The second drink of Christmas: Rum

There’s naught, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion.

Lord Byron

Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is characterised by the long balmy days of summer, and the recent dump of snow of the aptly named Snowy Mountains (really hills) notwithstanding; long, cooling, tasty drinks really are the order of the day.

Rum comes in many different guises, from the clear blancas to the pitch dark blackstraps, the fermented and distilled product of the sugar cane provides plenty of outlets past the rum and coke. If you are going to go down the spirit and splits route, add plenty of ice, a healthy measure of whatever rum you have on hand and squeeze in at least 3 or 4 segments of lime in there.

Morning.

Rums work with fruits and juices. As such it’s not a difficult one to start the day with. Try Gaugin’s Breakfast 30 ml white rum, 30 ml dark rum, 15 ml passion fruit syrup, 15 ml apricot liqueur, 60 ml pineapple juice, 60 ml cranberry juice, Shake all ingredients with ice, strain in to hurricane glass and garnish with fresh fruit. The Pirate’s Breakfast too, 60mls spiced rum, 20mls honey, 80mls freshly squeezed orange juice, Shake all over ice, strain over ice and garnish with a fruit salad.

Noon.

Get into the tiki drinks. The Kaiser penguin has a great article comparing Zombie recipes. Start the afternoon working your way through them. Team up Rum with some Olorosso Sherryand make a Jumbo Mumbo. Those of you with a more substantial liquor cabinet might want to try your hands at the three finalists from this years Tales of the Cocktail.

Night.

Try your hand at the Bumble Bee cocktail. Add bitters and sugar to a healthy slug of rum over ice and stir up an old fashioned, garnish with citrus peels. The Daiquiri is also a must for summer nights, or days for that matter. Combine two teaspoons of sugar, the juice of half a lime and 60mls of white rum, 100 year old Bacardi, if you are a purist. Add ice and shake hard enough to dissolve the sugar. strain and serve up. Make them small and drink them before they become warm.

Outside of that, Rum is fantastic in Punch. Remember this poem and you can’t go too far wrong whatever you throw in.

PLANTER’S PUNCH

This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong —
I know whereof I speak.

 

Oh, and if you’re buying rum in New Zealand this Christmas, make sure it’s Stolen.

Arrrrrgh, Rum Pirates.

Wharrrr, there’s trouble brewing down the Spanish Main.

Her Majesty’s Privateers, Diageo, today released a 13 page document detailing the dogged dealings of the Miami-Cuban Pirate conglomerate, Bacardi. Apparently, the Puerto Rican rummies have been trying to scupper Diageo’s moves to take Captain Morgan from the aforementioned quasi-state to the calm and defensible tax haven of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Forty-fourth American President, Barack Obama has dispatched treasure ships to ensure that production of intoxicating liquors is not diminished, despite stormy conditions in the Economi Americas. By pushing the Privateers out of U.S. Sovereign territory, bot Bacardi and the Protectorate of Puerto Rico stand to reap ‘huge government subsidies’.

Bacardi is described as being ‘in league’ with the Governor of Puerto Rico and there are rumours about night moves regarding his daughter. Paul ‘Speake No Evil’ Rodriguez, a spokesman for San Juan-based Bacardi, had no comment to make on the matter.

I suppose that just in case there are any lawyers reading this, I had better include the original wire release for balance as well. I like mine better though, everything goes better with a few more pirates.

_________________________________________________________

by. Ryan J. Donmoyer

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) — Diageo Plc, the world’s biggest liquor distiller, accused rival Bacardi Corp. of “working behind the scenes” to sabotage tax incentives Diageo would receive for moving production of Captain Morgan rum to the U.S. Virgin Islands from Puerto Rico.

London-based Diageo, in a 13-page press release, said Bacardi is lobbying to kill Diageo’s deal to move production of the rum to St. Croix. If the agreement collapsed and Diageo were forced to move outside the U.S., Bacardi and Puerto Rico would stand to reap “huge government subsidies” under a federal tax program, Diageo said.

Bacardi, “which received tens of millions of dollars a year in annual government rum subsidies, has made a calculated decision to try to drive a competitor out of the United States even though it would be a disaster for the U.S. citizens of the Virgin Islands,” Guy Smith, executive vice president of Diageo North America, said in the release.

Diageo stands to receive as much as $2.7 billion in direct and indirect U.S. tax incentives by producing Captain Morgan rum on St. Croix under an agreement with the U.S. Virgin Islands government. The tax incentives were approved last year as part of a broader rescue of the financial system. The provision expired Dec. 31 and the U.S. Senate may consider extending it this week.

Paul Rodriguez, a spokesman for San Juan-based Bacardi, which has the world’s best-selling rum brand according to Euromonitor International Plc, which tracks such information, said he didn’t immediately have a comment.