Ed Hamilton

Caribbean Spirit certainly doesn't sound like a Panamian company. The largest distillery is Varela Hermanos whose Abuelo brands are of varying quality. Most recently at the Penthouse Rum Fest I was introduced to their Reserva Superior (7 yo) and their Reserva Especial (5yo). Both of these rums were better than a previous blend that claimed to be 10 or 12 years old. The newer rums were much more of what I expected while the older blends were disappointing. I'm not going to try to explain why this is the way it is but since the newest blends are going to be imported to the states, they may be more accurate in regards to the age statement.

You are absolutely right! But, people like yourself are searching the French Caribbean rums out when you go to the islands, as did Jason on his last trip to St Maarten. As something of an industry insider, I get asked every day where to buy French Caribbean rhum in the US. Right now the answer is only a few places but that is changing, as importers look for new rhums to fill an expanding rum market. There are a couple of reasons why there is so little rhum agricole imported to the US. 1) Rhum is bottled in 70cl bottles in the islands. The US standard is 750ml or 75cl. So in order for a distillery to export to the US, they would have to retool their bottle packaging line which isn't a big deal except the distillery then has to make an investment in bottles for a new market. In addition to the bottles, new labels have to be printed to comply with US BATF regs. 2) Since French Caribbean Rhum is quite a different spirit from the molasses based spirits that are currently on the market, consumers will have to be educated as to how to drink it. If a consumer buys a bottle of rhum agricole and mixes it with Cola, he will probably never buy it again. The French don't drink it with Cola and neither should you. Since most liquor distribution is done by large companies that handle hundreds of different labels, unless the sales people know and understand rhum agricole they won't be able to sell it. From a salesperson's point of view, if something is hard to sell, why bother since there are a lot of other items in the basket. As a case in point, Dillon from Martinique recently lost distribution in the US because their US distributor didn't want to bother with a product that was different from the other spirits in the rum list. I will be visiting the distilleries in Martinique and Guadeloupe before Christmas and will let this forum know when we can expect to see French rhum on the shelves in the US.

Varela Hermanos has had a distillery in Panama for years and there is no truth in that rumor at all. But it's a pretty good one, better than most. There are two Abuelo Añejo rums coming, Ron Abuelo Añejo Reserva Especial and Ron Abuelo Añejo 7 Años Reserva Superior. Don't expect to see them in this year but early next year they should be on the shelves in Florida since the import company is in Florida. Something to look forward to. The Añejo 7 Años Reserva Superior is quite nice. I haven't had time to do a proper tasting of it yet but I've got a bottle to taste. I rarely taste something and then write about it the same day, these things generally take a few days since impressions change. After a few tastings over a week or so I feel like I get more of an impression of the rum and am less influenced by the bottle and label. As objective as we all try to be no of us can give an impression that isn't weighted by the presentation.

Any new products from Matusalem will be from the DR according to the brand manager. I wouldn't hold my breath for the new Classic Black but I do believe there is too much business there to leave it just sitting on the table. I was just reviewing some research notes from Puerto Rico and noticed that it wasn't too long ago that Matusalem was bottled in Puerto Rico.

Laura, you are absolutely right. I did mention 'molasses-based white rum.' Presently there are only a couple white rhum agricoles being sold in the US. St James is one, but it is extremely hard to find. But I would expect that situation to change as America discovers the fragrant rhums from Martinique, Guadeloupe and Marie Galante. How do you drink the Frech Caribbean rhums?

Of these only the Havana Club would be considered white even though it hasn't been carbon filtered to make it as clear as it was when it was distilled. The color hasn't been clarified but neither has it been colored.

I don't have a lot of information on Lemon Hart 151 other than it is distilled in Guyana, which means chances are that it has a lot more character than the highly refined Bacardi. If it has a slight tint to the color it is from time spent aging which is also a good thing when you're drinking overproof spirts, IMO. But some people like strong rum that is straight from the still. The Lemon Hart brand has been around for centuries and was one of the first to be exported from Guyana to the UK. Glad you liked it but I'd probably mix it with juice or something since it is strong and less than three years old.

What are your impressions of molasses-based white rum, do you drink it? Or, do you avoid it? Personally, I love it with ginger ale if the mixer isn't too sweet and if the rum is good. By good I mean a well distilled rum, preferably aged and then carbon filtered to remove the color from the oak barrels. A few of my favorites are Brugal, Barcelo Gran Blac and Don Q which I drink with coconut water and a slice of lime. Cheers,

I'm posting this after having computer problems last night while I was enjoying Abuelo Reserva from Panama. When the importer gets label approval for this brand I'll have more information at Ministry of Rum . This was one of the many pleasant surprises at the Penthouse Rum Fest in NY. You never know when or where you'll meet your next favorite rum.

Welcome Malcolm, Nice to meet you as well, hope you can help the forum distill some of the facts from the hype that rum is attracting.

I don't worry about rum going bad, I replace the cap after pouring drinks and try to minimize the amount of air that gets into the bottle. If the rum is really good a bottle will only last a few weeks. I'm usually with friends so a bottle may only last a few days if it is mixing rum. If you are concerned about oxidation as you should be if you have bottles around for more than say six months, I'd decant a bottle in two smaller bottles and put one away. For me, having several bottles open is the only way to objectively compare different rums. If a bottle gets down to less than three fingers in the bottom of the bottle, it's time to use it up for me. There are usually some friends around to help and I guarantee that I'll have something you haven't tried. In New York Jason and I tried a sample of a bottle from 1905 that didn't have any ill effects on me, it was good, as best as I can tell and there wasn't much in the bottle but I don't know how long it had been opened, several years I believe.

As you can see, there were some very nice things at the rum fest. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. And there were a few very pleasant surprises. Getting to meet Jason and Steve were just some of the highlights of my trip to the big apple.

The 'ti punch is traditionally made with white rhum agricole which is bottled at 50 or 55% alcohol. The 62% white rhum is for cooking. When you use an aged rum the drink is known as a punch vieux.

In regards to cask 23, it is retailing for only $250. As for island prices, I never saw a huge discount in Anguilla on the XO so I wouldn't expect to see it for much under $225.

The link is for forum members only so I don't have a clue about the contents of the link. Does it matter?

Welcome Dave, Bad form? There is nothing that I would like to drink exclusively, and having several bottles open at one time is the only way to compare then fairly. I usually have at least 20 different bottles open at any one time, so I can compare and enjoy all of them.

We can only hope that once the government starts selling to Cuba they'll wake up and smell the rum. No doubt there was plenty of rum at the trade expo.

While I'm no expert on wine, I spend most of my life on a relatively small sailboat, 45 feet 28 tons, and can tell you that the motion on even a small boat like mine isn't nearly as bad as a trip home on the subway, except in heavy weather. I keep my wine in the bilge where it's cooler than anywhere else but still in the 70s and I've had a lot of wine last more than a year even in the tropics. Sailboats generally have a better motion than power boats unless you are talking about cruise ships which are the smoothest way to travel. On cruise ships, the motion is almost negligible compared to the motion of a cargo ship, rail car, or truck. Cruise ships have huge stabilizers to reduce the motion. As for limits on the amount of wine cruise ships allow their passengers, they are looking at their bottom line, although corkage fees compensate. Storage space is at a premium on any ship, but keeping the passengers happy is also important. I wouldn't think twice about bringing some of my favorite wine aboard ResidenSea, as long as it wan't going to be stored near the engine room.

Here's the latest rum list, just to whet your palate if you aren't already drooling, White rums St. Vincent Sunset Light Ron Cortez Light Cruzan Estate Light Angostura Light Brugal White Matusalem Platino Spiced Four Square Spiced Flavored Cabana Boys Coconut Cabana Boys Banana Cabana Boys Kiwi-Strawberry Cabana Boys Strawberry Banana Marti Whalers Coconut Whalers Vanilla Cruzan Pineapple Cruzan Coconut Cruzan Orange Cruzan Citrus Junkanu Cruzan Vanilla Canne Banane Brinley Gold Vanilla Brinley Gold Coconut Overproof Unaged Clarke's Court Original White St. Vincent 169 Aged Inner Circle from Australia Dark Ron Abuelo St. Vincent Sunset Extra Gold Clarke's Court Old Grog Angostura Dark Canne Royale Brugal Gold Gosling's Black Seal Ron Cortez Añejo 3 Años Premium Ron Botran Anejo Pyrat XO Planters Gold Pyrat Pistol Angostura 1919 Ron Abuelo Reserva Especial Matusalem Classico Brugal Anejo Cruzan Estate Diamond Inner Circle from Australia Super Premium Cruzan Estate Single Barrel Doorly's XO Matusalem Gran Reserva Demarera El Dorado Special Reserve Montecristo Sea Wynde Ron Zacapa Pyrat Cask 23 Limited Edition British Royal Navy Imperial Rum See you Monday!

I'm holed up near Dearborn and North for the summer. Unfortunately I have to travel on business and get my fill of restaurant fare so when I'm here I'd rather enjoy a good pizza with wine at home than deal with the crowds and the time constraints of dining out. Good Thai food always gets my attention but since I spent 5 years in Asia, I'm not easy to please with Asian food. Pizza doesn't exist in the Caribbean, so that's always high on the list. I have a lot of friends in Chicago and a coule of times a month we meet at someones house for dinner so we can spend hours drinking and eating without breaking the budget. Only a few of us are gourmet cooks, not me, but we all enjoy good food, good wine and good company. And of course good rum.

Actually there won't be any hurricanes washing me up the Mississippi, I leave the boat in Trinidad which is south of the hurricane belt. These storms aren't really any worse than what we see in the islands, the difference is that when a storm is going to hit the US mainland Dan Rather takes the early flight to what is predicted to be the worst hit area. There have been a lot of hurricanes that most people, unless they were in the Caribbean, never heard of, Luis, Marilyn, George, Gilbert and David to name a few. I have to admit not seeing much of this forum since I've been so busy this summer but I've still got two weeks.

This evening I opened bottles of Matusalem Gran Reserva and Matusalem Classico . Here are my intial notes on which I will expand in the coming week as I drink more of these rums. Matusalem Gran Reserva, 15 solera blender warm spice nose leads to cinnamon on a viscous citrus body accented by mild pepper followed by a smoky pecan finish Matusalem Classico, 10 solera blender golden hue delicate floral nose, vanilla, spice and tropical fruit body followed by a lingering charcoal finish According to Skyy Spirits, LLC, a subsidary of the Campari Group, and the exclusive distributor and marketer of Ron Matusalem in the United States solera aging is a process of blending rums of different ages into one. The oldest rum is stored on the lowest level of the aging warehouse, successively younger rums inhabit the higher floors with the youngest rums on top. As rum is pulled from the lowest solera barrels for bottling, it’s replaced with rum from the barrels in the next higher level. This process is repeated with the remaining shelves. No more than one-third of each cask is drawn off every three months. Using the solera system, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva bottled contains rum that ranges from eight to 32 years old. The 15-year solera is an an average of the blended years. Since this rum is now being distilled and bottled in the Dominican Republic I was surprised that it appeared to be lighter than some of my favorites from the eastern side of Hispaniola. These are also the people who made vodka in a blue bottle the leading brand of vodka. Has anyone else tasted the latest Matusalem?

I certainly wish I had known that some egulleteers were in Chicago, I would love to have met you. Unfortunately I'm leaving the windy city before it gets cold, Oct 16. It's great reading about other points of interest in one of the best cities in the world, in the summer.

I've never tried a mojito with rhum agricole. I usually just make a 'ti punch, sugar cane sryup, squeeze of lime and rhum agricole. The proportions are critical since this is a 100 proof drink. I'd love to make you a 'ti punch when I see you in New York.

Although I'm not drinking at this early hour, lately I've been enjoying a glass of El Dorado 12 year old while I catch up here, make some notes at night. But Sea Wynde has also found its way into my glass recently, and of course one of my old favorites, Barbancourt 5 star.