A sippable white rum – rare, but not unheard of. But even on the shelf, Caliche stands apart from its pale brethren with its mottled glass bottle, neck wrapped in hemp. It gives a rustic, tropical appearance usually reserved for aged rums, and makes this the only white rum I can think of that indeed looks piratey (a necessity for those of truly distinguished taste.)

While white rums generally equate to un-aged, Caliche is in fact a blend of aged rums using the Solera system. This results in a rather layered flavor profile. To the nose you’re met with fruit, while on tasting a creamy vanilla sensation dominates. The finish lingers and warms with alcohol burn that’s surprisingly gentle yet persistent.

Caliche is a class act, no doubt. It’s quite excellent straight up, and when sipped in moderation is damn near refreshing (not a quality I generally equate with rum.)

The author of the New York Times bestseller Once A Spy, is asking readers to submit their original photographs, paintings and drawings for a chance to be featured as the cover image for the digital edition of his modern-day pirate adventure Pirates of Pensacola.

How to enter: If you haven’t already read the book, you can sample the first fifty pages for free at http://www.scribd.com/doc/133700015/Pirates-of-Pensacola-by-Keith-Thomson-Excerpt and http://www.KeithThomsonBooks.com. Next, send your original artwork in high resolution jpeg to PiratesofPensacola@gmail.com by May 24. Full cover designs using original artwork will be accepted. Keith and crew will review the entries and choose three images that best capture the spirit of the book. These three finalists’ work will be showcased at http://www.KeithThomsonBooks.com and on the Official Keith Thomson Author Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/KeithThomsonAuthor) during the week of May 27th. With the help of his pirate fans Keith will then choose the grand-prize-winner whose artwork will be used as the cover image. The grand prize winner and first runner-up will each receive a genuine piece-of-eight coin and the second runner-up will receive a signed first edition of Keith’s next novel, 7 grams of lead.

Keith hopes that his fellow pirate fans will enjoy contributing their swashbuckling images and that the contest will give readers a way to join the pirate adventure and possibly find some treasure along the way.

Keith created the current cover image for Pirates of Pensacola. It was used for the digital edition that Thomson donated to the Worldreader organization, a U.S. and European nonprofit that makes digital books available to children and their families in the developing world. Keith subsequently published the e-book on Amazon and Kobobooks.

Contest details and a complete list of the official contest rules are available at  http://www.keiththomsonbooks.com.

So long, Lucasarts – you done good!

I haven’t seen Dread Crew perform in several years, but as I recall they were FACEMELTINGLY AWESOME! So, yeah… catch a show if you can.

For more info on Dreadcrew, I bet their website is all sorts of useful. It’s www.thedreadcrewofoddwood.com. Buy some of their genius albums while you’re at it – they’ll rock your stripey socks right off and then scrape the barnacles from your gums like a sonic laser of pirattitude.

Maroon’s newest album, Dance Macaw, is aptly named. Just as they’ve replaced “macabre” in the title with a parrot reference, they’ve (largely) sidestepped their usual macabre nature for a more upbeat approach to sea shanties. This new zest for the energetic life is at once apparent with the album’s initial track, Santiano, and continues on through High Barbaree, The Captain Cried All Hands, General Taylor, All For Me Grog, and Finnegan’s Wake. This initial half of Dance Macaw is approachable and enjoyable, but it’s with Nor Shuddering Maid that Marooned truly goes above and beyond. At first I thought this song title was a typo, as the familiar tune and words of Derelict greet the listener – but as the music goes on it comes to light this is actually a creative continuation of the famous pirate song, and tells the tale from a very different perspective.

The album then continues with some more shanty favorites – a fine cover of Cyril Tawney’s Diesel and Shale and the traditional Maid on the Shore and Blow the Man Down – before concluding with a uniquely appropriate rendition of The Dark Mermaid. I’ve often observed that this traditional tune of death at sea is all too often performed in a peculiar upbeat fashion, and so it was great fun to hear Marooned return to their traditional comfort zone of morbidity in this version. But never ones to leave a grave undanced upon, where most singers complete the song upon the ship’s sinking, Marooned delves deeper until the flesh is rotted and the devil is laughing at the deceased narrators’ expense.

Dance Macaw is a fine album overall, but it’s definitely Nor Shuddering Maid and The Dark Mermaid that stand out. A great listen for fans of Marooned, or anyone looking for a selection of a cappella pirate favorites mixed with a little extra spice.

Then things got much, much worse when the USVI instituted a “rum war” against Puerto Rico last year. What happened is almost unthinkable. The USVI gave Diageo nearly $3 Billion – not million, billion! – in subsidies. These subsidies were so rich that they amount to more than double the cost of actually producing rum! Diageo is actually being paid to produce rum. The USVI also gifted Fortune Brands (Cruzan) $1 Billion, yes billion – for all manner of free improvements and facilities, including a guarantee that Cruzan can buy molasses for just 16 cents/gallon – far under the market price of $2.00/gallon that the Caribbean producers must pay.

The risk is that we lose the small rums we all love, and are left with naught but a few mega-rums, one of which is Bacardi of all things (crikey, I might have to go back to drinking water instead.)

You can read the full article over at CanadianWhisky.org, and then consider signing the petition. But whats more, keep buying your favorite rums, mates – they need our support, now and always!

Kinectimals is perhaps one of the most overlooked pirate games around – mainly because you probably didn’t know it was a pirate game. True, the basic idea is “pet the tiger” or “pet the leopard” or even “pet the bear” through the magic of Xbox Kinect, but it also involves the search for pirate treasure on a tropical island filled with ancient ruins. See? Piratey.

Of course, it was also pretty heavily targeted at kids, which is why it was such a bold move when they announced the sequel, Farcry 3.

They were so cute back in the day…

Like its predecessor, Farcry 3 involves tigers, leopards, bears, ancient ruins, and pirates. But it also has a lot more blood. And bullets. And knives. And explosions. No Kinect, though.

OK, quick caveat – normally I don’t review things about modern day pirates. But I’m making an exception for Farcry 3 because awesome.

Farcry 3 is actually three games in one. First is the single-player in which you play a tourist-turned-soldier trying to rescue your friends from modern-day pirates. With the help of a wide arsenal of guns and magic tattoos (yes, magic tattoos) you build your strength and skill enough to eventually conquer the chief bad guy. At least, I suppose that’s how it ends, as I’m only halfway through. It’s a vast game in a vast world, and for all the hours I’ve played it I’m not even remotely bored yet, which is really saying something. Also saying something is the insane detail that went into making this world seemingly autonomous. Unlike many games where everything that happens revolves around the player, this island has a LOT going on, and most of it has little to do with you.

And then they eat you.

Consider – when running through the jungle, you may well stumble across a gunfight between the pirates and the peaceful native population. And if you don’t interfere, they’ll keep on fighting without you, and then go about their days. And while you’re skulking about watching the fight happen, you just might get eaten by a tiger that wandered past and thought you looked tasty. Unless, the tiger saw the pirates or natives first, in which case it might eat them. Unless the tiger just wasn’t hungry, in which case you might never even know he’d just walked past. See? Lots going on.

One of my favorite things about Farcry 3 is the weapons functionality. With many games I’ve found that for all the differences between a sniper rifle and an SMG, ultimately the only thing that matters is who can spray the most bullets the fastest. But with Farcry 3 you can actually sneak about and snipe properly. A shotgun is lousy for any distance, but vital when running through the jungle, when behind any tree you might find yourself face to face with a dingo. Want to take out a series of cars? Consider C4 and a machine-gun. Fun AND function

Most of my time in-game has been spent playing story mode, but Co-op is pretty slick as well. And it has an entirely unique storyline of its very own. In co-op, you’re one of four pirate-attack survivors from a passing cruise ship. They each have a shady past, and each their own special skills with weapons.

Working your way across the island with your Xbox live buddies alongside is brilliantly fun, although very challenging. Having played with only 2 of the 4 possible team-members, it quickly got TOO challenging. But with 3 or 4 I’m sure it would pretty genius to play.

Full-on multiplayer is something I’ve only barely dipped my toe into, and I found it laggy and buggy. Word has it this is common, although my crap router is surely part to blame. I hope to play more multi soon, but for now story mode and Co-op are more than enough to keep me busy.

So yeah, Farcry 3 is awesome. If you like this sort of first person shooter and dig pirates of the modern-day variety, definitely check it out. I found the controls much easier that similar games – and unlike Black Ops I can actually hit what I aim at, which really is the gift that keeps on giving.

The original Rogue’s Gallery was more mediocre than good, but it did have a few gems. A sequel all these years later? Normally I’d suggest that ship has sailed (hah!) but there are a few in the lineup that interest me. Iggy Pop in particular would seem well suited to the task of crusty sailor songs. And Courtney Love? Yeah, she could have been right at home in a seedy dockside bar, I’d wager.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s every chance this album will be wretch. BUT… maybe not

Johnny Depp releasing a record of “pirate ballads, sea songs, and chanteys” | Music | Newswire | The A.V. Club

(Via.)

Thanks to Jason Lang for bringing this one to my attention!