And another new member...

[Markus Lewalski]

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

[bigbear]

Welcome.

[Jason Perlow]

Interesting, I've never heard of Botran Solera, they didnt have it at the Penthouse Rum Festival at the Zacapa/Botran booth. The Masaya and Santa Teresa sound very nice as well.

From your list its clear you like the really brandy-style sweeter aged rums. Personally I really like the Cruzan Single Barrel since it is similar to a scotch in its flavor characteristics, I drink it with a little ice. Flor De Cana is also another one of those kinds of rums, the 7 is very much like a scotch, the 12 even more so. The others you mention I drink neat, since they are much more syrupy/cognac like and require some warmth to bring the flavor out.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Markus, welcome!!!

[Markus Lewalski]

@ 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

[Kristian]

Welcome, Markus!

[Kristian]

I just checked the store that you mentioned. Nice list with affordable prices... I just hope the import restrictions between Finland and Germany would vanish due to EU and it would really be possible to order rum from them. At the current prices, I would only end up paying taxes on top of taxes to the Finnish customs...

[Markus Lewalski]

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

[Ed Hamilton]

Welcome to the forum. Botan Solera is one of my favorites but distribution is sketchy, worth the wait. Sounds like you have found a lot of good rums and I look forward to reading more.