Join Vizcaya At Old Westbury Gardens for “A Night In Old Havana”

If you’re a Vizcaya fan who lives on the East Coast, mark your calendars now for May 19, 2012. That’s the date of “Rum & Rumba: A Night In Old Havana,” which is the theme for this year’s Old Westbury Gardens annual Gardeners’ Fair.

Vizcaya is proud to sponsor this event, which is attended each year by hundreds of high-profile attendees from New York’s philanthropic, social and business communities, and to be the only brand of rum that is poured throughout the evening. Vizcaya Cristal and Vizcaya Cask 12 will provide a smooth, delicious basis for signature Cuban cocktails, while Vizcaya VXOP, the ultimate sipping rum, will be on hand for those guests who prefer to savor their rum straight up or on the rocks.

Additionally, a case of Vizcaya VXOP will be one of the featured auction items. Come place your bid for 12 bottles of the very best rum around, with proceeds to benefit a fantastic charity!

Old Westbury Gardens boasts 60,000 annual visitors. Located on Long Island’s North Shore, the 200-acre estate is home to many events, including children’s programs, concerts and festivals, horticultural classes, tours and talks. The Gardeners’ Fair is a much-anticipated annual extravaganza, and the funds raised on the evening of May 19th will help Old Westbury Gardens achieve its goals of providing environmental education and ensuring that beautiful green spaces are available to all.

Vizcaya is a natural partner for the 2012 “Rum & Rumba: A Night In Old Havana” event, since its family of Cuban-style rums, distilled using premium sugar cane and traditional methods, are rich with flavor and character. Anyone who appreciates the sophisticated nuances of a premium sipping spirit will enjoy the taste of Vizcaya VXOP, its smoothness embued with notes of spice, brown sugar and smoke. For fans of classic Cuban-inspired cocktails like mojitos, El Presidentes and daiquiris, Vizcaya Cristal and Vizcaya Cask 21 fit the bill. These, the newest addition to the Vizcaya line, offer the same high quality as Vizcaya VXOP, while maintaining a more subtle flavor profile. This allows them to be made into top-notch cocktails.

Come hobnob with some of New York’s elite society, drink fabulous cocktails inspired by 1950s Havana, bid on auction items like a case of the ultimate sipping rum, Vizcaya VXOP, and dance in the gardens. It’s “Rum & Rumba: A Night In Old Havana” at the Old Westbury Gardens, and it wouldn’t be the same without you!

For more information, please visit www.oldwestburygardens.org.

Vizcaya Cristal Is A Mixologist’s Dream

Whether you are a professional mixologist, or just a rum enthusiast who likes to shake up a cocktail at home now and again, you’ll want to add new Vizcaya Cristal to your repertoire of rums. Cristal, one of the newest additions to the refined Vizcaya family of ultimate sipping rums, is a white rum that can certainly be enjoyed on its own or over a few cubes of ice, but which also lends itself to amazing cocktails. Here are a few classic cocktail recipes to start you out.

Cristal Cuba Libre 

2 oz. Vizcaya Cristal
juice of 1/2 lime
Cola

Combine all ingredients in a highball glass over ice. Garnish with lime twist or wedge.

Cristal Mojito

2 oz. Vizcaya Cristal
handful mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
0.5 oz lime juice
2 oz. club soda

Place mint leaves in bottom of glass. Add crushed ice, Cristal, sugar, and lime juice. Muddle. Add soda and garnish with mint leaves.

Ti-Punch

2 oz. Vizcaya Cristal
1 oz. simple syrup
1 fresh lime

Wash lime, remove top and bottom, and thinly slice into half rings. Add lime pieces to glass and crush with the flat end of a barspoon. Add rum and sugar syrup, top with broken ice, and muddle together. Add a short straw, and serve.

Cristal Cubano

1 part fresh lime juice
1 1/2 parts orange liqueur
3 parts Vizcaya Cristal
1 egg white

Pour ingredients into an ice-filled shaker, shake well and strain into a glass. Garnish with fresh lime or mint.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

 Some rights reserved by ozmafan

Classic Cocktails Are Even Better with Vizcaya Cask 12 Rum

The simple pleasures in life — an exquisite cigar, a perfectly cooked ribeye, the smooth Vizcaya after a long day of work — are undeniable. Yet there are also moments when cocktails a little more complex are called for, and that’s when you’ll pull a bottle of Vizcaya Cask 12 out of your liquor cabinet. Cask 12 offers the same refinement that you enjoy when you drink Vizcaya VXOP, but its smooth mixability means that it’s easy to combine with other ingredients to create refreshing, classic cocktails. Here are a few favorites to get you started — but don’t be afraid to invent your own drinks using Vizcaya Cask 12. If you hit upon something fantastic, please share it with us!

Vizcaya Havana

2 oz. Vizcaya Cask 21 Rum

juice of 1/2 lime

ginger ale

Mix Vizcaya and lime juice in an ice-filled glass. Add ginger ale to taste. Garnish with mint.

Vizcaya Dark and Stormy

2 oz. Vizcaya Cask 12 Rum

8 oz. ginger beer

Pour Vizcaya over ice in a tall glass. Add ginger beer slowly. Stir and enjoy.

Vizcaya Rum Sling

2 oz. Vizcaya Cask 12 Rum

3 dashes Angostura Bitters

6 oz. club soda

Combine Vizcaya and Angostura Bitters in a highball glass over ice. Add club soda and stir. Garnish with a lemon or lime twist.

Vizcaya Rum Rickey

1 oz. Vizcaya Cask 12 Rum

1/2 oz. lime juice

1 tsp. simple syrup

club soda

Pour light rum, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, strain into an ice-filled collins glass, and fill with club soda. Garnish with a wedge of lime and serve.

photo courtesy of Flickr

 All rights reserved by SeeminglySane

Vizcaya Voted “Most Likely To Succeed” By The Tasting Panel!

The Tasting Panel‘s 2010 Yearbook, which reviews the most outstanding wines and spirits of the year, has given high marks to Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum, naming it “Most Likely to Succeed.”

A print and online publication devoted to discovering, discussing and showcasing the best wines and spirits from around the world, the Tasting Panel is an influential magazine which organizes and hosts tastings in major U.S. cities in order to showcase brands, regional specialties, importers, or categories of wines and spirits.

The magazine also prints reviews, interviews, regular editorial features and articles devoted to the liquor industry. It has a subscription base of restaurateurs, mixologists, sommeliers, importers and distributors, hospitality experts, and other spirits industry professionals.

Of Vizcaya, the Tasting Panel says, “burnished copper-hued Vizcaya rum is dazzling. Several layers of aromas waft up from the glass, from salty sherry, oak and cocoa to maple syrup drenched walnuts. On the palate, sumptuous notes of vanilla extract and nougat take this Thoroughbred to the finish line with satin smooth chocolate and maple bliss generously coating the palate.”

High praise, indeed, for the ultimate sipping rum, which we invite you to enjoy with your favorite cigar, paired with elegant small plates for the holidays, or just on its own, either neat or with a splash of water, as you take a break from your hectic routine and relax to enjoy life’s finer pleasures.

On behalf of the entire Vizcaya family, we wish you the very merriest of holidays and a prosperous New Year—from the Tasting Panel’s “Most Likely to Succeed,” Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum.

Vizcaya VXOP Wins Exclusive Double Gold Medal in the New York International Spiris Competition

Vizcaya Wins Double Gold Medal!

We’ve done it again!

We’re proud to announce that Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum has been honored with a Double Gold Medal in the first-annual 2010 New York International Spirits Competition (NYISC).

Several factors distinguish this competition from others in the spirits industry. The New York International Spirits Competition is the first major international spirits competition with judges who actually work in the spirits trade—from importers and distributors, to buyers at the nation’s leading liquor stores, to restaurant and bar owners. As you can imagine, the fact that these judges have substantial influence in their industry, and therefore can directly impact the sales of a brand, only adds to the prestige of winning an award and the NYISC.

Secondly, the spirits are categorized not only by product category but by price point as well. Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum, for example, competed in the category of “Rum Dark $26-40.”

Of the 187 submissions, from 28 countries, there were 13 Gold, 36 Silver and 45 Bronze Medals awarded, and one only award of Double Gold—to Vizcaya VXOP.

The ultimate sipping rum, Vizcaya is distilled, blended and bottled with craftsmanship and care, following the traditions of the Cuban rum-making process. This results in a caramel-colored, warm and spicy rum with notes of cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, butterscotch and brown sugar. Try it neat or on the rocks to best enjoy the fulness of its flavor profile—or pair it with your favorite cigar in order to complement the smoky sweetness of Vizcaya.

Held at the Brandy Library, one of the top spirits destinations in New York, the New York International Spirits Competition took place in late November, 2010. It was established by Adam Levy, a spirits writer and authority, and the president of All Spirits Events, which hosts educational spirits tastings at events both private and public.

Join us in celebrating the distinction bestowed upon Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Rum—the only Double Gold Medal winner in the inaugural New York International Spirits Competition. Cheers!

Come Drink Vizcaya at Brooklyn’s Friendly, Funky Roneria Caracas

Summer is drawing to a close, and that makes people melancholy, even while it sends them to the streets, seeking to wrest just a little more pleasure from this most hedonistic of seasons. If you happen to find yourself in Brooklyn, feeling a little restless and perhaps more than a little thirsty, may we suggest that you head over to Roneria Caracas for a rum flight featuring Vizcaya VXOP?

Located inside Caracas Arepa Bar Brooklyn, Roneria Caracas is an unusual little venue. The atmosphere is casual, funky, colorful and cozy all at once. With aluminum-siding (yes, we said aluminum siding) and plywood (yup, plywood) décor, a chalkboard listing its collection of premium rums, and a clientele that’s largely comprised of indy hipsters in various array of body modification, Roneria Caracas is not the most sophisticated venue in which to enjoy your Vizcaya—but don’t let that stop you.

Not only are their rum flights a fantastic way to venture into the world of “devil water” if you’re not already an aficionado, but the extremely knowledgeable bartenders will be happy to point you in the right direction if you’re looking for a cocktail. In fact, Roneria Caracas has developed a bit of a reputation for creating fresh, fun versions of old favorites—drinks that are at once surprising and true to the spirit of the original. A mojito with just a soupcon of absinthe; an old fashioned with port-marinated blueberries and bay leaf reduction; a pina colada accented with coconut bitters—these are some of the ways that the cocktails of yore are being reimagined by the mixologists at Roneria Caracas. Naturally, the slightly-smoky, honeyed and spiced notes of Vizcaya VXOP would provide an excellent counterpoint to any of these cocktails, as well as excellent enjoyed on its own.

While you’re at Roneria Caracas, make sure to try the speciality of the house at Caracas Arepa, arepas. These pocket-sized flatbreads can be stuffed with meat, chicken, cheeses or combinations of vegetables, and make the perfect snack to pair with a snifter of Vizcaya, or to nibble in between tastes of the rum flight.  If your appetite is already whetted when you arrive, try one of Caracas’s full plates, or order a tableful of arepas, empanadas and delectable side dishes to share.

Weather permitting, enjoy your smooth distinctive Vizcaya on Roneria Caracas’s patio and watch the fascinating parade that the Brooklyn streets provide. Cheers!

Savor the Culture of Vintage Cuba at Rumbar with Vizcaya VXOP

If you’re looking for a sophisticated, refined yet inviting space in which to enjoy Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 rum, look no further than Rumbar, located inside Key Biscayne’s Ritz-Carlton. The name of this storied hospitality company is synonymous with luxury and exemplary service, and Rumbar puts a decidedly Latin spin on the Ritz-Carlton’s elegance.

With deep, inviting leather couches and armchairs, crimson walls and rich mahogany woodwork, Rumbar looks every bit the gentleman’s club. The atmosphere is genteel and relaxed—perfect for kicking back to savor the spice and complexity of Vizcaya. Rumbar also has a humidor that boasts an extensive collection of cigars for your smoking pleasure.

Despite its decidedly vintage feel—Rumbar reminds patrons not just of Hemingway, as so many Cuban-inspired rum-friendly establishments do, but also, with its slowly turning wooden ceiling fans, of Bogey and Bacall—the small plates offered by Rumbar’s kitchen have a decidedly modern feel. Choose from short-rib sliders topped with goat cheese mousse and arugula, yuca fries with a creamy chimichurri dipping sauce, or a Caribbean pineapple pizza with cilantro. The classic Cuban sandwich composed of ham, pork, pickles and cheese, the Media Noche, is reworked as a panini. Key lime pie is topped with mango coulis in a delicious marriage of two tropical flavors.

As you would expect at a such a delightfully old-school bar, there is a comprehensive list of cocktails, ranging from time-honored standards like daiquiris, mojitos and caipirinhas, to innovative specialty martinis. The true rum lover, however, will probably bypass these in favor of a vertical rum flight—or possibly a tasting of his own devising. It’s also possible to rent one of Rumbar’s VIP rum lockers, in order to store your own personal bottle of Vizcaya VXOP.

Make sure to check out Rumbar on Saturday nights, when Grupo Nostalgia, a four-piece Latin music group, will truly transport you and your date to Old Havana. Any night of the week, however, is a perfect night to sit back and enjoy a cigar as the friendly bartender pours you a neat Vizcaya, at Key Biscayne’s upscale destination for the enjoyment of rum and Cuban culture.

Photograph courtesy of K. Hurley

Calling All Rum Enthusiasts! Join Vizcaya in San Francisco

Miss Pearl's Jam House

This weekend marks one of the most anticipated events in the rum enthusiast’s yearly calendar: the San Francisco Bay Ministry of Rum Festival 2010. Hosted at Miss Pearl’s Jam House, located in the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland, CA, this event gathers together rum lovers from around the around the globe to celebrate their favorite spirit.

This year’s festival marks the second appearance of Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario. Barrie will show festival goers that the pairing of rum and artisanal cheeses, while unorthodox, can be absolutely delicious. This event proved very popular at last year’s festival, so you won’t want to miss Barrie’s return or any of her delectable pairings.

After partaking of cheese, taste sugar cane spirits from many different makers, including Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 Cuban-Style rum. Also on hand will be some of the Bay area’s most respected and experienced mixologists, who will be whipping up rum-based cocktails, both classics and modern drinks.

Of course, you’ll also be able to wax enthusiastic about Vizcaya with fellow aficionados, including Edward Hamilton–considered the world’s top authority on all things rummy and the man behind the Ministry of Rum. All in all, the 2010 San Francisco Bay Ministry of Rum Festival promises to be a rollicking good time that will both educate and entertain all comers.

The festival will be held Sunday, August 8, 2010, beginning at 1:00pm for VIPs and press, then open to the general public from 2:00pm-5:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door on a cash-only basis, and are $50 per person.

We’ll see you there!

The Past, Present and Future of Rum: Vizcaya VXOP and Smuggler’s Cove

Celebrating the past, present and future of rum, Smuggler’s Cove rum bar in San Francisco offers a selection of premium rums and rum-based cocktails, including Vizcaya VXOP, the ultimate sipping rum.

Smuggler’s Cove offers “traditional drinks of the Caribbean islands, classic libations of Prohibition-era Havana, and exotic cocktails from legendary tiki bars” in a venue that is reminiscent of historic tiki bars and that also prides itself on nautical décor. When you step into the venue, located at Gough and McAllister Streets, you’ll immediately feel the spirit of the islands, the sea, and the people who have inhabited them throughout the ages.

Of course, Smuggler’s Cove wouldn’t be worth its salt if it didn’t offer an extensive list of premium rums, and it does just that. Try a rum flight or, if you’re truly a connoisseur, ask the bartender for a scorecard. You can keep track of all of the rums and cocktails you’ve tried, and when you’ve worked your way through the menu, you’ll receive an exclusive gift and merit badge—and have your name added to the Smuggler’s Cove Manifest. Another nice touch that the rum bar’s owner, Martin Cate, provides is a tasting notes section of the website, where rum lovers can view the truly spectacular menu and make their own notes as they experiment.

With capacity for only 49 people, Smuggler’s Cove is an intimate experience. The bartenders and mixologists who are here to serve you will take their time crafting a premium cocktail for you, whether you choose one of their specialties from the menu, or give them a little more leeway in making your drink. This is a place to gather with a few good friends, sip a cocktail and enjoy a spirited conversation.

Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21 rum, which prides itself on a robust, complex palate of flavors—including allspice, clove, nutmeg, butterscotch, vanilla and honey—is, similarly, a drink that is best enjoyed when you have a little leisure to fully appreciate its nuances. Smooth, sippable and even sultry, Vizcaya is the ultimate sipping rum and one that will conjure up the remarkable qualities of a traditional, handcrafted Cuban-style rum.

We’re proud that Vizcaya VXOP is among the offerings at Smuggler’s Cove, and invite you to indulge in a cocktail made with this premium rum, or to savor a glass neat or on the rocks, in the remarkable seafaring atmosphere of Smuggler’s Cove the next time you’re in San Francisco.

Vizcaya VXOP and Dominos At Philly’s Rum Bar

Let’s face it: when you think of rum, Philadelphia is not the first location to come to mind. The owner and mixologist behind Rum Bar, however, wants to change that.

Adam Kanter has painstakingly crafted a rum list and cocktail menu to showcase a variety of rums, including the ultimate sipping rum, Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21. Rum Bar, which is located conveniently just off Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square Park, is a cozy yet not overly intimate setting in which to sip a glass of Vizcaya and perhaps indulge in a small plate or two from the restaurant’s island-inspired menu. After all, who could resist an order of jerk chicken wings, Jamaican beef patties, or ahi tuna tacos with pineapple slaw, pico de gallo and sweet avocado sauce?

Don’t let the delectable food offerings fool you, however; this is a serious rum bar, with a collection of over 140 rums and a cocktail menu designed to showcase them. The knowledgeable bartenders at Rum Bar will mix you up something familiar—a mojito or Mai Tai made high-end by the addition of Vizcaya—or something a little more esoteric. How does a creole daiquiri or a cucumber-rum sour sound? And should your companion be less of a rum enthusiast than you, there’s also a unique selection of South American wines.

Rum Bar features live music, ranging from samba to calypso to rock, every Saturday night, as well as rum flights, and drink and food specials that differ each day. Perhaps most notable among their special events, however, are their Save the Daiquiri Wednesdays, in which the bartenders will craft authentic daiquiris for half price, while patrons can enjoy a spirited game of dominos and the laid-back sounds of live reggae music.

The ambiance at Rum Bar is lush, warm and inviting—much like the experience of sipping Vizcaya VXOP. So the next time you’re in Philly and want to talk rum or enjoy some good company while drinking great Cuban-style Vizcaya VXOP rum, stop in to the Rum Bar Lounge and Restaurant.