Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
COVER STORY PHOTO: MICHAEL QUIET Managing partner Thomas Holland with the Coconut DTO at Barrio Cantina. Blue Chair Bay Rum at Barrio Cantina, Boston, MA At Barrio Cantina in Boston, near legendary Fenway Park, you'd hardly expect to find a country music following. But partner Thomas Holland, whose friendly neighborhood restaurant has gleaned a massive patronage, says a brand like Blue Chair Bay Rum is going to be a smash hit. Recent country music concerts have sold out in the area in ten minutes, including Chesney's past seven stops at Patriots Stadium—but it's the fellowship aspect of Kenny Chesney's new rum that pairs so well with the Barrio Cantina brand. "The spirit of the people here is not unlike the spirit of the islands. Case in point, our blizzard party, says Holland. He's referring to the incredible " party he and his partner chef/owner Michael Schlow threw just days after his grand opening when a blizzard struck the area. Holland says the team got "destroyed" with no servers and no barbacks; they cooked for almost 200 people, without menus. The team didn't charge for anything. Holland has created his own version of the historic Coconut "DTO" (Daiquiri Time Out). "It's a play on the local lore—what the Kennedys called 'DTO'—and we're making it with Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum, he says. "It's a simple, " refreshing summertime drink and has a lot of local influence because of the Kennedys and Hyannis Port; they are our royalty. " "Most of the time when people make coconut with these products, it's overpowering. Rum is one of those drinks that is just starting to come into its own; Blue Chair Bay Rum is very natural and that's very important, " Holland says. Coconut DTO ◗ 2 oz. Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum ◗ 2 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice ◗ ½ oz. simple syrup ◗ Served over crushed ice in a salt-rimmed Collins glass. 64 / the tasting panel / april 2013 visionary and experienced as the FLO folks, Montgomery settled on New York–based Savvy Drinks. Mark Andrews, one of Savvy's principals, is a 15-year veteran of the spirits business who also owns one of the only factoring businesses specializing in the industry. "His ability to see the biggest picture provided our timeline the accuracy and intensity it required," says Montgomery. Andrews and his partner, Roseann Sessa, a serious veteran of the liquor industry, made Blue Chair Bay Rum their priority, seamlessly moving from sourcing all the components—rum from Barbados, glass from the U.S., corks from Mexico—to realizing the final product, for which they identified a bottler in the Northeast, as well as creating the distribution plan and seeing it through to fruition. Cocktails Ahoy! Mixologist Jonathan Pogash says he was "amazed" when approached to lead the cocktail development. "When they mentioned Kenny Chesney, I said, 'Absolutely!'" recalls Pogash. "This is not like other brands with celebrities, because this is Kenny's personal brand. He has led the entire creative process, from the blending of the rum to the creation of brand identity." Pogash is working on classic cocktail variations, and his initial experimentations with the Mai Tai and the Piña Colada use all three expressions of the Blue Chair Bay rums. "This project reminds me of the things I take for granted in my life, like letting the sun hit your face as you're sipping on a cocktail," says Pogash. "That Mike Booth is involved and that the rum was produced at one of the distilleries on Barbados—I'm thankful for this project every single day." Pogash is creating cocktails for a variety of geographical areas and is conscious of using ingredients that work for specific times of the year and are readily available all over the country. "We don't want people to have to wonder how they're going to make these drinks," he says, something that's also important to Bob Battipaglia, Blue Chair Bay Rum's Senior Vice President of Sales. Blue Chair Bay Rum will launch in 30 markets nationwide in conjunction with Chesney's tour, and that means it has to have broad appeal.