As a child, Blair was enthralled with the visions of an exotic paradise from frequent summer trips through Polynesian islands. Many, many excursions to Disney parks also brought about a sense of wonder and awe in creating reality out of fantasy.

When sipping his first Fogcutter many years later, at a Trader Vic’s in Emeryville, California, Blair knew finally that he was at home, in paradise. He quickly studied every available book and lore of the ancient art of tropical bartending. He traded an office job for time behind the stick, making his way from barback to management swiftly. His basement office soon became a home bar, more well equipped than many of its professional counterparts. He shared his findings and pleasures to the world with his blog, TraderTiki.com, and became renowned for his knowledge, and even more his passion for fantastic tiki and tropical drinks, and the experiences they brought to many happy guests. His Tiki nights at local lounges brought guests from miles around, and he began consulting and developing menus for bars around his home in Portland, Oregon.

In 2009, Blair launched his own line of bar syrups, originally under the brand Trader Tiki but rebranded in 2011 to BG Reynolds Syrups, which is still in use today. Blair’s syrups are in heavy use in tiki bars across the nation, including the famed Trader Sam’s at the Disney Resort, and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto in Disney World.

In 2012, Blair opened Hale Pele in Portland, Oregon, a culmination of his passion for all things tiki, with exceptional service and award winning cocktails.

If there’s anything I’ve done for achievement in the rum industry, it would certainly be increased sales of rum in the Pacific Northwest. My bar Hale Pele ranks #1 in Coruba sales, so I’ve certainly spread the good word for one brand! Also because of its prominence in the Pacific Northwest tiki scene, as well as nationally, Hale Pele has inspired many others to learn more about great tiki drinks and the rums that go in them. Our Fire Drinkers program also allows patrons to play along with our rum game, and learn more about rums origins and processes as they rise through the ranks of the Fire Drinkers.

I guess you can say it’s tiki drinks that really brought rum into my life. I can’t say that before my first Fogcutter I had thought much about it. Mostly my experience was in Captain Morgan and Coke. Once I started messing about with the perfect rums for my Mai Tais, that’s when the real experimenting began… now, I have enough rum to make about 50,000 different combinations* so let the grand experiment continue!

What keeps me in the rum industry is the introduction of people new to the love of or industry of rum. I like being the introduction to great flavors and experiences. It’s always a challenge to me to consider where someone’s journey into rum should start. Are they ready yet to even comprehend a Martinique Rhum? Do they just need something to let them know there’s a world beyond Spiced Rum? The other day I met someone who had never had unspiced rum before, started him with a little something from Demerara, oh what a path of learning and joy he’ll be on now!

Today’s Favorite Drink, Nui Nui: ½oz Orange juice, ½oz Lime Juice, ½oz BG Reynolds Tiki Spices, ½oz BG Reynolds Cinnamon Syrup, 2 oz Coruba (for me! Your taste may vary), dash Angostura bitters.

a. Sipping a premium rum for the 1st time:
Guiding someone through their first sip of rum, I’d probably let them pick the bottle, and describe every detail I could. There’s no right place to start, though I could probably name a few wrong ones.b. Likes Scotch Whisky:
For my Scotch drinkers, I’d start them off with some of the recent Foursquare bottlings. Not as a similarity to Scotch in taste, but for a taste of some of the finer rum offerings and all of that great information on the label.

c. Likes Bourbon:
If someone likes Bourbon, my introduction is going to be my personal workhorse rum, Coruba. It’s got spice, it’s got body, and is just aching for a splash of sugar, bitters, and mint.

d. Like Gin or Vodka:
If somebody like Gin or Vodka, I would introduce them to something particularly dry, like a Don Q Cristal. Though, if they’re a cocktail maker with the gin, maybe that’s a job for a lovely blend like Plantation 3 star.

e. Likes Cognac:
For somebody who like Cognac, it makes no sense to the palate, but I would introduce them to Rhum Agricole, since it’s such a fun exploration of how AOC works outside of France.

In the next 5 years, I think the rum industry is going to start seeing a few trends really pick up. One, a step up in environmental and ethical practices, making sure that what we’re enjoying isn’t because of slave labor, and doesn’t impact our environment negatively. Two, we’re going to see more rums from unheard of companies, once folks realize that the Vodka market is oversaturated and buying bulk rum is as simple to get your distillery off the ground. Unaged rum just needs the right nudge in marketing and we’ll see that. Perhaps advertising as “Always Gluten Free”? We’ll see. I’m also personally looking forward to more and more fun with barrel expressions. Or are we already there? Maybe I’m just late to the party!

The first step is getting US consumers to try premium rum. Most just don’t understand how elegant and wonderful fine rum can be and are generally blown away once they taste.

The second step is the need for suppliers to be more transparent. Consumers who typically seek premium spirits have a thirst for knowledge on how a spirit is produced, aged, etc. They want to learn about the spirit they fall in love with and we need to give them that.

My rum mentors, of course I want to mention the co-owner of Hale Pele Martin Cate, who has shared with me some fine expressions of rum from time to time. Another friend/mentor is Matt Robold, whose enthusiastic love of all things rum got me all wrapped up and definitely made me up my collection!

My bucket list for the next year or so is in expanding my rum vocabulary when it comes to making cocktails, so I’ll reach for something other than my usual suspects. I also want to be able to make my drink recipes more readily available information for when I call out certain rums, like Coruba, to find suitable substitutions in areas where they are not distributed. In a year, I’d love to be picking out my own barrels for BG Reynolds Private Selection, but we’ll see how that goes.