Chicago Ministry of Rum Festival

By Rob Christopher in Food on Jun 21, 2011 6:20PM

$Adam Seger mixes up drinks at the Volcano Room\'s bar (note the fresh ginger and pineapple).$ $Adam Seger mixes up drinks at the Volcano Room\'s bar.$ $Brugal rums on display.\r\n$ $Various Martinique rums.\r\n$ $The Bacardi girls.\r\n$

Greg Buttera pours his cocktail of the evening, Hiphop Anonymous, featuring (among other things) Ron DiplomÃ¡tico rum, Cynar, and honey.

$Adam Seger\'s Hum Botanical Spirit was featured in several cocktails at the Volcano Room\'s bar.$

The stellar bar in the Volcano Room, upstairs at the Bottom Lounge.

$Utterly delicious El Dorado spiced rum from Guyana.\r\n$

We joined hundreds of fellow rumheads at the Bottom Lounge's Volcano Room last Thursday for the Third Annual Chicago Ministry of Rum Festival. Early birds were treated to a Jamaican buffet, courtesy of Ja'Grill. And we're glad we were one of them--with more than 100 rums on pour, imbibing on an empty stomach would have been sheer foolishness. As it was we sampled about 15 before calling it quits. Attendees were given a handy little program with plenty of space for jotting down tasting notes. There were scores of gems. We were especially excited to sample the entire line of New Holland Brewing Co.'s rums. Their Freshwater Huron White would make for a powerfully tasty Hemingway daiquiri. Here are some shots we took while wandering around.

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