Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/10329
RUM Cane Mutiny “I A MOTLEY CREW OF RUMS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE— FROM UPSCALE SIPPERS TO FLAVORED UPSTARTS—IS STAKING CLAIM TO BAR AND SHELF SPACE by David Mahoney At Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco, owner Martin Cate indulges patrons in his favorite spirit: rum. 100 / the tasting panel / may 2010 may be the only bar owner who has four eye patches in his lost- and-found,” Martin Cate says with a wry grin. Seated under a thoroughly convincing replica of a giant ship’s anchor at Smuggler’s Cove, his new tiki bar in San Francisco, Cate is eloquently holding forth on his favorite spirit: rum. It’s a subject that he takes very seriously, despite the lighthearted ambience of his nautically themed bar. “There’s no other spirit with so much history in every sip,” Cate says, ticking off some of the highlights of rum’s 350-year timeline in the Americas. “And the variety of this category is staggering. Here you have a spirit made in over 100 countries from different raw materials, different methods of distillation, different yeast strains, different kinds of aging, and you end up with handily the world’s most diverse spirit.” In fact, about the only thing that all rums have in common is that they’re distilled from some form of sugarcane product—whether it’s fresh juice, cane syrup or the more common molasses. Both the stylistic and the historical breadth of rum are reflected in Smuggler’s Cove rum list, featuring 177 diverse selec- tions, as well as in its drinks menu, which represents the entire span of rum’s his- tory—from the punches of colonial taverns through the golden age of exotic tiki bar cocktails and right up to the present era of modern mixology. “For an itty-bitty little bar, it’s a fairly ambitious drinks program,” Cate remarks with justifiable pride. Cate revels in walking curious customers through the various styles of rum. Its sheer diversity, he says, is one of its great virtues when it comes to consumer acceptance: “I always say that the rum for you is out there. I can get you into the right rum.” PHOTO: RYAN LELY