Pierre

So, basically, Montecristo is just a blend of Botran and Zacapaneca Rums. Great! Piece a' cake. Are these far different from the fairly easy to find Flor de Cana? I sure enjoy the Grand Reserve 7 Year Old. And its a heck of a lot cheaper than what their asking for the Montecristo. Coffee notes... Hmmm. Come to think of it, I've never had coffee with a cigar. But I've had many different rums, ports, scotches, and bourbons with cigars. I can't think of one that wasn't a good complement to a cigar. So, coffee notes... What the hey! Pierre Texas

I missed a local tasting party for Montecristo as I was on a trip. I understand that its pretty good stuff. But my question is: "Who produces the rum that goes into this blend?" What distilleries produce the rum? Where are they located and who owns them? I have been a Scotch drinker for a lot longer than I have been a Rum drinker. If a new Scotch blend came out that cost MORE than the single malts, I'd want to know which single malts were going into the new blend. What corporation owns the Montecristo Rum name? Does that same corporation also own the distilleries that are the component rums that go into Montecristo? Pierre Texas

The Matusalem Gran Reserva produced by Alvarez Camp & Co. (the original family operated firm) recently received a score of 95 from the Beverage Tasting Institute. How much better can the Cuban knock-off be? Pierre Texas

Re: the previous post mentioning Pyrat and Pusser's rums. Just for the record. These are not distillers. They are only blenders and bottlers. They buy rum by the barrell from distillers in other locations, put it in their own bottles, put their names on it, spend enormous amounts of money marketing their "brand" and then sell it. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. More power to them if they get rich off it. But what happens when their rum suppliers change. Or if they decide to buy cheaper rum from someone else. Nothing on their label will change. I'd prefer to buy from reputable firms that have been in business for years producing their own sugar cane, their own molasses, and their own rum. IMHO, Pierre Texas

Dear Ed: As a sailor (Beneteau 381) and a big fan of Rum (Bacardi 151)(just kiddin'), I am now a big fan of yours. I will now go find my copies of SAIL Magazine and find your article. Splice the main brace, Pierre Normand S/V Regulus Kemah, Texas

The original Captain Morgan's Rum was produced in the Cayman Islands. But this new "Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum" ... I don't believe its produced by the original company. It is very popular among the younger members of the college crowd in the U.S. It seems the College seniors and graduates having matured to other things. Someone suggested that you should mix it with Coca-Cola. I would suggest a LOT of Coca-Cola. Pierre Texas

Unfortunately, the rums produced in Cuba are inferior to those produced in other parts of the Caribbean. The Cuban government has continued to "use" the names of some of the more famous rums that were produced there before the communist take-over of the late 1950's. You may find the names of "Bacardi," "Matusalem," and/or "Havana Club" on rums produced in Cuba today, but they are not produced by the original families, or the original companies that own these names. They are often not even produced in the same stills, or in the same locations as the originals. Pierre

I have found the previous posts of interest and I would like to add the following: The name "Ron Matusalem" is a copyrighted trademark of the Alvarez-Camp family and its successors and assigns. The company that produces the "original" Ron Matusalem Rum was founded in Santiago, Cuba, by Eduardo and Benjamin Camp in 1872. Later, after Benjamin returned to Spain, Eduardo teamed up with Evaristo Alvarez. Eduardo's son married the daughter of Evaristo and their descendants became one family. In the early 1900's the company was renamed "Alvarez Camp & Co." The company experienced tremendous growth in the 1940's and 50's, and by the mid-50's it controlled over half the Cuban Rum market and was the best selling rum in Cuba. Like so many family-operated businesses, it relocated along with the family after the communist take-over of the Cuban government in the late 1950's. At one point, the Cuban government decided to confiscate and occupy the buildings of the old Alvarez-Camp Distillery at Santiago. I don't know whether the so-called "Ron Matusalem" that is produced by the Cuban government is made in the old Alvarez-Camp Distillery or not. However, to me it is a moot point. The name "Ron Matusalem," and its recipes, copyrights, trademarks, etc., BELONG to the Alvarez-Camp Family. If they chose to move their operation to Florida, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, or Timbuktu, is their right and their business. Surely, no one would deny that the Bacardi family and its company did not have the right to move out of Cuba to other countries. Surely, no one would call the Bacardi not made in Cuba a "fake." And yet, the Cuban government continues to use the name "Bacardi." This is an act that is unethical at best and illegal at worst. They have done the same with the name of "Havana Club Rum" which was owned by the "Jose Archabala Company, S.A." and the Archabala family. (I would advise you to see their website at delafe.com/cardenas/arechabe.htm) The "fake" Ron Matusalem is any rum that is NOT made by the Alvarez-Camp family and its legal successors and/or assigns. Now, it may very well be that Alvarez-Camp & Co. made a better rum in Cuba prior to the Communist takeover. Or it may be that they make a better rum today. That is a matter of opinion. I would love to find an old bottle of Ron Matusalem from before 1959. It would be truely nostalgic. I don't know if I'd want to open it before I am on my death bed. However, the Beverage Tasting Institute just recently awarded the "Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva" (produced by Alvarez Camp & Co.) a score of 95. Only three others were awarded higher scores, and these by only one or two points. So, how much better could the old stuff be? (How much better could the Cuban fake be???) I just had the Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva (Alvarez Camp & Co.), neat in a brandy snifter at the Five Twins Cigar Bar at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, last week and I must say it was one of the best I've ever had. Sincerely, Pierre Goudeau Normand Texas