Cheers

Cheers June 2015

Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.

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www.cheersonline.com 18 • June 2015 Windsor estimates that rum orders at the Power House run 50/50 sipping and cocktails. Daiquiris, Papa Dobles, Rum and Colas and Mojitos are big sellers among the rum drinks. The Mojito is the number-one selling cocktail at Paladar restaurants. "We sell hundreds upon hundreds on a nightly basis; 500 on a weekend per store," reports the founder. "That's the number- one way we move rum." Paladar offers fi ve variations on the Mojito, priced from $7.95 to $9.95 and made with its house rum from St. Lucia Distillers: Traditional with 3-year rum; Superior with 5-year rum; and three house-made fl avors—strawberry, pomegranate-ginger and mango-cilantro. Another best-seller is the Paladar Libre ($8.95), made with The Kraken black spiced rum, Licor 43, Bacardi coconut rum and Coke. "It's a great drink to introduce people to rum," says Himmel. Topping Zafra's cocktail list is a handful of Mojitos ($8), made with Cruzan light rum and available in classic as well as in mango, coconut, guava, strawberry and black cherry variations. Most of the other drinks on the Cuban restaurant's menu are also rum-based, including a Cuba Libre, Hemingway Daiquiri, Mango Mai Tai and Dark & Stormy. Among the more interesting drinks is the Caribbean Dream ($12). It's a complex concoction of Cruzan guava, coconut and vanilla rums, with orange, pineapple, cranberry and grapefruit juices and grapefruit bitters topped with a froth of egg white. A CRAFTY APPROACH There are plenty of bars in touristy Miami Beach that serve typically fruity rum drinks, says Ferrara. "People aren't educated yet; they think a Daiquiri is supposed to be strawberry and frozen. We are trying to change that misconception." The Rum Line serves a classic Daiquiri, hand-shaken with fresh lime juice and Caña Brava rum for $9. Its Mojito uses freshly squeezed juice, with mint leaves tapped to get the aromatics, and combines two rums: Bacardi Superior and Santa Teresa Claro ($10). CACHAÇA STILL UNDER THE RADAR Cachaça, the Brazilian cousin to rum, is fermented from sugarcane juice rather than molasses. Pronounced ka-sha-sa, it bears some resemblance to rhum agricole, which is also made from cane juice. Though popular in its native country, cachaça is not well known in the U.S.—yet. Like rum, cachaça is available in white or aged expressions. Most famously, the Brazilian liquor is found in the Caipirinha, a mixture of cachaça, lime juice and sugar. Zafra Cuban Restaurant & Rum Bar offers this classic Brazilian cocktail, made with Pirassununga cachaça, simple syrup and lime ($8). The Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar chain serves two: one with Cuca Fresca cachaça, muddled lime and sugar, served on the rocks ($7.95) and the Mixed Berry Caipirinha, which muddles limes with fresh berries and cachaça ($8.25). In the Miami Beach Loews Hotel, The Rum Line carries eight different cachaças, and offers a classic Caipirinha on the menu ($9). The innovative Green- eyed Bandit cocktail blends cachaça with jalapeno, kale and cucumber juices. The drink is shaken and served over ice with fi nishing salt to bring out the spirit's vegetal notes. "People just know the Caipirinha," says The Rum Line's bar director Robert Ferrara. "But cachaça's popularity is coming along."—THS KENNY CHESNEY The country music star launched his Blue Chair Bay brand rum in 2013. Imported from Barbados and bottled by Fishbowl Spirits in Rochester, NY, Blue Chair Bay is currently available in white, coconut, coconut spiced and banana and coconut spiced rum cream expressions. SAMMY HAGAR While the rocker got his start in tequila with the Cabo Wabo brand, which he sold to Campari in 2007, Hagar launched Sammy's Beach Bar Rum in 2011. Made from Maui Gold sugar cane, Sammy's Beach Bar Rum is also available in a new Red Head expression that's been infused with macadamia nuts and launched earlier this year. RON JEREMY The prolifi c adult fi lm star launched his own rum in 2011 called Ron de Jeremy (ron means rum in Spanish). Owned by One Eyed Spirits and marketed as an "adult rum," the brand is crafted from premium rums from Trinidad, Barbados, Guyana, and according to the founder, boasts a long and smooth fi nish. BRUNO MARS The pop star, who is also a rum afi cionado, teamed up with brothers Marc and Seth Gold, and Robert Herzig to launch Selvarey rum last year. Imported from Panama, Selvarey, which means "king of the jungle," is now available in white and Cacao expressions. CELEBRITY RUM RUNNERS While the tequila category seems to attract the most celebrities, rum has a few stars of its own. These are just a few famous folks that have recently come out with rum brands. RAI S I N G CAN E

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