Inu A Kena

Aloha kakou, Inu A Kena ohana!

As posted in my previous entry, this week marks the second anniversary of this site, and I’m giving away a special item to commemorate the occasion: it’s an Inu A Kena skate deck! Although I don’t skate much these days, I used to shred daily as a grom. I even worked at a couple of skate shops when I was in high school, so handing out skate decks is second nature for me. Here’s the description from the manufacturer of this retro deck:

“Cali 70’s flashback shape with a pointed nose and tapered tail. Perfect for gyrating down the boardwalk and head dippin’ tube rides under the palm trees. The best quality hard-rock maple and an unrivaled patent-pending printing process make this the best skateboard available in the world.”

Here’s a photo, the graphic is the same as the site’s header image:

Want a chance to win? Just post a comment below and tell me what you’d do with the deck. I’ll pick a winner on Thursday and you’ll have your prize in no time via UPS.

Wishing you pomaika’i (good luck)!

Aloha,
Josh

Reflections on my first two years of booze writing

Two years ago this month, I started this site as a way of chronicling my journey into the world of fine spirits and cocktails (over time, my focus has shifted almost exclusively to rum) and it has been a very fun ride to say the least. Here are some of my thoughts as I look back on this formative period.

Embracing Diversity

Having tasted so many rums from around the world, I have developed a profound appreciation for cane spirits—owing in large part to the diverse nature of the category. Why does rum represent such a panoply of flavors, you ask? There are several reasons, but the big two are (1) geography and (2) lack of rules.

Because cane spirits are produced worldwide,  you can taste your way around the globe without leaving the bar. Obviously, people on the opposite ends of the earth are going to have different ideas about what rum should taste like, to which I say “cheers!”. Think of the differences among rhum agricole, cachaca, Jamaican, Spanish and Indian rums–quite a stark contrast to the tightly controlled worlds of Scotch or Bourbon.

Much of the diversity is due to a lack of rules; rum must be made from a fermented sugar cane product of some sort and be 40% to 95% alcohol to be called rum in the United States. That vague definition leaves the door open for a wide variety of products on the market, and although there are some rogues that really push the boundaries of propriety when it comes to truth in labeling, I embrace the notion of rum as a rogue spirit; a spirit with one foot in the history books, and the other squarely within the confines of a business more highly regulated than the pharmaceutical industry. Quite a paradox indeed.

Gravitating to the Complex

When I first started on this path, I was wowed by the highly accessible rums from Guatemala such as Zacapa and Botran, and the sweeter rums from elsewhere in Central America, but as time has passed I find myself moving toward the funkier rums of Jamaica and the like. Once you’ve tasted a couple dozen smoothly sweet sippers, life in the sublime lane can become a bit tiresome. Yes, they are wonderful, but variety is the spice of life, and now I yearn for the heavier, drier rums that are often found near an old decrepit pot still.

The Business of Booze

Having a voice that some folks pay attention to within the booze business is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it’s nice to receive free booze in the mail, but on the other hand, I don’t have a legal defense fund. I’ve also learned that like any business, there are politics involved. Some people and brands don’t like to be mentioned together, for example. There are agendas and alliances that are only revealed after a transgression or a secret handshake. At the end of the day, I just try to be a respectful cheerleader for rum, knowing that my primary goal is to help elevate its stature in the marketplace. That being said, I still refuse to pull punches in my reviews, because my secondary goal is to keep my readers from wasting their money on substandard products.

The Global Rum Community

Surprise, surprise, people who are really passionate about rum are almost universally fun and friendly. Whether in person or online, I have forged many friendships with other rum aficionados, and I consider myself lucky to be part of such a supportive community. I look forward to joining more rum events here and around the world in the coming years and meeting more of these fine folks.

Writing Regularly

Sometimes articles just flow, and other times it’s a slog. I’ve really enjoyed writing the few long-form articles here such as the Light Rum Challenge, Amaro 101/102, Aging Rum At Home, and perhaps most of all, my article on okolehao. At the same time, it can be a bear to write a short review for a product I’m not really in love with, but such challenges can also be rewarding.

I took a pretty long break after I was threatened with a lawsuit over an article I posted. It really took the wind out of my sails, and I wasn’t feeling inspired to write at all. Then I received an email from another rum reviewer; he wanted to know if I was OK. That blew me away. Not only was this guy reading my articles, but he noticed that I hadn’t posted anything in a while and was concerned. Him reaching out like that really lit a fire under me, and I’ve been on a pretty good roll ever since. Rum people—I’m telling you; they’re good folks.

What’s Coming Next

As I look ahead, I’m really excited—not only about my site, but for rum in general. Super premium rum sales grew 91% in the U.S. from 2011-2012, and there is a steady stream of domestic producers coming online here in the states.  Rum is finally getting a sliver of the respect it deserves, but we still have much work to do. Here are some trends we are seeing today:

• Various cask finishes are all the rage, and will continue to be for quite a while. Sherry, Port, Cognac, Extra-smokey Bourbon—what else will we see in the coming months? Non-fortified wines? Beer? Short of Balsamic vinegar, anything goes, it seems.
• More rums with no age statements. Age can mean a lot or nothing at all when it comes to rum, because the number on the bottle often reflects the oldest rum in the blend, not the youngest. More rum blends are now reaching shelves with no age statement (Mt. Gay Black Barrel, for example) in favor of characteristics beyond age. This is closely related to the cask finishing, but it can go beyond that format and into a more nebulous notion such as a feeling or a particular place or adjective, as was done in the Scotch world beginning with Bruichladdich.
• Drier rums positioned against whisk(e)y. Brugal began beating this drum with the introduction of 1888, and their PR folks did a bang-up job of getting erstwhile journalists to essentially reprint their marketing message. Have to tip my cap to them for that one. Watch for more dry rums to compete for brown spirits drinkers who aren’t currently buying rum.
• More small batch bottlings from small producers are coming. In Europe, small batch bottling of really fine rum from folks like the Berry Bros. and Samaroli are mainstays of the high-end rum market. In the U.S., we’re starting to see a bit of that modality in the form of Ed Hamilton’s new rums. I hope to see more.
• ABVs above 40%. With more high-end bottlings, we are beginning to see rums bottled at slightly higher alcohol levels. Far too often are alcohol levels determined by the tax man and the MBAs (disclosure: I have one of those). I say give the distillers and blenders free reign to bottle at the ABV that tastes best and good things will happen. All one need do is look a the whisk(e)y world for proof of that (pun intended).
• On the negative side (at least from where I sit) we will continue to see a proliferation of cheap flavored rums flood the market. Spiced and flavored rums accounted for more than 52% of all rum sold in the US from 2011 to 2012, and the global powerhouses such as Bacardi and Diageo will try and capture even more of the flavored booze market with unholy rum concoctions similar to Malibu Spiced. More rum cream cordials are also sure to follow now that RumChata has moved a million cases.
• As for me, I’ll be launching one or two more rum-centric sites in the next year. The one I’m most excited about is called rumnotes.com. Rum Notes will have reviews similar to the ones featured here, but will be rum-only and is incorporating some technical innovations that will make the site incredibly useful for n00bs and experts alike. I’ll keep this site too, of course, as it enables me to post long-winded self-serving pieces like this one 😉

So thanks for making it a fun two years, folks—your comments and likes are my only payment, so please keep them coming!

Cheers,
Josh