick surfing” are great fun.

If you enjoy surf movies and stand up paddling then this is a great stocking stuffer.

http://h2indo.com/

http://www.amazon.com/H2indO/dp/B00992S6S8/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1353591035&sr=1-1&keywords=h2indo

If you are looking for a long board skateboard

go see Lonnie at http://www.surfontario.ca/

http://www.surfontario.ca/skateboarding.htm

They have a great selection of boards and gear, from sup to surf to land.

Life is good when we are on the water and Life is Good t-shirts now has a watersports collection that includes windsurfing, paddleboarding and surfing .

http://www.lifeisgood.com/Watersports/collections-interests-watersports,default,sc.html

For that significant other who is left behind  while you are out playing,

visit Liz at

http://www.one-of-a-kinddesign.com/

she creates jewelry made from beach glass found on the shores of lake Erie along with many other gifts

For the rum lover, I recently found  Dos Maderas 5+5 at the local rum store.

This dark rum is a true delight. Get it, sip it, enjoy.       There will be a rum quest review in the near future.

http://www.rumgallery.com/dos-maderas-px-55.html

Finally my favorite thing, the wind sup sail.

Casey, Amanda, Gail and I picked these up in the spring and it was easily our most used sail this year.

Nice power (can get a sup board up on plane) and ease of rigging (we left ours rigged all year, just unroll and go) allowed us to get out at a moments notice. A great compliment to our sup boards.

These sail got us out to the waves quickly and are light when wave riding. Perfect for those days when it is to windy too paddle out to the break but not windy enough to windsurf.

http://www.aerotechsails.com/windsup.html

Available locally at

http://www.curtissportconnection.com/

Have a safe and Happy Holiday season.