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Understanding Rum

Capn Jimbo

By Capn Jimbo
in Spirits & Cocktails

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

Rum meets Scotch!

 

Neisson makes a very nice rhum agricole even if they have always seemed perhaps a bit overly fond of it but I think this may be just a bit to far on the wrong side of insanity. I don't care how rare it is!

 

Neisson 15yo Rhum Agricole

 

Neisson 18yo Rhum Agricole

 

:shock:

 

Oh well, at least it is a 1 liter bottle...

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted (edited)

A bargain compared to this (seen at Costco this weekend).

 

15620888826_0e044a626f_z.jpg

 

 

Indeed! Although at least that is 50yo. But 15 or 18yo??? Not that I am in the market for that either!

 

And Costco does seem like a rather odd place to have that!

Edited by tanstaafl2 (log)

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

Rum meets Scotch!

 

Neisson makes a very nice rhum agricole even if they have always seemed perhaps a bit overly fond of it but I think this may be just a bit to far on the wrong side of insanity. I don't care how rare it is!

 

Neisson 15yo Rhum Agricole

 

Neisson 18yo Rhum Agricole

 

:shock:

 

Oh well, at least it is a 1 liter bottle...

 

Pfff, it's all marketing. Barbancourt 15 is honestly aged and is $45, my Rattray Caroni is 15 and from a defunct still and was $80 - Shit, even Highland Park 18 is $100. What's special about AOC Rhum Agricole? Nothing at all.

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Pfff, it's all marketing. Barbancourt 15 is honestly aged and is $45, my Rattray Caroni is 15 and from a defunct still and was $80 - Shit, even Highland Park 18 is $100. What's special about AOC Rhum Agricole? Nothing at all.

 

Speaking seriously, Barbancourt 15 does nothing for me -- Neisson does.  As much as I'd rather contribute to the economy of Haiti than to that of France.  Not that I have anything against France but they already get disproportionate amounts of my small pension.

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Rafa

Rafa

Posted
Posted

Older Barbancourt and older AOC rhum don't taste all that similar, to me. I continue to think that Barbancourt is one of the great values of the spirits world, and like Jo I'm happy to support Haiti's economy by buying such a fantastic product, but it doesn't scratch the same itch for me that aged JM or Neisson does. Alas, Martinique rum prices are pretty ridiculous in the US. 

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”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

Older Barbancourt and older AOC rhum don't taste all that similar, to me. I continue to think that Barbancourt is one of the great values of the spirits world, and like Jo I'm happy to support Haiti's economy by buying such a fantastic product, but it doesn't scratch the same itch for me that aged JM or Neisson does. Alas, Martinique rum prices are pretty ridiculous in the US. 

 

The Neisson price is pretty absurd even for Martinique. JM has had a 15yo and it is a comparatively economical at $250!

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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Rafa

Rafa

Posted
Posted

Oh, you'll get no argument from me there. 

DrunkLab.tumblr.com

”In Demerara some of the rum producers have a unique custom of placing chunks of raw meat in the casks to assist in aging, to absorb certain impurities, and to add a certain distinctive character.” -Peter Valaer, "Foreign and Domestic Rum," 1937

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Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

Older Barbancourt and older AOC rhum don't taste all that similar, to me. I continue to think that Barbancourt is one of the great values of the spirits world, and like Jo I'm happy to support Haiti's economy by buying such a fantastic product, but it doesn't scratch the same itch for me that aged JM or Neisson does. Alas, Martinique rum prices are pretty ridiculous in the US. 

 

I agree, they do taste quite different. But that doesn't mean the price of the AOC rums isn't nearly ALL marketing and hype. But seems you agree w that too :)

 

I'd say 1/2 Barbancourt 15 and 1/2, I dunno, La Favorite or something would make a very affordable, convincing, "aged yet funky" cane juice rum.

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

my eG foodblog - Beirut and beyond

My occasionally food-related site

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

I agree, they do taste quite different. But that doesn't mean the price of the AOC rums isn't nearly ALL marketing and hype. But seems you agree w that too :)

 

I'd say 1/2 Barbancourt 15 and 1/2, I dunno, La Favorite or something would make a very affordable, convincing, "aged yet funky" cane juice rum.

 

In the interest of science I performed the experiment.  I poured a glass of Neisson Reserve Speciale, and a glass half of Barcancourt 15 and half of La Favorite Blanc.

 

Care to guess?

 

The two glasses were not as different as I might have expected, but I preferred the Neisson Reserve Speciale, no question.  Compared to Neisson Reserve Speciale the mixture of Barbancourt 15 and La Favorite tasted thin and almost bitter.  Although, I must say, after a while of going back and forth between the two glasses it didn't seem to matter much.

 

I didn't do the comparison tonight but I'm guessing I may have preferred straight La Favorite Blanc to half and half.

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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  • 3 weeks later...
bostonapothecary

bostonapothecary

Posted
Posted

Inspired by heated discussions here many months ago I analyzed the works of the Jamaican Agricultural Experiment Station in 1911 where they started to reverse engineer the heavy Jamaican rum process.

 

Now to close it in on the other side I annotated and strung together the collected writing of the angsty, precocious, Victorian madman W.F. Whitehouse, the great latin quoting Agricola, who letters in 1843 lay the investigative foundation for the jump to high ester heavy rum. It all starts with meditations on rum making while trying to prove an interloping huckster a fraud.

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Naftal

Naftal

Posted
Posted

Something tea based, with sage and smoke flavors

Hassouni- Lapsang?!? BTW, my favorite spirits are whisky and rum :smile:  :smile:  :smile:

"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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Naftal

Naftal

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well, the secret's out of the bag now!

Hassouni- You did mention this elsewhere so I assumed it was not a secret.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149966-winter-teas-what-do-you-drink-when-its-cold/#entry1995993

Edited by Naftal (log)
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"As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex.Except for salami and eggs...Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced"--Alan King (1927-2004)

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ChrisTaylor

ChrisTaylor

Posted
Posted

Speaking of Plantation rums (cheap--ha-$80-110/bottle for the majority of the range in Australia!), I've tried a few of the ones I purchased recently (a six-bottle sampler). Some early thoughts:

  • Guatamala: Er, this is interesting. A confrontational rum. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first sip but ... I think I need to revisit this one to understand it.
  • White Rum: big molasses for a white rum. A bit funky without being overpowering. Despite the low (~40%) APV it stood up in a Daiquiri in an interesting way, altho' that's not something I'd repeat. One of the few whites I've had that I'd enjoy neat.
  • Jamaica. Unmistakable sugar cane flavour.
  • 20th Anniversary: Holy shit. BIG. Makes one of my current loves, Dictador 12, seem restrained. Will probably pick this up in its 700mL form at some point.

Chris Taylor

Host, eG Forums - ctaylor@egstaff.org

 

I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

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tanstaafl2

tanstaafl2

Posted
Posted

 

  • 20th Anniversary: Holy shit. BIG. Makes one of my current loves, Dictador 12, seem restrained. Will probably pick this up in its 700mL form at some point.

 

 

Plantation 20th Anniversary is certainly a nice one.

 

Dictador is a curious one. Some years back it seemed to appear out of nowhere primarily in Europe (although it is in the US and elsewhere now) with its slick looking package and largely made up story about Severo Arango y Ferro, the "Dictador" in Cartegena. Made by Destileria Colombiana in Colombia this brand appeared about the same time their primary brand of rum, Ron Baluarte, disappeared. Coincidence? Probably not!

 

Some speculation that the story of good old dictator Severo is a complete fabrication as well.

 

Its one of the "solera" style rums and rather like Zacapa the number on the bottle reflects the oldest rum in the bottle and doesn't indicate the real age of the rum. I have only tried samples a few times but I was a bit underwhelmed with it.

 

At $45-50 a bottle for the Dictador 12 and $60 for the Dictador 20 it isn't one I look for. Give me El Dorado or a nice agricole everytime. Its slick packaging and largely fabricated back story probably don't help much either. 

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ~Mark Twain

Some people are like a Slinky. They are not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs...

~tanstaafl2

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scubadoo97

scubadoo97

Posted
Posted

I'd go with something like Plantation Barbados. It's pretty cheap (less than $20) and quite versatile.

Just picked up 4 bottles of the 20th anniversary. Nose and taste are like melted ice cream. Tasty and too easy to drink. After drinking a lot of barrel proof bourbon most things are easy to drink [emoji5]️

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
Posted

Just picked up 4 bottles of the 20th anniversary. Nose and taste are like melted ice cream. Tasty and too easy to drink. After drinking a lot of barrel proof bourbon most things are easy to drink [emoji5]️

Out of curiosity - what are you paying for the 20th Anniversary?

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Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
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