At Project Foodie we get a variety of product samples to try. Lately, we've gotten a bunch of sweets - here are a few of our current favorites.  Want to try some?  Check out the details below for a chance to win a sample…

Crofter's Organic Superfruit Spreads

Crofter's has a line of organic "superfruit spreads" that tout their antioxidant properties. While they may have more vitamins than some conventional jams, they are by no means health food. However they are wonderfully tangy jams with very unusual fruit combinations. The North American blend is cranberry and blueberry, the South American blend is maqui berry a native of Patagonia and passion fruit, the European blend is pomegranate and black currant and the Asian blend contains yumberry and raspberry. I never heard of yumberry or maqui berry before trying these products. They are a very good value at $4.99 for 11 ounces of organic fruit spread with no artificial flavors, no preservatives and no corn sweeteners, for those of you looking to avoid them.

My favorite is the Asian variety, but all of them are fresh tasting, tangy and intensely flavored blends that will make your morning toast, a very pleasurable experience.

Kusmi Tea

While tea comes from Asia, some of the best tea purveyors are based in Europe. Russia has a strong history of tea drinking and now a Parisian company is selling Russian style teas here in the US. The founder of the company, Pavel Michailovitch Kousmichoff began selling tea in 1868 in St. Petersburg and relocated to Paris after the Russian revolution. To this day, the Kusmi Tea company specializes in Russian tea blends.

Before you even try the teas, you will no doubt be enchanted by the lovely packaging. Tins of the tea are decorated in vibrantly colored art nouveau designs. Though Kusmi sells green, herbal and wellness teas, it's the Russian blends I recommend. The Prince Vladmir is Chinese black tea flavored with citrus, vanilla and spices. The St. Petersburg blend is also Chinese black tea flavored with citrus, red fruits and caramel. Brewing instructions are available online. Whether for yourself or as a gift, these are really special teas to treasure.

Amano Jembrana Milk Chocolate

Chocolate cognoscenti may have already discovered the exquisite dark chocolate bars from American artisanal producer, Amano. Now Amano offers a milk chocolate bar.  Like most milk chocolate, it has luscious caramel tones and a milder flavor, but the richness actually seems to intensify as it melts in your mouth. It's made exclusively from cacao beans from the Jembrana Regency and its surrounding areas of Bali, Indonesia. This award-winning chocolate will win over dark chocolate fiends and milk chocolate lovers alike.

And now for the chance to win a sample.  Crofter's Organic is offering a set of the four superfruit spreads to one lucky visitor. Leave a comment here (if you're not already a registered user you'll need to sign-up for an account first) and one reader (with a US mailing address) will be chosen on July 24th.

Disclosure:  All items discussed in the Taste Test posts are provided by vendors, publicists, and/or manufacturers to Project Foodie. 

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Rum has a long history, with precursors dating all the way back to ancient India or China. But the modern and best known versions of rum are from the Caribbean and Latin America. In 1493 Columbus introduced sugar cane to the islands of the Caribbean from the Canary Islands and the distillation of rum is well recorded as early as the 17th century. It was made from molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, and used as currency to buy slaves and to pay workers and was rationed among sailors in the Royal Navy.

For many people, rum has a tropical flavor that conjures up romantic images of swashbuckling pirates, sunshine and sea breezes.  Today, rum is made from sugar cane juice, syrup or molasses. It is generally aged in oak whiskey or bourbon barrels, giving it both color and flavor. Rum is an amazingly varied spirit, it can be light or dark, young or aged, dry or sweet. It can be used for mixed drinks or for sipping.

Remarkable Rum

Because of its complexity, rum is a very enjoyable spirit, even for those who tend to prefer wine over hard liqueur. If you have only ever tried mixed drinks with rum, here are three highly recommended sipping rums to savor.

1. Mount Gay 1703: This rum, two years in the making, was just recently introduced, and the bottle bears the familiar image of a map of Barbados. The name Mount Gay refers to an early caretaker at the distillery. It consists of reserve rums that have aged from between 10 and 30 years and is extremely smooth and elegant with a very long finish. It has luscious notes of banana, leather, spice, caramel and oak.

2. Ron Zacapa Centenario 23: Produced from a blend of vintage rums of up to 23 years in the barrel and fermented with pineapple yeast. It is made in the solera method used to make sherry. This rum from Guatemala is made from virgin sugar cane syrup, also known as honey. It has spice and caramel notes of molasses and fudge.  It is creamy, sweet and slightly viscous.

3. Ron Barcelo Imperial: From the Domincan Republic, aged up to 8 years in Kentucky bourbon barrels it tastes much older. It is very rich with vanilla, toffee and dried fruit, orange and a touch of tobacco. It's balanced, medium bodied, delicate and a bit on the drier side.

For more reviews and information about rum check out Rum Dood, Scotts' Rum Pages and Ministry of Rum.

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Old Fashioned

• 2 oz bourbon or rye
• 2 dashes bitters
• 1 teaspoon simple syrup (or teaspoon each sugar and water)
• 1 maraschino cherry
• 1 orange slice

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John Collins

Mix in a tall glass

• 1 teaspoon superfine or caster sugar
• 1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

Holland Gin Cocktail

Place a sugar cube or 1/2 teaspoon sugar in an old-fashioned glass

• Add 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/2 teaspoon water

Muddle until sugar is dissolved

• Add 2 ounces Bols genever
• 3-4 ice cubes

Stir for at least 30 seconds and then twist a thin slice of lemon peel over the top

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