A Lesson in Rum And Cocktails With Shellback Rum

A Shellbacker is someone who's crossed the equator. Shellback is also the name of a rum made in Barbados, claimed to be the birth place of rum according to the oldest document found thus far documenting rum being made (from 1651). They're one of the affordable rums (about $15 a bottle) and come in both silver and spiced rum. 

They had sent me a box containing both of them and while the rum is affordable, they sure sent them in a fancy box with my name engraved on it!

The silver rum was pretty smooth and they both make good mixing rums. I didn't know what to make with them though (other than the classic rum cocktails that I usually drink), so when I was invited to a tasting and mixology workshop with Tony Abou-Ganim, the Modern Mixologist, I figured it's a great chance to get some creative recipes. 

Before making cocktails, we had to learn how to properly taste rum. Tony told us to put our nose in the glass but breathe through the mouth. Then we rinse the mouth with the rum itself. We get a saliva drip in the back of the mouth which is a good indication of acidity. As I said when I tasted it at home, the rum is pretty smooth.

Barbados style rum is unique in Caribbean because it is a blend of pot stilled and column still. The silver rum tasted of burnt sugar, honey, banana, vanilla, and caramel.
The spiced rum had seven natural spices added: Vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, cassia, ginger. It has the aroma of caramel butterscotch and is rich with a luscious mouthfeel. It's hot as it runs down your throat. There's a bit of acidity and a lingering finish but it's a clean finish.

Now, on to cocktails! He gave us three recipes.

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Touring Artisanal Shops in Old Town Temecula

During a recent press trip to Temecula Valley Wine Country (thanks to Temecula CVB and the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association), we also got a little tour of Old Town Temecula's artisanal shops from an olive oil store, a lavender store, a sweets shop, and a spice and tea shop.

Our first stop was Temecula Olive Oil Company. The building used to be a saloon and brothel but before the olive oil tasting we headed upstairs for breakfast first, catered by E. A. T ("Extraordinary Artisan Table"), located 5-10 minutes outside of Old Town.

EAT sources ingredients from local producers and even make their own almond milk for morning coffee. We had tomatoes that were picked just the day before.

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Handmade Pastas and Charcuterie at Desco (Oakland, CA)

Desco is a gorgeous new restaurant in Oakland from Donato Scotti who owns Donato Enoteco in Redwood City, serving house made charcuterie and pastas.

Desco's bright and spacious dining room

I had dinner there with a couple of vegetarian friends, but I indulged in plenty of meat on my own. I started with a platter of three house-made charcuterie that seemed to be much more reasonable than the ones I find in LA. The Piatto della casa (smoked duck, lamb prosciutto, rabbit terrine ) is only $10

It's quite the charcuterie plate for $10! The lamb prosciutto was aged for 3 months and the rabbit terrine was drizzled with extra vecchio (extra old) balsamico.

There's a small list of classic cocktails ($10 each), but they're made well and included drinks like Pegu Club. The Old Fashioned was quite nice and they have a good selection of gin and whisky.


The thing you must get here is the handmade Casonsei ($12). Casonsei is a type of filled pasta from Bergamo in Lombardi region, where the chef is from. It is filled with pork and amaretto cookie crumbs, then topped with brown butter and guanciale. 

I absolutely loved it. The pasta had very nice thickness and texture. The pork inside is very tender, perfect with the crispy guanciale. This pasta was so delicious, I couldn't stop eating despite having another entree coming ..

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