Quite literally going up in smoke, the evening of the 8th August 2011 found me avoiding the mobs of malcontent cretins who thought that it would be fun to go on a rampage, through the streets of London.

And what better place to stow away to than Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill and this week’s Kanaloa Rum Club, with Stefanie Holt and El Dorado Rum. The evening started with a great tasting Rum Swizzle, made with the El Dorado 5 Year Old Rum, whipped up by the Kanaola bartenders. (Pictured below)

Stefanie started the evening, explaining the origin of the Rum Swizzle and the fact that it pre-dated the cocktail bar. Originally made from a combination of rum, sugar, sours and ice whisked together using a “swizzle-stick” from a native plant – the swizzlestick tree, where bits of the bark from the stick would fall into the drink adding a form of bitters. The Rum Swizzle was even said to be the drink of choice at the first recorded cocktail party.

The history theme was continued with the origin of El Dorado Rum and its heritage through the centuries old Guyana rum distilleries and its rum productions. Since the first boom of Demerara sugar production in the “Land of Many Waters” the number of rum distilleries slowly reduced until the last remaining four joined together in 1970, to form Demerara Distillers Limited.

Originally producing bulk rum on behalf of a number of other rum producers, such as Captain Morgan, Lamb’s, Pusser’s, Wood’s and many others, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the El Dorado brand was launched with their 15 Year Old premium sipping rum. Released to the international market in the 1990’s, to much acclaim, El Dorado 15 Year Old Rum has now won the International Wine and Spirits Competition Rum Trophy an impressive 7 times.

Using molasses made from 100% Demerara sugar cane, grown in plantations next to the Demerara River, El Dorado rums are distilled using a number of column and pot stills, including the last remaining wooden Coffey stills and pot stills. The full range of El Dorado Rum available in the UK consists of El Dorado 3 Year Old, El Dorado 5 Year Old, El Dorado 8 Year Old, El Dorado 12 Year Old, El Dorado 15 Year Old and the El Dorado 21 Year Old.

Our evening’s tastings consisted of all but the 21 Year Old, which was unfortunately down to a lack of available bottles. First up was the El Dorado 3 Year Old white rum. With hints of chocolate and nuts, with a creamy smoothness before a slightly spicy afterbite, this white rum is aged for a minimum of 3 years before being charcoal filtered to remove any colour before being bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof. This rum was created for the UK cocktail market, for use in drinks such as the Mojito or Daiquiri.

Next up was the mainstay of Guyana’s rum drinking population, the El Dorado 5 Year Old golden rum. Aged for a minimum of 5 years and blended with older rums up to 9 years old, this rum is also bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof and has a slight pineapple aroma, with a smooth start and a slightly spicy finish.

Finishing off El Dorado’s mixing rums, is the premium El Dorado 8 Year Old golden rum, which is as ideally suited to sipping as it is for mixing in a premium cocktail. This 40% ABV / 80 Proof rum is aged for a minimum of 8 years and is a blend of mostly column still rum with a small amount of rum from the pot stills.

Moving away from the mixing rums, we were then introduced to two of the best tasting rums I’ve so far had the pleasure to try. As stated in this blog previously, I “could easily picture myself sitting under a palm tree on a white sandy beach with an ice bucket and a bottle of this rum to while away the time.”

“This rum” refers to the El Dorado 12 Year Old dark sipping rum and with its smooth, sweet, fruity and complex flavours it really is one of my favourite rums. Mostly blended from wooden pot still rums, this rum is bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof and is a minimum of 12 years old.

Our last tasting of the evening was the El Dorado 15 Year Old rum, which was originally launched in an attempt to create a premium luxury sipping rum. With the numerous awards that this slightly sweet, spicy and complex rum has won over the years, it is clear that they succeeded. Blended from single pot still rums aged for a minimum of 15 years old, this rum is bottled at a slightly higher strength of 43% ABV / 86 Proof.

With the tasting finished and Stefanie’s descriptions of huggable small American oak barrels and height measurements in “Stefanie’s” done for the evening, the Kanaloa bartenders treated us to a selection of cocktails inspired by the El Dorado rums. Of these, my favourite was the El Dorado 12 Year Old Nui Nui-Ni, which along with the rum itself, is just sublime.

So, as previously my thanks to Stuart, Jamie and the other Kanaloa bartenders for another excellent Kanaloa Rum Club, as well as a huge thank you to El Dorado’s Stefanie for a great presentation and the chance to try so many of their excellent rums in one evening.

The next Kanaloa Rum Club should be taking place on Tuesday the 23rd August, where Kanaloa will play host to Ron Diplomático. For further details about the Kanaloa Rum club, please email info@kanaloaclub.com or if you’re passing by, simply pop in to Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill and ask the bar staff.

Contrary to my last posting, I’ve managed to get confirmation today and it appears as though next week’s Kanaloa Rum Club will in fact be held on Monday 8th August. Starting at 6pm, for a 7pm start, the evening will feature the excellent El Dorado Rum, presented by their UK Ambassador, Stefanie Holt.

I’ve also been advised that Stefanie’s presentation will cover all of El Dorado’s rums from their 3 Year Old White Rum through to their aged 21 Year Old Sipping Rum, taking in their 5, 8, 12 and 15 Year Old Rums along the way. In addition, the Kanaloa Bar Team will also be working their magic to serve a number of El Dorado inspired cocktails during the evening.

Owned by Demerara Distillers Limited, the El Dorado brand is synonymous with Guyanese Rum and the rum production heritage of this South American country. Still operating three unique wooden stills, which can be traced back over 200 years, the production of El Dorado Rum is a combination of modern and age-old techniques and includes the following rums.

El Dorado 3 Year Old Rum – This white 3 Year Old Rum is perfect for mixing, as the base of many a cocktail, such as a Mojito or Daiquiri.

El Dorado 5 Year Old Rum – This golden 5 Year Old Rum is complex enough to sip neat or over ice, yet light enough for a range of cocktails.

El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum – A premium mixing rum or for sipping straight, this rum is perfect for all occasions.

El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum – Light yet complex and certainly smooth, this is one of the finest examples of rum you are likely to try.

El Dorado 15 Year Old Rum – Slightly more complex than its younger brother, the 15 Year Old certainly deserves the awards it has won over the years and is a sublime sipping rum.

El Dorado 21 Year Old Rum – Some of the finest Demerara rums are specially selected and blended by the master distillers to produce this exquisite sipping rum.

For further details about the Kanaloa Rum club, please email info@kanaloaclub.com or if you’re passing by, simply pop in to Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill and ask the bar staff.

While London basked in the light of yet another overcast summer’s evening, a small crowd gathered under the shelter of Kanaloa’s Tiki Club, as a Dark ‘n’ Stormy evening brewed.

Playing host to Gosling’s Rum and their UK distributors Love Drinks, the bar tenders at Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill kicked off the second Kanaloa Rum Club with Bermuda’s national cocktail, the Dark ‘n’ Stormy.

One of only two cocktails to have been trademarked, Gosling’s Dark ‘n’ Stormy is a simple but effective drink, being 2 measures of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum over ice, topped with ginger beer and garnished with a wedge of lime. Bringing their own style to this classic cocktail, the Kanaloa bar tenders also added a splash of fresh lime juice, prior to the ginger beer, resulting in a drink that in their own words is a “tiki classic”.

Our guest speaker for the evening was Malcolm Gosling Jr (pictured right), who was on the last day of his UK trip to share his love and passion for his family’s business. A family business that has been around since 1806. Today, Gosling’s Rum has become part of the national heritage of the small island of Bermuda. A vital ingredient in Bermuda’s national dish, Fish Chowder, along with it being essential to several of Bermuda’s cocktails, Gosling’s Rum is even used to christen new buildings on the island.

With a history as rich and full of character as the rum itself, Gosling’s Rum has been produced since 1863, where after 3 years of experimentation with blending imported Caribbean rums, their distinctive black rum was born. Originally sold from the barrel, due to a lack of glass manufacturing on the island, it wasn’t until World War I that Gosling’s Rum was sold from reclaimed champagne bottles. Using black sealing wax to seal the corks in place, it wasn’t long before people started asking for the “Black Seal” rum.

Using a secret blend of Caribbean rums, Gosling’s Black Seal Rum uses rums aged from 3-6 years old, which are then blended together with a small amount of molasses to give that rich dark colour, before being bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof.

Not surprisingly, the evening’s tasting started with their signature Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. For me this rum hits the tongue with a rich smoothness that finishes with a slight bite. With plenty of character and flavour, I see this rum as not only great for cocktail mixing, but also for sipping over ice. (With a full review coming over the next few weeks, I will be putting both of these ideas to the test.)

Next up was the latest edition to the Gosling’s range of rum, Gosling’s Gold Rum. Created in 2005, after 100 years of experimentation, this blend of 2-5 year old rums, is lighter in colour and taste than the Black Seal Rum and I very much see it as a mixing rum. Also bottled at 40% ABV / 80 Proof, this amber coloured rum is still smooth, but doesn’t have quite as much depth of  character as its older brother, the Black Seal Rum.

Originally kept for the Gosling family themselves, our next tasting was of the Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum and I for one am so pleased that they decided to share this little gem. Taking the original Gosling’s Black Seal Rum blend and then aging them in charred oak barrels for a further 16 and 20 years, this 40% ABV / 80 Proof rum has a rich deep amber colour, with a chocolaty aroma. Incredibly smooth to sip, this is without a doubt one of my favourite rums.

Limited to 5000 cases every year, each bottle comes in its own distinctive wooden box and is individually numbered and signed by Malcolm Gosling, the president of Gosling’s Export (Bermuda) Limited and Malcolm Gosling Jr’s father.

To finish off the evening we were treated to Gosling’s 151 Proof Rum, which with a bit of help from one of Kanaloa’s bar tenders was proved to be extremely flammable and highly suited for fire breathing. Bottled at 75.5% ABV / 151 Proof, this overproof rum uses the same blend of 3-6 year old rums as Gosling’s Black Seal Rum.

Clearly an overproof rum of this strength is going to be strong to the taste, but where Gosling’s 151 Proof Rum succeeds is that it also has retained a lot of the depth and character of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum as well.

 With the tasting over, the rest of the evening was spent catching up with some of the Rum Club faithful, chatting with Malcolm and the Love Drinks team and enjoying “The Bermuda Triangle” – one of the cocktails that Stuart Hudson and his team at Kanaloa had put together for May’s National Bermuda Day celebrations. A blend of Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum, bitters and falernum served over ice, this cocktail truly is an expression of the best that Gosling’s Rum offers.

So my thanks to Malcolm Gosling Jr for his informative and tasty presentation, Kirsty and Joel of Love Drinks and to Stuart and the Kanaloa bar team for a great evening and for allowing me to get an even better understanding of what Gosling’s Rum has to offer.

Although the date of the next Kanaloa Rum Club is still to be confirmed, it is likely to be Wednesday the 10th August 2011. It is however definite that it will be featuring the excellent El Dorado Rum, presented by their UK Ambassador, Stefanie Holt and will be an evening not to be missed.

For further details about the Kanaloa Rum club, please email info@kanaloaclub.com or if you’re passing by, simply pop in to Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill and ask the bar staff.

As hinted at in my last Kanaloa Rum Club posting, on Monday the 25th July 2011, Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill will play host to Malcolm Gosling Jr, along with the fantastic range of Gosling’s Rum.

Bermuda’s largest exporter, Gosling’s Rum dates back to 1863, where it was originally sold from the barrel, with most people bringing their own bottle to fill up. With the First World War, came the opportunity to reclaim the empty champagne bottles from the British Officer’s Mess, which were then filled with Gosling’s rum, before the cork was sealed with black sealing wax. Hence the name, Black Seal Rum. The rest is as you say history and I’m sure Malcolm will give a more detailed background on the company and its excellent rums.

The evening will be commencing at 6pm, for a 7pm start and will include all four of the Gosling’s Rums:

Gosling’s Gold Rum – This lighter golden rum is perfect for sipping or mixing.

Gosling’s Black Seal Rum – Rich, smooth & full-bodied. The essential ingredient in Bermuda fish chowder, as well as the base of Bermuda’s favourite cocktail, the Dark ‘n Stormy.

Gosling’s Black Seal 151 Proof Rum – Take Gosling’s Black Seal Rum and give it the serious kick of 151 proof alcohol. Not to be taken lightly…

Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum – Based on an old Gosling family recipe, this is just sublime.

While not confirmed, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gosling’s trademark cocktail, the Dark ‘n Stormy. A blend of Ginger Beer and Gosling’s Black Seal Rum.

For further details about the Kanaloa Rum club, please email TheRumClub@Hotmail.co.uk or if you’re passing by, simply pop in to Kanaloa Tropical Island Bar & Grill and ask the bar staff.