- Photos:
-
The International Rum Festival is back for its fourth season in Ybor City. The festival's main events are being held March 26-28 in three different venues. Teatro on Seventh is hosting The Rum Tasting Dinner Thursday night. The following day, festival goers can dress down at Gaspar's Grotto for Rum on the Bar B (Q). The festival wraps up Saturday night with the Main Event being held at the Ritz Ybor. Being and avid Rum and Coke gal, I'm fairly excited about the tastings expected at this event. However, aside from the aforementioned concoction with a twist of lime, my experiece with rum is quite limited. I tracked down the opening night's master of ceremonies, rum aficionado Ian Williams, for a quick tutorial.
So Ian, how does one become a rum aficionado?
Years of practice. When I was an underage drinker back in Liverpool, the Cavern where the Beatles played was dry, so we used to slip out to the pub and drink rum and blackcurrant juice, washed down with pints of bitter. At parties it always impressed the girls more to turn up with a flask of rum than a six pack of beer. Years later, in the Caribbean, I discovered that you could drink rum on its own and savor the taste on the palate as well relish the effect on the brain cells.
Does that title also mean you can pretty much drink anyone you come across under the table?
It's something to do with my Celtic and Swedish ancestry, that I can keep my feet and head when all around are losing theirs. I used to be very unpopular, because I could always remember the stupid things people did during a good night out - when they'd rather forget. And the fact I have any brain cells left is a testament to my resilience!
Is all rum made from sugar? If so, does that mean it's bad for my diet?
All rum is made from sugar cane. Some from the full juice off the cane, most from the molasses left over when the white sugar is crystallized out. It's fermented, then distilled, and usually aged, anything from three to twenty five years. I suspect if you drink enough of it to affect a diet, your liver would go before your waistline!
What's the difference between the clear stuff, the spiced rum, and the really dark rum?
The clear rum is usually younger and filtered through charcoal. It's for cocktails really. I think that rum adds enough spice to life on its own, but the tropical flavors of rums do go well with spices. The dark rums, like Myers, Gosling or Pussers, the ones where you can feel the chest hairs sprouting, are an acquired taste. They often add the ferment to the distilled alcohol to get that color and flavor. The best are in between, the aged, golden rums that you would sip like a single malt or a cognac. There is growing interest in Cachaca, Brazilian rums, which make great cocktails, and some of which you can drink straight.
I usually pick up the rum that 's one sale.
If I actually knew what to look for in a good rum, what things should I consider at a rum tasting when picking out my next liqueur?
The nice thing about rums is that compared with other premium spirits, like malts or cognac, they are a real bargain. Barbancourt 15 year old, Mount Gay Extra Old, Appleton special reserve, El Dorado 15 year old are all wonderful and relatively cheap. And then there are "Spanish Main" rums, like Diplomatico from Venezuela, or Zacapa from Guatemala.
How do you take your rum?
Usually straight in a brandy snifter..
What's your favorite rum cocktail?
Either a mojito, the cuban drink, or a Caiparinha, the Brazilian equivalent.
I'll have to try that one. Finally, are there any other "must try" cocktails you recommend?
Well, I would go with the mojito... from the early days, the combination of rum, citrus, mint and sugar has been the way to go!
