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Kenning posted:You can't really sip something like Inner Circle, usually. It'll be too hot and the funk – which is its true asset – will be messed up. I strongly recommend making an Old Fashioned with it, and letting it get very cold, then sipping. Bundy has funk, but no refinement. Green Dot is sophisticated, and funky. We first sipped/sampled everything straight but then drank it with some mixers (Coke, ginger beer, even lemonade). Green Dot isn't bad, I just didn't find it impressive aside from being that strong and still being nice. I certainly wouldn't turn it down but for the money (And less) there's better options unless you really want overproof rum. If that's the goal then yeah, Green Dot is great. But I can get hosed up on standard proof stuff so I'd rather it taste as nice as it can for the price.
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Oct 3, 2013 06:44
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Missing Name posted:What would y'all suggest for a real daiquiri? (No, none of that frozen fruit bullshit. What the gently caress is that anyway?) My on the cheap daiquiri recipe is somewhat over half a bottle of Sailor Jerry, topped off to around 3/4 with lime juice and sugar simple syrup, then shaken in the bottle and poured for drinking. It's cheap, but it's tasty and close enough for casual drinking out someplace where you can't drag along a shaker. Kayaking down a river, for example. 
Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Oct 4, 2013 |
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Oct 4, 2013 05:42
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Time to go lowbrow: Whats a good rum when you just want a simple mixed drink like a rum and coke, or ginger ale, fruit juice, etc? My boss swears by Sailor Jerry, I'm a fan of Gosling Black Seal and I just tried Bacardi Oakheart. While I like the taste of Oakheart, it's a little vanilla heavy and to be honest a 70 proof rum falls apart in a cocktail unless you dial everything back to a 1:1 mix ratio. I completely understand if that statement made me seem like an alcoholic. I've read some good reviews of Captain Morgan 100 proof, I'm thinking of bringing that in to my rotation for simple mixed drinks. Has anyone tried Cruzan Black Strap? I know it's got molasses out the rear end, and that sounds like it could taste amazing in ginger ale or Dr Pepper. On a side note, grape juice really does mix well with rum. Learn something new every day.
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Oct 5, 2013 10:02
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rxcowboy posted:Time to go lowbrow: Whats a good rum when you just want a simple mixed drink like a rum and coke, or ginger ale, fruit juice, etc? Black strap is pretty comparable to Black Seal, maybe a little more viscous and sweet, but not by a ton. I use either for what you are asking for above.
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Oct 5, 2013 11:36
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I have a bunch of Captain Morgan's original spiced rum. I drink just nicer stuff so it's been sitting there forever and I want to use it up finally. Suggestions? Egg nog maybe?
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Oct 5, 2013 22:01
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mich posted:I have a bunch of Captain Morgan's original spiced rum. I drink just nicer stuff so it's been sitting there forever and I want to use it up finally. Suggestions? Egg nog maybe? I'm in the same boat. I made a few rum & cokes to knock it down some, but that gets old fast. I think I may just have a party soon, and make some terrible punch with it and all the other poo poo booze people pawn off on me!
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Oct 5, 2013 23:35
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rxcowboy posted:Time to go lowbrow: Whats a good rum when you just want a simple mixed drink like a rum and coke, or ginger ale, fruit juice, etc? Flor de Can~a has come up in this thread multiple times for a good reason. The silver is good for when you want a nice white rum. It isn't an agricola but straight it has a nice light flavor that I associate with agricola rums coupled with a wonderful, just wonderful, citrus finish. Mixes super well. The 4 year rum is wonderful for rum and cokes. It is a dirt cheap rum but you can make rum and cokes the "real" way where it is almost all rum with a dash of coke for "color" and a lime wedge. You will really love what you are sipping. Or you can have the drink be 75% or even 50% rum and really drink it down. Mix it with anything and everything. The silver is always good but the 4 year may be a little too "vulgar" for certain crowds. I don't think that is you and yours but the 8 year old isn't that much more expensive and is much better. Look at them both and do a quick cost/benefit analysis based on your budget. Personally, I'd go with the 4 year old version if you are just doing rum and cokes or whatever but if you want to start thinking about "cocktail culture" the 8 year can carry a cocktail the way a bourbon can. Just go lighter on the simple syrup/cherries/whatever because the inherent sweetness of the rum will carry you. If being able to hit that demographic appeals to you, go with the 8.
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Oct 6, 2013 00:17
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Shbobdb posted:Personally, I'd go with the 4 year old version if you are just doing rum and cokes or whatever but if you want to start thinking about "cocktail culture" the 8 year can carry a cocktail the way a bourbon can. Just go lighter on the simple syrup/cherries/whatever because the inherent sweetness of the rum will carry you. If being able to hit that demographic appeals to you, go with the 8. Sold. I'm a big bourbon fan, so if a rum can stand tall like a good bourbon, I have to try it. When I use Coke or juice in a cocktail, I normally mix 50/50 so I can just roll with it.
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Oct 6, 2013 08:48
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Captain Morgan's Black Spiced Rum has started popping up on some liquor stores out here. I'm not keen on throwing $55 a bottle having never tasted it when I could just Kraken which I know I enjoy for around the same price - how does it compare?
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Oct 10, 2013 11:43
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Sodomy Non Sapiens posted:Captain Morgan's Black Spiced Rum has started popping up on some liquor stores out here. I'm not keen on throwing $55 a bottle having never tasted it when I could just Kraken which I know I enjoy for around the same price - how does it compare? It has a decent charred oak component but otherwise I didn't feel like it was worth the premium over Kraken. If it's the same price as Kraken for you then give it a shot. Around here it's $15-20 more.
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Oct 10, 2013 15:52
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I just cracked a bottle of Blackheart Premium Spiced, 93 proof. I was looking for something vanilla-ey and sweetish, yet harsh so my sister wouldn't touch it. And of course, the darker, the better. This has caramel in it, so gently caress me if I can gauge it on appearance alone. ... ... It's worth the $11 I spent for the fifth, I suppose. Kind of an impulse purchase, to be honest. I guess I can mix it with coke or creme soda. Missing Name fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 02:18
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I've only recently tried a few rums, just the basic stuff nothing fancy. Up to now I've gone with the lighter/golden type like Angostura 5yr/7yr or Havana Club. Just bought something a touch darker that I'll open up tonight, a Mocambo 10yr anniversary ed. Any suggestions as to a mixer? I've usually gone with lime,bitters,soda kind of thing, or feijoa juice or something.
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Oct 12, 2013 04:43
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Just got the Captain Morgan 100 proof. I don't know how in the gently caress they did it, but somehow the 100 proof is smoother and has less of a cheap alcohol burn than the 35 proof. Pretty much every review online that I've read points to this, and they are right. It's sort of irrelevant since this rum is designed as a mixer, and it blends great with cola and juice. The only thing I don't like is that it seems as though spice means vanilla, and not much else. Oh well, it's not designed to be complicated I suppose. If you're looking for a good spiced rum for mixing, I'd recommend it. Especially if you catch a good sale on it.
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Oct 13, 2013 18:09
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Treated myself to a birthday gift as I was passing through Madrid Airport: got a bottle of Flor de Caña Centenario Gold, which is aged for 18 years. Has anyone else drank this and formed an opinion? I hate to say it, because I was so prepared to enjoy this drink, but it's kinda one-dimensional for me. A bit of sweetness, a punch of vanilla and then the alcohol sharpness as it goes down. edit: This is drinking neat, once with ice and once without. Vlex fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Oct 13, 2013 |
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Oct 13, 2013 22:18
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I had the 12 year old and I didn't love it. Which was too bad, I had high hopes.
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Oct 13, 2013 23:06
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I finally have a shop near me that has a rum selection beyond Captain Morgan. So far I've tried Mount Gay Eclipse and Ron Abuelo, and picked up a bottle of Zacapa XO for special occasions. I've noticed they've started getting some Havana Club in - I've not tried many lighter rums, any recommendations on good ways to drink this (I guess Mojitos would be an obvious choice)? Specifically they have the 3 year and 7 year, I think.
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Oct 14, 2013 11:32
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Daiquiris and mojitos are great choices. The 3 year is the white one, and the 7 year is gold, right? I like pairing gold Spanish-style rums with black Jamaicans in my Tiki punches.Vlex posted:Treated myself to a birthday gift as I was passing through Madrid Airport: got a bottle of Flor de Caña Centenario Gold, which is aged for 18 years. Shbobdb posted:I had the 12 year old and I didn't love it. Which was too bad, I had high hopes. Honestly I'm not really convinced by very old rums. Maybe old French-style agricoles are special (I wouldn't know, I can't afford them), but I've also had the Flor de Cana 12, as well as the Plantation Barbados 20th anniversary (which is apparently a 12 year also), and while they were both excellent, I felt like both lost a little bit of character versus their younger expressions, and just gained a lot of woody vanilla and oak. There's nothing wrong with barrel flavor, but I think especially for Spanish-style rums, which are so delicately flavored to begin with, the barrel totally overwhelms the rum. Unlike, say, Scotch, where the aggressive flavor of the raw spirit calls for some serious barreling. Mount Gay Extra Old was pretty great as I recall, but I had that before my rum palate was as well-developed. I'd be curious to do a comparison of a number of old premium rums to see which ones get it right. Kenning fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Oct 14, 2013 |
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Oct 14, 2013 20:05
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OK, kinda happy that it wasn't just me who was underwhelmed. Will keep an eye out for the four year old.
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Oct 14, 2013 21:17
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So any recommendations on affordable rums that can be found locally when your only experience so far is Bacardi and Captain? I find I really like rum but don't know where to start expanding. My go-to drink lately has been a rum and soda. So preferably something mixable, but if there's any affordable rums that are also good enough to be drunk straight I'd be willing to try one out.
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Oct 15, 2013 08:05
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When I was living in the barrio, Dominican rums were cheap and usually quite nice. Since I moved to a non-Dominican neighborhood, I can't comment on how their prices work outside of that area but check them out. Mamajuanas are nice and sweet, so dangerously mixable (because you don't want much mixer). That would probably be a good place to start and branch out from there.
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Oct 15, 2013 08:11
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Viperix posted:So any recommendations on affordable rums that can be found locally when your only experience so far is Bacardi and Captain? I find I really like rum but don't know where to start expanding. My go-to drink lately has been a rum and soda. So preferably something mixable, but if there's any affordable rums that are also good enough to be drunk straight I'd be willing to try one out. I'm going to throw El Dorado 12 out there. In my neck of the woods, a 750 of Sailor Jerry's is 16 dollars, Meyer's is 18, Captain Morgan 100 proof is 18, and El Dorado 12 is 23. For that you get a rum that works well in a cocktail and is certainly good enough to sip neat. Now the thing I have to pass on is that in my opinion, cola obliterates rum. Alot of the subtle flavors you get on a nice rum just get punched out, even at a 1 to 1 mix. So if I'm drinking a rum and coke, I want a big, bold rum that's going to hold up to the Coke. Goslings is good, Meyer's is good, Captain Morgan 100 is *drat* good. If you're willing to get into cocktail territory, a rum Old Fashioned or Manhattan or Collins are all superb, and I would say the El Dorado would serve you well. Bacardi 8 year is also really good, don't let the Bacardi name fool you on this one. Rum isn't that expensive, even for a cheap bastard like me. I'd say pick up two bottles, one for soda/cocktails and one for sipping neat.
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Oct 15, 2013 09:21
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I love The Kraken but every review online (I know, I know) always makes tonnes of comments about cinnamon and cloves and the like, and no God drat mention of vanilla. Am I crazy? The Kraken is crazy with the vanilla flavours. But the only mention I found was like one or two comments on some random rear end blog.
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Oct 15, 2013 10:04
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syntaxfunction posted:I love The Kraken but every review online (I know, I know) always makes tonnes of comments about cinnamon and cloves and the like, and no God drat mention of vanilla. Am I crazy? The Kraken is crazy with the vanilla flavours. But the only mention I found was like one or two comments on some random rear end blog. For me Kracken = Vanilla, almond, molasses and allspice... my tastebuds notice almond most of all, lovely stuff. 
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Oct 15, 2013 17:58
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I don't get half as many spiced notes from Kraken as I get from other, non-spiced rums like Flor de Caña 4, or Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve. Which, by the way, are excellent inexpensive rums if you have any sort of decent selection.
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Oct 15, 2013 21:13
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If you like Flor de Cana, then it's definitely worth getting hold of some Green Island. Less floral, more grassy and lemony, and makes an amazing old fashioned with orange bitters.
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Oct 16, 2013 16:18
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I picked up a bottle of Ballast Points Three Sheets rum the other day.. $20 for a 750ml. Having not really tried any white rums beyond the random bacardi mixed nonsense you get at bars, I have to say this stuff is really pretty good. Tried it straight first, and it was good enough to just enjoy as is. Light and fruity smelling, and it carries over into it's taste. Light, sweet, little bits of fruit flavor, and then rounds out nicely with some alcohol burn. An ice cube mellows it all out. Not having much on hand the other night, I decided to whip up a rum old fashioned.. a favorite of mine when using a dark rum. Sugar, dash or two of orange bitters, a few dashes of angostura, and good to go. Different for sure. Not as good as one made with a dark rum, or a really solid Rye Whiskey, but still tasty enough that I made a second one. Picked up some limes from the store today, and made an old school daquiri. Lime, sugar, rum. Beautiful. This rum was made for this I think. It's almost too good, and too easy to drink. I'm a little sad I waited so long to try a white rum. I'm thinking when I finish this, probably tomorrow at the rate these are going down, I think I'll pick up the highly rated, and ridiculously cheap, Flor de Cana white, and see how it compares. Regardless, if you see this stuff, give it a shot. It really is a great rum, plus I'm happy to support a local company.
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Oct 21, 2013 03:37
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Sounds great. Your tasting notes sounds about right for a nice Spanish-style light rum. Flor de Caña is definitely in that ballpark. I love when people discover new, great rums
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Oct 21, 2013 05:07
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Dude, rum Greyhounds. Mix your rum with some fresh squeeze grapefruit juice. More of a white rum kinda drink, but FdC 4 works great too. Grapefruit used to be called the "Forbidden Fruit" because it was so awesome, they assumed that is what Adam and Eve went all ga-ga for. gently caress apples, man. This is the poo poo!
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Oct 21, 2013 08:02
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Kenning posted:Daiquiris and mojitos are great choices. The 3 year is the white one, and the 7 year is gold, right?. Yep, I picked up a bottle of the 3 year and some palm sugar and went to town over the weekend. The Mojitos turned out ok, didn't get the balance quite right though. The Daiquiris were goddamn delicious and may become my go-to cocktail in future (when making it myself at least, since most bars here seem to always serve frozen/strawberry/whatever variation).
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Nov 5, 2013 08:00
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I live on the godless, terrifying eastern side of the San Francisco bay area and I can't find much that isn't Bacardi, Captain Morgan or Shellback anywhere. Luckily I know a few places that have Kraken. I know one of you has mentioned a place called Pirates Cove a lot which is San Francisco based. Are there any decent places to buy booze worth a drat on my side of the bay? I live in the Fremont area. Living with what I've got, though, how is Shellback for mixing or drinking neat/on the rocks? I hate all the cheap Bacardis I've tried and I honestly think lighter rums are better for mixing (less flavor means less clashing flavor). How's Bacardi Oakheart? I've heard incredibly mixed things about it. EDIT: If you're going to make a rum and coke and have access to Jarritos cola (it's a mexican brand) it is amazing. Throwing in some lime to make it a Cuba Libre is great if you have a rum that takes on citrus very well DISCO KING fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Nov 6, 2013 |
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Nov 6, 2013 23:30
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I'm a total neophyte when it comes to Fancy Rums but I actually like Bacardi Oakheart quite a bit. Sure, it's not nuanced or super flavorful or anything stellar, but it's smooth and got some interest to it. I'd put it about on par with Kraken. It's the best Bacardi I've ever had, which isn't saying much on my end or Bacardi's, but it is worth a look if your selection seriously that crappy.
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Nov 7, 2013 00:32
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Napoleon Bonaparty posted:I live on the godless, terrifying eastern side of the San Francisco bay area and I can't find much that isn't Bacardi, Captain Morgan or Shellback anywhere. Luckily I know a few places that have Kraken. I know one of you has mentioned a place called Pirates Cove a lot which is San Francisco based. Are there any decent places to buy booze worth a drat on my side of the bay? I live in the Fremont area. Bevmo at 5171 Mowry Ave, Mowry Landing Shopping Center should have a decent selection. My local one is So Cal carries Flor de Caña, Appleton, Plantation Barbados, Barbancourt 5 Star and many others. Since it's a chain, yours should have a similar selection.
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Nov 7, 2013 00:50
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Napoleon Bonaparty posted:I know one of you has mentioned a place called Pirates Cove a lot which is San Francisco based. I'm assuming you're thinking of Smuggler's Cove, the BEST tiki bar in existence. Can't really buy bottles of rum there, but you can certainly drink bottles of rum.
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Nov 7, 2013 02:14
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Napoleon Bonaparty posted:I live on the godless, terrifying eastern side of the San Francisco bay area and I can't find much that isn't Bacardi, Captain Morgan or Shellback anywhere. Luckily I know a few places that have Kraken. I know one of you has mentioned a place called Pirates Cove a lot which is San Francisco based. Are there any decent places to buy booze worth a drat on my side of the bay? I live in the Fremont area. Seconding BevMo, there's a lot of solid stuff there. If you need an excuse to travel up to Berkeley Ledger's Liquor on University and Acton has an insane selection of spirits. Really divey looking too, it's great. And you live in Fremont, I'm sure you could use every excuse to get out of town. Shellback is poo poo, Oakheart is tiresome. Just go to BevMo.
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Nov 7, 2013 04:18
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Wow sweet, next time I'm in Berkeley visiting the in-laws I'm definitely checking Ledger's out.
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Nov 7, 2013 04:19
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Yes I did mean to type Smuggler's Cove and I'm not even drunkposting. Edit for content: This summer when I was in San Luis Obispo and Sacramento, I was experimenting with making good drinks out of terrible liquor. Both of these are sweet and cold because of the weather where I was and the people I was making them for, but I'll try to estimate some good alternatives. First one's a lemonade drink: 2-3 shots of white rum, fill high with either sprite or 30/70 lime/soda water mix, add a large splash of raspberry lemonade and add grenadine to taste. Pretty sweet but it covers up the nastiness of Bacardi while clearly being an alcoholic drink at the same time. I used an old-fashioned glass for this one. Next one is still kind of a lemonade drink but it doesn't have much to do with lemons. Two shots of Gin, preferably one with less flavor if you can manage, 2-3 shots of white rum, half a lime squeezed, fill with a 50/50 mix of soda water and Jones Berry Lemonade. I put this one in a Collins glass and it looks really good with an orange peel twist. Neither of these really need to be stirred if you put them together in the order listed. Both of these were made for people who didn't really drink much, and didn't care for the taste of really strong booze. People with sensitive pallets be warned. Newbies with nothing to lose, feel free to give it a shot. The first one is potentially a sugarbomb if you're not careful. The last one isn't really something I invented but rather stumbled upon. Replacing the soda water and simple syrup in a mojito with mountain dew actually makes mountain dew palatable for me. I'm guessing it's the mint? I don't know. I mostly drank Meyer's Rum Daquiris and Dark'n Stormies that summer anyways, but it's fun to experiment nonetheless. DISCO KING fucked around with this message at 11:36 on Nov 7, 2013 |
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Nov 7, 2013 11:00
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I'm going to Cuba for a week and don't know much about rum. Which brands should I look out for that would be worth picking up/good deal when I'm there?
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Nov 12, 2013 06:59
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Well, Havana Club is considered a classic Spanish-style rum, so get what you can while you're there. I don't know much in the way of specifics on account of the whole embargo thing. Make sure to report back on how the rum is, and also if there's any interesting/particular way of drinking it down there.
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Nov 12, 2013 08:12
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I got a bottle of Meyer's and I'm not really enjoying it straight. What's a more palatable sipping rum?
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Nov 14, 2013 00:19
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Yeah Meyer's isn't a great sipper. Make a nice old fashioned though. Appleton Estate is a much more sipping-oriented Jamaican. I also like Barbados rums for sipping – Mt. Gay is good (the Eclipse is fine, and the pricier expressions get very good), and Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve is excellent. Lots of people like the older El Dorado rums for sipping, but I've only had the 5 year, which is nice, but a little bit one-note (toffee!).
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Nov 14, 2013 04:07
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