By
George Brozowski
Who
in the hell is Sammy Hagar? Well, if you're into
rock and roll you might know or if you're into tequila you
might know and now if you're into rum you just might know,
otherwise you're just plumb out of luck. It turns out that
Sammy Hagar is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who after several
solo platinum albums joined Van Halen in 1985 and took the
band to 4 no. 1 albums. Unable to sit still he became associated
with Cabo Wabo Tequila and opened several successful Cabo
Wabo Cantinas. After tasting further success with his first
restaurant venture he expanded on it and opened Sammy's Beach
Bar & Grill which naturally got him thinking about Rum.
Since he lives in Hawaii part of the year, he figured what
better place to make rum, especially utilizing Hawaii's world
class sugar cane. He met a local vodka distiller on Maui and
talked him into whipping up some rum for him and that's how
Sammy's Beach Bar Rum came into existence.
Well,
let's see if Sammy's success extends to his rums. Sammy's
silver rum comes in a clear bottle with a green sugar cane
plant painted on the back and visible from the front through
the transparent rum. Straight up, the nose is very vegetative
and chock full of sugar cane and coconut and earthy fragrances
followed by a rummy alcohol hint.
On
the palate the tingle and taste of the rum comes to the front
followed by the coconut with the floral notes bringing up
the rear. The finish is fairly smooth and fairly long. On
the rocks everything settles down into a harmonious blend
of floral notes with the rum this time taking the back seat
but still in control. With that little bit of ice this becomes
a very pleasant sipping rum. In a mixed drink this rum has
enough presence not to get lost or lose its flavor, good one
Sammy.
Next
up is Sammy's Red Head Beach Bar Rum which
is a macadamia nut flavored rum that is colored red with natural
coloring. Honestly, I have never heard of anything being macadamia
nut flavored other than macadamia nuts themselves. By the
by, I love these nuts covered in chocolate, yum. Straight
up, the nose is truly nutty and full of macadamia aroma followed
by faint cherries and even fainter coconut backed by the smell
of sugary rum. On the palate the macadamia flavor takes a
back seat to the sugary cherry/berry flavor but is still strong
enough to make a decent appearance with the rum bringing up
the rear. The finish is more sugary berry like than macadamia
which takes the back seat this time and it is sweet yet smooth
and medium in length. I think I would have liked this even
more if the sweetness and the berry like flavors didn't overpower
the macadamia and rum flavors.
However,
when I did taste the macadamia it was spot on and really thick
and tasty. On the rocks the sweetness of the berry like flavor
is subdued and the oiliness of the macadamia comes forward
and the final product is a much more balanced rum although
the flavor of the rum is less discernible. The finish leaves
a stronger macadamia taste. I think they're onto something
here that could be beyond outstanding if they got rid of the
cherry like flavors and kept it strictly to the rum and macadamia
essence and the color be damned. At about $23.00 per 750 ML
bottle this is a good deal on a great rum.
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://www.sammysbeachbarrum.com/