My contact promised to send a bottle of the Flor de Caña 4-Year-Old Gold rum that’s called for in the Flip Flop (the pleasures of being a cocktail writer). Wen I opened the box though, I found not Flor de Caña 4 year old, but the brand’s Grand Reserve, a 7-year-old medium-bodied rum. Not being one to waste a spirit I had not had the chance to try, I decided to turn my “lemons” into “lemonade”.

Now lots of rum cocktails, especially the refreshing summer variety, are made with light or gold rum. Darker rum often plays a supporting part, or is reserved for sipping. I personally love the stuff in cocktails. A good dark rum adds body and boldness to the drink’s flavor that I really enjoy. When short of lighter varieties, I’ve been known to substitute a dark rum in a daiquiri, with good results.

For this project though, the dark rum would be the star, and my idea was to keep with the theme of summer freshness and refreshment. As it happened, I’d just whipped up a batch of raspberry syrup, having taken it into my head to try the Belmont cocktail. And that’s how the Rum Raspberry was born.

Rum Raspberry

• 2 oz Flor de Caña Grand Reserve rum
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 3/4 oz raspberry syrup

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Truth to tell, my cocktail turns out to resemble a sort of non-frozen raspberry daiquiri, The raspberry aroma and flavor is vibrant, and balances nicely with the Flor de Caña’s molasses and maple flavors.

The raspberry syrup, by the way, is incredibly simple. I found it on the Gourmet site, along with the Belmont. Bring a pint of raspberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 minutes, stirring ocassionally. Let the syrup cool. Use a fine mesh strainer to separate liquid from solids. You’ll need to press the solids quite a bit, and your yield should be about 1/2 cup.

Buffalo Trace has acquired the E.H. Taylor brand, along with its product inventory, from Beam Global. E.H. Taylor  the distiller, first produced E.H. Taylor the bourbon in what is now the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfurt, KY. so this shuffling of brand and barrels amounts to a homecoming. Taylor, a great nephew of 12th US president Zachary Taylor, purchased the Frankfurt distillery in 1870 and eventually named it OFC, for Old Fire Copper. though Taylor eventually sold the distillery, the brand continued under new ownerhip. In the small world of Kentucky bourbon distilling, it has now come full circle.

Sure, International Cachaça Day is a promotional vehicle for Brazil’s national beverage, but there’s a colonial back story! It was started by Sociedade Brasileira da Cachaça, a Brasilian government organization. It was created to commemorate June 12th, 1744: the day when Portugal, then the colonial authority in Brazil, outlawed the production and sale of cachaça. and I’ll bet that was thirsty work.

The caipirinha is the cocktail most often associated with Cachaça, particularly outside its native land. But here are a couple of cocktails you might want to sip on June 12 as you celebrate International Cachaça Day. These recipes were offered up by the folks ac Cabana Cachaça.

The Marpessa

• 1 oz Cachaça
• 3/4 oz Orchard Pear Liqueur
• 1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz aloe vera

Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker, Shake and strain into a chilled, tall cocktail glass, garnished with a thinly sliced lime wheel.

Feeling tropical?

Beach Comber

• 1 oz Cabana Cachaça
• 1 oz Veev Acai liqueur
• 1 oz kiwi puree
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz simple syrup

Shake with ice and pour into a cocktail glass.

First up, a beyond-basic drink, for tequila fans on a budget.

The Azul Paloma

• 1.5 oz. Azul Reposado tequila
• Fresca (or similar sparkling drink)

Pour Azul into Collins glass full of ice.  Top with Fresca, stir, and garnish with lime

The Rosangel Ruby Fizz

• 2 oz Rosangel tequila
• .5 oz agave syrup
• .5 oz ruby port
• 1 bar spoon pomegranate molasses
• .25 oz lemon juice
• .5 oz egg white

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a highball glass with one large ice cube.  Top with club soda and garnish with a cherry.

Here’s what Gran Centenario says about the Rosangel Ruby Fizz

“This exquisite cocktail from mixologist extraordinaire Julie Reiner (Flatiron Lounge and Clover Club - NYC), uses Rosangel, the first-ever hibiscus infused tequila, made from a reposado base, and rested in port barrels for an additional two months.:

Maestro Maria Verde

• 3 2-inch slices celery
• Loose handful of cilantro
• 2 oz Maestro Dobel tequila
• .25 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• .75 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz ginger ale

In a pint glass, muddle celery & cilantro, then add all spirits & mixers. Shake vigorously for six seconds, add ginger ale. Strain over fresh ice in Collins glass, garnish with celery stalk. Maestro Dobel’s diamond tequila is a filtered blend of reposado, anejo, and extra anejo tequilas.

“The Maestro’s version of the Bloody Mary: crisp, cool and green.  Created by Pablo Moix of STK and Coco De Ville in Los Angeles, this wildly original and refreshing cocktail uses Maestro Dobel the world’s first-ever “diamond” clear-aged tequila.  It is a blend of reposado, anejo, and extra-anejo tequilas,”

• Tales begins Wednesday July 8 with the Nightclub and Bar Professionals series, a day of sessions focused on the beverage business, cocktail trends, and bartender training.

• Seminars: Take one jigger of modern cocktail-making practice, a squeeze of cocktail history, a dash of spirit tasting, and garnish with practical business ideas for producers and bar owners. Presenters include David Wondrich, Dale DeGroff, Ted Haigh, Robert Hess, Darcy O’Neill, Charlotte Voisey, and the proverbial many, many, more.

• Competitions: There is a USBG Caipirinha competition, which should provide plenty of lime-muddling action for fans of the Brazilian national drink. I have to confess that I am looking most forward to the On the Fly competition, which challenges bartenders to create a cocktail using only the contents of the prodigious Tales of the Cocktail swag bag. I saw a shaky video of this informal competition last year, which looked like a lot of fun. It appears that this year’s versions is steed up a notch, with eight competitors, three judges, and sponsorship. Hmm, would the list of sponsoring brands offer any hints as to what one might expect to find in the swag bag?

• Tasting Rooms: Brands from Absinthe to Zacapa (rum), Tales offers a four-day lineup of spirit-tasting, and specialty food and cocktails based around sponsoring brands. when I strolled into tastings 30 minutes or so after they had started, I was surprised to discover that most were not simply lineups for a dram or cocktail. A number of brands had designed mini-seminars, video presentations, competitions, and other worthwhile experiences around their products. Sure, there were sales pitches, but most producers were smart about combining information with marketing. After a couple of these, I learned to show up on time. And I learned a lot. This year’s tastings look to be even more innovative, with food tie-ins, and even a few multi-brand events.

Ticket options for Tales of the Cocktail range from the mostly-inclusive Founder’s Day pass that gets you into your choice of seminars, the competitions and cocktail parties, to day passes and individual seminar tickets. The organizers have secured room blocks in several nearby hotels, including the charming Hotel Monteleone, where most Tales events take place. Tales of the Cocktail happens July 8-12 in New Orleans.

To set the mood, I fill my crock pot with apple cider and add a handful of cinnamon sticks, warming it for a couple of hours before my guests arrive. When I welcome my guests at the door, the smell of hot cider greets them, too.

To make hot buttered rum, add 1 1/2 oz dark rum per mug.
Fill with hot cider.

Add a cinnamon stick from the crock pot.
Top with a small pat of butter.

Simple, warm, delicious.

As I wrote here in June, Old Forester has issued Repeal Day bourbon. The folks at Dwars have put together a Repeal Day Web site, complete with old newsreel clips and classic cocktail recipes. Dewars and others are sponsoring Repeal Day activities in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles, among others.

As a history and film buff, I always enjoy watching grainy newsreel photos of people dumping barrels of booze into the gutter, like those n the Dewars site. But even better are some of the films of the time, some released after repeal, that give a feeling for the culture of drinking and the lawbreaking associated with it, that occurred in the US during the 20s and early 30s. I thought I’d share a few. Unfortunately, some of my favorites are not available on DVD. Here are a few that are:

The Public Enemy (1931): The granddaddy of the 1930s gangster genre, this story of juvenile delinquents who become bootleggers and criminals is notable for its brutality. Stars James Cagney and Edward Woods rise through the criminal ranks by forcing bar owners to buy their bootleg beer and pay protection. In a notable scene, the two siphon contraband booze from barrels in a a federal warehouse, using a gasoline truck. In the end, Cagney’s Tom Powers gets his comeuppance not from the law, but from another gangster, causing quite a stir among moralists of the time. Unfortunately for its critics, The Public Enemy created a template for more filmed crime drama, not less.

Night Nurse (1931): This is not a movie about making or selling booze when it was illegal to do so. Rather, it is one of the best examples of pre-production code debauchery in early Hollywood. Crusading nurse Barbara Stanwyck encounters criminals and dipsonamniacs (gotta love that term) who seem to have no trouble finding enough alcohol to fuel their parties. They’re positively stewed, in fact. The fact that alcohol is illegal only comes up as a sidebar.

The Thin Man (1934): Released six months after repeal, The Thin Man serves up a Dashiell Hammett murder mystery from the inside of a martini glass. Though a few of detective William Powell’s friends are Ronyonesque criminal types, the movie finds its drinkers within a much higher strata of society than what you’ll find in the early gangster and “forbiden Hollywood” films. In this celebration of sophisticated drunkenness, Powell swills his way through solving a murder case, with jokes aplenty about early morning drinking, flasks, over-consumption, and so forth. It is remarkable for its unapologetic embrace of booze and drinking humor.

The Roaring Twenties (1939): This is my absolute favorite gangster movie of all time, and a minor epic. The film’s style combines documentary narration with a story about how poor kids became bootleggers, and how crime, in the end, can mess up your life. Well, that and not getting the girl you wanted. Sound familiar? Maybe a little like The Public Enemy? But this one offers a large dollop of sympathy to the eventual bootleggers, who start out as World War I veterans returning from the army to find no jobs at home, James Cagney is in his absolute prime, and his climactic scene is one you will probably recognize, even if you haven’t seen the entire film. The documentary-style footage shows the making and distribution of booze from bathtub to full-on distillery. The mechanics of bootlegging and great gangster film entertainment? What’s not to love!

My ears perked up when I first heard main character Don Draper order “rye”. I thought that perhaps the show’s creators had spent too much time in 21st century cocktail bars, and had transported the current rye craze back to a time where it did not belong. But turns out the makers of Mad Men knew better than I what they were doing. In the 1960s USA, as in Canada to this very day, Canadian whisky went by the moniker “rye”, owing to a historically high rye content. And Don Draper,a man whose very life is about brands and branding, is partial to Canadian Club (CC). Like other Canadian brands, CC no longer consists mainly of rye, nor is it required to in order to bear the name. In the US, whisky must contain at least 51% of the grain to bear the moniker “straight rye”.

Even though Draper’s rye doesn’t’ go by that name anymore in the States, he is, like hip rye drinkers nowadays, charting a slightly non-standard course for himself. As Don sips his CC, colleagues tend toward bourbon, or a generic “whisky”.

Though you’ll most often find the CC in Don’s desk or office bar, the ad man has been known to order cocktails at lunch or after work. His favorite seems to be the Od Fashioned. Interestingly, he doesn’t specify rye, or even CC. But perhaps, in the plush circles where Don travels, the barkeeps know him, and the whisky of choice is assumed.

As it happens, Canadian Club is celebrating a little history in the here and now. The brand marks 150 years of production in 2008, all of it in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. And they’ve released a commemorative 30-year old bottling to celebrate. I haven’t tried it, but Men.Style has a review. For more on Canadian Club and its history, take a listen to this episode of Mark Gillespie’s excellent WhiskyCast podcast.

So here’s to the past, both celebrating the longevity of whisky brands, and recreating it on television.

Each drink recipe occupies its own page, with ingredients, mixing instructions, and a citation of the drink’s source. Classic cocktail enthusiasts will love the detailed sourcing.

You can search by drink name, ingredients, or tag, and Cocktails provides the ability to mark drinks as favorites. If your search turns up a drink for which there is more than one recipe, you can reach the alternate versions with a simple tap. You can also quickly send recipe links via email, SMS, or Twitter (if you have the Twitterific iPhone app installed). Best of all for iPod Touch users, Cocktails doesn’t require an Internet connection: the database is stored on your device.

I’ve used Cocktails frequently in my home bar with great results. I reviewed it on the first episode of my iPhone application podcast, App Store Pundit (Web site, iTunes). Unfortunately, Cocktails does not contain the full contents of CocktailDB, but each version of the app has added more recipes. Upgrades have been free, by the way. It’s also important to note that the selection of recipes here leans strongly toward the classics, rather than more recent, and less eclectic offerings you might find in a college bar. If sheer volume, and newness are what you seek, there are several other iPhone drink recipe apps available.

I would love to see Cocktails add the ability to make notes and attach them to favored recipes. I don’t believe the iPhone app interface would allow the creation of one’s own recipes, but the ability to note a personal substitution or opinion would be welcome.

At $4.99, Cocktails is priced fairly, and the developer continues to make improvements in the app itself, along with additional recipes.

The Artisans Spirits session, held here on July 17, focused on marketing challenges. Since these products are usually created by passionate people with little money to spare for the kind of marketing and sales forces that large manufacturers can muster, the road to success for artisans usually requires word-of-mouth marketing, and the support of mixologists who understand how the spirits are made, and what role they can play in a bar program.

Distributors and distillers also suggested artisans play up the local angle of their products, especially if ingredients come from the region where the spirits are distilled. The trend toward organic cocktail ingredients can also play into the artisans’ advantage, though some panelists pointed out that sourcing consistent, high-quality organic ingredients is often a challenge.

Several audience members and panelists agreed that a marketing association for artisan distillers could have the potential to allow low-volume producers to obtain distribution, and enter markets where they have difficulty prospering alone.