Liquor in the front, and the back, and on the sides.

A long overdue post about liquor
It is time for another post about a subject dear to my heart, yes, that special solvent, that fruit of the grain, the distilled essence of good times and Saturday nights, liquor!

Sailor Jerrys Naval Strength Spiced Rum:
I like rum, especially the sweet dark rums that leave your gums feeling slightly numb and a tingling in your finger tips. For many years rum was sort of the red headed step child of liquors. There were three kinds from the company with the bat in the logo, there was a sweet dark rum from Jamaica and of course the ubiquitous Captain. Recently I have noticed an explosion of new rum brands appearing on the shelves of my favorite liquor store. There are "single barrel" rums, specialty flavored rums, very high proof rum, and rums from "estates".

I usually stick to Bacardi Select when I decide to drink rum in quantity, it is a high quality spirit, palatable straight but delightful mixed with coke or orange juice. Nothing beats the flavor of a Cuba Libre made with Bacardi Select and a fresh lime. When it comes to spiced rums, I have always went with Captain Morgan, but the problem with the Captain (besides a bombardment of clever advertising) is the fact it is only 70 proof, relegating it to the realm of girl drinks. A real man doesn't order Captain Morgan in public, despite what the commercials depict. Recently I spotted a bottle of Sailor Jerrys Spice Rum on the shelf, I bought the jumbo bottle (I mean really, a 5th is just the sample size) and took it home for a tasting.

First off I noticed the distinctive logo, a very WW2 era depiction of a hula dancer with a Ukulele in the style of a tattoo. As I settled in with my first glass, over ice, I looked up the brands website. Turns out that there was a real life Sailor Jerry. The man was a soldier and then a famous tattoo artist. He lent his reputation to this brand and it creates instant mystique. This rum is spiced rum for men. It says on the label that it is Navy Rum and 92 proof.

92 proof is pretty stout, and there is the risk of it tasting like lighter fluid. Not the case with this spirit, it is smooth, sweet and delicious. While it says it is Navy Rum, Her Majesties Navy never had it this good. Naval strength rum is a reference to the days of sail, when every man got a ration of rum mixed with water called grog. The rum had to be strong enough to survive the sea voyages and there had to be enough alcohol in it to kill the cooties found in the barrels of water consumed at sea. Frankly the rum was safer to drink than the water.

All of this combines to create a fun and memorable brand for this liquor. The taste is bold and flavorful without being noxious, and the high proof means it works sooner rather than later. The price is right too, about $25.00 for the 1.74 litre bottle. I highly recommend this rum for a night of Cuba Libres and your favorite cigar. It is also appropriate for swilling, as the price is very good.

My new bar
Over the years I have usually maintained a home bar, for my own enjoyment as well as entertaining. In the old days, my bar was as well stocked as any of the commercial bars in the small town I lived in. My friends would come over regularly as you can imagine. I kept a "tip" jar on the bar but it never paid for the consumption. It was ok with me, I enjoyed the company and when dealing with these friends it all came out in the wash somewhere down the line. I seldom paid when we went out, as compensation for all the booze I supplied at home.

I moved around some, re-established a couple of home bars, some of them were pretty spectacular. As I settle down in my new digs with Daisy, I am once again starting up a liquor cabinet, with the goal of finishing off the basement this spring with a real bar. I have done well with this one, I haven't counted the bottles, but I know I am now very well stocked.
While I still love to polish a bar stool at a local dive, it is getting more difficult to spend money at a bar. I am spoiled rotten as the fine liquors I have at home, already bought and paid for are very expensive in a public bar. I am still working on some items but I have all of my favorites, a good selection of bourbon, Irish whiskey, a stunning selection of all of my favorite vodkas. I even have a scotch and some high end specialty liquors, like Chambord and Frangellico. Daisy likes to use the Frangellico in coffee drinks.

I love to party, and entertain and drink, but I am down to one night a week now. I am too old to carry on like I used to and I have a good job to hold down. I still like to have my bar though, I find it odd that I get almost as much pleasure out of buying and having the bottles as I do drinking them. Perhaps it is the fact that I *could* drink them any time I wanted. I get a great deal of pleasure out of coming home and just looking at my amazing bar. I have big plans for my basement bar when it happens. I want neon and padded bar stools, I want a small refrigerator and a stunning back bar with shelves and mirrors. I may only have two or three parties a year down there, but what fun in any case.

Crown Royal Special Reserve:
I was in a local bar not long ago, it was happy hour and all drinks were half price. At half price it is fun to go ahead and get the special, expensive liquors that you wouldn't normally order. I asked for a shot of Crown Royal Special Reserve on the rocks. What a splendid example of blended whiskey. Think of the signature smoothness and flavor of a fine Canadian blend like Crown Royal then multiply that by 10. Special Reserve is Crown Royal in a mellow, mature and flavorful prime. I love this stuff, and as you can see from the photo, I bought my own bottle. The bottle pictured was one of my rewards for getting a near perfect evaluation at work and a hefty raise. It would be a shame to mix this one with anything, and there is no need, delicious and smooth right out of the bottle. I highly recommend this Canadian whiskey as a great libation for savoring anytime.

This is day two of my quest to blog each and everyday for 30 days. Enjoy.