The Rum situation

"Running out of Rum!"

Michael just commented on our rum supply status... This must mean its nearly time to go home... :0(

If you want to keep us here, please post bottles of Rum to:

Michael & Tony, Yacht Shoestring C/o Neyland Marina, Brunel Quay, Neyland, Pembrokeshire.

Well it's worth a try!

Drinks Cabinet: Havana Club Rum

My favorite! It's the best rum I've tested so far. I'd say Goslings and Appleton estate come in a close second, but each of those are "in the mood for..." drinks, where as Havana is simply an anytime rum. -Except while working or driving. Well maybe while working.

Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalized by the Cuban government.

Today it is still 50% owned by the Cuban government and exported by Pernod.

It's flavour is nothing like the chemical tones of a Captain Morgans. It's got a nice spice and caramel taste, which when mixed with coke does not over-power and retains it's nice light flavour.

This one I actually have two bottles of onboard, one in the drinks cabinet, and the other hiding in the bilge -for after any visitors have cleared us out. -Thats becoming a bit frequent actually, but it's always in good company so doesn't matter.

I'm going to have to try some other drinks over the next few weeks, maybe a Gin or Scotch. We're also real-ale fan's but fitting an ale-tank and tap on board maybe a bit too far... or is it?

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Bit more expensive this one, usually around £16.99 a bottle, available almost anywhere.

Drinks Cabinet: Appleton estate rum V/X

Back to the Rum again... The bottle makes this one appealing from the start. I tried this with diet coke an hour ago, and I'm on the third glass already! It's great, very different from my other favorite, Havana Club, this has a more sugary taste.

It also seems a little stronger than other rums, but not as a distraction from the flavour. Much more deeply spiced than others we have tested but without the chemical taste that effects some of the other supermarket rums such as Captain Morgans. It actually makes me want to buy another bottle of Goslings rum as a comparison. -Thats a good excuse. Plus, I am testing this one at home, and as everyone knows all rums taste better sitting under the stars in the cockpit of a yacht at anchor, so i'll have to test them all over again...

I'll stop now or be accused of running a 'Folkboats and Rum' website again, which is probably true. So I'll leave the last words to Sainsburys who have a nice little editorial about Appleton Estate on their website:

Appleton Estate has been producing Jamaican rum since 1749. Located in the Nassau Valley, the estate sits in the valley?s fertile fields in the parish of St. Elizabeth, where the valley gets afternoon rain together with warm sunshine, providing the optimum conditions for growing sugar cane.

Sugar cane?s thought to have originated in Papau New Guinea, and Christopher Columbus introduced it to the West Indies in 1493. Sugar cane?s a member of the ?grass? family and each variety results in a different rum flavour. The cane grown at the Appleton Estate tends to produce rums that have fruity and buttery notes.

Rum making on the Appleton Estate
Appleton Estate takes a handcrafted approach and uses many controls at every step of rum making, from the selection of the sugar cane, the yeast used in fermentation, its unique distillation methods, through to the ageing, hand-blending and bottling of their rum. Each step is carefully monitored to ensure consistency and quality throughout.

Fermenting
The molasses extracted from the cane are fermented for 36 hours by adding water and yeast. Appleton?s uses spring water from the estate that has been naturally filtered by limestone formations.

The fermented liquid is then distilled to strip the alcohol from the water. This stage uses either a pot still or a continuous still to heat the liquid and draw off the vapour that is then condensed back to a liquid. This resultant liquid is referred to as ?water white? because of its crystal clear colour.

Ageing
The rum is then aged in large wooden barrels, almost always oak, and often once-used bourbon barrels. As the rum ages in wood, the sharp flavour begins to mellow as the air permeates the oak, the space it leaves behind through evaporation is known as ?the angels? share?. The rum takes on colour from the barrel and this is where the flavour develops.

The art of blending
The final step in the rum-making process is the blending. This is a real art where the blender selects rums that will be used in a particular blend based on the type and style of rum that it contains, and these are blended together. A sugar cane crop, like grapes, can vary from year to year depending on the weather, so to ensure the quality and consistency of a blend, the Master Blender and her team blend all Appleton Estate rum according to a secret formula.

Full version here
www.appletonrum.com
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Around £14.99 per bottle.

Drinks Cabinet: Bells' Whiskey

It's not a Rum! I hear you cry. Yes I know we're breaking with tradition here, and it is entirely the First Officer's fault.

Someone made him have whiskey a few weeks ago and he wanted more... I personally find it slightly 'smokey' tasting and have never been struck on the stuff.

Bells is a good solid brand with a good reputation, 'M' reports that it is not quite as good as the one he had a few days ago, which he can't remember the name of. Its great with coke, lemonade, water or neat.

Whiskey is a good solid nautical tipple, and found in many yachts around the world. So I really should have a bottle around on board somewhere...

You can get it almost anywhere and a 75cl bottle should cost around £10

Drinks cabinet: Lambs Navy Rum

One more from the cabinet. I have to admit, I was hesitant with this one, seeing it more as "an old man's drink" so the first sip was not completely neutral.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted quite good, in fact much better than the recent bottle of Captain Morgan's we finished off last week. It has a more 'raw' flavour than some of the other Rums we've tried.

Lambs started officially in 1865 and became more visible after Alfred Lamb established his cellars alongside the river Thames in 1849, the windjammers still had to out run the pirates to deliver the precious spirit to London. On the 10th and 11th May 1941, Alfred Lamb & Son were bombed out of their London permission on Great Tower Street, White, Keeling Rum Merchants were also bombed out of theirs during the Blitz that summer. So this rum blend has proven the tests of both the Navy and the many years since it started.

Thinking ahead, this is a rum that will feature occasionally in a smaller bottle in Shoestring's cabinet, mostly I'm ashamed to say due to the 'image of the brand'. Afterall, Havana Club is far more trendy, (but a bit more expensive).

Rating: 7/10 Price: £11.99 70cl average
Available from almost everywhere

Drinks cabinet: Gosling's Black Seal Rum

As the Monty Python line goes: "And now for something completely different".

Gosling's black Seal Rum is a 'Bermuda Black Rum', which got its name from the seals that adorned its bottles after world war one.

This has perhaps the least spiced flavour of all the rums reviewed so far, but this adds to its uniqueness. I have to say it seems to be the only rum that I can drink neat, -just as a sip!

Again, we tried this with diet coke so as to allow the rum's flavour to be tasted. It has a slightly camaralised taste which comes through with both the taste and aftertaste. It does seem to have a heavier feel, as opposed to say another favorite, Havana Club, and indeed its colour is also darker.

This was the first Goslings drink we tried, and looking at their website, they also offer a Gold Rum and an Old Rum. The Gold Rum is moving on to the 'must test' list, and if it is anything as good as Black Seal, then I'll be recommending that too!

I'm going to have to watch these 'Drinks Cabinet Reviews' as a number of people who are looking at this sailing blog keep commenting to me: "All your sailing involves booze at the moment." -Is this a bad thing? (After a days sail, once we eventually get the weather!) I'll be looking forward to a rum, gin or port (or two) at anchor.

Rating: 9/10 Price: £14.99 70cl
Available from Sainsburys at £14.99
www.goslingsrum.com

The drinks cabinet

Just a quick photo of our now famous, but rather small, drinks cabinet and a preview of some more reviews to come.

Also coming soon, over the last weekend I removed the dodgers, (the canvas panels strapped on either side of the cockpit to keep some of the wind and spray off), not only to give them a quick freshwater wash, but also to re-paint one of the most important parts of the yacht, her name! They had got rather cracked and faded since it was first added to the canvas panels in what appears to be screen printing acrylic.

I'll be posting a full, re-painting and restoration article soon with 'how-to' details.

Drinks cabinet: Captain Morgans Rum

Another Rum I hear you cry, don't worry I'm still getting around to Gin, Port and Whiskey reviews...

Captain Morgan's rum is a another spiced rum, with a slightly lighter flavour than its competitors. -I don't count previously reviewed Sailor Jerry's among this group as Sailor's is really a different breed.

Cap'n M's is a nice drink enjoyed with Coke, had neat you may find it 'goes to your head' a little to quick. This rum has a slightly more 'spiced/fruit' flavour than say Havana Club Rum, which we'll review soon too. It can taste a little plasticy when mixed with 'full' coke, but with Diet coke the rum's own flavour come through stronger, enhancing the drink.

It has to be said that with Cap'n M's you know what you are getting, a good solid 'rum' flavour that is consistent between bottles, and widely available from almost anywhere. A good staple drinks cabinet rum, which hits the spot when needed.

Rating: 7/10 Price: £11.99 to £12.99
Available from: Almost everywhere
www.captainmorgan.com

Drinks cabinet: Sailor Jerry Rum

On board Shoestring we make it our effort to keep a well stocked drinks cabinet for unexpected vistors, end of a days sail or simply to have a "I NEED A DRINK" moment. -We all have them.

So starting the series we have Sailor Jerry Rum. A blend of Caribbean spiced rum with vanilla and lime. Unlike other strong rum, this goes down very smooth.

Apparently Sailor Jerry Collins 1911-79 was apparently the most famous tattoo artist of all time. He was the first to go to Japan to learn the sacred art of tattooing back in the 20s. He set up shop in Honolulu in the 30s decorating sailors with his distinctive designs.

Sailor Jerry rum is based upon Sailor Jerry's own personal recipe he used to serve his customers.

TM's mum introduced us to this one and it was well received, earning itself a place in Shoestring's cabinet. A nice drink either neat or with Coke, however we recommend mixing it with Diet Coke, fresh Lime Juice, and ice. -no lime slice or it may get too 'fruity'. Now i've wrote this review, I need to buy a bottle.


Rating: 9/10 Price: £14.99 to £19.99
Available from: Ocado, Waitrose or local off-licenses.
www.sailorjerryrum.com