Visiting a rum distillery is tricky business, most of them are based in faraway places that require three plane rides, two boats & a horse drawn carriage to get to. Then there's the added difficulty of procuring VISA's, arranging a visit with a representative(most distilleries don't have visitor centres) & some are in countries with questionable internal political situations(here's looking at you Venezuela). So when Alexx Mouzouris, the global brand ambassador for DonQ rum, c

A cocktail with history that dates back over 400 years & one of the earlier cocktail videos I've ever seen came from a bartender based on in New Orleans. His way of making the cocktail all while reading out a poem dedicated to the cocktail inspired me & helped me understand the real 'craft' of bartending. The video link is here below: The mint julep, a cocktail made from a mixture of bourbon, sugar, water and mint, is often associated with horse racing. It has been the offici

Ah Rum - the bad boy of the spirits world! So many categories, so many styles & so many BAD rums dues to lack of laws governing the category. Ever since I was a young bartender I found it difficult to explain Rum & its production to people. So find a handy guide to help us all. Something that surprises people is just how diverse a category rum is. The difference between Bacardi Silver (unfortunately many people’s only reference point) and a sipper like Ron Zacapa 23, or the e

The infamous Pina Colada - when asked what 3 words come into your mind when this cocktail is mentioned we think of "Ian Burrell & Réal". Regardless of that here the story in a nutshell! As the story goes, in 1954, bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero of the Caribe Hilton in San Juan created a new cocktail that mixed rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice—and the Piña Colada was born. The cocktail was served by its creator during his 35 year tenure at the bar, and in 1978, the