Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken up the challenge from Danielle Smith, the premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, with a spirited wager. They’re betting over the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken up the challenge from Danielle Smith, the premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, with a spirited wager.
They’re betting over the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
If the Oilers win, DeSantis said Monday at a news conference on education, he’ll send Florida rum to Canada. If that happens, something the Florida governor suggested was unlikely, he added, “I’ll also throw in a key lime pie to boot.”
If the Panthers win and Smith loses the wager, DeSantis said she would send Canadian whisky to Florida.
“It’s amazing how Florida has kind of become a hockey state. When I was growing up we didn’t have hockey,” DeSantis said. “I didn’t know anybody that ever played hockey. And now we have two of the best franchises in the NFL.”
Smith issued the challenge on Saturday, shortly before the beginning of Game 1 of Game 1 of the series. The Panthers won, 3-0.
She proposed the terms in a “Dear Gov. @RonDeSantis” social media post.
“This is for all the marbles,” she wrote, “The Stanley Cup!”
“Our Edmonton Oilers are going to beat the Florida Panthers and when we do, would you send some of your finest Florida rum to Alberta for us to celebrate with? If by some miracle the Panthers win the series, then I will send some fine Alberta-made whisky down to Florida,” Smith said.
She also posted a composite picture of herself, with two thumbs up, in an Oilers jersey and DeSantis (no thumbs) in a Panthers jersey on opposite sides of the Stanley Cup trophy.
Florida’s history growing sugarcane has also made it home to rum production, a West Palm Beach distillery, Steel Tie Spirits Co., said on its website.
It describes Florida rum as “a spirit distilled from sugarcane or molasses, much like any other rum. However, what makes Florida rum stand out is its connection to the local environment. Florida’s tropical climate and rich soil conditions are ideal for sugarcane cultivation, which directly influences the quality and taste of the rum produced. Florida rum is a reflection of the state’s natural bounty, embodying its sun-soaked fields and the craftsmanship of its local distillers.
“Rum has been a part of Florida’s history since the colonial era, with the state’s early settlers distilling their own rum,” Steel Tie Spirits Co. said.
Whiskyadvocate.com resorts Canadian whisky can be made of “any cereal grain,” such as wheat, corn and rye, which are milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, and matured separately. “The finished product typically blends several types of whisky.”
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
