[All About Gin, Generally]

Try Tastings.com's Spirit Search

They rate and describe various liquors/beers/wines.

Here's there blurb on their highest rated gin, Bombay Sapphire:

97 • Bombay Sapphire Gin $18.69.

Clear. Perfumed juniper, bitter citrus, and brown spice nose. A very smooth entry leads to a glycerous, medium-bodied palate with intense orange and lemon peel flavors washed against a canvas of pungent, spicy juniper notes. Finishes for a mile. A great, ultra smooth gin.

[The Best Liquor]

Personally I'd go with something nutty and sweet, like Amaretto or Frangelico, mixed with a lot of water and a lot of ice (because I like the smoked cooled). I've found that it does not take much liquor to influence the tastes going through the water pipe, and I certainly wouldn't want to overpower those tastes with something like straight liquer.

[Love Pyrat XO, looking for similar]

Thanks, Jason. I just ordered the Cruzan and Montecristo. He may be getting me the Ron Zacapa and Pampero if he can find them, otherwise I'll have to hunt them down.

I'm a little shy on the Barbancourt - the last bottle of Barbancourt I tried left an aftertaste like paint thinner. I don't think they'll be getting any of my money for a while.

[Love Pyrat XO, looking for similar]

I've been drinking Pyrat XO for a while and I'm looking for something "similar" and of the same quality (give or take).

I like a sweet rum, fruity and/or with other complex tastes. I don't like a strong oak or smoky taste, but I do like it smooth. Of all the other rums I've had, the Pyrat and the Appleton Estates line are the ones I keep going back to. However, I do believe in broadening my tastes. It's been quite tough so far - I've been stumbling across rums I find in liquor stores, but this has been hit and miss. I find that I finish about 50% of the ones I buy - that gets quite expensive.

If anyone has any suggestion under US$100 I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Scott