Aside from our time spent on cruise ships recently, it's been a while since we've had the opportunity to attend tasting events at local bars and restaurants here in San Diego. However, if there's one thing that can compel me to get off my seat and venture back into a bar it's a great rum paired with fantastic bartenders and that's just what we had this week when we met with Diplomatico's California Ambassador to talk a bit about two of their newer expressions: Mantuano and Planas.

The stakes are rising fellas'! Valentine's Day is almost here and what are you going to do? Cooke a romantic dinner? Buy Flowers? or something different?

We vote for something different and we think it's time you learned how to make some craft cocktails that show her just how much you mean to her. The folks over at Cruzan sent over these recipes to give us a head start, so let's dive in!

Love rum and warm Caribbean sun, sand, and beaches? Maybe it's time to head to the islands and check out this Rum Month package from Four Seasons Resort Nevis where you can celebrate this spirit with a variety of activities ranging from mixology classes to simply sipping a rum cocktail on the beach.

With cold weather and holiday season upon us, certain drinks such as "cream" spirits are back in stock and that warms my heart. While nobody that I know has managed to create an authentic packaged coquito, I am thrilled to see that Cutwater Spirits is continuing to innovate when it comes to rum cream. 

Koloa Rum was one of the first brands that ever sent me product to feature on ManTripping and I've been a fan ever since. While I've enjoyed drinking their rum in Hawaii I didn't realize they had started expanding to the mainland till they contacted me the other day with this fun and funky Halloween-themed rum cocktail recipe, the Eyeball Daiquiri.

I'm a sucker for limited edition premium spirits. While some folks collect baseball cards I love to collect rare and unique spirits. For me, spirits like this Mount Gay "The Port Cask Expression" is an illustration of creativity and talent honed across generations of distillers, blenders, and farmers - as well as from the artists who design the iconic bottle art. This year's expression did not disappoint and it is limited to only 6,570 bottles worldwide.

Who's ready to celebrate National Rum Day? Here's some awesome rum cocktail recipes from Zaya Rum!

 Cutwater Spirits is one of my favorite distillers and Bali Hai is one of my absolute favorite brunch spots in San Diego... plus they make the most wickedly awesome Mai Tai this side of Hawaii. The folks at Cutwater Spirits came out of Ballas Point Brewing and are one of the most exciting success stories in San Diego for not only innovation with creating excellent beer and then spirits but also truly understanding marketing and hospitality. Here are some of their Tiki Drink Recipes featuring Bali Hai Rum!

Are you ready to celebrate National Rum day? Ron Barcelo sent over some tasty cocktails to help us celebrate...

Looking for some perfect drinks to cool down this summer? Our friends at Ketel One and Zacapa have some suggestions for the perfect summertime cocktails...

It's that time of year again! That's right... egg nog is back on the menu and while you can grab a box of it from the grocery store and throw any old rum in, we can do better than that. Hemingway's Distillery sent over this recipe that may or may not have been what Papa Hemingway liked to enjoy on winter nights spent writing in Key West.

In honor of National Cocktail Day on March 24th, HAVANA CLUB and BACARDÍ are celebrating with two specialty rum cocktails sure to keep you coming back for more!

We've teamed up with our friends at Bacardi to offer you guys a chance to attend the 2017 Holiday Bowl in San Diego (transportation is not included) so you can take the OAKHEART Challenge... Read on for more details!

With June 21 and the Summer Solstice fast approaching you can expect longer days, warmer weather and more social gatherings than anyone has time to plan for. We know you'll need every edge you can get to take advantage of the coming increase in summer events, so let's get started!

Tonight's the night to brush up on your mixology skills and transport guests from your backyard to cities around the world all in one night.

Visitors to the Cayman Islands usually focus on sites like "Hell" or "Stingray City" but last fall when I visited this amazing little island we did things a bit different. Instead of the normal tourist spots, we went to a distillery, made new friends, drank some world class spirits, and then almost missed the last tender back to our ship. Luckily we didn't miss our ship, but if we had - this would have been TOTALLY worth it!

Cayman Spirits has been distilling spirits since 2008 from a tiny shack in Georgetown Grand Cayman but in 2013, they moved into a fantastic new facility just outside of town with 5,000 square feet of space to offer tours, a tasting room, and production capacity to meet worldwide demand.

You've been to beer fests and wine festivals but there aren't that many spirits festivals that are open to the public unfortunately. If you are a fan of spirits and craft cocktails it seems that you're passion is best explored at a bar buying expensive cocktails and new liquors only to find out that you made an expensive mistake and are forced to either finish or let it go to waste.

The San Diego Spirits Festival on the other hand offers new as well as seasoned fans a chance to explore spirits brand new to the market as well as celebrate with friends over tasters of familiar friends like Don Julio, Stoli, and Woodford Reserve. 

As you know, I LOVE daiquiris and so when the folks at Cruzan sent over a recipe and some rum I just had to try it out I just had to give it a whirl!