"martinique" news and stories

• How do you take your potato salad from tired to inspired? Throw in some corn, cherry tomatoes and basil.
• Now that the whole bird is popular again, dark chicken meat recipes are, too.
• Which cocktail should you whip up with artisanal vodka? How about a Martinique with Chambord and lime juice?
• From ring-shaped vegetable brushes to trio lasagna pans, Chicago's housewares show for funky new gadgets.
• What grape is perfect for the rising June temperatures? Wine writer Dale Robertson says Sauvignon Blanc.
• The peach crop in Fredericksburg/Hill County was almost decimated in April when a severe freeze destroyed roughly 98 percent of the crop.
• "Southern Living Comfort Food: A Delicious Trip Down Memory Lane" is perfect for home cooking and dishing on Southern food memories, while Morton's new cookbook shares tips for a steak fiend.
• The 2009 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo crowns a bunch of tasty vino champions from 2008 Vina Robles Suendero to McManis Family Vineyards Zinfandel.
• Reader recipe of the week: Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
• A rundown of Houston-area farmers markets.
• Quick tip: Grab a pastry blender to easily mash your avocado.
• Foodie product spotlight: Sara Lee's buns, low-cal Truffle Bars, V8's V-Fusion, butter with olive oil, a bottle emulsifier and Miller's limey Chill.

Depaz Blue Cane Rhum Agricole is 45% abv. / 90 proof from the Depaz Estate on French Martinique. I have been trying to locate Depaz for quite awhile and finally a friend gave me one tiny little 50 ml. mini-bottle. But I'm not greedy, that's all I need for quite a few sips.

The color is that of light, fresh hay. The aroma is lush, earthy, and redolent of fresh crushed sugar cane. just from the aroma I can instantly tell that not only is it a rum agricole made from fermented cane juice and not molasses, but that it is from Blue Sugar Cane. Every other rum agricole that I have tried made from the Blue Cane has had a similar aroma. It is unmistakable. Add on hints of toffee, grassy and herbaceous notes, followed by tantalizing tropical floral tones. I instantly fell in love with the aroma of this rum.

The taste is dry, earthy and herbaceous, full and intense, spices follow along quickly, almost too much to grasp. Stretching out into an exceptionally long finish that continues to cycle through different flavor notes.

This is a fine sipping rum for when you want to relax and focus on your drink. Dry as can be, full flavored, straight in a snifter or on the rocks. It's even better than I had expected. This is another rum that I am anxiously hoping to have the chance to try more in their lineup.

Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb liqueur is 40%abv. / 80 proof. It is a Curacao orange liqueur produced and estate bottled at Habitation Clément in Martinique, and it has only recently become available in the US.

It has a medium light body to it and is a light orange gold in color. The aroma is an intoxicating blend of Curacao orange peels and musky Rhum Agricole, with a touch of exotic tropical spices.

The taste is much less sweet than similar orange liqueurs and very smooth on your tongue. It has a deliciously sharp and slightly bitter orange zest flavor that wakes up your palate immediately. I find that there is a complex, and quite different orange flavor than I have experienced with other orange liqueurs. It is tart and tangy, as well as full and round. The bitter orange is balanced nicely with the sweetness from pure, freshly crushed, sugar cane syrup and a sprinkle of Caribbean spices. The whole liqueur is carried on a solid base of fine, dry, wood aged rum. It has an extraordinarily long finish, rich with the essence of orange, rum, wood tannins, and just the barest hint of spice that lasts and lasts.

Creole Shrubb is one of the most enjoyable liqueurs I have ever experienced. I hope you get the chance to as well.