A lobbying fight over Caribbean rum subsidies could come to a head this week if Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) offers an amendment to jobs legislation that benefits Puerto Rico and rum producers like Bacardi at the expense of the U.S. Virgin Islands and a rival rum maker.

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico receive subsidies from the United States based on excise taxes paid by rum producers. Payouts are based on where the liquor is produced, and often benefit the companies themselves.

But LeMieux wants to base the payments on population, a change that would give Puerto Rico a greater share of the subsidy and potentially derail efforts by the Virgin Islands to attract a Bacardi competitor to relocate there.

Roughly 4 million people live in Puerto Rico, versus the 100,000 who live on the Virgin Islands. More than 90 percent of the $500 million in annual payments would go to Puerto Rico if the LeMieux amendment is successful. The split now is closer to 80-20. The Virgin Islands’ share would increase under the current subsidy payment system, however, as more distillers move there.

An aide to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said that it was not certain the LeMieux amendment would get a vote.

The National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC), a lobbying organization that has urged lawmakers to block the British multinational company Diageo from moving from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands, praised the proposed change.

“By basing distribution on population instead of production, Sen. LeMieux’s amendment ensures that the money is distributed in an even-handed way to those who need it most,” NPRC Chairman Miguel Lausell said in the statement.

Lobbyists for the Virgin Islands contend the amendment isn’t about equity but about stopping Diageo from relocating there.

Bonds that rely on the excise-tax subsidy and other financing could default under the senator’s proposal.

“Sen. LeMieux’s plan could cause us to default on hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds, which would stop progress on infrastructure projects and environmental improvements, and would force the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands to the brink of receivership,” said Virgin Islands Gov. John deJongh Jr.Roughly $1 billion in bonds hang in the balance, according to sources close to the matter.

The NPRC argues that Diageo, which produces Captain Morgan Rum, and another distiller, Cruzan, would benefit because the Virgin Islands is offering them a piece of the subsidy.

Under LeMieux’s proposal, Puerto Rico’s share of the subsidy jumps from its current 80 percent to 97.

“[The] amendment looks like it was developed alongside Puerto Rican lobbyists,” deJongh said in prepared remarks.

LeMieux’s office did not respond to inquiries about the amendment.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) looks to advance from his chamber as early as Tuesday legislation costing $140 billion that extends several expired tax breaks. The measure, open to amendment, is an obvious vehicle for LeMieux’s proposal.

le.

(AP) – 15 hours ago

NEW YORK — Captain Morgan rum is no longer welcome as a sponsor of the National Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City.

Parade organizers say they’ve ended their relationship with the rum maker and U.K.-based parent company Diageo (dee-AH’-gee-oh) PLC over plans to move production of Captain Morgan out of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean.

Parade chairwoman Madelyn Lugo on Sunday said the parade is about “pride and respect” and Captain Morgan has shown neither.

Diageo’s other brands include Johnnie Walker and Jose Cuervo. The liquor company has a deal to build a Captain Morgan distillery in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a share in an obscure tax on rum sales.

It hasn’t responded to an e-mailed request for comment about the parade decision.

This year’s parade is scheduled for June 13.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Premium brown spirits, whiskies, malts made from grain, and rums from sugar have been surging in the U.S. despite the economic crisis, but brandies, cognacs, and armagnacs made from grapes have not kept pace. Somehow, the taste was lost during Prohibition and never properly recovered. People an scarcely pay a higher price than the $15,000 for each 750ml bottle that Rémy Martin is asking for its limited edition of Louis XIII “Rare Cask.”

Grey Goose comes from France, but Rémy Martin is French with all the style and finish that that implies. Hence the staging, tastefulness, and munificence of the famous cognac maker’s launch of their latest sacrifice on the altar of conspicuous and exclusive consumption. There will only be 30 bottles for sale in the US.

Of course, the 30 bottles are simply the Archangel’s share of the potential market. The aim is to introduce discerning American sippers to the wider range of fine cognacs, to create a sophisticated customer base to match the other brown spirits. Now is the time, and if people are paying a premium for premium spirits, then they can scarcely pay a higher one than $15,000 a bottle, but Rémy makes many other fine and palatable bottles that will soothe the cares of the economic crisis more economically.

But with the Rare Cask, what a bottle! Before going into the craftsmanship inside, the black crystal Baccarat decanter is a work of art in its own right, and in the coarse eBay phrase “a collectible.” If you bought a bottle and drained it, it would be sacrilegious to throw it out for recycling with the other empties.

A few crashes and 15 or so years ago, MacAllan launched its 53-year-old bottle of Scotch on a thirsty world of malt enthusiasts for a mere $2,500. At the time, that was enough for any self-respecting Scot to cross his legs and not go to the bathroom for a day or so after taking a nip in case the precious fluid was wasted. The canny Caledonians restricted tasting to a splash with a syringe on the tongue.

But the French add joie de vivre to their eau-de-vie. At the Astor Center launch of the Louis XIII, they offered a statistically significant sample—a good half ounce, a $300 pour—of the product, and to make sure that the assembled tasters knew what to look for, Remy’s “cellar master” Pierrette Trichet, (they could hardly call her a cellar mistress one supposes) showed how a cognac grows up with the original unaged eau-de-vie, distilled from fine champagne grapes, on to a 7- to 10-year-old, and then up the value chain through 20 to 25, 40 to 45, and 70-year-olds before exposing the now highly sensitized palates to the Rare Cask.

Mme Trichet discovered a cask that she felt deserved bottling unblended, and the bottles are rationed for different continents. It would be difficult to beat her purple prose, which describes how “First, a formidable bouquet of wild mushrooms presents itself. Then, a hint of lifted underwood notes arise that evoke to the senses a bountiful autumnal forest. These are followed by a sparkling display of full, spicy tones that come from 100 years of aging in Limousin oak barrels. Lastly, gingerbread, wax, nuts, and fresh mint notes reveal themselves.”

Frankly, I would have to have been eating magic mushrooms to pay that much for any bottle, but one can appreciate cognac without reaching such heights. Surprising for other brown-spirits drinkers is how the aging process avoids the oak and tannin flavors that sometimes make overaged spirits almost undrinkable. Spirits writer Jonathan Forester pointed out with delight that the cognacs on offer were almost reincarnated, and that as they get older reveal some of the delicate fruity aromas of their infancy, going back to the beginning again.

It is difficult to think of a business model acceptable to Wall Street whose idea of inventory is stocking up product over a century—but many a bonus-laden banker will find the product acceptable at least.

June 10 – 13, 2010
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Event locations include
The Mai-Kai Restaurant, Bahia Cabana and Bahia Mar
Press contact: leejemail@gmail.com
Event website: www.thehukilau.com/2010/
General event information: info@thehukilau.com

The Hukilau, in association with Seven Tiki Rum, Trader Vic’s and Tiki Farm, announces the 9th annual Hukilau, taking place from June 10th to June 13th, 2010, in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

The Hukilau is a multifaceted event celebrating the past, present and future of everything “Polynesian Pop.” In bringing together all aspects of Tiki and Polynesian Pop Culture, including entertainment, music, visual art, mixology, food, fashion, cultural and social history, the goal of this four-day extravaganza is to bring together Tiki lovers and curiosity seekers from all over the world for the ultimate party and vacation weekender which is every bit as illuminating as it is entertaining. Promoters estimate 1000 attendees to partake in this year’s Hukilau.

The Hukilau 2010 featured events:

The Hukilau has the distinct privilege of presenting the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale’s Oceanic collection donated by none other than the Mai-Kai itself in the early 1970s. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view this world-class collection.

The Hukilau special guest, artist SHAG will be debuting three new paintings as part of the on-site Harold Golen curated art installation “Poly Blend.”
The master of mixology, author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (author of the groundbreaking drink recipe books “Grog Log” and “Intoxica!”) returns with an all-new seminar about The Suffering Bastard, a classic and revered rum based drink.

Florida historian Lu Vickers, author of “Weeki Wachee, City of Mermaids: A History of One of Florida’s Oldest Roadside Attractions” will delight and enthrall with her seminar, slide show and vintage film footage.

The Hukilau 2010 has not one but two film debuts in store. Filmmaker Jochen Hirschfeld presents the world premiere of “The DVD Of Tiki,” five years in the making, for which a film crew traveled the Pacific for 101 days capturing both the true South Seas and its pop culture reinvention – a true labor of love. Duda Leite, back from Sao Paulo, Brazil, brings a full feature-length version of his fabulous Tiki documentary, “Tikimentary: In Search Of The Lost Paradise,” all about The Hukilau and the modern-day Tiki movement!

Entertainers include:
* Garage rock legends The Woggles, featuring The Mighty Manfred of Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on Sirius Radio.
* Frat garagerockers, The Neanderthals
* Straight from Japan, The Sweet Hollywaiians
* The Bikini Beachcombers
* Stolen Idols
* The Intoxicators!
* Ukulele toting comedian King Kukulele emcees the whole weekend.

Hukilau “Virgins” and Those Back by Popular Demand:
* From Los Angeles, DJ Lee of garage, surf and exotica indie label, Dionysus Records
* DJ Dr. Scopitone
* Marina, the Fire Eating Mermaid
* Candy Del Rio
* Elena the Hula Hoop Girl
* DJ Lounge Laura Taylor of radio WMNF’s long-standing “Surface Noise” show

The Hukilau 2010 Special Events:
* The return of the Hukilau Room Crawl!
* The return of the long-awaited “Sarong-O-Rama Fashion Show”!

The Hukilau also makes available unique limited edition event-only mugs, glassware and other merchandise to its attendees.

EVENT VENUES
Hukilau 2010 events and seminars will take place in three Ft. Lauderdale venues: The Mai-Kai is a Tiki-themed restaurant which opened to the public on December 28, 1956 and is one of the few “Grand Polynesian Palaces of Tiki” still in operation today. The restaurant includes eight dining rooms, a bar, tropical gardens with walking paths and waterfalls, and a stage in the center to showcase the Polynesian Islander Revue floor show. The Bahia Cabana, a Key West style hotel, is located directly across from Fort Lauderdale’s famous white sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean and includes a waterfront patio and bar overlooking the area’s largest Boat Marina. The Bahia Mar Beach Resort occupies 44 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway and has a colorful and interesting history that goes back to 1875 when it was the site for a house of refuge to provide shelter for survivors of the areas frequent shipwrecks. Event specific rooms at The Bahia Cabana are already sold out. Bahia Mar has plenty of rooms (with marina views) available for the incredible rate of $114.00 per night

Mai-Kai Restaurant
3599 N. Federal Hwy
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
(954) 563-3272
www.maikai.com

Bahia Cabana
3001 Harbor Dr,
Fort Lauderdale, Fl, 33316
(954) 523-4620
www.bahiacabanaresort.com

Bahia Mar
801 Seabreeze Blvd,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, USA
(954) 764-2233
www.bahiamarhotel.com

For more event information, images, interviews with event organizer Tiki Kiliki and performers, contact Lee Joseph Publicity for the Visual Arts: 818-848-2698 (p),818-848-2699 (f), leejemail@gmail.com, www.leejosephpublicity.com

The National Black Chamber of Commerce is urging Congress not to interfere with a battle over a Caribbean rum distillery.

In a Feb. 16 letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Black Chamber — along with the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce — said the partnerships formed between brand-name liquor companies and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) would greatly benefit many black residents.

“These agreements with Diageo and Fortune Brands significantly help the economy of this African-American-majority U.S. territory at a time of great need, while simultaneously keeping these companies on American soil and preserving their jobs and economic impact,” says the letter, which was signed by Harry Alford, president and CEO of the Black Chamber, and Eugene Franklin, president and CEO of the group’s Florida chapter.

What is at stake is an agreement between the Virgin Islands and Diageo that has the rum company moving a rum plant there in return for substantial tax subsidies — up to 50 percent of USVI’s rum tax revenue will be spent on the deal, estimated to be worth about $2.7 billion over 30 years to Diageo.

But Puerto Rico, where the Diageo plant has been based, is up in arms over the proposed move. Puerto Rican officials say the move to the Virgin Islands would result in big job losses as well as lost business revenue for the island.

It has set off a lobbying battle with several prominent lawmakers of Puerto Rican descent, such as Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), arguing against the deal. Further, Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D) has offered legislation that would cap the rum tax money that can be spent on the liquor industry by any U.S. territory at ten percent.

Sarah Echols, a spokeswoman for Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (R), said the Virgin Islands agreement with Diageo was not “fair competition” or in line with congressional intent for the rum tax.

“This is a slippery slope that could lead to most of the money Congress intended to support government budgets for health, education and other services in the two territories ending up on the balance books of individual rum companies,” Echols said.

In their letter to Reid, Alford and Franklin say “attacks” by Puerto Rico’s leaders against the Virgin Islands-Diageo deal have become “vitriolic” and “reprehensible.” Further, they are firmly against the Pierluisi bill.

“Should the proposed anti-USVI legislation be enacted, any state with no stake in the business decisions of another U.S. jurisdiction could attempt to bring any public-private partnership under federal scrutiny,” The letter says. “This type of intervention creates uncertainty and risk in operating in the United States, a troubling possibility as we try to keep Americans at work and strengthen the health of our businesses.”

The raucous, party-hardy image of rum is not for the rum distillers of Puerto Rico. They are taking another tack in a campaign that is now under way.

The campaign, which carries the theme “A reflection of who you are,” has a tone that is intended to be more sophisticated and upscale. The ads are aimed at younger urban professionals who look forward to other parts of the day besides happy hour.

Not that there’s anything wrong with having fun, according to the executives behind the campaign, which includes television, print and outdoor ads. Rather, they say, an overly celebratory approach is at odds with the product they are selling.

“Making rum is more expensive than making vodka,” said Roberto J. Serrallés, vice president for risk management at Destilería in Mercedita, Puerto Rico, which distills rum brands like Don Q.

“But we are considered a cheaper spirit,” he added, because of the good-times image for rum.

The campaign is on behalf of Rums of Puerto Rico, which in addition to Don Q includes brands like Bacardi, Palo Viejo and Ron Llave. Rums of Puerto Rico, created in 1948, is a division of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, a government-owned corporation in the commonwealth.

(It would be as if, say, a corporation owned by Michigan marketed the state’s cherries or a corporation owned by Wisconsin marketed the state’s cheeses.)

The campaign is the first for Rums of Puerto Rico in two years. It is being created by a Puerto Rican agency, Key Integrated Solutions. The budget is estimated at $2 million.

The campaign will also include promotions like a rum bar to be installed at Madison Square Garden and events at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

Javier Vázquez-Morales, executive director at Puerto Rico Industrial Development, identified the target audience as “goal-oriented professionals” in markets like Miami, New York and Washington.

The campaign was introduced at an event in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday that was centered on the sponsorship by Rums of Puerto Rico of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

By MICHELLE LOCKE (AP) – 20 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — If the huge anchor and float lights hanging from the ceiling of Martin Cate’s Smuggler’s Cove bar don’t clue you in, the stacks of barrels and ship’s figurehead mounted on the wall should get you in the spirit of things: You don’t come here for a dry martini, be it ever so shaken or stirred.

Cate has a rum perspective on things — the bar features more than 200 from around the world.

There’s a rum revival going on across the country as devotees spread the word that rum is about a lot more than the cheap stuff you might have got trashed on in college.

“Rum is the most diverse spirit in the world,” says Cate. “There’s rich, smoky rums. There’s drier, medium-bodied rums. Some have longer finishes and some short, drier finishes. There’s a rum for every palate.”

All that and Flaming Volcanoes, too.

The rum 411:

_ Rum is a distilled spirit made from sugar cane byproducts, including juice and molasses.

_ It’s usually aged in used whisky or bourbon barrels, which turns the spirit golden and, if aged long enough, brown.

_ Rum can be white, gold or dark (known as black). The darker colored rums may be either due to the effect of aging or from being darkened with an artificial caramel color.

Perhaps most important is rum’s dual personality. While it is the basis for laugh-out-loud drinks like the zombie, premium rums prefer being sipped straight or over ice, a drink that can compete with fine cognacs and brandies.

You can even get a special rum glass to imbibe from, though Ed Hamilton, who runs the Ministry of Rum Web site, thinks that may be a bit much.

“People ask me, `What kind of glass do you use?’ I say, `A clean one,’” he says with a laugh.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that rum, and its cousin, tiki, are making a comeback now.

After all, the pioneering tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, opened in Los Angeles during the Depression. San Francisco Bay area resident Victor Bergeron visited and became a convert, going on to start the Trader Vic’s tiki temples.

Somewhere during the ’60s, tiki and rum fell out of fashion. Cate fingers one of the culprits as a “guy in a tuxedo who showed up in a secret agent movie and asked for a vodka martini.”

But now it’s back, beneficiary of the craze for authentic cocktails that is an offshoot of the foodie movement. When your canapes are free-range chicken wings dusted in organic, hand-rubbed spices, a watery glass of lousy liquor and no-name soda just won’t do.

“A rising tide lifts all booze,” says Jeff Berry, who has written about rum and tiki culture and has a new book coming out, “Beachbum Berry Remixed.”

The leaders of the cocktail renaissance have done pre-Prohibition classics. They’ve done tequila and agave. Now, they’re looking at rum, a renewed interest that comes just as tiki has started to wave its flirty palm fronds at a jaded public.

And, conveniently, you can be a complete rum snob for much less than being, say, a single-malt scotch maniac.

“It’s amazing how much cheaper it is,” says Berry. “You can spend $140 for an 18-year single-malt. You can buy a 21-year aged, amazingly layered fantastic sipping rum for half that.”

Figures from the Distilled Spirits Council show that premium rums, which 10 years ago weren’t big enough to really exist as a category, now account for nearly 10 percent of all spirits sold by volume and 12 percent of revenues in the $60 billion retail market.

Smuggler’s Cove, a dark, inviting space strewn with just enough nautical gear to give you the tiki vibe but a few palapas short of tipping into farce, has been drawing a regular crowd, some interested in the more than 70 rum cocktails, others looking to try the many premium sipping rums.

Cate’s got something for everyone. If you smell victory, or are in need of one, there’s the Three Dots and a Dash. (You know that’s Morse code for “V,” right?) Lime, orange, honey, falernum (a sweet spirit), allspice, bitters, aged Martinique rhum, Private Reserve rum.

His zombie recipe calls for “three different rums, lime, grapefruit, fresh brains, island spices and Herbsaint (an anise-flavored liquor).”

He may not be entirely serious about the brains.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Captain Morgan Subsidies May Trigger W.T.O. Complaint

Distiller Serralles Warns Obama that USVI Subsidies Exceed Production Costs

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Puerto Rican Coalition today cautioned President Obama that a proposed $2.7 billion taxpayer-funded subsidy to the British liquor conglomerate that owns Captain Morgan Rum may result in allegations of unfair trade practices against the United States.

“Mr. President, we agree with your inspiring words at the State of the Union Message about America’s need to ‘get our economy going again,’ but surely you did not mean to encourage unfair trade practices or to create competitive advantages for one producer at the expense of others,” said NPRC Chairman Miguel Lausell.

Lausell explained that unless overturned by Congress, the U.S. Virgin Islands plans to give Captain Morgan’s British owners, Diageo, LLC, half of all federal Excise Tax revenues it will receive from the manufacture of the popular-selling rum once it moves distillery operations from Puerto Rico to St. Croix.

Earlier this week, the President of the world-famous family-owned Serralles Distillery in Puerto Rico, which has long produced Captain Morgan, told Obama that the Virgin Islands’ subsidies actually exceed the cost of the rum itself.

“The subsidies will be almost twice the cost of production of the rum,” wrote Felix Serralles.

In addition, noted NPRC President Rafael Fantauzzi, the value of the subsidies far exceeds the $1.8 billion that Diageo paid for Captain Morgan in 2001.

“This is a reckless, short-sighted giveaway that’ll open the United States to allegations of trade violations,” Fantauzzi charged.

In addition, noted Lausell, the taxpayer-funded subsidies will also create an imbalance in the domestic liquor industry. In his letter, Serralles told Obama that the subsidies being paid to Diageo “will dramatically curtail the ability of local businesses, including Destileria Serralles, to compete in the marketplace.”

The National Puerto Rican Coalition’s mission is to enhance the social, political, and economic well-being of all Puerto Ricans on the mainland and the Island with a special focus on the most vulnerable.

SOURCE National Puerto Rican Coalition