91 replies to this topic

[Kent Wang]

Sam, I can't buy half of the rums on your list. All these are available in New York?

St. James' Rhums are, unfortunately, no longer imported into the US.

Still a fair amount of it on the shelves in Texas. Better snap it up.

[eas]

Kent - most all of Sam's list is in NY, and I'd think you'd find in Austin as well. Drop me a line if I can assist. All the best, Eric

[vice]

St. James' Rhums are, unfortunately, no longer imported into the US.

... Better snap it up.

Definitely! I was lucky enough two snag a couple bottles each of St James Ambre and Lemon Hart at Beltramos a while back. They're no longer listed on their website, unfortunately. I don't suppose there's really a comparable replacement available for Lemon Hart (I, for one, have never seen the El Dorado overproof that I've heard exists), but Rhum JM gold can be found at roughly the same price point as St James. Neisson is a bit spendier, but you are getting an extra 250 ml.

[eje]

Even though I like many of El Dorado's products, I've not heard good things about their current 151. Some of my Rum fancying friends were pretty scathing in their opinions.

They did say that the Master Distiller was aware of these criticisms, and wanted to re-invent the product at some point in the future.

[haresfur]

Let's see... my basic rums are:

1) Captain Morgan's Dark when I'm in a country that sells their non-spiced rum. I prefer it to Meyers and way better than Bacardi.

2) Inner Circle. Unique, what can I say.

3) Cruzan light or Havana Club (real not Bacardi), but I need to try the slightly more expensive HC next time I can buy it.

4) Barbancourt 5-Star. My favorite sip.

There are other's I like too, Pyrat and Goslings come to mind. Haven't really explored Agricole.

[brinza]

If one had to choose between El Dorado Special Reserve 15 Year and Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Year, what would be the one to go with? No special use is intended, so let's just say for drinking straight, or maybe in a Rum Old Fashioned.

[eje]

Boy, choosing between the El Dorado 15 and Zacapa 23 year, that's a tough one!

First, because they are so different!

Zacapa 23 being a heavy, sweet rum and the ElD 15 being a bit lighter in character.

Both are fantastic examples of their styles, incredibly complex cane spirits.

As much as I love both, I think I would probably say the ElD 15 is the more useful all around rum, though I would be sad not to have a bottle of Zacapa 23 around for occasional sipping.

[brinza]

Boy, choosing between the El Dorado 15 and Zacapa 23 year, that's a tough one!

First, because they are so different!

Zacapa 23 being a heavy, sweet rum and the ElD 15 being a bit lighter in character.

Both are fantastic examples of their styles, incredibly complex cane spirits.

As much as I love both, I think I would probably say the ElD 15 is the more useful all around rum, though I would be sad not to have a bottle of Zacapa 23 around for occasional sipping.

You're not helping, Erik! Actually, you are. Thanks. Theoretically, I could get both, but I'd like to keep room in the budget for other things. I've never had a Demerara rum before, so the El Dorado presents a good opportunity to try one. OTOH, I've tasted the RZ23 and the price is damn good for a 23-year-old anything.

Edited by brinza, 09 August 2010 - 12:43 PM.

[TAPrice]

OTOH, I've tasted the RZ23 and the price is damn good for a 23-year-old anything.

As far as I can tell, Zacapa is really a 6 year old rum. They use a solera method, but everything I've read says the youngest rum in the bottle is 6 years old.

The bottle used to say "23 años," as this old photos shows:

Old photo of Zacapa

Now they tout that it's aged at 2,300 feet and make no mention of years in any language on the front.


ETA: I don't own a bottle at the moment, but this discussion on a tiki forum says the back of the bottles states 5 to 23 year old rums.

Edited by TAPrice, 09 August 2010 - 01:06 PM.

[EvergreenDan]

Interesting. My bottle says (in tiny letters) 6 to 23 years. It kind of reminds me of the "200 year old" fruitcake, where a few crumbs of last year's fruitcake goes into the current year's batter.

[Alcuin]

Interesting. My bottle says (in tiny letters) 6 to 23 years. It kind of reminds me of the "200 year old" fruitcake, where a few crumbs of last year's fruitcake goes into the current year's batter.

I'm pretty sure they use the solera method (which I think was invented for sherry correct me if I'm wrong) in which rums of different years are blended together, from six on up to twenty three year old vatted together.

edited to add: just went and checked and my bottle of Metusalem clasico is marked "solera blender 10." My bottle of Zacapa clearly says solera too.

Edited by Alcuin, 09 August 2010 - 02:01 PM.

[eje]

While Solera style aging is well defined for certain products, say Sherry and some vinegars, it is less clear exactly what R(h)um manufacturers mean using that term on their bottles.

A friend of mine visited Zacapa, came back thinking he understood, and after much back and forth with the producer, has come to the conclusion that he really doesn't understand it well enough to write an article about it.

I believe it is safe to say it is not a strict Solera System, as is practiced for Sherry, where a container is filled each year until the desired age is reached, then some portion removed from the oldest container, and liquid cycled forward from the oldest.

On the other hand, it also appears not just to be a blend of rums of various ages, either.

Whatever they do, it is delicious, so who can argue?

[peterb]

For mixing, I find that Appleton VX is both widely available and quite distinctive (for a non-agricole rum).

[FireAarro]

Let's see... my basic rums are:

1) Captain Morgan's Dark when I'm in a country that sells their non-spiced rum. I prefer it to Meyers and way better than Bacardi.

2) Inner Circle. Unique, what can I say.

3) Cruzan light or Havana Club (real not Bacardi), but I need to try the slightly more expensive HC next time I can buy it.

4) Barbancourt 5-Star. My favorite sip.

There are other's I like too, Pyrat and Goslings come to mind. Haven't really explored Agricole.

Where do you get the Barbancourt? Keep in mind the Havana Club Anejo Especial has a very different flavour profile to the Anejo Blanco.

[EdB]

4) Barbancourt 5-Star. My favorite sip.

Here's another vote for the Barbancourt 5-star, because it tastes great and partly for humanitarian reasons. Rhum Barbancourt is one of the few valuable exports of Haiti, and their economy could use the money for sure...

[haresfur]

Where do you get the Barbancourt? Keep in mind the Havana Club Anejo Especial has a very different flavour profile to the Anejo Blanco.

Let's just say I need more visitors from the old country...

[Kent Wang]

How does Havana Club Blanco Anejo compare to Flor de Cana White? Now I'm in China and can get Havana Club but no longer Flor de Cana so I can't do a side by side comparison.

[sbumgarner]

My wife got me a first edition of Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up for my birthday recently, and one ingredient caught my attention - Carioca rum. Based on a few searches it looks like this was a Puerto Rican-style rum from the Virgin Islands, but didn't find much beyond that. Does anyone know a modern rum with a similar flavor profile? I'm guessing a decent white or gold molasses-based rum would suffice but curious if there's anything more to the Carioca than that.

[turkoftheplains]

I just got a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap. God damn.

It's not one of the gorgeous sipping añejos everyone else seems to be talking about, nor one of those oh-so-rare legitimate overproofs, but it is officially my favorite new toy. I am subbing it for every brown base spirit in every place imaginable and it is doing wonderful things for me.

I especially like it in hot drinks, which never did much for me up until now.

As with all other things cocktail-related, I'm very, very late to the party-- this is egullet, Toby Maloney posts here for God's sake! So I know this is old news to everyone on this forum, but I need to declare my undying love for this stuff.

I have to give credit where credit is due: to the genius who came up with the Black Strap Sour, which was my first taste of this particular spirit. He left the 'Burgh for Chicago right as I was doing the opposite, and he is sorely, sorely missed.

[Boilerfood]

I am glad that you brought up Cruzan's Blackstrap offering, because I have had a question about it that I cant seem to get a straight answer on. Is the new bottle (the one with the "tiki" font and the frills around the side) the same as the bottling that has Navy written across the bottom?

I have read that Cruzan was recently bought by Absolut, and that their white rum has taken a hit in quality. I was hoping to find out if the same can be said about their blackstrap, and if I need to go buy all of the old bottling sitting on the shelf for 11.49 at my local shop.

Cheers!

[turkoftheplains]

This is the one I got:

http://cocktailhacke.../BlackStrap.jpg

Cripes, I hope Absolut didn't screw it up, because it's exquisite. I've not seen the "Navy" bottle before, but Pittsburgh also doesn't get fun booze like Blackstrap unless I go to the trouble of special ordering it from the state-run liquor store.

Of course, if mine's the new one as you're suggesting, I can't tell you whether it's an inferior product, since it's superior to not having blackstrap rum.

Edited by turkoftheplains, 18 November 2010 - 12:21 AM.

[Boilerfood]

Yes that would be the new one, or so I think.

My "old" one looks something like this.


EDIT: Turns out my news is a few years outdated. Absolut has since sold it to Fortune Brands (i.e. Beam Global). It was Beam that chose the new labeling. I still cant seem to find out whether or not the taste is different.

Edited by Boilerfood, 18 November 2010 - 06:30 AM.

[eas]

Either label, its a fine and very useful product.

[Chris Amirault]

I've definitely noticed some variability in the Cruzan line: a lot with the light and dark, less so with the blackstrap. I'll try to remember to compare the older bottle I have at home with the new one at work.

[wingbatwu]

My favourite rum is Legendario Elixir de Cuba

I've only found it in Havana, though

[brinza]

I just got a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap. God damn.

It's not one of the gorgeous sipping añejos everyone else seems to be talking about, nor one of those oh-so-rare legitimate overproofs, but it is officially my favorite new toy. I am subbing it for every brown base spirit in every place imaginable and it is doing wonderful things for me.

That stuff makes a kick-ass Dark and Stormy. Just be sure to use a good Ginger Beer. I like The Ginger People or Gosling's. Turkoftheplains, if you're in Pittsburgh, have you had Jamaica's Finest Ginger Beer? It's made by Natrona Bottling. It's the "hottest" ginger beer I've ever tasted.

ETA: Cruzan's 9 Spiced Rum is really good, too. It blows away Captain Morgan or just about any other so-called spiced rum around (although Kraken's not bad).

Edited by brinza, 19 November 2010 - 07:32 PM.

[scubadoo97]

Boy, choosing between the El Dorado 15 and Zacapa 23 year, that's a tough one!

First, because they are so different!

Zacapa 23 being a heavy, sweet rum and the ElD 15 being a bit lighter in character.

Both are fantastic examples of their styles, incredibly complex cane spirits.

As much as I love both, I think I would probably say the ElD 15 is the more useful all around rum, though I would be sad not to have a bottle of Zacapa 23 around for occasional sipping.

I was a big Zacapa drinker but El Dorado has become a go to rum. The 12 and 15 are both excellent and in my neck of the woods a bargain as well. Not as sticky sweet as the Zacapa 23 and way better priced. Another rum that has not gotten any attention here is the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva.

[Tri2Cook]

So far my rum shelf includes Appleton V/X, Appleton White, Flor de Cana 7 year, Mount Gay Extra Old, Pusser's Navy, Gosling's Black Seal, El Dorado 12 year, Havana Club Anejo Blanco, Havana Club Anejo Reserva, Havana Club Anejo 7, Wray and Nephew Overproof and a bottle of Appleton V/X that I house-spiced just to have a spiced rum on the shelf. I realize this doesn't include any high-end expensive or really old rums and what the LCBO carries limits what it's possible to get (for example, the only 151 available is Bacardi and the only whites available besides the ones I already have are Bacardi and Captain Morgan). I'm wondering if this covers things pretty well for a start-up home cocktail bar. Are there some blatant omissions? Are there some blatant redundancies? I'm not concerned with $300 25 year olds and things of that nature and I know there are personal preferences that are going to differ from what I have I just want to have a decent range for mixing various drinks.

[vice]

Are there some blatant omissions?

Agricole

[Tri2Cook]

Are there some blatant omissions?

Agricole

Haven't found an option for one of those through the LCBO.