As emcee for the United States Bartenders Guild/Bacardi Piña Colada competition at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, it was incumbent upon me to sample no fewer than 17 different variations of the storied Puerto Rican cocktail, prepared by bartenders of all stripes representing USBG chapters across America.

By the time a dynamite drink-slinger named Debbi Peek of Chicago was crowned winner — earning her a check for $1,500 and a spot at the World Cocktail Competition in Warsaw, Poland — I’d quaffed more piña coladas than a pack of horny Midwest divorcees on a singles cruise.

You’d think taking part in an hours-long orgy of rum, pineapple and coconut cream in sweltering New Orleans would have turned me off tropical drinks for awhile, but on the contrary, I returned home to Southern California with a fire burning in my belly. A fire that could only be brought under control by copious amounts of the frou-frou.

So I ventured beachward to get my bamboo-umbrella-ed sip on at Gladstones, a 33-year-old LA institution famously located where Sunset Blvd. meets the Pacific Coast Highway. The venerable old seafood joint recently got a facelift courtesy of the sbe group, and I’d heard they’re doing very cool things with the new beverage program there.

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According to a publicist for Bacardi, "Halloween is the spookiest time of year and is the perfect excuse for hosting your own haunted Halloween bash. Search for your scariest costume, stock up on seasonal candy and invite your friends over to join in on the eerie and ghoulish festivities. Impress your guests with one of these spooky and delicious Halloween themed cocktails from Bacardi, “rum of the bat."

I couldn't have said it better myself... didn't feel like trying either. The drink IS really good. I tried it. Several times. Here's how you make it...

BACARDI ZOMBIE

3 1/3 parts Bacardi Superior Rum

1 part grenadine

1 part triple sec

2 parts sweet and sour mix

2 parts orange juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into tall glass.
Float small portion Bacardi 151° Rum. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Rolled into my favorite LA haunt, La Descarga, this week for a party hosted by Bacardi. Yes, a Bacardi party. And we partied hearty. A good, good times, yo. I mean, look how happy I am in the picture to the left, with Bacardi's global ambassador David Cordoba and brand attache Andrea Iturbe.

The cause for celebration was the U.S. release of Bacardi Reserva Limitada, which until now was available only in scarce quantities in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Aruba.  This stuff is known as the “Founder’s Blend,” created by Maestro de Ron (Rum Master) Luis Planas as a personal blend for the Bacardí family in honor of the company's patriarch, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó.

Individually bottled, numbered and sealed by hand with a cork finish, Reserva Limitada consists of rums that spend between 10 to 16 years in lightly-charred American white oak barrels. The result is a potent golden-hued rum with spicy notes and a velvety finish. Smells of vanilla, oak and dried fruits.

“It was almost as if Don Facundo himself was telling me, ‘Luis, keep aside some of those barrels because from there something good will come,’” said Planas. “I began to blend the resulting liquids and the end product was something only a house pioneering in rum could develop.  That is what we now proudly bring to the United States.”

Couldn't have put it better myself, Luis.

Off the bat, only 1,000 cases (six 750ml bottles per case) of Reserva Limitada will be available in the States, with additional quantities expected to be released here in the future, based on availability.  Suggested retail price is $110.00.