Posts Tagged ‘happy hour’

Steve

Friday Happy Hour: White Tip Lager, 2011 Best Caribbean Beer

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All beers are NOT created equal, a fact made clear at the 2011 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival in Barbados. Just as I had the opportunity to stand (sit, actually) in judgment of 40 fine rums, so too did an esteemed group of beer experts weigh the merits of 30 regional beers.
In the end there could only be one winner for each of three categories: Lager, Dark Beer and Strong Beer. If you were there and got a taste of the lagers as I did, it’s a good bet you would’ve arrived at the same decision as the judges – Caybrew’s newest creation is also the Caribbean’s best!

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Patrick

Friday Happy Hour: River Antoine Royal Grenadian Rum

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I don’t think I’m overstating when I say that River Antione Rum of Grenada is one of the most incredible cases of unexpected contradictions I’ve experienced in all my travels throughout the Caribbean. This rum literally has everything we could ever ask for from our favorite spirit… With one major drawback.

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Steve

Friday Happy Hour: XM Royal Gold 10 Year Old is Tops to Me

10 Year Old XM Royal Gold/SBPR

Yesterday, we gave you some behind the scenes insight into what it’s like, or rather what it takes to judge a big time rum competition. If you read it, I imagine most of you thinking:

Sounds like fun… too bad I’ll never get to do that!

Granted, the experience I had in Barbados last week is not the kind of thing you can buy through your local travel agent, but you don’t have to be a judge to enjoy the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival. All you really need is a healthy appreciation for great rum, like the beauty pictured here.

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Steve

Friday Happy Hour: Biting the Hair of the Dog with CayLight

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Today’s Friday Happy Hour post comes to you live and direct from the 2011 Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival in Barbados, where I had the honor of serving among the distinguished panel of judges for the rum competition held yesterday. It was an amazing experience I can’t wait to tell you about at a later date, but right now I’m all about beer.
“How can that be?” you say. “You love rum, you’re in The Birthplace of Rum judging a rum competition and you’re all about beer?”
Yes, it’s true. That’s not to say that I’m all rummed-out, mind you. It’s just that after sampling 40 different rums over a concentrated four-hour period yesterday, then staying up late with the blend that turned out to be my favorite among the competitors, I’m a tad hungover sluggish today.

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Steve

Friday Happy Hour: Flor de Caña 7 Year Old Grand Reserve

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Nobody ever set their sights on second place. Who aspires to be almost remembered? There’s a reason there are no giant foam fingers that say “We’re number three.”
If you’ve watched much TV in the States lately, then you’ve probably seen the Samsung Galaxy S II commercial The Way We’re Wired. It’s a pretty neat ad that tugs at the heart of that essential American need to always win. To never settle. To be #1.
If they decided to re-shoot the ad and include a rum, I wouldn’t be surprised if the featured bottle was Flor de Caña.

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Steve

Friday Happy Hour: Ron Centenario Añejo Especial… Special Indeed!

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Ah, young love – so naive, so immature, so unsophisticated, so charming… and in the case my recent infatuation with añejo rums, sooo yummy!
I first discovered these amazing Spanish blends just last year. Our love may be new, but it’s way too strong to be wrong. For proof, check out my recent odes to DonQ Grand Añejo and Reserva Añeja from Trigo. These two Puerto Rican añejos are easily among the best “new-to-me” rums I’ve sampled over the past few months… but they are not alone…

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Steve

Friday Happy Hour: The Curious Case (& Taste) of 10 Cane Rum

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Good things almost always come to those who wait, but that’s not always the case in the wild world of rum. Here among the noted experts, master distillers, novice wonks and rum junkies, everyone has their own opinions over what makes a fine rum. The funny thing is, there’s nothing really to say that any of them are wrong.
That’s because unlike other spirits, bound as they are by various stipulations that define them unequivocally as what they purport to be, rum has no rules.

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