Rum Sahara

[Count Silvio]

Hello I am Count Silvio, I run the website Refined Vices (http://www.refinedvices.com) where I review rum and whiskey and post related news stories and user submitted articles.

I come from Finland, also known as the Rum Sahara, though I will soon be moving to Australia.

My passion for rum and other fine spirits began at my brothers bachelor party where I sampled a very fine 12 year old rum, port wine and a cigar, though I guess I had been loving these for a long time before this...

Nevertheless having indulged in these fine spirits and cigars for a few years I started to realize Finland does not have much to offer, hence the term Rum Sahara, which is when I started bringing more and more rum and whiskey from my holidays abroad. Having amassed a small collection of exotic booze I launched the website dedicated for these refined vices and regrettably this collection that is finally in a pretty good shape has to be left to Finland when I move to Australia. Another kind of rum sahara as it appears.

I still don't have a walk in humidor, however!

Any questions about me or anything, feel free to ask.

[Rum Runner]

Count, It's great see you slouching in the recliner here in the Cabinet. Your site remains a "go to" for those who seek the more refined vices of life.

Re-locating halfway around the World from one Rum Sahara to another is truly an admirable task...And chasing a skirt there is as good a reason as any.

You have my full support. I look forward to reading of your continuing adventures and reviews.

cheers.gif

[Tiare]

I`m looking forward to hear about your adventures in Australia!

T

[Count Silvio]

Things should get up and running again soon as I have organised new hardware for myself to be delivered this week. Sorry about the delays in reviews and articles.

[Rum Runner]

No apologies needed Count. Happy to hear you have landed safe and sound in OZ.

We look forward to seeing you up and running at full tilt again. And I imagine you are looking forward to a Summer season that lasts more than 3 weeks!

cheers.gif

[Count Silvio]

Definitely RumRunner, it is only spring here and it has already peaked at 38 Celcius in Melbourne averaging 35 C and 25 C in the last two weeks. This is already more of a summer than it was ever in Finland this year. I hear this summer is going to be a really hot one over here.

[RonJames]

Definitely RumRunner, it is only spring here and it has already peaked at 38 Celcius in Melbourne averaging 35 C and 25 C in the last two weeks. This is already more of a summer than it was ever in Finland this year. I hear this summer is going to be a really hot one over here.

If you're in Melbourne you're in a heck of a city. Enjoy it, but make sure you got sun screen. Looking forward to refined vices updates.

[Arctic Wolf]

All the best to you Count. I look forward to hearing from you often both here and on Refined Vices. I hope your rum collection can slowly make its way to you. It seems such a shame you had to leave so much behind.

[TheRumelier]

Tatu, good to talk to you. Hopefully you can rebuild your site very soon. Enjoy your new job, shame you won't be in Miami with the rest of us.

[Count Silvio]

Won't be long now guys!

[Edward Hamilton]

Good luck with the finishing touches on the site. Sometimes they seem to take the longest. It's always something.

[RonJames]

Won't be long now guys!

Bring it on Count, Im ready for it!

[Arctic Wolf]

I noticed the Refined Vices forum is up again, so the Count must be almost done. Good work Tatu, sorry that so much information was lost, but glad things are going in the right direction!

[Count Silvio]

Most is done indeed. I just need to figure out which News Articles I'm missing because I don't have a record of the most recent ones. If you had any favorites that you remember reading post them here!

This can also work as a suggestion or a request box.

[Count Silvio]

This is it, Refined Vices is finally back bigger and better with many new sections and completely reformatted articles. Next rum reviews will be the Maui range of rums.

[Count Silvio]

I forgot to update. All the Maui rums have been reviewed here (http://www.refinedvices.com/maui-platinum-rum), here (http://www.refinedvices.com/maui-gold-rum), here (http://www.refinedvices.com/maui-dark-rum) and here. (http://www.refinedvices.com/maui-reserve-gold-rum)

Other stuff of interest regarding Ron Matusalem 18 and 23 (http://www.refinedvices.com/ron-matusalem-new-top-shelf-rums-hits-the-markets) which I will also be reviewing in the near future.

If you haven't checked it out yet keep an eye on the brand new Events section (http://www.refinedvices.com/Events/) and if you've got an upcoming event or know of any rum or whiskey related event let me know and I will put it up!

Thats it for now. Next up will be reviews of Mount Gay XO, Mount Gay 1703 and Mount Gilboa. Eventually I will also be adding Mount Gay Tricentennial to the reviews.

Upcoming articles will be about Bacardi's Daiquiri 100th Anniversary party in Sydney, Sydney Barshow and RumFest 2010.

[Edward Hamilton]

Another rum with the number 23 in it's name. If I wasn't skeptical before of slick marketing copy, I could be. But I'll wait until I taste this one before I write anything else about it.

[Count Silvio]

That rum was also at the Sydney Barshow but I didn't have a chance to taste it as I realized what was left of it was gone after I saw someone waving an empty bottle of it in the air. That was also when I realized they even had it!

[Liam Costello]

Won't be long now guys!

Bula Vinaka Count Silvio now you are in the South Pacific it is only a 4 hour plane trip to Fiji and we have a nice little Distillery here making Bounty Rum and supplying our Rum to some other heavy hitters around the world in their label and Brand so look forward to your visit.
I have been in Fiji for 7 years now and married to a Fijian and it is a great palce to live. My wife complains she waited all her life to find some one like me to take her out of Fiji and now all I want to do is stay here.

[Count Silvio]

I've always wanted to visit Fiji and visiting your distillery would be great!

[Liam Costello]

We will be here waiting to see you. The best time of year is May to September, warm days cool nights and no humidity so it is a good time to get away from the Crappy Victorian weather.
Just let me know and can show you around.

[Count Silvio]

Great! Can you recommend any hotels and "tourist" places in the area?

[Liam Costello]

Of course. I co-own one Resort called Lalati Resort&Spa Bega Island.
But our Distillery is on the opposite side of the island and there are many Resorts to choice from, the Radisson on Denarau Island is very nice. It really depends what you would like to spend and what size and style of place you prefer but no shortage as Tourism is our biggest form of revenue next to Sugar Cane and employs over 8,000 people directly of a population of 800,000.