Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/343109
july 2014 / the tasting panel / 53 Inspired to create a rum that bottled up all the emotions and passion that his songs so flawlessly encapsulate, multiplatinum singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney launched Blue Chair Bay Rum last March. While one might expect a busy man like Chesney to take a back seat in his rum business, he continues to push the brand forward as its Chief Creative Officer. All new flavor profiles and line exten- sions begin with him and his knack for understanding consumers' taste preferences. Chesney's latest insights led Mike Booth, Blue Chair Bay's Master Blender, to begin work on a banana rum, and after a series of samplings and input from an advisory panel tasked with capturing that elusive flavor, Blue Chair Bay introduced Banana in the first week of June—just in time for summertime enjoyment. Only ten days after it hit shelves, multiple markets had already sold through their initial inventory, which the brand attributes to filing a void in the marketplace. As Mark Montgomery, CEO of Fishbowl Spirits (parent company of Blue Chair Bay Rum), points out: "A combination of doing your homework and trusting your gut is the way we create new products, and so far, that seems to be paying off pretty well. For us, the best test to get a sense of whether you are on the right track or not is to bring it to the people." Montgomery notes that Banana will join Blue Chair Bay's other rum flavors—White, Coconut and Coconut Spiced—on the 'Nowhere to Be But Here Tour,' a sampling tour that runs through August in cities across the U.S. Produced 100 yards from the beach, Banana, like all the rums in Blue Chair Bay's portfolio, is 100 percent beach made and mellowed in casks at one of the oldest, most storied distilleries in the Caribbean. Jonathan Pogash, a member of Blue Chair Bay's advisory panel and its Master Mixologist, likens the rum to bananas foster: "Off the nose, it has notes of caramelized bananas—cooked or grilled banana with sugar on top of it, which definitely carries over when you taste it." Moved by its surprising versatility, Pogash has developed several cocktails that highlight the rum, which he shares at his new bar program at Beetlebung on Martha's Vineyard and to tastemakers across the country. Some of his favorite creations thus far include a spiced strawberry banana smoothie, a banana daiquiri and a classic banana colada. Along with integrating nicely into both blended and shaken cocktails, Montgomery encourages patrons to drink it neat or on the rocks, explaining that it is the best way to delight in its "creamy banana smoothness, with hints of warm baking spices and notes of classic white rum." With tasting notes like those, we can't help imagining enjoying this rum by the beach or poolside—maybe in a hammock. "As always, Kenny says it best in a song: "Yeah, man, that's the good stuff." Jonathan Pogash, Blue Chair Bay's Master Mixologist.