As mentioned previously, I had an article on the Mojito published in a China bar industry magazine, Drink (??). Drink does not have a website yet, but you can read the article here.

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While offering pleasant sojourning, the Guatemalan rum landscape does not exactly excite with its variety. Everything comes from a single company, Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala, though that company produces at least two labels – Zacapa and Botran.

Zacapa represents the glamorous international face of Guatemalan rum: attractive, commercialized, definitely expensive, and while it makes for exceedingly pleasant company, you can’t help suppressing the occasional yawn and wondering how thick that make up is. Botran in contrast is the slightly homely stay-at-home sister, working a nine-to-five job and hurrying home to cook instead of mixing with high society, and generally getting taken for granted by all and sundry. Zacapa smugly preens itself from little clusters of high priced bottles in duty free stores and on the top shelves of smarter bars, while Botran runs itself ragged covering the shelves of local supermarkets and bars, where it jostles for attention with the anise liqueur that is ubiquitous in Latin America.The question then is this: does Zacapa deserve to be Guatemala’s Ambassador of Rum?

Being a rebel, and a fan of rum with a glow to it, I’m going to support the underdog and say I rather like Botran.

Exhibits A through E follow.

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The Haitian earthquake was what greeted me when I got online this morning.

Haiti has never had it easy and the last few years have been especially rough. The country has had to deal with the Gonaive floods, the horrible school collapse in Port-au-Prince,  the political strife and social anarchy that followed the ouster of Aristide and led to Haiti playing host to a UN peacekeeping deployment, and now this earthquake. It’s too early to say how bad this earthquake really is. Maybe the casualties are light. Probably they run into the thousands. Key government buildings in Port-au-Prince have collapsed, and the devastation is almost certainly far worse in the shoddily built slums that dominate the city. Life in Haiti is difficult even at its best, and this latest event is simply tragic.

Now seems an appropriate time to mention a couple of things about my visit to Haiti that I somehow never got around to writing about earlier. . . (more…)

I like checking out Chinatowns in different cities.  A week or so ago I took a walk around the Santo Domingo version.  Chinatown in the Caribbean, pretty exotic.

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Wandering the streets this evening I came across a most unusual hairdressing establishment.  A bevy of attractive ladies were seated around the shop, apparently waiting for customers.

It’s not what you are thinking you sickos!

No, the peculiar feature of this hair salon was the impressive wooden bar taking up half a wall.  I didn’t need a haircut, so instead I had a glass of rum.  Then I complained there was a hair in my rum and walked out without paying.

Tales of the Cocktail is now less than a week away.  I thought I would post my likely schedule.  If you are going to be attending some of the same sessions then do say hello.

Tuesday 15th

- Arrive early evening and have a drink in the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.  There I hope to run into Jay Hepburn of Oh Gosh!  Go for dinner some place.

Wednesday 16th

- Try to get up early enough to explore New Orleans in the morning.

-  2.00pm -  Toast to Tales of the Cocktail

-  4:30pm – Bloggers Reception

- 7.30pm – Save the Daiquiri Party

Thursday 17th

-  10.30am – To Have and Have Another: The Hemingway Bartender’s Companion

- 12.00pm – A bit of a toss up between Juniperlooza and Bourbon, Blues and Bluegras

- 2.30pm – Cognac and Armagnac: Understanding the nuances of the Spirits (this is a spirit I am very ignorant about so it should be interesting).

- 4.30pm – Haven’t quite decided, but possibly Latino Libations.

- 5.30 pm – Cocktail Hour

- 8.00 pm – Spirited Dinner at The Delichaise.

Friday 18th

- 10.30am – Amore, Amari

-12.30pm – Rum, Ron, Rhum

- 2.30pm – History of Liqueurs

- 4.30pm – Impossible to choose here!  All four sessions look so interesting: Cocktails of the Old Raj; Essential Guide to American Whiskey, Rye Nation, and Sensory Perception in Mixology.  I guess I’ll just decide at the last minute or something.

- 8.00pm – I may check out Rum and all that Jazz.  On the other hand I may just go for a wander out on the town.

Saturday 19th

- 10.30am – The Cafes of Paris

- 12.30pm – History of Herbsaint (though the egg session also looks interesting)

-  4.30pm – Making your own cocktail ingredients

-  6pm – Possibly the Tiki party or maybe just check out the town.

Sunday 20th

- 10.30am – The Gentleman’s Companion: The life and times of Charles A Baker

- 12.30pm – The Flowing Bowl: A history of punch

- 5pm – Wormwood Society absinthe soiree

Monday 21st

Head on to the Caribbean