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Wachter posted:I've been given a bottle of bog-standard Bacardi (which I hate) as a present, so I'm burning through that with the help of lots of pineapple and coconut juice. What should I replace it with? I want something that's reasonably nice (i.e. that doesn't taste of bleach), but not so expensive/fancy that I won't feel bad throwing together with some fruit juice or in a mojito. Havana Club maybe? I've been making my Daquiris with Brugal, Havana Club and Bacardi for the past year and I'm damned if I could tell the difference between them. Might just be my palate though - what does everyone else think?
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Mar 17, 2014 23:15
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| # ? May 13, 2024 21:36 |
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I think I can tell the difference, but it's not strong. Brugal especially has a strong, almost spicy flavor that comes through and Bacardi I can taste in anything a mile away. How strong do you make your Daiquiris?
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Mar 17, 2014 23:28
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For some reason, the local liquor store had Appleton Estate Reserve for $10 a bottle. What's a good cocktail for this stuff?
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Mar 24, 2014 01:23
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Anyone tried Maui Dark Rum? I was quite surprised to see something new and different in the spirits desert of rural Washington:  From what I can tell it's made from Maui sugarcane molasses. They also have a neat bottle reuse system in Hawaii since the cost of shipping in new glass is so high.
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Mar 24, 2014 17:59
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Al2001 posted:I've been making my Daquiris with Brugal, Havana Club and Bacardi for the past year and I'm damned if I could tell the difference between them? Can't speak for Bacardi but I tasted a big difference between Brugal Blanco and HC 3 year old. HC was much more grassy and funky, closer to a cachaca than Brugal, which was flatter.
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Mar 24, 2014 18:36
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I live in a small town, but try to take full advantage of city liquor stores when the opportunity comes up. I love cocktails, but I'm new to rum. I was hoping to find some Smith and Cross when in THE CITY the other day so that I could incorporate it into an old fashioned or some such: something I'm familiar with. There was no S&C to be found at what seemed like a very well stocked liquor store, so I was going to grab some Pussers just because I'd heard some good things. However, I was talked into buying Motusalem clasico, which was aged for 10 years via the "solera" process. I have to say I'm extremely pleasantly surprised. The 750l was cheap ($21), and is quite smooth straight, especially compared to the appleton estate I'd had straight most recently (which mixed well, but was hella strong all by itself). Vanilla was very prominent in both rums but strangely: I made a Manhattan tonight with Noilly Prat (rum:vermouth::2:1) and Regan's Orange bitters (about 3 dashes), garnished with lemon peel. It was just a whim based on what I had around. The first sip was strange: a little bit of burn, a mix of lemon, orange, and general fruitiness, but then an incredible cocoa flavor came out of nowhere in the finish. As I kept drinking chocolate was all that I tasted. A second cocktail with Carpano brought the cocoa out as well, though the transition from citrus to cocoa was more smooth. It doesn't look like this particular rum has come up much in this thread. Is cocoa a common flavor? I loved the drink, but rum has a lot of stuff going on. Where should I go from here (next time I go to town, that is)?
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Mar 25, 2014 08:49
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Anyone tried Maui Dark Rum? I picked this up tonight as I wanted to try it out before gifting it. Just sipping neat I find it similar to Kraken with a bit less sweetness and a bit more char. It definitely doesn't have that molasses smell of Cruzan Blackstrap which I found a little unpleasant. Apparently the maker intended it to be used in rum-based cocktails. It is a bit more aggressive than Kraken although a splash of water helps.
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Mar 26, 2014 01:05
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Viperix posted:I think I can tell the difference, but it's not strong. Brugal especially has a strong, almost spicy flavor that comes through and Bacardi I can taste in anything a mile away. How strong do you make your Daiquiris? 2 shots rum, 1/2 lime, 1/4 sugar generally. Sometimes straight, sometimes rocks. I've never tried two different white rums side-by-side though, just gone through one moderately priced bottle and replaced it with another. Interesting that the Brugal white has a stronger flavour because their standard Anejo is really smooth and innoffensive (I like it though!)
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Mar 29, 2014 00:06
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Al2001 posted:2 shots rum, 1/2 lime, 1/4 sugar generally. Sometimes straight, sometimes rocks. I've never tried two different white rums side-by-side though, just gone through one moderately priced bottle and replaced it with another. Interesting that the Brugal white has a stronger flavour because their standard Anejo is really smooth and innoffensive (I like it though!) That's about how strong I make Daiquiris. The difference is pretty subtle, so if you're not trying side by side I could see no being able to tell. My mistake about the Brugal, I forgot Brugal had a white. I was actually talking about the Anejo and when I say strong, I don't mean bad either, I quite enjoy the Anejo. I never finish off a bottle of a rum I intend to replace with a substitute. I always keep a bit in the bottle so I can compare when I buy something new. Viperix fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Mar 29, 2014 |
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Mar 29, 2014 00:51
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Too fancy all of it  . Half glass rum, 3 tablespoons of sugar.Mix and drink .Sounds flat out stupid, however it is one of my favourite drinks.
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Mar 31, 2014 02:54
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poliander posted:Too fancy all of it Whatever floats your boat man, but I can't imagine adding more sugar to something that's already essentially made of sugar in the first place. What's your rum of choice for this diabetic concoction?
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Mar 31, 2014 06:36
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So, favorite Smith + Cross cocktail: go! I'm normally a Fdc~n partisan but I'm ready to have my mind blown.
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Mar 31, 2014 07:07
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Shbobdb posted:So, favorite Smith + Cross cocktail: go! My typical answer is "Give it the Old Fashioned treatment," but for something a bit more specialized I would considering whipping up a Clyde River Punch.
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Mar 31, 2014 09:42
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Any time I'm making a recipe that would normally feature vodka, I substitute 100% of it for Myers's Platinum. Even vodka lovers will admit white rum is superior in smoothness and flavor once they've tasted it. However, this is pretty much the extent of my rum consumption, cocktails like Hemingways and traditional daiquiris. I don't care for spiced rum, and outside of Prichard's most of the dark rums I've had seem like they just dump a bunch of caramel coloring/flavoring in. Is there any other good mid-priced dark rums that I should start out with that have a nice barrel aged character?
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Mar 31, 2014 17:09
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I looked at a couple stores in the Seattle area and couldn't find Smith and Cross anywhere. Is there a decent place to order online that will ship to Washington?
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Mar 31, 2014 18:38
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Kenning posted:My typical answer is "Give it the Old Fashioned treatment," but for something a bit more specialized I would considering whipping up a Clyde River Punch. Just wanted to chime in to say thanks for this, Kenning - it is loving delicious.
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Apr 1, 2014 21:59
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I finally got a chance to try Smith & Cross at a bar last night and holy poo poo you guys aren't kidding. Sipping it neat was an Experience; I've had plenty of scotch with less flavor than that stuff. drat. Definitely have to drink it slow, but I'm psyched to go back and order drinks made with it; this place makes a killer old fashioned already so I'm sure making it with the Smith & Cross will be excellent.
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Apr 2, 2014 18:12
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I looked at a couple stores in the Seattle area and couldn't find Smith and Cross anywhere. Is there a decent place to order online that will ship to Washington? Give the local places a chance. I live in a tiny town on the western slope of Colorado and I'll have S&C within the week. All I did was ask the most accommodating liquor store I know to carry it, and they tracked it down. It's a small distributor out of Denver, but the dude at the store seemed really excited to have found them, and ordered lots of other hard to find liquors as well. Might be a small town anomaly, but you should be able to find S&C in Seattle of all places. It's always worth the ask. The price is pretty decent too ($27 for a 750). Still haven't tried it yet, but I'll report back with my thoughts.
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Apr 11, 2014 07:19
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I'm curious to know if anyone here has tried Old Monk 7yrs and 12yrs. Us indians are prouder of Old Monk than internationally recognized single malts from India like Amrut. It's insanely affordable here and everyone who drinks rum started with Old Monk. They have absolutely no marketing at all. People hear about it from others and then try it themselves. It's available in the States and the UK these days. Look out for the limited edition which is in shape of a monk, whose head acts as the cap.
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Apr 11, 2014 10:59
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Still no S+C to be found for me around San Diego county. So disappointing. I'll likely just break down and place an order from Hi Times or something, and pay the premium for shipping.. I really want to try it! In other Rum chat, Zaya is way too delicious for me to have with any regularity. Between sipping on it neat, making Rum Old Fashioned's, or Planters Punch, I plowed through a bottle in a weekend without even trying to be a drunk rear end. They just go down way to easily. I picked up a bottle of Oak Aged Three Sheets Rum, from local distillery/brewery Ballast Point, today. The plain Three Sheets rum is fantastic for what it is, and this just steps it up a notch. Nice subtle hints of the oak it was in, a little vanilla, a touch of sweetness, but enough burn to make you still feel like you're drinking some booze. I made an old fashioned out of it just now, and its a thing of beauty. While it's not too expensive at $30 for a bottle, I'd probably be happier if it was somewhere closer to $20. I think I'll explore some of the other options at the same price point, once this bottle is done, and see how it fairs. Having spent so much time drinking whiskies over the last few months, I think it's time I switched it up, and moved back to Rums for awhile. So tasty, and perfect for the beautiful weather we've been having.
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Apr 13, 2014 01:47
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I picked myself up some Flor de Cana 12 years and god drat, that's some good rum. I liked the 7 yr but this is great. I can only get stuff from state stores living in VA, usually not much more than Captain Morgan's or Sailor Jerry's, so I'm glad there's at least one good thing near me.
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Apr 13, 2014 18:35
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I'm thinking of getting a bottle of Lost Spirits Navy Style when I'm at K&L next week. According to this article http://www.examiner.com/article/lost-spirits-navy-style-rum-from-california it's been fermented with banana dunder, pot distilled to 136 proof and finished in sherry casks. Has anyone tasted this stuff before? K&L describes it as a cross between S&C and El Dorado, which sounds pretty good.
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Apr 13, 2014 20:35
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Chuck Biscuits posted:I'm thinking of getting a bottle of Lost Spirits Navy Style when I'm at K&L next week. According to this article http://www.examiner.com/article/lost-spirits-navy-style-rum-from-california it's been fermented with banana dunder, pot distilled to 136 proof and finished in sherry casks. Has anyone tasted this stuff before? K&L describes it as a cross between S&C and El Dorado, which sounds pretty good. Anarkii posted:I'm curious to know if anyone here has tried Old Monk 7yrs and 12yrs. Us indians are prouder of Old Monk than internationally recognized single malts from India like Amrut. I want to try both of these rums. What's Old Monk like?
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Apr 14, 2014 16:23
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Okay help me. I bought a litre bottle of Havana Club 7 Aņos. I haven't opened it. I don't know poo poo about rum. What do I do apart from giving it to you.
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Apr 18, 2014 20:51
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Dark and STormies? A good old fashioned dacquiri?
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Apr 19, 2014 05:31
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Life is good.
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Apr 21, 2014 02:54
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That's quite the background.
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Apr 21, 2014 07:11
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Hah, indeed. A friend had just had surgery. Those were her easily digestible recovery foods, I think. The Barbancourt 15 yr is pretty fantastic. Indeed, just richer and mellower than the 8 yr. The Zacapa is equally fantastic, as always. The El Dorado is an interesting one for me. An interesting mix of that Demerara molasses-y/brown sugar sweetness and aged oaky tangy-ness. The more rums I try, the more interesting the Barbancourt becomes. It's sweeter and less grassy than other straight from sugarcane rums like a Cachaca or a Martinique agricole, but yet still has some similar qualities, I'd be curious to know from our experts here what leads to that distinction.
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Apr 21, 2014 13:27
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Sjurygg posted:Okay help me. Pour some in a glass and sip it, then go from there. I don't ever make cocktails, but my policy is that if it tastes good by itself, drink it that way.
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Apr 21, 2014 15:16
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The government monopoly in Finland just started listing spirits data on their web pages. The data on sugar is interesting, I had no clue there is so much sugar in Eldorado 12. Sugar content (this means added post-distillation sweetening, as no sugars survive distillation) in some popular rums: Zacapa 23 - 20 grams / litre Eldorado 12 - 45 grams / litre Havana Club 7 yo - 6 grams / litre Brugal 1888 - 4 grams / litre St James Heritage - none Captain Morgan - none Bacardi 8yo - 20 grams / litre Agnostura 1824 - 17 grams / litre Matusalem Solera 15 - 5 grams / litre Various Plantation rums - 18-25 grams per litre Various Bristol Spirits rums - 0-1 grams per litre Sailor Jerry - none (listed under 'spiced spirits' instead of rum) I confess it's a while since my last El Dorado 12, but that is stupidly much sugar compared to anything else and I don't recollect it being outrageously sweet (like those Plantations definitely are).
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Apr 21, 2014 23:14
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That's really interesting. Kinda not surprised by the El Dorado 12. Tasty rum, but it is SWEET.
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Apr 22, 2014 02:49
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Has anyone tried Newfoundland Screech? Granted half the fun is the tradition that goes around it when you visit that wacky island but I'm still interested in trying it.
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Apr 25, 2014 23:56
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I picked up a bottle of Lost Spirits Navy Style rum last week. After testing it neat and in an Old Fashioned I can say that it's unlike any other rum that I've tried, which in this case is a good thing. It's pot distilled to 136 proof using banana dunder and baking grade molasses, which gives it an incredibly rich flavor and aroma, but it sounds like there was also a lot of other crazy poo poo that went on to boost the flavors in every possible way. The Distiller wrote a dissertation for the K&L spirits buyer here that explains what he did. Here is the link if you want to get super geeky: http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2014/2/5/rum-super-geekdom.html For those who are not ready to read that whole thing, he basically engineered every part of the fermentation, distillation and aging process to maximize the amount of long chain esters, which are the things that make booze taste good. The first things I noticed are intense vanilla and a molasses aromas that reminds me of a Demerara rum like El Dorado or Lemon Hart. After tasting it I was also reminded of coffee, chocolate, apricot and baking spices, which become more apparent when you add a little bit of water. Despite being 136 proof it is surprisingly drinkable right out of the bottle, but I do enjoy it more slightly diluted. While it stands on its own as a very good rum, I think that it would be especially attractive to whisky drinkers because it shares a lot of the same complexities that you may find in a single malt.
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Apr 26, 2014 07:52
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Oh my. I think...I think that fellow is my spirits-making hero. I've acquainted myself with the technical aspects of distillation in the last few years, so I was able to follow his email pretty closely and he's just...doing everything right. That must be an excellent rum. I guess I'll need to pop over to K&L soon.
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Apr 26, 2014 10:53
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It is very, very good. I've heard it described as El Dorado meets Smith+Cross, and I think that it is a good comparison, but it definitely falls more on the El Dorado side because it lacks the serious sulfurous funk that Smith+Cross has. I imagine that you would especially enjoy it since you have a lot of knowledge about different styles of rum, and this one kind of breaks all of the rules.
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Apr 26, 2014 18:45
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Posting from the Miami Rum Renaissance festival and I literally just attended a talk by that guy on his process. The rum is excellent by the way.
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Apr 26, 2014 22:36
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Does anyone have any more information on dunder? I've got a scientific background and brew. I also know some people who moonshine. But this is the first I've heard of dunder in the stilling process. It makes total sense and sounds like the sort of neat product that adds that little bit of alchemy to a scientific process.
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Apr 28, 2014 01:55
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Shbobdb posted:Does anyone have any more information on dunder? I've got a scientific background and brew. I also know some people who moonshine. But this is the first I've heard of dunder in the stilling process. It makes total sense and sounds like the sort of neat product that adds that little bit of alchemy to a scientific process. I assumed it was just an inoculum of yeast between batches. Maybe it's a bit more like a sourdough starter and has a few bacterial species along for the ride that give certain flavors etc to the ferment that the yeast alone couldn't give? Or, it could be a couple types of yeast, having ones in there that ferment outside their optimum temp would be good for a rum as they would be pumping out banana esters and stuff like that maybe?
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Apr 28, 2014 12:14
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It's definitely a mixed fermentation of some sort. He mentions using a lot of overripe bananas for his dunder while other people will use all kinds of crazy stuff like bats. Bananas make sense as a great source for sugars and esters to keep both the culture happy and kickstart all those good flavors. Just curious to see what more there is to it.
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Apr 28, 2014 19:59
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In his presentation there was a picture of a literal pit in the ground presumably from somewhere in Jamaica that the waste from the previous batch would be thrown into and allowed to rot over the course of a year. I guess that's the traditional method for dunder anyway and apparently that (plus low rectification distillation) is the source of the funkier flavors of Jamaican rum. In his own rum I'm not so sure that he was using it primarily for its role as a starter culture though as he emphasized it more as a rich source of carboxylic acids for his yeast to use to make the various esters.
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Apr 28, 2014 21:32
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