Rummy affairs

Mark your calendars.

Well, if you've got ample free time, thirst and cash. Over the next several months a number of rum related-events are shaping up nicely. These should help bridge the difficult season between sipping aged rum straight and mojitos bursting with minty goodness.

The International Cane Spirits Festival
This is the second time for this celebration of all things sugar-cane-liquor related, and is slated for Saturday March 24 at the Cuban Club in Tampa, Fla. A great many producers and marketers of rums and cachaças will be in attendance The evening event is $25 (or $50 for the VIP ticket) and includes more rum samples than is probably prudent, music, and the chance to mingle with folks, like, well, me, and the many of the people who make the rum, including Phil Prichard of Tennessee.

Rum Distilling Conference
A week later, March 29 to 31, the American Distilling Institute holds its annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky. This year's focus? Rum! Producers of microdistilled rums (and other spirits) from around the country will descend upon on bourbon country for tours of distilleries and to swap notes about production and marketing. Most of the conference is held at the Huber Starlight Distillery just across the state border in Borden, Ind. On Saturday, I'll be giving a short talk about rum's history.

Tales of the Cocktail
The fifth annual Tales of the Cocktail, held in New Orleans July 18 to 22, will provide ample evidence as to why this has quickly become the preeminent gathering for those interested in cocktails, their history, and their future. Among those giving presentations are Dale DeGroff, Audrey Saunders, Ted Haigh, Ted Breaux, and David Wonderich. I'm running one panel on rum drinks with Stephen Remsberg (the nation's preeminent collector of rums) and Ed Hamilton (Minister of Rum). I'll also be assisting Jeff Berry at his panel on the history of tiki drinks. Want more rum? Ed Hamilton is also running an international rum tasting competition concurrent with Tales, leading an illustrious group of judges in search of the best rums. Winners will be announced on Saturday night.

At last year's event I found myself walking down Royal Street late one morning sipping a go-cup of straight absinthe produced by Ted Breaux at an ancient distillery in France. As moments of utter drink perfection go, that will be hard to beat, but I'm always hopeful. Tales of the Cocktail is wonderful event, an essential stop for anyone who hopes to graduate from cocktail dilettante to serious drinker.