RUM ... talk to me, people

My favorite is the Barbancourt 15. Would love to hear what’s better than that one.

Pyrat Cask 23.

http://www.bilgemunky.com/pirate-reviews/rum/pyrat-cask-23/

This review indicates the quality may have fallen off. First had it btg for something around 50$ … and it was worth it. Bought a bottle for my wife for Xmas, now long gone.

The only thing that has come close are some pre-Castro Cuban rums.

A.

Mauritian Green Island Rum. Fantastic stuff but you can’t get it anywhere in the US. I have a co-worker in our London office bring a bottle over every time he comes out here.

http://www.specialitydrinks.com/B-203-Green_Island.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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I’ve had some luck with the Ron Zacapa rums, but the 15yr Barbancourt wins for price and availability.

Made in Anguilla by the same people that make Patron!!! Really good stuff

Westerhall from Barbados is one of my favorites for plain ol’ sippin’. The Barbancourt 15 rocks too.

A rum thread, at last! I drink more dark rum than any other liquor anymore. To me, it has almost totally replaced bourbon, Scotch, vodka, and cognac.

My favorite is Ron Anejo Aniversario Pampero but I also like Matusalem Gran Riserva, and the premium bottling of Cruzan. I’ve tried the regular bottling of Pirat and wasn’t very impressed. I’ll have to check out some of these suggestions.

“This review indicates the quality may have fallen off.”

Patron Brands (who don’t really MAKE anything, they are marketers based in Vegas) bought Pyrat a while back so I would look for a continuing slump in quality and an increase in blingage and flash promotion / advertising.

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“Ron Anejo Aniversario Pampero”

Yeah…BAYBEE!!! Best thing out of Venezuela since the 70’d Bugaloo craze…

I’ll go with Davey Concepcion, Omar Vizquel and Ozzie Guillen.

Another vote for this one, but my favorite is still Westerhall.

Well, it’s my spirit of choice, and there aren’t many I haven’t had . . .

Here are some to consider:

Cruzan “Single Barrel” – The only Virgin Islands rum worth a crap . . .

El Dorado – These are awesome! The 12 yr-old is great, but the 15 yr-old is well worth the “upgrade” price. The 21 yr-old is absolutely spectacular – almost half the price of the Appleton 21 yr-old, and better (in my opinion).

The Pyrat “XO” mentioned earlier is quite good (especially when it goes on sale for $22 periodically in CA).

The Ron Zacapa 23 yr-old from Guatemala is quite unique – more like a tawny port than a rum! Worth trying.

Goslings Rum (Bermuda) is also very good.

Havana Club (Cuba) 7 yr-old is very nice. The 15 yr-old is NOT worth the higher price, in my opinion.

Can’t go wrong with the Diplomatico (Venezuela) either !!

–George

An excellent source to point you toward some outstanding rums (or any other spirit) is:

http://www.tastings.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Use their search function to find all rums in their review database.

Another really outstanding one I just thought of is the Santa Teresa 1796 . . .

Yes! Love this rum. According to my review-quality has definitely not fallen off.

thanks, George. this one sounds especially interesting

I love the Ron Zacapa 23 too.
Great stuff.

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i recently went to a rather broad spirit tasting. one of the highlights (outside of the single village mezcals) was a rum made by Plantation. I rarely, if ever, see them in retail. but man, there was one in particular that was stunning: the Jamaica vintage 2000. the textures were unparalleled, creamy, soft. the nose and palate were synonymous with butterscotch; but it wasn’t fake. i’ve never tasted anything like it. definitely one to seek out. i think it’s roughly $35 on the shelf.

I’m curious about the vintage thing with rum … what exactly changes from vintage to vintage with rum? (or any spirit, for that matter)

I know that cognac houses claim there are differences in vintages which is why blending is superior. They mostly say this to slam Armagnac which is traditionally vintaged.

From what I’ve heard and my personal take, the main thing about vintage-dating a spirit is that it pinpoints exactly when it was made. Terms like “15 yr old” have fudge factors +/- as well indeterminate date as to when it was distilled. You are also getting the result of a single batch which is more what a vintage means vs the idea of a particular year affecting output. Kind of like barrel to barrel differences in wines vs differences between vintages.

A.

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Good question. not sure to be honest. But to Andrew’s point of it stemming from cognac houses, Plantation Rum is owned by a cognac house (Gabriel & Assoc., formerly Gabriel & Andreu).