Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of Rum!

We're back from the cruise!

We had a terrific time both on board the ship and in each port that we explored.

Visiting Russia was just surreal.  I'm so looking forward to writing about our trip.

But first there's a mountain of laundry to get through. (Have I mentioned that we don't have a dryer?  I've actually now spoken the words "I'm gonna go hang the clothes on the line."  Seriously?)

 Then there are the 1,500 photos to sort and edit.  I can't wait to relive all 10 days.

And weren't my guest posters fabulous?  Thank you so much, Sarah, Gina, Erin, and Jade.  

And I love that my husband Matt did a guest post!  (Thank you, Darling.)

Thank you so much for all of your comments.  We've read them all and I'll try to start responding to them tomorrow.  I've seen a lot of new faces commenting and I'm so excited.  Welcome!  As always, thank you all so much for reading.
It means the world to me.

I'm not quite ready for the fun to end, so today I have a post for you involving booze!

You're never too old to learn, right?

So you can imagine my delight at being invited to attend Rum School!

On a lovely Wednesday evening, I took the DLR (Dockland Light Railway) to the Canary Wharf and alighted at the West India Quay Station.  I can't believe I haven't been to this area of London yet.  (I even stumbled upon a Royal Baby sand sculpture as I walked around waiting for Matt to join me.  Cute.)

 

There are several large listed warehouses along a canal that were once used to house imported goods, particularly rum and sugar.  They are now home to several restaurants and bars with huge areas of outdoor seating, perfect for a nice dinner out and a stroll.  If you walk all the way down to the end you will find the Museum of London Docklands (that's on the list for a future visit.)  You will also find Rum & Sugar, a restaurant/bar featuring British fare and rum.

We knew we would be sampling rum later in the evening so we thought we should get there early and have a bite to eat (good call).  We were there before the after work crowd and were quickly seated in the sunshine.  Matt had the homemade beef burger and just barely managed to keep the juices from getting all over his work shirt.  I had the daily special which was a pan-fried steak and chips.  I'm always a little nervous ordering steak because you just never know how it's going to turn out.  I hate a tough steak, but this one was really good, perfectly cooked and tender.  The fact that the special included a glass of wine was a bonus.

 

Everyone was sitting outside because it was such a pretty day.  But they have a great indoor space with a massive bar.  They were also setting up for live music outside.  But it was time for us to be schooled. 

We joined our other classmates for Rum School!

They divided us into two groups and our group went first for the Cocktail Masterclass.  It was so much fun!  I want to be a bartender now.  We even got to do a little over the hand flippy thing (technical term) to pour the rum.

We each made a classic Mojito (yum!) first, followed by a Rum Cosmo (yum!) and then spicy layered rum shot (Wowza!).  You can imagine by this time we were all in pretty good spirits.  (Pun totally intended.)

Then the chef came out and enticed us from our cocktails.  The length of the bar was laid out with small bites, both sweet and savory, all made with rum.  Of course, they were all terrific, especially the panna cotta.

Then it was time for some very serious rum tasting.  We tasted six Flor de Cana rums varying from white rum to an 18 year old golden rum.  Matthew was loving this.  He used to work in the drinks industry and knows his liquor (in a developed-palate way, not a frat-boy-trashcan-punch sorta way.)  I just took a sip of each, shuddered a bit and passed the rest to Matt. 

I even managed to test out my new cocktail skills and make another Mojito. It was quite good, if I do say so myself.  We were each presented with an official certificate declaring us graduates of Rum School.  

 It was such a great night out.  You just need 10 people to book your own Rum School and it would be perfect for a Stag Do or Hen Party.  (Just be sure to eat first.)

A huge thank you to everyone at Rum & Sugar for a great night.
You can find them on Twitter and Facebook.

You can also read Fiona's take on the evening at London Unattached.  

Now aren't you craving a Mojito?

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*We were invited by Rum & Sugar to attend the Rum School for the purposes of review.  All photos and opinions are 100% my own.  As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide.