The Somewhat Educated Consumer......

[Hank Koestner]

This is what I tell people when they ask me if I am a connoisseur.....

Hello all. As you can tell my name is Hank, and I came upon Ed and the Ministry prior to this great website, by reading the book Embarassment of Mangoes, and have been posting since it's inception.
My love for rum started 10 years ago with a bottle of Barrilito 3 Star, and the rest is history.
I am currently residing in Orlando, and I travel to the islands as much as possible. I have hosted some tastings and a rum party or 2 here, and i work closely with Kurt Joseph's, whose liqour store has the best selection of rum in the city.
I am currently working on a website, Rum Island Orlando, where I will post my comments and notes on rums I have spent some time with. I also love cigars, and try to find great pairings, which I will also discuss on the site. I am a computer moron, so this takes me quite a long time.
I currently have around 140 bottles on hand, so I have quite a bit of writing to do!
I am honored to be listed be listed here with the other members of the Cabinet, all EXTREMELY knowlegable rum lovers. I have met a few of you already, and hope at some point to meet the rest!
If there is any way I might be of assistance to anyone, I would be glad to share info, and there is plenty of it already here on the Minstry.
My best regards to all of you......Salut!

[Arctic Wolf]

Hi Hank

Welcome to the cabinet. :)

I am looking forward visiting your website and learning a thing or two.

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[TheRumelier]

Hey stranger,
good to hear you are getting close to starting your site. I look forward to reading it soon.
Hopefully we can go tasting some more rums together again in the near future.

[Rum Runner]

Hank. Ron del Barrilito is a great way to begin a love affair with rum. We never forget the first one, do we?

Looking forward to seeing you in the future.

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[Hank Koestner]

Thank you all for the kind words. I need to get cracking on the site. I have changed the format too many times. I have crashed it uploading pictures files. But, I shall persevere. I only hope I can be even half as informative as the rest of you, your sites are outstanding!
Bob, I will drop you a note. I know it has been awhile since I have been in touch, my schedule has changed to working later at night, trying to keep business going during these tough economic times. This has cramped my time to concentrate on my favorite hobby, and my friends. cheers.gif

[Tiare]

Hank, its going to be wonderful to have your site among the community of rum, spirit and cocktail blogs. You have so much knowledge to share with us all and especially since you are an expert in rhum agricole you will fill in a very important nieche in the rum world.

Looking forward to read it!

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[Lew Barrett]

Hi Hank!

Great as always speaking with you and as are the rest of us, I'm eager to see the progression of your blog. Go bro!