On August 24, a team of exo-planet researchers (led by Guillem Anglada-Escudé of Queen Mary University of London) made an exciting announcement confirming the discovery of an earth sized planet orbiting our sun’s nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. Making the discovery even more exciting is the possibility that this newly discovered planet is in the so-called ‘Goldilocks Zone’ where liquid water could be present on its rocky surface.
Why is this so important? Because if life (at least as we might recognize it) exists somewhere else in the universe, then the star (Proxima Centauri) which is the closest neighbouring star to our sun has just become one of the most likely places where we might find it. In fact, the discovery of this earth-sized planet which has been given the temporary name Proxima b circling our nearest stellar companion is almost certainly the most important astronomical discovery of the current year.
Here is my new cocktail which celebrates our newfound planetary neighbour, the Proxima b Daiquiri.
Proxima b Daiquiri
2 oz Dictador Orange 100 Month Rum
1/2 oz fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz fresh Lime Juice
2/3 oz Sugar Syrup (1:1 ratio)
dash or two Angostura Bitters
Ice
Orange Peel Coil
Add the first five ingredients into a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a cocktail glass
Add an orange peel coil for garnish
Enjoy!
Note: If you are interested in more cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more mixed drink recipes!
Here is a new mixed drink for spiced rum which I created after being inspired by Tony Abou-Ganim’s popular modern cocktail, the 
The Super Bowl (I think it is officially called Superbowl 50) is coming up this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. An if you are like me you have booked the day off (even from the family). I like to plop myself into my easy chair with a plate of chicken Wings and a nice bar drink. This year, Diageo (the large spirits conglomerate) sent me a few recipes (and the spirit samples to make them), and unlike a lot of the recipes which are sent my way, I thought that they were quite good and worth sharing.
Gin appears to be on the upswing, at least that is the impression I receive when I walk into the local liquor stores. I see dozens of new brands alongside the traditional favourites. One reason for all of these new brands of Gin is closely associated with the upswing another spirit entirely, and that spirit is whisky. Whisky has been increasing in popularity for many years now, and to meet the rising demand for whisky, new distilling capacity is being introduced in the form of new distilleries and micro-distilleries throughout North America (and elsewhere). Whisky (in most countries) must be aged for two to three years before it can be sold which means that start-up distilleries in need of cashflow produce and sell their own brands of gin and vodka (which do not need to age) so that they have at least something to generate income while the whisky ages in the oak barrels.
The Sonoma County Distilling Company was founded in 2010 in the heart of Sonoma County. Their focus is Grain to Glass with every level of production handled in-house including the mashing and fermentation of grains, direct-fired alembic pot distillation, barrel aging, and packaging.
The Rum Howler Blog 