VoodooDog

Now that we have the Lairds Bonded we gave this a try. Very nice drink. What will I do with my "regular" Lairds now that the bonded has arrived?? ← This time of year? Throw a party. The stuff goes great in a hot mulled punch. HO! HO! HO!

... you pack your ice chest with dry ice just to keep the real ice cold when "out in the field".

I'm a tad bit surprised no one has offered up the original "blood punch", Sangria. Of course if wine is not to your liking a "bat bite" is rather tasty. Rum (spiced if you prefer, though I do not) Cranberry Plenty of lime wedges for you guests to manage their own sour level

Interesting question. It really comes down to what I'm drinking and perhaps why I'm drinking. Like eje, I feel that drinking sherry at a tapas bar is the ultimate in "bar snacks". At an upscale place I genearlly have top shelf liquors neat or very refined cocktails so I snacks are out. It's just bad economics wash down 3 cent pretzel with $20 scotch. At a mexican place chips and salsa really do go well with margaritas. Since most of these places can not actually make a margarita, I am of course refering to the margarita-style slushy. At "just a bar" I tend to have my "well you can't screw this up drink", rum and coke. RnC allows for almost any kind bar snack. In fact, sooner or later it starts demanding EVERY kind of bar snack. And thus you find yourself on the express bus to my home town, lardoville. :-/ It is a nice ride though... :-) -E

It's great store. Best selection I've ever seen. The prices are fair. And they ship ($21/case to your area). I have never used their shipping though. They are only 25 miles from my house and... well... it's like an adventure. Oh I would pickup Santa Teresa 1796 whenever you see it. It is mighty good. It ranks 1 and 2 with RON ZACAPA 23YR. They both tend to be the same price. My tastebuds can't seem to make up thier minds as to which one of these I like best. The only reason I didn't list it was it is not on Hitime's list at this moment. I didn't see a point in suggesting something you couldn't get. As for the agricole, it's the only one I can stand. At least for now. Tastes do change. And, besides it really does go into making a VERY good MaiTai. These I will have to research more. Cruzan, as brand, tends to be very Bacardi like only better. I put both Cruzan's down because they are similar to the Bacardi 8 you mentioned. For my money the Diamond is a much better value than the Single Barrel. SB is better, but not twice as good. Rye you say? Spotted the Rock and Rye thread on the other forum a while back. I bought some Wild Turkey on spec as it were. Rye is... in need of more research on my part. I may just have take you up on that. -E

Assuming just want to try different rums, rather than hit each island, here are a few I've tried. This is just a sipping list. All available from Hi-Time Wine: 5 $66 NEISSON RESERVE SPEC 1LT 1 $30 RON ZACAPA 23YR RUM 750 1 $27 RON ANEJO ANIVERSARIO 750 2 $26 CRUZAN SINGLE BARREL 750 4 $20 PYRAT PLANTERS XO RS 750 2 $17 BARBANCOURT 8YR 750 2 $17 CRUZAN DIAMOND EST 750 3 $15 1 BARREL RUM BELIZE 1LT Notes: 1) These I drink. They are VERY good. 2) These are good straight, but mix well for top flight drinks (no coke thank you) 3) I a class by itself. tastes like carmels, REALLY GOOD carmels. Great value. 4) Sweet. Very different than the others good contrast. Many love this one. 5) For me, the only sippable agricole I have had. 1/4th of the rum in a perfect MaiTai. If you find yourself down SoCal way, look me up for a taste test. I may have some Bacardi 8 lurking about for a baseline for you. -E

It seems to be back up.

A diaquiri is one of the "variations" I tried. I'm rather fond of diaquiris. And since a ti punch is a near relative I was keen to give it a go. After all, it seems everybody thinks the world of it. I have tried it with other whites. I've even tried it Wray and Nephew Overproof (which does make an excellent cleaner btw) and all I got was so-so somewhat harsh (as expected) drink. It's clear the problem is the ruhm agricole. I was just wondering if I was alone in missing the boat on what so many seem to enjoy. And of course WHY? It wouldn't be the first time. I can't seem to choke down a hopped beer either. Never have. And I've tried. I've REALLY tried. -E

Admin: threads merged. OK. I got the La Favorite blanc. I got the newly availiable petite canne syrup. (very tasty btw) I got limes. Both kinds. I followed the recepie. I varied it. I tried it fast. I tried as the ice melted. I tried when ALL the ice melted. It seems to always taste like industrial solvent. Or perhaps an engine de-greaser. Is it me? Am I missing something? Is this a maturing palate kind of thing? I've read most of Mr. Hamilton's reviews and found them to be spot on, until we get to Martinique that is. Then the wheels just fall completly off the wagon. Am I alone here? Or do some of you have a similar experience? Thanks, -E

Funny you should ask. I was just getting around to posting just that. I find it is very good in eggnog. Either in the "from scratch" kind or in fortifying the pre made such as Pennsylania Dutch. Actually, it was making for a VERY tasty and quite hard nog when mixed 1/3 to 1/2 with PD eggnog.

Well... Ice seems to wreck it. Water only brought out some of it's more nasty notes that were nicely hidden. The Daiquirí I made was just plain wrong. I pretty much stopped there. I would have moved on to a MaiTai, but the flaver profile seemed just wrong for it. I suppose I should try a "dim" and stormy. I'd put in coke, but why? What have you tried with it?

I'll start of by saying I've never even seen the 25yr, but the 23 is my favorite... so far. I'm posting to relate a *potentially* similar experience with tequila. Patron makes 2 blanco tequilas, "silver" and "platinum". Silver is VERY good and runs about 40 bucks. Platinum runs about 200 bucks. Is the platinum 5 times better? No. Is the platinum worth it? Yes. Do I own any platinum? Not yet. I mean, it's 200 bucks! That buys a lot of the 23yr that I like better than either of the tequilas. But it is just a matter of time before I do buy it. It's hard to explain. I'll let the fine folks over at Pocotequila say it for me. "Gran Patrón Platinum is a completely over-hyped, completely over-priced, ostentatious product brought to us by those snooty Hollywood types over at St. Maarten Spirits with the unmitigated gall to put a 200 dollar price tag on a bottle of tequila blanco. Having said that, Man, is this stuff good! Often things don't quite live up to the hype and leave you feeling like you didn't get what you paid for. Like spending 200 bucks for a Hotel room that turns out to be no better than the Motel 6 down the street or 200 bucks for a round of golf at a premier facility that's in no better condition than your muni back home. But occasionally, there are things in this old world that give you the opportunity to pay more and feel like you treated yourself. You might walk away thinking, "I can't do that everyday but it sure felt good". Gran Patrón Platinum is one of those things. Sure, some hard core agave enthusiasts will balk at the "Triple Distillation" as a move away from pure flavor but I think you have to appreciate these things for what they are and Gran Patrón just might be the smoothest blanco I've tried. Is it worth 200 bucks? Probably not but a lot of that cost is in the etched crystal decanter and maple wood box. However this is a great tequila for special occasions and after a taste you do feel like you were treated to something special. Tim Carter brought over a bottle of Gran Patrón not long after it was introduced around the first of the year, 2005. We tried several other tequilas that night but it was hard not to keep holding your empty glass toward the Gran Patrón. My wife absolutely loved the Platinum and I couldn't help but think, "Oh great Tim, bring over a Mercedes for her to drive next time so she can tell me we have to go out and get one". After all we are now the proud owners of a bottle of Gran Patrón Platinum."

First off, I like it. It's like sugar free alcoholic liquid toffee. Second, its price point can't be beat. That said, I can't seem to find anything to do with it except drink it neat. Mind you that is good enough. Still... Everytime I do anything with it, it just seems to lose its tasty nature and just comes out wrong. Have any of you been successful in doing something with it?

I have to agree with this. And if you can't find that one you could try another very tasty Venezuela rum in Ron Pampero Aniversario. It is a significant step down from the 1796 but still quite good. I hadn't thought about it that way before. You may be right. I'll have to do another side by side with that in mind. However, for my tastes, the Ron Zacapa Centenario the tastier of the two. It's close though. Hence I plan on keeping both around for some time. Also, the Zacapa is on sale for 20 bucks at Hitime wines in Costa Mesa, CA right now. So... You know... as far a santa knows..... I've been a very good boy.

Spirits don't age in the bottle, so Crack it. VX is, as I understand it, a blending of 5 year (V) and 10 year (X) rums. Obviously it is mostly 5 year based on its price and flavor profile. VX is my "go to rum" for most of my general mixing needs.