83 replies to this topic

[Bill Poster]

The people behind 42 Below vodka have juste launched Seven Tiki. Its a 2 yr white rum aged in oak barrels and comes in a funky bottle. Seven Tiki website

[Ed Hamilton]

Well, they certainly haven't spared any expense on their website.

[Ed Hamilton]

There is a one page feature on 10 Cane in this month's Gourmet magazine.  Reading it, I was interested to discover that they don't burn the cane fields before harvesting.  I guess, they just cut them green and press.

Only a smalll part of the sugar cane in the Eastern Caribbean is burned before being cut. Environmentally it's a mess for everything downwind from the cane field. Trinidad used to burn some of the cane before the sugar industry went broke and closed.

[Bill Poster]

Well, they certainly haven't spared any expense on their website.

[David Santucci]

Is there a available-in-the-US substitue for Havana Club Blanco?

Every time I go to Mexico, I pick up a couple bottles of Havana Club Blanco. It costs 8 bucks and it is the best I have tried for mojitos, daquiris and the like. Now, supposing I HAD to substitute (with something non-Cuban), what could I use that would be similar?

I have never had the pleasure of trying the Flor de Caña, Brugal or Barcelo whites. I have tried Appleton's and thought, compared to the Havana at least, it tasted like rubbing alcohol.

[eje]

Is there a available-in-the-US substitue for Havana Club Blanco?
[...]
I have never had the pleasure of trying the Flor de Caña, Brugal or Barcelo whites.  I have tried Appleton's and thought, compared to the Havana at least, it tasted like rubbing alcohol.

I haven't had the HC Blanco, Brugal, or Barcelo white rums.

I have tried both the Flor de Cana Extra Dry and Appleton White. I like the Flor de Cana Extra Dry a lot more. It's decently priced, usually around $10-$15 here in CA. Smooth, with good Rum character. Not much funk or "rubbing alcohol" smell/flavor. It's a really good light mixing rum.

I've also had the Montecristo White Rum in a cocktail and thought that it was pretty good. I've only had it in a bar, so I'm not sure where it falls price-wise.

Looking at the Montecristo website, I just discovered that Montecristo is a cane juice based or Agricultural rum from Guatamala. I wasn't aware of that. I don't remember getting a lot of rhum agricole type funk from that daiquiri.

[Ed Hamilton]

Actually Montecristo is made from sugar cane syrup and not fresh juice and is distilled to about 92% alcohol making it a nice white rum.

[eje]

Actually Montecristo is made from sugar cane syrup and not fresh juice and is distilled to about 92% alcohol making it a nice white rum.

Oh, interesting!

I didn't even know there was a third category of rum made from cane syrup!

So, rhum agricole is made from fresh juice, most rums are made from molasses, and then some other rums are made from Sugar Cane Syrup. Is that right? Are there many others made from Sugar Cane Syrup?

[jlo mein]

According to the Ministry of Rum database, Zacapa and Zaya are also made with sugar cane syrup.

[eje]

I guess I do find the Montecristo website a bit mis-leading, then.

Montecristo Rum is “agricultural rum” made from
all natural, hand-harvested, pure sugarcane juice, not molasses.
It is remarkably smooth, the result of Montecristo’s unique aging process, which uses American oak bourbon barrels.

Montecristo Rum is a premium spirit obtained by distilling fermented sugarcane juice, a by-product of sugar.

Montecristo Rum 101

[Morgan_Weber]

I was at my local liquor store yesterday and saw that they had the Martinique Rhum Clement Premiere Canne on sale for $12.99/bottle. This seems like an awesome price, but I haven't tasted it. Should I pick up a few bottles? They said, when it's gone, it's gone. What is the general consensus about Clement's whole line?

Also, I've been thinking about special ordering a bottle of the Montecristo 12-year. Is it worth the hassle of the special order? I'm in Houston and am able to shop at a place called Spec's. They have an incredible selection of rum in stock already. I hate having to special order things...

http://www.specsonli...Liquors|240|RUM

Thanks for the help!

[eje]

Does seem like a great price for that Rhum.

It is an unaged Rhum Agricole, though, so it can't really be subbed in to cocktails where white rum is called for without some consideration.

I've not tried it personally; but, as a white rhum agricole, the Clement is a little on the flaccid side, proof-wise.

[bostonapothecary]

I was at my local liquor store yesterday and saw that they had the Martinique Rhum Clement Premiere Canne on sale for $12.99/bottle.  This seems like an awesome price, but I haven't tasted it.  Should I pick up a few bottles?  They said, when it's gone, it's gone.  What is the general consensus about Clement's whole line?

Also, I've been thinking about special ordering a bottle of the Montecristo 12-year.  Is it worth the hassle of the special order?  I'm in Houston and am able to shop at a place called Spec's.  They have an incredible selection of rum in stock already.  I hate having to special order things...

http://www.specsonli...Liquors|240|RUM

Thanks for the help!

clement premiere canne here is about 30 a bottle. i love their creole shrub. their amber is boring relative to the price... the "homer" and XO are beautiful stuff but very pricey. i think the premiere shows some fun terrior, if i saw it at that price which is bacardi money i'd pick some up. try it in a "ti punch"

[eje]

Oh, and, lack of tumescence aside, Clement is a very well regarded Rhum Agricole. At $12 a bottle, I'd probably buy a case.

Though, maybe just get one first, to make sure you actually like White Rhum Agricoles.

[ZombieAddict]

Need a rum for my bar collection for cocktails. Was thinking of getting a white rum and possibly Wray and Newphew overproof. Anyone here tried it? Thoughts?

[bostonapothecary]

Need a rum for my bar collection for cocktails. Was thinking of getting a white rum and possibly Wray and Newphew overproof. Anyone here tried it? Thoughts?

you are not exactly going to churn out classic cocktails with wray & nephews, but i adore it. in jamaica they drink drink their overproofs with campari. "JB" from the trelawny distillery and campari with soda was the favorite drink of Raymond the mason when i spent a month in jamaica in the fall.

[ZombieAddict]

Do you have a better recommendation for a white rum for classic cocktails then?

[MikeInSacto]

you are not exactly going to churn out classic cocktails with wray & nephews, but i adore it. in jamaica they drink drink their overproofs with campari. "JB" from the trelawny distillery and campari with soda was the favorite drink of Raymond the mason when i spent a month in jamaica in the fall.

Interesting. Is that rum with the Campari and soda on the side or are they mized?

[KD1191]

Do you have a better recommendation for a white rum for classic cocktails then?

If you can get it, Havana Club. If not, Flor de Caña or Matusalem.

Edited by KD1191, 24 March 2012 - 08:31 AM.

[Kent Wang]

Now that I'm in China, I can get Havana Club but not Flor de Cana. Has anyone that's tasted these blind side-by-side have an opinion of which is better? I have the hunch that Americans may prefer Havana Club simply because of the difficulty of acquiring it, just like Mexican Coca-Cola, which was debunked in a blind tasting.

[KD1191]

Now that I'm in China, I can get Havana Club but not Flor de Cana. Has anyone that's tasted these blind side-by-side have an opinion of which is better? I have the hunch that Americans may prefer Havana Club simply because of the difficulty of acquiring it, just like Mexican Coca-Cola, which was debunked in a blind tasting.

I have them both in my cupboard and, while I've never tasted them against each other blind, I'll say that I'm relatively certain I could tell them apart. HC is the standard for white rums for me. Others are judged in how close they come to tasting like HC. Of what I've tried, I feel like FdC comes closest. Now, does absence make the heart grow fonder? Does the forbidden fruit taste sweeter? Surely. It's not the best rum in the world, far from it, but that doesn't mean HC isn't still an iconic flavor.

Also, I believe the frequently sited debunking of Mexican Coke was paid for/performed by Coca-Cola itself. Numerous blind studies have shown there is a perceptible taste difference between Coke formulations around the world.

[Tri2Cook]

I can easily get Havana Club where I live and it's probably still my favorite white... with the disclaimer that I can't get Flor de Cana white and have never tried it. I say "probably" because I don't drink white rum neat. I'm always mixing it and in many cases that can hide minor differences and narrow the gaps between the whites I have.

[Yojimbo]

If you're looking for cheap but good, El Dorado makes a white rum that is about $15 in NYC and has a lot more flavor than the mass market brands. I'd be curious to hear what more rum-savvy folks would say about Barbancourt blanc -- is it a young agricole, or an agricole-ish white rum?

[Hassouni]

In my quest for mojito and daiquiri perfection, I can highly recommend FdC white and Brugal white for us embargo-affected Americans (I've used HC when I lived in London). Matusalem is very smooth and nice but doesn't have much character. Brugal and FdC have some personality and are quite lovely as they are.