How to: At-Home Rum Flights
If you’ve ever been to a large scale rum tasting, you know how much fun they can be. Almost as fun is a quality rum flight at your favorite tiki bar. But what about having a rum flight at home? Haven’t tried one? It’s a great way to indoctrinate your friends into the world of rum–you might even fall in love all over again with a bottle from your own collection. Read the full article here for detailed tips and a printable rum mat you can download for free.
Aloha,
Josh
Stocking the Home Bar
Home Bar Essentials
There are a lot of articles and opinions on what you actually *need* when setting up a home bar. Today I enter the fray with a list of my own at the request of a friend. What you need of course depends on a number of factors. Here are some questions to ponder before creating your shopping list for liquors, mixers, glassware and hardware [Continued here]
Massive Head-to-Head Gin Review
Aloha folks!
Thanks for stopping by. Today you’re in for a real treat. I recently decided that I needed to expand my gin knowledge, so I devised a massive head-to-head tasting of fifteen different gins. As you may or may not remember, my bar is called Josh’s Okole Maluna Lounge, so I’ve dubbed this epic battle the Gin Fight at the Ok(ole Maluna) Corral. It took me quite a while to procure the bottles, devise the methodology and actually do the tasting, but I think it was worth it. The best part is now that I’ve done the work, you don’t have to!
I’m sure you have your own opinions about gin, so please read the story here and then tell me why I’m right on target or completely off the mark.
Mahalo,
Josh
New Cocktail Post: The French 75
Aloha folks,
As I continue preparing materials for the upcoming piece on gin, here’s a gin-based cocktail recipe to tide you over: the French 75. This one is a famous drink originally conceived in 1915 at Harry’s bar in Paris. It manages to strike a balance with two ingredients I never would have thought to put together: gin and champagne.
Mahalo,
Josh
Inu A Kena Outing: Visiting St. George Spirits Distillery
Aloha folks!
Today I added my first outing narrative to the site — a tour of the St. George Spirits distillery. Here’s the opening paragraph:
On a cloudless Sunday afternoon one day shy of the 78th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, I took a ride across the island to our hometown distillery: St. George Spirits. Most notable for their Hangar One vodka, St. George actually started with Eau de Vie, and has recently burst onto the gin and bourbon scene to heaps of critical acclaim.
Mahalo,
Josh
New Rum Review: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
Aloha folks!
It’s repeal day here in the U.S.–the anniversary of the end of Prohibition in 1933. I celebrated a day early with a trip to my hometown distillery. That post will come tomorrow, but today I present you with my review of another sipping rum: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. This is a very interesting rum that strikes a balance between smooth and spice with a vegetal quality I didn’t expect. Read the review here and let me know what you think.
Mahalo,
Josh
New Rum Review: Brugal 1888
Aloha! Up for review today is Brugal’s flagship rum, the 1888. This rum is a complex character that fooled me once at an earlier tasting. I’m really glad I came back to it, because it taught me an important lesson about palate fatigue. Check out my review here.
Mahalo,
Josh
Wiki Wiki Warmer: A Hot Cider That’s Ready When You Are
Hey folks!
It’s Fall on San Francisco Bay, and the temperatures are dropping. It’s still in the high 50’s (°F) during the day, but the nights are chilly–often in the high 30’s. The windows in this 1916 house are a bit drafty, so on cold night like tonight, a hot drink is often the cure for what ails. So with that, I give you my first original cocktail post here at Inu A Kena: the Wiki Wiki Warmer–a hot cider that’s ready fast and tastes great (wiki wiki means quick in Hawaiian, in case you didn’t know that already). Enjoy the recipe here.
Mahalo,
Josh
New Rum Review: Zaya Gran Reserva
Hey folks, wow–two rum reviews in one day. Not to mention I was at Smuggler’s Cove last night doing a field tasting–I’m really working overtime for you this weekend!
As you can see above, this post is entitled New Rum Review: Zaya Gran Reserva, but it could also be titled “In Which We Enter the Bizarro World”. Intrigued? Great. Read the review here.
Mahalo,
Josh
New Rum Review: JM VSOP
Aloha folks,
Today I’m happy to present you with another rum review. This write-up features another rhum from Martinique: JM VSOP / Rhum Vieux Agricole. I wanted to like this one so badly. It practically has my name on the label, and it was damned expensive for a 5-year old rum! Read on and see of what I speak…
Mahalo,
Josh
Inu A Kena 