George Street Spiced Rum Wins Prestigious Award

An influential blogger and spirits reviewer has named two rums made in Newfoundland and Labrador as the best rums made on the continent.

Chip Dykstra, who writes the Rum Howler blog, has named George Street Spiced Rum as the winner of the 2012 Rum Howler Award for the best rum from North America.

The rums are chosen from products companies send to him during the year.

"George Street Spiced Rum is very unique in that it's produced from an aged rum rather than from an unaged or a very young rum," said Dykstra.

"The ages in the George Street blend are are up to seven years old and that oak aging really shines through when you taste it."

Dykstra gave Famous Newfoundland Screech Rum the runner-up award in the same category.

Dykstra said he was impressed by the work the NLC has put into both products.

"The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation takes great pains to source rums from producers who know what they're doing. Screech Rum, for example, comes from Jamaica where they have a long history of making great rum," said Dykstra.

"The George Street spiced rum comes from Guyana, where again you have this long, 300-year tradition of making rum."

Dykstra also credited this province's long history with rum as part of the reason for his praise for the products.

"Because the people in Newfoundland have been making rum for so long, they know what they're doing," said Dykstra.

"And they can turn these very good rums from very good producers into something exceptional."

George Street Association comments on recent report of date rape drugging

The George Street Association (GSA) has been aware of reported date rape drug incidents at bars in the downtown area, some on George Street and some not.  While this most recent incident did not occur at a member establishment, such incidents are obviously of great concern to our members, whose livelihoods depend on providing a safe environment for their patrons.

Although there is no substitute for individual vigilance, we do want to inform the public of what our Association members have been doing to minimize the risk of such incidents happening. The publicshould know that we take all reported incidents seriously and in all cases they are reported to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for investigation. Our members also advise doormen, bartenders and other staff to be on the lookout for persons who appear to be in trouble and require them to contact police or emergency services should they suspect a drugging. The majority of our member bars make use of security cameras to protect staff and patrons and these recordings are routinely made available to police to follow through with their investigations. This underscores the reason why anyone who feels they may have been drugged should contact the police immediately.

With respect to unsubstantiated allegations that bartenders are sometimes paid by others to administer date rape drugs, we find these comments to be unhelpful speculation. We have every confidence in our staff and have the resources to monitor their activities. We believe that this is an unlikely scenario.

Understanding that one such incident is one too many, we want the public to know that to our knowledge there have only been a handful of reported cases. For those individuals who are responsible for these incidents, be advised that, should you be caught, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by our Association.