So, I gots RUM!

[AccountingDrone]

Back from my cruise, and we bought 4 bottles of rum while in the islands.
Cruzan Black Strap Rum. very nice, full intense flavor with a very spicy/molassas undercurrent. It will be very nice for sipping.

Bacardi Reserva Limitada - It has my name engraved on the bottle And it comes with a certificate and in a spiffy leather box. haven't tried it yet.

Leanex Ponche Caribe which I have not yet tried

Ponche Kuba which I also have not yet cracked open the bottle on.

The ponches are more or less caribbean eggnogs =) so I am looking forward to trying them.

I can highly recommend Royal Caribbean for handicapped cruising - the staffing were all fantastic and the stateroom I had was wonderfully set up for wheelchair gimping =) mrDrone had a blast on the islands, and I enjoyed vegging on the balcony and people/boat watching. We booked a 12 day cruise for next Feb, and we now know which ports I can actually get off the boat and do stuff at

I did see some serious rude people on board, and a few entitlement whores. One person was whinging to the guest relations person next to the one I was talking to about the rough seas heading down. Um, hurricane force winds [measured at 100 miles per hour, with 25 foot waves] isn't something the captain can actually DO anything about... so I told the person that perhaps going on a winter cruise in a stormy winter season might be something that they should not do in the future as neither the Captain or Cruise line can control the weather at this time and one person actually whined at me that my wheelchair was taking up too much room in the elevator ... I should get out to let their group get in to go to dinner.

[CaroPhoenix]

For a moment there, I was completely surprised as I thought I was in my dining room, on my computer.

They sound great ... Now I'm going to have hunt them down myself and give them a try.

Not that I like rum or anything ...

[AccountingDrone]

The Ponche Kuba is a light eggnoggy flavored liqour, with nutmeg, a touch of allspice - very light. Not goopy like american eggnog from a grocery store. Very nice. I just tried it on ice. I could get addicted to it [the sugar content is not good for diabetics, and the alcohol content is not good for someone on painkillers ... it will be sipped in small amounts moderately!]

And it turns out that we sailed south through a cat 2 hurricane ... Who knew that you could have a hurricane without the american news channels doing a doom and gloom watch on it. I guess it was superceeded by blizzard doom and gloom news ...

[BookstoreEscapee]

Not that I like rum or anything ...

You drink rum?

[CaroPhoenix]

That sounds great!

As for the Cat 2 hurricane ... wow! Glad to hear you got out of it in one piece.

ETA: BSE - I only drink rum on days that end in "y".

[Jester]

Of the four you mentioned, I have only had the opportunity to try the Cruzan Black Strap Rum. Not bad, a bit licoricey. And maybe I am just jaded by all the good sipping rums I have had, but I just don't consider CBS a sipping rum. Yeah, must be jaded. Also, I have to remember that everyone has different tastes. For example, I have actually met people who did not like My Favorite Rum That I Can Afford! (Pyrat XO Reserve.) Shocking, I know.

The Ponche Kuba is a light eggnoggy flavored liqour, with nutmeg, a touch of allspice - very light. Not goopy like american eggnog from a grocery store.

Sounds like rum cream. We have had a couple of those in The Bar. Not a huge fan myself, but there are far worse things out there. 10 Cane Rum, for example. Yuck!

They sound great ... Now I'm going to have hunt them down myself and give them a try.

Happy hunting!

I am constantly trying new rums, as I think y'all know. Hell, at The Bar we have about 160 different rums, and I still continue to hear about new rums, stuff I have never tried or even heard about.

Mmmm.....rum....

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

What's bad is that i'm allergic to rum.

That makes me sad

[Amina516]

I went on a cruise this past summer....and brought back the most RIDICULOUS cheap, delicious rum I have ever in my life tasted.

Its was by Tortuga Rum Co and I was in their store in Grand Cayman Island. I bought a 3 pack of huge bottles for $14!

It was so smooth, delicious and fruity I was soooo sad to see it gone. I think they just started selling them in the states, so Ill see if a summer trip to Maryland is fruitful. Of course, i would not be transporting liquor across state lines because thats illegal (some big to-do with the taxes)...

[CaroPhoenix]

What's bad is that i'm allergic to rum.

That makes me sad

But you can be friends with me! As far as I know, I've never had anyone allergic to me.

[AccountingDrone]

I can't drink much or often, so I like *good* stuff, the bottle of reservo will last a real long time!

The ponches are interesting, and can be described as rum creams though they don't have the same heavy syrup consistency of irish cream or advocaat.

Rob is actually thinking about doing the move to the islands thing ... it was nice not being in pain from the cold for a while. The summer heat can be dealt with by air conditioning. I suppose if he can get the house finished, and find a job there, the whole ex-pat thing would be ok by me. I rather like the idea of tropical fruit trees in the back yard. I adore avocados, oranges, mangos, bananas and plantains not costing an arm and a leg.

[Jester]

I ... brought back the most RIDICULOUS cheap, delicious rum I have ever in my life tasted.

Its was by Tortuga Rum Co...

This is one of the top rums I get asked about at The Bar that we actually do NOT have. People are constantly asking about it, and apparently it has a big following. I would love to try it, though as always I keep a grain of salt with me, as Bud Light also has a big following, and it is not exactly the best beer around!

The top rum we get asked about is when idiots ask us about Cuban rum. Which is illegal in the U.S. due to the Cuban embargo that the U.S. has had against Cuba for decades. What bothers me is not the people that ask about it that don't realize that it is illegal to have in the U.S. I am not even bothered by the idiots who don't realize that Key West is subject to U.S. laws, as it is part of Florida. Hell, I am not even bothered that much anymore by the morons that don't realize that Key West is part of Florida!

No, it's the fucktards that know Key West is part of Florida, hence part of the U.S., and that due to this Cuban rum is illegal here, and yet still ask for it. You can tell these ass munchers by the way they ask for it. "Hey, do you have any Cuban rum behind the bar/under the bar/socked away somewhere that we could buy?" They are assuming that not only would we admit to having something that is blatantly against federal laws, but that we would sell it to them and break even more laws just because they asked.

Are there people and places that have Cuban rum illegally? I have no doubt that there are. Especially this close to Cuban. I wouldn't even doubt that some of the bars around here do. But if they do, there is no way in hell they are going to just sell it to some schmo off the street for the asking. Now, if one day you find yourself partying with the owner of a bar in the Keys, or some other tropical part of the U.S., and you end up there after closing, and they've closed the blinds but allowed you and a select few other privileged individuals to continue partying after hours, and the owner then breaks out a bottle of quality aged Cuban rum, consider yourself lucky and enjoy your good fortune (just as you would if you found yourself skinnydipping with a hot movie star), as this is the only way it's going to happen. And for goodness sake, don't tell anyone about it! The owner was kind enough to share with you....your mouth is just going to get him in trouble. (For once, the above really is only conjecture, as I don't actually know of such things....I just wouldn't be surprised that they do happen.)

Of course, i would not be transporting liquor across state lines because thats illegal (some big to-do with the taxes)...

I do not believe it is illegal. Sure, I have driven with booze (sealed unopened bottles) in my vehicle, but since I have never been stopped, this proves nothing. However, when I flew to San Fran in '08, I took a bottle of rum with me as a present to my host. I put it in my checked luggage, and I told the airport folks about it. Since it was not in my carry-on baggage, they had no problem with it.

Which suggests it is not illegal to transport it across state lines. At least not in a blanket way. There are limitations, I am sure, which is why most liquor companies won't just ship you something if it involves a different state. But some will. Check the local laws in your area.

[wolfie]

This is one of the top rums I get asked about at The Bar that we actually do NOT have. People are constantly asking about it, and apparently it has a big following. I would love to try it, though as always I keep a grain of salt with me

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I do not believe it is illegal. Sure, I have driven with booze (sealed unopened bottles) in my vehicle, but since I have never been stopped, this proves nothing. However, when I flew to San Fran in '08, I took a bottle of rum with me as a present to my host. I put it in my checked luggage, and I told the airport folks about it. Since it was not in my carry-on baggage, they had no problem with it.

Which suggests it is not illegal to transport it across state lines. At least not in a blanket way. There are limitations, I am sure, which is why most liquor companies won't just ship you something if it involves a different state. But some will. Check the local laws in your area.

Jester, as a bartender, you should know that salt is for Tequilla, not rum.

As for transporting booze across state lines, IANAL (or even a Yank), but I believe the difference between your case and the liquor companies is that you were bringing already-purchased liquor in what was obviously a personal-use quantity, and even if there were tax implications it probably wasn't worth the airline's time to do the paperwork. If you'd been bringing a couple cases of rum, it would have been another story.

With the liquor companies, they would be selling liquor into a state where they're not based. Since this is a commercial enterprise, the government would be very interested.

As for the Cuban rums, don't know if you'd get in trouble with your boss over this, but if you gave the customers the name of someplace in Canada that sold them (yep, it's legal to buy Cuban rum/cigars/etc. in Canada), neglecting to let the SCs know that the place wasn't in Key West, that might get them off your back.

[Amina516]

I do not believe it is illegal. Sure, I have driven with booze (sealed unopened bottles) in my vehicle, but since I have never been stopped, this proves nothing. However, when I flew to San Fran in '08, I took a bottle of rum with me as a present to my host. I put it in my checked luggage, and I told the airport folks about it. Since it was not in my carry-on baggage, they had no problem with it.

Which suggests it is not illegal to transport it across state lines. At least not in a blanket way. There are limitations, I am sure, which is why most liquor companies won't just ship you something if it involves a different state. But some will. Check the local laws in your area.

This is what Ive always been told. (Doesnt make it true!!) Not in a blanket way, but specifially from MD to PA due to the taxes. It would appear that PA is a bitch about liquor. We dont even have any sort of alcohol in our grocery stores or anything. You can ONLY buy liquor at the state run stores (thats another reason I Loooooove Florida..Publix and BJs have LIQUOR.mmm!!) Beer is sold in its seperate Beer Distributor stores. Going to the gas station and picking up a six pack is a liberty I do not have..

[Chrismor]

One person was whinging to the guest relations person next to the one I was talking to about the rough seas heading down. Um, hurricane force winds [measured at 100 miles per hour, with 25 foot waves] isn't something the captain can actually DO anything about

I took an introduction to cruising in August last year. It was not with any of the big liners (the ship I was on, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Black Watch was parked next to Crown Princess, who left us cowering in her shadow. Thanks, Princess Cruises.)

Sailed from Dublin, Ireland to Southampton, England. 2 nights onboard, non stop.

Night 1 was an... experience. As we left sheltered Irish waters and entered the Atlantic, we met a guy called Bill... Hurricane Bill. Between him and the merging bodies of water and the fact that it (in cruising terms) was a small ship, we got thrown about the place. My brother, who was in a suite 1 deck below me, with my parents (I treated them to the cruise, seen as I work for the travel agency that had exclusive selling rights) got thrown out of bed 3 times.

The next morning, after a bit of an extended sleep, I saw the crew looked ill. It must have been bad.

The Captain though tried to make a joke of it. During his 9AM announcements, he said, as deadpan and monotone as possible:
"Overnight sea conditions were moderate. (pause) Yes, that was a joke!"

Once we got round the south coast of England it became very calm, and very relaxing.

One plus side was that because the ship left the EU on it's main itinerary, I could buy duty free booze, and well, the drinks onboard were almost for nothing.

I want to do a Royal Caribbean or NCL one now. Have to see if any good travel agent offers come up.

C.

P.S. Oh, better hope your cruise ship does not do this (see attachment, taken from Daily Mail article published last year.)

[AccountingDrone]

I want to do a Royal Caribbean or NCL one now. Have to see if any good travel agent offers come up.

C.

P.S. Oh, better hope your cruise ship does not do this (see attachment, taken from Daily Mail article published last year.)

This was a RCI ship in the med during a storm ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AN2Q...eature=related

We had a cat 2 hurricane, which is winds of 120 MPH, with 90 MPH sustained, um ... 193 km with 144 km sustained winds. Sea state 6 for about 20 hours of the transit =)

We already reserved a stateroom for next Feb 6th on Explorer of the Seas ... if we get more people from CC on it, we can have a party =) Nothing like some caribbean sun in the middle of winter!