Dan Smith

Hi Ed, I know what you mean about prosecuting the Cubans, impossible. I work for a German Company that has been in business for over 50 years. Always on top of the market producing the best products, raising the bar and pioneering engineering in our industry. Anyway, the Chinese take our product and manufacture reverse molds to copy it identically... and legally there's NOTHING we can do to stop them. They even put our name on the product and packaging sometimes... I really like the Classic Black and I am very disappointed that they are no longer producing it. Glad to see that the Grand Reseva is still around, it’s so smooth and no artificial tastes. I can’t wait to see what the new rums will be like. BTW Ed, did Lauchie from Glenora Distilleries ever send you a bottle of Smuggler's Cove Dark yet? I'm really interested in what you have to saw about it... remember, it's a General Market rum. I find it extremely close to the Classic Black Dan

Once again, welcome Dave. From a fellow leaf and cane lover Dan

Thanks dhoffman for the welcome. I also am new, but welcome to this fabulous forum. You're in the right place if you seek that special rum, would like info before a purchase or simply want to spread your rum experiences. Have fun... Dan

Greetings again to all, I keep hearing a rumor that Matusalem is, or will be, discontinued. In that same rumor, people mention Cuba. Well I will tell you what I know, and it comes from a very reliable source… Jim Tirel of Matusalem Miami. First I will re-re-post the full story of my telephone conversation with Jim. I ask for a little patience from those of you how have all ready read this before. Just today I spend an hour searching all leads on Internet sites, e-stores, search engines… ALL Matusalem leads that show up with a picture of the product, or bottles for sale are NOT from Cuba. They are the Matusalem out of Miami. Yet, most of the time the country of origin stated is Cuba. This is false. The Grand Reserva that is all over net e-stores all state Cuba as the Country of origin. It is the proud creation of the Miami group (which are the true and original founders of the company) and is based on the original recipe that dates back to 1872. Castro is simply distilling his version of Matusalem. Great as it is, it is not the original formula. Matusalem Miami is discontinuing all of their rums; Red Flame, Light Dry, Golden Dry and to my great regret also the Classic Black. The only Rum of their present line that they will continue to make is the Grand Reserva. They will be launching new products soon. Starting first with the South American market. I strongly think that people are getting this true fact mixed up with the Matusalem out of Cuba. It’s easy to mix the two of them up, because they both have the same label and trade mark. I hope that this helps everyone out a little and sheds some light on the situation. Anyway, a friend of my wife's just got back from Cuba Sunday and brought me a bottle of Matusalem Carta Blanca (she grabbed the wrong bottle, she was suppose to bring back the Anejo Superior). So it has been spotted in Cuba as of last week. Try and find any of the Miami bottles in the US, you’ll only find the Grand Reserva. Cheers, Dan

Greetings All, First off, welcome dhoffman to the forum. It's a great place to be. Second, I keep hearing of a rumor that Matusalem is discontinued and in those same rumors that I am hearing, people mention CUBA. I do not think that the Cuban Matuslem is discontinued. I will post it in a new thread so all can read it. Click here to view it. Cheers

Greetings, I was suppose to write up a quick review of these two rums this past Sunday, but I have been busy. So here goes... I only wish that I new the proper terms and how to describe the flavors properly. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva: Good all around. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I give it 3 ½ and my buddy gave it 4 stars (out of 45 rums bought and tasted since July 2001) Smooth light rum with no real imposing character. Not too smooth, but just enough not to be offensive when sipped straight. Out of the rums that I have tasted, I would have to compare it to Brugal Anejo Grand Reserve Familiar, but clearly better and more refined. Appleton 21 Year Old: The smell… oh the smell… one of the best smelling rums out there! There’s so much going on in a single whiff. Strangely enough, the things I like about the 12 Year Old are different than what I like about this 21 Year Old. But, the 21 Year old is definitely superior to the 12 Year Old. Great taste, lots of flavors and character. Has hints of Pompero Aniversario (which is one of my favorites). A definite 4 stars in my books! If anyone is interested, I have a spread sheet of all the rums that I have in my collection. They are listed with ratings beside each one. The ratings are of course relative to the selection that I have tasted and an average of mine and my friends. I could email this to anyone who is interested. Cheers

Greetings, I came home from work tonight to an amazing surprise. A friend of my wife's has just gotten back from Cuba, and little did I know she had a surprise planned for me. She asked this friend to bring back 2 Cuban rums for me. Isn't she great. She told her friend to get Matusalem Anejo Superior and Santiago de Cuba Anejo (she sure knows her stuff... I wonder why?!?!?!). Well, to make a long story short... I did get the two before mentioned bottles... but... she got the Matusalem mixed up and I got the Carta Blanca (a light yellow "cocktail" rum ) Too bad, the Anejo Superior is my all time favorite, but the Santiago is amazing similar and an extremely close second. I'll just have to have a Mojito party next Saturday with the Carta Blanca BTW, the Santiago I'm having right now is simply exquisite. I'll let you guys know what I think of the Matusalem Carta Blanca soon. Cheers to all fine rums out there...

Glad to hear. I will look for the 1824 on my next business trip to Florida. Which happens to be in two weeks. Thanks for the tip. Dan

Greetings, I have not tried the 1824, but a did try a bottle of the 5 year old dark. The dark is an okay rum, sweet, but has an artificial aftertaste that I really dislike (sort of like the after taste from Myers Original). I would like to try the 1824 or the 1919 some day. Do you find that the 1824 has a sickening arftifical after taste? I like the Appleton 12 Years Old. If your stating that it's a little more refined, then it should be a rum that I like. They just recently changed the name of their rum from Royal Oak to Angostura. Same rum, different label. The owner of Angostura has a chain of Liquor Stores in South Florida. Cheers

Repost from the Cuban Matusalem Thread

I really don't know. I will send an email to Jim concerning this. Lets hope that he'll respond. Dan

Greetings Eric, The Matusalem Miami is distilled in Saint-Croix USVI and only bottled in Miami. I got the above information from Jim Tirell of Matusalem when I inquired about a distillery tour. Cheers

Ahhhhhhh... That solves the mystery. If it says Formally from Santiago de Cuba or Cuban Tradition, then it's a dead give away that it's from Miami and not Cuba. Still a good rum though and a GREAT buy for $10. That rum sells for between $34 and $47 here in Canada :wow:

Greetings Kendall, I was wondering what the country of distillation was. What does it say on the label: Produced By: Matusalem & Co. 1205 W. 37th Ave, Miami FL OR Destilado Y Embotellado Por: Corporation Cuba Ron S.A. La Habana Cuba It sounds like you have the Grand Reserva from Miami (see picture bolow). It’s a good rum, but a little too smooth and light for my tastes. It’s lacking a little character for my taste. Still better than most rums. Cheers

I ended up getting the Diplimatico Reserva. I'll let you all know what I think about Appleton 21 Year Old and the Diplimatico on Sunday (after my weekly Saturday night rum event). Comments on the Sea Wynde are still welcome and appreciated. Dan

Thanks CJ for the info, but that's way too soon for me. Enjoy those fabulous rums your friend will be bringing back for you. You sure are lucky... Dan

[EDITED: Wrong Thread]

Hey gang, I just saw Zaya in Tulsa, OK. I found in at a unbelievable $45.99 at a shop called Wine Rack (6953 S Lewis, Tulsa, OK 918-492-1220) on the corner of E 71st and S Lewis. Just thought I'd keep the Zaya report up and going... Cheers

cj, When is the Cuban festival? I've planned to go back to Cuba this summer, but if there's a rum fest... I could always get there sooner. Thanks

Greetings, Any one try Sea Wynde Rum? I've seen this rum in a few stores in the US. It looks like a good Premium rum. It retails for around $29.99 USD. Have any of you tried this rum? If so, is it good? What is it similar to? Also, has anyone tried Diplomatico Reserva? I’ve also been seeing this one around in a few US shops. Ed gives it a high praise in his favorite rum listings under Venezuela. Any of you try this one? Comments? It's going for $26.99 here in Tulsa, OK. I've seen it for as high as $39.99 in other US markets so I'm pretty excited about the price here in OK. I have one more bottle to buy before I go back home Friday. I just picked up Appleton 21 Year Old and I'm looking for another... Diplomatico or Sea Wynde. Which one should it be? Cheers

Sorry, double post!!!

NEW MATUSALEM?!?!?! What do you do you mean? There's a new one? What the name on the label? Let me know, and where did your friend get it? Thanks

Greetings, If you are interested I just bought a bottle of the Cavalier Antigua Dark from the LCBO liquor stores of Ontario, Canada this New Years. Click > here < for the link. I hope that this will help you out a little. I know how desperate one can get searching for their favorite rum. I'm going crazy trying to find some Cuban Matusalem Anejo Superior after my summer vacation there. BTW, congratulations on the wedding dude. Cheers

Greetings again Bolivar, I have been responding to a lot of your threads. It would seem that we have the same interests and tastes in rum. I have the Caribbean Club 7 Year Old in my collection (sadly all gone now...). It is my 3rd favorite, out of now 41 rums. I would recommend it to any rum aficionado. Cheers

Greetings, I had my first testing of Zaya this past Saturday, with my regular rum testing group of friends. I'm sorry to say that our first impressions of the rum were nothing spectacular. Some rums grow on me as time goes on as I drink them, like Mount Gay Extra Old... I really wanted to like this rum, as I do Zacapa, but as of the first tasting... all that I can say is that it's no Zacapa!!! We shall see what develops, and of course I'll let you all know. Cheers