Markus Lewalski

Thank you for the info guys. Well, then the 61 EUR I paid at ebay for the bottle seem to be a good deal @Dennis: How did you get your bottles? I'm really surprised that you are talking about bottles as this rum is really hard to get. I never heard about this rum and I assume that your bottles are a kind of heritage and are already some years old. I think the situation for this rum is as difficult as it is for the Anejo, isn't it? And how is this rum compared to the Cuban Matusalem Anejo (if you know both rums)? Greetings from Brussels Markus

Hi all, I have been offered a bottle of real Cuban Matusalem 15 anos (produced in Santiago de Cuba by 'Ronera Caney'). Does anyone of you has ever heard about this rum or do you have any information about it? The label is quite similar to the Matusalem Anejo Superior but it's black instead of white. And my bottle of Anejo Superior was produced by 'Ronera Matusalem' and not by 'Ronera Caney'. Any information is highly appreciated. Unfortunetely I'm too stupid to insert a picture. But I can send it out by email if requested (just to prove that I'm really talking about the Cuban version and not the one from Frorida or Dom. Rep.) Greetings from Brussels Markus

Hi, I can't tell you anything about this rum but maybe this site ist interesting: http://www.gafrance.com/plantation/index.html (there they only mention a 1993 Vintage from Trinidad but in some German shops I can find the 1991 version, too) So far I tried the 1992 from Venezuela and I really liked it (after adding some drops of water at it is quite strong at 90 proof). But the rum from Trinidad will definetly completely different. According to a tasting note of a German internet shop ( http://www.koelnerrumkontor.de ) it seems to be a relatively light rum. Markus

Hi Ed, Where did you find these bottles? A colleague of mine is going to Cuba in 10 days. But as I did not find a single bottle of Matusalem when I was in Cuba last November, I doubt that she will find something without knowing where to search. Markus

After long and desperate search I finally got this yesterday at ebay http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...=ADME:B:BN:DE:1 Now I'm waiting for the bottle to arrive Greetings from Brussels Markus

I checked my Liberacion 15 yo bottle yesterday. There is a seal but you can only see it after the bottle was opened. The upper part of the cap is fixed at three tiny spots at the lower part which remains at the bottle. But from the outside it is impossible to see if the bottle has already been opened (does not make very much sense, does it?). The only way to check is to open the bottle very slowly and carefully and listen if the seal brakes. Markus

Hi, I just investigated a bit and I assume these are all rums from the 'Classic Rum' collection. But I am a bit surprised about the age you mentioned. I only found Rockley 12 yo, Versailles 12 yo, Port Morand 12 yo and Moneymusk 21 yo (the Gardel seems not to be available in Germany). Besides the Port Morand the age you indicated is always 4 yrs more than that I found. As all the rums I mentioned were bottled in 1998 I ask myself if maybe someone just added the 4 yrs from 1998 to 2002 to the age of the rum (ok, we are now in 2003 but anyway...) Or I am completely wrong and there are severeal different bottelings from different years available. The prices I found are +/- 35 EUR for the three 12 yo rums and +/- 60 EUR for the Moneymusk 21 yo. Markus

Hallo Jason, I am also a bit confused. First Barbancourt tastes really like a rum from molasses and not like a rhum agricole. And in the 2002 rumfest the Barbancort 8 yo and 15 yo won prizes in the 'molasses' category whilst the Barbancourt Traditional White won a silver medal in the new Cane Juice Spirits Category (see http://www.rumshop.net/rumfestivalresults.htm ). Very strange... But I learned also that Barbancourt is made from fresh cane juice. Markus

Im also sure that Liberacion is real Cuban. But Liberacion is only for export and not sold in Cuba (maybe its sold in Cuba under a different label). You may have recognised that there are so many brands in Cuba but when you look at the labels you can see that there are only a few producers. The distilleries over there have sometimes 10 different brands or so. I also brought a bottle af Caney anejo centuria but did not try it yet. Maybe I should... But it is interesting to know that Caney now is the former Bacardi destillery (when Bacardi Cuban some decades ago). In some ways this is now the real Cuban Bacardi... Cheers Markus

Hello guys, I'd like to try this rum but I have a few problems. 1) It is nearly impossible to get 2) If it's available the price is 100 EUR!!! (and sometimes this is even a 0.5 l bottle!!! From some investigation I know that the price in the US is +/- 35-40 USD. So even with shipping costs this is by far cheaper than in Europe. My question is now: Who of you guys knows a shop that ships also to Europe (at raesonable prices)? Or is there anyone of you who would send me a bottle from his stock or who could get me a bottle and send it to me? I would pay for it in advance, of course. Thank you very much for your help Markus You can also contact me by e-mail: markus.lewalski@db.com

SA in this case means neither South Africa nor South America but 'Société Anonyme' which is the legal form of this company (equivalent to Plc.). Hope that clarifies. Markus

Hey guys, Xmas is coming closer and I wanted to make some gifts to myself, i. e. buying some new stuff. As all this is quite expensive I wanted to know if some of you guys tried already some of these rums or if you have some comments about it. As you may know I am a fan of heavy and complex rums so please take this into account for any comment. So what about these: El Dorado 25 yo (EUR 192 ) Is it really worth it? El Dorado 21 yo (EUR 89) Supposed to be completely different from the 'typical El Dorado style', i. e. it is much lighter English Harbor XO (EUR 47) I heard opinions from 'undrinkable' to 'very good' Nation Single Domain Guyana 18 yo (EUR 40) Not too strong with 45% Alcohol? Sea Wynde Guyana & Jamaica (EUR 43) 46 % Alcohol!! Cacique Antiguo Millennium (EUR 46) I heard comments like 'good rum but not worth the price' Plantation Venezuela 1992 Vintage 10 yo (EUR 43) Already in this forum I read some disappointed comments about other 'Plantation' rums. But this is supposed to be aged by Pampero. But still 45% Thank you very much for your help. Markus PS: As I wrote some weeks ago, I spent a two weeks holiday in Cuba and made some rum tastings . You get a lot of 'Anejo' stuff +/- 7 yo for 5-8 USD which is good but not great. An exception might be 'Relicario 7 yo' which is excellent. Besides some other stuff I brought Caney Anejo Centuria (7 USD) Portosanto 490 Aniversario 10 yo (8 USD) Santiago de Cuba Anejo (8 USD) (7 yo?) Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo (60 USD) label says aged >20 years Havana Club 15 yo (85 USD ) So far I tried none of them as I still have +/- 25 open bottles and I first want to finish some of them. And in whole Cuba there was no chance of getting any Matusalem rum. A lot of people told me that it is no longer produced. But I'm still not 100% sure what's really going on with the Cuban Matusalem as you ask 10 people and you get 15 different answers...

Hi Kristian, As far as I know there are no customs or duty or whatsoever within the EU. I definitely know that 'spirituosen-superbillig.de' often ships abroad. So give them a call and check with them (Tel. +49-9405-961571). They should have enough experience to tell you what will happen at the customs (but again, in the EU there should not be any problem). If you have any problems (language or so), just drop me an email and I'll see what I can do for you (markus.lewalski@db.com). Good luck. Markus

Hi John, Never heard about the first 7 rums. For the rest (Appleton, El Dorado and Mathusalem) I can tell you that the prices are really Ok (compared to prices in Germany). From Appleton I only know the Estate Extra (it's in the middle of the 2 you mentioned). And this is quite OK. In a few weeks I will buy a the 21 yo. Than I can tell more. Both El Dorados are definitely worth every Cent!!!!! And also Mathusalem. A bit light for a 15 yo with a strong vanilla note but very nice. Bye Markus

@ Jason: Botran Solera won a gold medal in this year's International Rum Festival (see: http://www.rumshop.net/newsletters/october2002.pdf) It is sometimes very hard to get (was sold out recently) but it's really good stuff. Also Santa Teresa won already several gold medals there. Markus

Hi guys, First I'd like to introduce myself a bit. I am a 32 years old German living in Brussels (Belgium) for nearly 2 1/2 years. My first rum experience was nearly one year ago when my girlfriend brought me a bottle of Havana Club 7 yo from a Cuba vacation. Since then my collection grew to +/- 25 bottles. My favourite rums are: 1. Zacapa Centenario XO 25 yo (but quite pricey though) 2. Zacapa Centenario 23 yo (still very pricey, +/- 50 Euros in Germany) 3. Pampero Aniversario (anyone who loves not...?) 4. Barcelo Imperial (very mild and lots of flavour) 5. El Dorado 15 yo (ok, you know it...) 6. El Dorado 12 yo (you know it, too) 7. Masaya 10 anos (see below) 8. Botran Solera 1893 (mild and quite sweet. Very nice) 9. Santa Teresa 1796 (for me the classic example of a perfect aged rum. No dominating flavours, very well balanced. A reference!) As I didn't read anything about the Masaya here I maybe should post some information about it. It is from Nicaragua and is very heavy and complex style (liquorice and tobacco). So it is a bit the same tasting category as El Dorado and Pampero Aniversario but less sweet. In Germany it retails at +/- 35 Euros but still very hard to get. Really worth every Cent!!! My biggest disappointments so far are 1. Cruzan Single Barrel (much to light for a 12 yo and no intense flavour (but nice bottle though)) 2. Barcelo Gran Anejo (very mild but only very very light rum flavours) 3. Flor de Cana Centenario 12 yo (really nothing special, very ordinary) 4. Bermudez Aniversario (lots of artificial caramel notes, covers the nice rum aroma. If you ever tried Spanish 'Carlos I' brandy you'll know what I mean...). And as some of you are always looking for new shops, I have one for you: www.spirituosen-superbillig.de Quite cheap and they ship to the US and also to Finland!!! (Finland 18 EUR and US =real shipping costs (to be checked with them)). I already made good experiences with them (they sent me some bottles to Belgium). The have +/- 120 rums and yesterday I had a very nice conversation of half an hour with the owner. But also www.weinquelle.com ships abroad (this shop was already mentioned in a post below). But they don't accept credit cards and you have to pay in advance. Here I ordered already 3 times and always on the next day the stuff was there!!! Also a highly recommended shop!!! If you need some help regarding a German translation or whatsoever just let me know (no, I don't get any money from them). Before I stop I just wanted to let you know that I will go to Cuba in 10 days for a two weeks holiday. And I will leave some space in my suitcase to buy some nice rums (even though you get a lot of Cuban rums also in Germany) Bye Markus