With the recent-ish move of Bartender Jamie Kimber from Trailer Happiness to Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill, has come the very pleasent surprise of another London based Rum Club.

Aimed slightly more at the regular City of London’s Tiki Bar loving consumer crowd, as well as the Rum Club faithful, this newest edition to London’s drinking scene is intended to be held every two weeks and future evenings have already been lined up to feature Gosling’s Rum and El Dorado Rum, among others.

Maybe for some, the 13th July 2011 might be an unlucky day, but not for those of us fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Kanaloa Rum Club with Plantation Rum. Hosted by the excellent Paul McFadyen of Bibendum Spirits, the UK distributor of Plantation Rum, it also included the special guest speaker of Alexandre Gabriel, the head of Cognac Ferrand and the man behind Plantation Rum.

Plantation Rum is the brainchild of Alexandre Gabriel’s Cognac Ferrand, where they combine a number of the finest Caribbean rums with a double aging process in the cellars of Cognac Ferrand’s Château de Bonbonnet in France.

The range includes a number of  blended rums, namely: Plantation 20th Anniversary Extra Old Rum, Plantation Gran Añejo Rum (pictured right),  Plantation Grande Reserve Rum,  Plantation Original Dark Rum and Plantation Original Dark Overproof Rum, as well as the Single island Vintages: Plantation Barbados 2000 Rum, Plantation Grenada 1998 Rum, Plantation Guyana 1999 Rum, Plantation Jamaica 2000 Rum, Plantation Nicaragua 1998 Rum, Plantation Panama 2000 Rum, Plantation St Lucia 2001 Rum and Plantation Trinidad 2000 Rum.

Along with the attendance of Alexandre Gabriel, highlights of the evening included the Plantation Rum based Rum Punch, tastings of several Plantation Rums including the newly introduced and incredibly smooth Plantation Gran Añejo Rum from Guatemala, along with Jamie’s experimentation in Tiki Cocktails using Plantation Rum.

Unfortuantely, due to other commitments a full update of the evening isn’t possible, having left at the start of the main presentation. Although this meant missing out on the evening’s full tasting, I can confirm from previous tasting sessions that the range of Planation Rum includes some of the finest examples of quality rum and no decent rum collection should be without at least one or two bottles from the range of Plantation Rum.

So my thanks to Jamie, Alexandre, Paul and rest of the Plantation/Bibendum team for a great evening and I look forward to many future evenings at the Kanaloa Rum Club, including the 25th July 2011 when it plays host to Gosling’s Rum. For further details about the Kanaloa Rum club, please email TheRumClub@Hotmail.co.uk or ask for Jamie at the bar.

With a recent staff change at Trailer Happiness, it would appear that there’s also been a change of approach to the Rum Club. So far so good, as not only was I pleasantly surprised last Friday to receive an email from the Rum Club advising of 4th July Rum Club, but I would personally say that lasts nights tasting session provided by Andrew Scutts on behalf of St Lucia Distillers has been one of my favourites so far.

Rum Club - St Lucia Distillers

For those not in the know, St Lucia Distillers distills and bottles a number of brands including but not limited to: Chairman’s Reserve, Elements Eight, Toz and Admiral Rodney. Of these, Chairman’s Reserve is probably the most recognisable brand to most as it’s available at several locations in the UK including the supermarket chain Waitrose. From comments being made last night by some of the Rum Club faithful, not only are the rums of St Lucia Distillers held in good regard, but they’re also considered good value for their quality at reasonable prices.

The evening started with a brief overview of the history of Saint Lucia and the St Lucia Distillers, along with a short geology lesson on the fertility of the island’s soil, due to the Qualibou volcano that helped shape the island. It was at this point that Andrew pointed out that the importance of the volcanic activity of the island was reflected on the bottles of Chairman’s Reserve, with its representation of Gos Piton and Petit Piton mountains in its logo.

Whether intentional or not, this led nicely onto our first tasting of the evening. That of the recently introduced Chairman’s Reserve Silver. A 3 year old, charcoal filtered white rum, bottled at 40% / 80 Proof. A blend of 90% column still rum and 10% pot still rum I found this rum light and smooth with a very subtle bite. More of a mixing rum, this was considered suitable for cocktails such as a Mojito and Cuba Libre.

This was followed by Chairman’s Reserve, which has been on the market for a while now. It’s a 3 – 5 year old golden rum, that has been bottled at 40% / 80 Proof and is a blend of approx 65% column still and 35% pot still. The higher blend of pot still gives the rum more character and taste, while remaining smooth and easy to drink either neat or mixed.

Finishing off the current range of Chairman’s Reserve, we sampled Chairman’s Reserve Spiced. This is a sweet and light spiced rum with aromas and tastes of oranges, cloves and cinnamon flavours. Still bottled at 40% / 80 Proof, this golden rum has been infused with the spices for a month in steel vats, giving it a very sweet and easy to drink nature.

Rum Club - Chairman's Reserve 1931

Having considered myself privileged to try Chairman’s Reserve Silver rum before it goes on general sale in the UK, I felt doubly blessed when Andrew pulled out a prototype bottle of the soon to be released Chairman’s Reserve 1931 from his bag. Explaining that we were the first in the UK to even try this premium rum, I can say it was highlight of the night.

Chairman’s Reserve 1931 represents the best of the brand and commemorates the 80 year history of the St Lucia Distillers. Blended from 9 casks of 5 – 11 year old rum, 7 of which are American Oak Bourbon with the other 2 being Port, this rum has been bottled at a higher strength of 43% / 86 Proof. Strong, slightly dry with a long aftertaste, this rum will be limited to approximately 1000 cases a year with something like 100 – 200 cases reaching the shores of the UK. Andrew advised that each year the mix of rum casks will likely change, meaning that each year this limited edition rum will take on a slightly different taste.

If it wasn’t for the quality of the next rum, it would have been easy to think that following the Chairman’s Reserve 1931 would have been a tough act to follow. However, Admiral Rodney Extra Old St Lucia Rum in its decanter style bottle proved why it has been so highly regarded since its introduction. Bottled at 40% / 80 Proof, I found this 8 – 11 year old rum quite sweet for its age, with an aroma of caramel.

To finish the evening, we were introduced to Toz White rum, served as a Daiquiri. While I can’t comment on the rum directly, not having tasted it neat, I can say that this 5 – 8 year charcoal filtered rum made for a good Daiquiri. Toz White is finished off in Sherry casks, before being bottled at 40% / 80 Proof.

All in all a good night and one to remember, not least for trying two great new rums. So all that remains is to say my thanks to Max and Trailer Happiness for hosting the Rum Club and to Andrew Scutts and St Lucia Distillers for such a good evening. For those interested in joining the London Rum Club, please either visit the Rum Club website or pop into Trailer Happiness and speak to the bar staff.

Jamaican Mango (Frozen)

Having recently tried a half decent Mango Daiquiri and on the day in question picked up a bottle of Mango Puree, a little bit of experimentation led to my Frozen Jamaican Mango.

While most of the Mango cocktail recipes I’ve seen use light rum, I decided to add a bit more weight to the rum flavours by using a Dark Jamaican Rum. The Pineapple rum flavour is more subtle, but blends well with the mango flavour. Of course the addition of the 150+ Proof Rum float will give this tropical frozen drink a bit of a kick. However, if you are unable to source 150+ Proof Rum, then the Overproof Rum of your choice will suffice as a substitute.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Measures of Dark Jamaican Rum
1 1/2 Measures of Pineapple flavoured Rum
3 Measure of Mango Juice
1/2 Measure of Mango Puree
1/2 Measure of 150+ Proof Rum
Ice
Pineapple Wedge to garnish

Equipment

Blender
Hurricane Glass (Large Cocktail Goblet)
Tall Drinking Straw

Quarter fill the Blender with Ice and pour in the Dark Jamaican Rum, Pineapple flavoured Rum, Mango Juice and Mango Puree.

Blend the ingredients for approx 30 – 45 seconds. Once ready, pour the blended mix into the Hurricane Glass and pour the 150+ Proof Rum on top of the drink as a float. Add the Drinking Straw and Pineapple Wedge to garnish before serving.

While some of my fellow Rum Blogger’s headed off to the sunshine and parties of Miami this week, for the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, I had the pleasure of heading to last night’s reopening party of Trailer Happiness, in London’s Notting Hill.

While the decor may have changed for the better, what hasn’t changed is the quality Tiki cocktails or relaxed atmosphere of one of London’s best hangouts. For those who haven’t as yet discovered Happiness at the Trailer, head to 177 Portobello Road and sample some of the best cocktails in London.

Trailer Happiness describes itself as a “Cosmopolitan Kitsch Tiki Bar in Notting Hill.” Authentic Tiki cocktails are their speciality and along with Trader Vic’s they certainly know how to make a proper Mai Tai. Other notable cocktails sampled last night include the Atomic Punch, Cotton Mouth Killer and a flaming Mexican Head Hunter.

For those that maybe prefer their spirits less diluted, you will find one of the better selections of rums in London town, along with the usual suspects of tequila, vodka, gin and other fine spirits. This isn’t surprising as Trailer Happiness has been the home of London’s Rum Club for several years now and is often frequented by several notable experts in the rum industry.

Of course it wouldn’t be good to drink on an empty stomach and the Trailer’s kitchen ensures that this isn’t the case. Delicious nibbles and finger food are found aplenty and I can highly recommend the aubergine tempura, the mini burgers and the prawns.

Of course, no bar – no matter how Kitsch, would be complete without a good atmosphere. So if it isn’t the laid back tunes, the chances are it’ll be the friendly bar staff ensuring that you and your friends leave at the end of the night happier than you started the day.

So the next time you’re out and about in west London, don’t just take my word for it but make sure you soak up the atmosphere and cocktails at Trailer Happiness. For more information, please visit www.trailerhappiness.com.