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Rum type sure does matter! |
kick_the_reverb
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 17, 2002
Posts: 573
From: Originally Israel, now Oceanside, CA
|  Posted: 2003-01-31 10:33 am Permalink
Well, I remember a while back when people were discussing their favorite rums, some people said that their favorite kind was "free" rum, and some suggested that in cocktails you can't tell the difference so much.
Well, I knew the folks were joking, but I had experienced first hand how another brand of rum completely changes the taste of the cocktail:
I made a round of Chief Lapu Lapu's (not a very strong dring) and I used the last ounces of Baccardi Reserve Light and Dark that I had.
Then, for the next round I used the Myers's I made the guests bring...and WOW! what a difference in taste! It suddenly made the drink something completely different.
I remember reading somewhere here that Baccardi made their rums more neutral tasting, and this really proved that. Hey - I don't care, as the Myers's is cheaper than the Baccardi ($27 Vs $37.50).
I also made the guests bring Havana Club to substitute for the light rum, but I did not get to try another Chief Lapu Lapu with the Cuban and the Myers's together...Hey, that's a good enough excuse to try it tonight!
(and I would like to use this opportunity to thank Beachbum Berry again for his great books!)
Ran
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thejab
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2003-01-31 11:44 am Permalink
Havana Club is great in Daiquiris and simple drinks but you may be wasting it in tropical drinks that have many ingredients because the difference betweeen it and Bacardi won't be as apparent. But try a taste test of straight Bacardi against Havana Club and you will be amazed how bad the Bacardi tastes in comparison!
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Nui Nui 2
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 65
From: Newport Beach
| Posted: 2003-01-31 11:50 am Permalink
As long as you are doing a taste test I would recomend trying Whaler's dark rum it is made in Hawaii, and available at Trader Joe's for $9.99 a bottle and it a great rum. I use it for mixed cocktails, straight, everything. Skip the Bacardi this stuff is good.
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Nui Nui 2
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 65
From: Newport Beach
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:00 pm Permalink
As long as you are doing a taste test I would recomend trying Whaler's dark rum it is made in Hawaii, and available at Trader Joe's for $9.99 a bottle and it a great rum. I use it for mixed cocktails, straight, everything. Skip the Bacardi this stuff is good.
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Basement Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2002
Posts: 3587
From: Jawja Province, Isle of North America
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:07 pm Permalink
Want a taste explosion at a reasonable price? Try Gosling's dark rum. It is my new favorite (even over my old one Myer's). I have a bottle of 15-year old Bharbancourt (an amber) and it doesn't even come close as a sipping rum.
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kick_the_reverb
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 17, 2002
Posts: 573
From: Originally Israel, now Oceanside, CA
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:19 pm Permalink
Thanks for the advice, guys...I'll have to remember them for when we move to the States...as the only Rums we have here are:
Baccardi (black, light and gold)- $37.50
Captain Morgan - no thanks
Rhum Negritta - pass
Myres's - $27 ($9 at the airport Duty Free shop...do you think the regular store has a profit margin?...gee, I dunno)
Havana Club (3 years) $37.50
Rhum St. James - $17 (for Mai Tai)
And some really cheap local/imported stuff that looks really bad.
No one even knows what Demrera or Barbados Rum is, and no one imports 151 proof rums.
My father used to have Stroh in his liquor cabinet, and as kids my brothers and I used to dare each other to sip it (160 proof...)
Unfortunately that rum is long gone.
Mahalo
Ran
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From the Land of the $27 Myers's
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:21 pm Permalink
Sorry, Whaler's is not made in Hawaii but is made on the U.S. mainland. There is nothing Hawaiian about it except the claim on the label that it is from a Hawaiian recipe. I prefer Myers' dark rum.
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:25 pm Permalink
Gosling's is better than Myers' dark but has a much different flavor so its nice to have both. Myers' dark has a stronger molasses flavor.
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Basement Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 14, 2002
Posts: 3587
From: Jawja Province, Isle of North America
| Posted: 2003-01-31 12:52 pm Permalink
Kick...if you want to paypal me 32.00+ shipping and if it's legal to ship it to Isreal I'll be gad to send you and the Wahine a half gallon of Goslings. I don't know how religious you are but after a taste you might think that Manna had once again fallen only this time in intoxicating liquid form! We have an E-bay rating of 613 all positive...our trust is our bond. Let us know.
[ This Message was edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-01-31 12:52 ]
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kick_the_reverb
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 17, 2002
Posts: 573
From: Originally Israel, now Oceanside, CA
| Posted: 2003-01-31 1:05 pm Permalink
Thanks for the offer Basement Kahuna...half a gallon for $32 sounds good...
It <might> work, but there is the high chance of the customs people taxing it (they love to do that!) so it might prove not so economical in the end...but, the wahine is going back to the States in May, and i'm joining her a few months after that if all goes as planned, so I'll finally be able to practice mixology on a little lower budget 
Mahalo
Ran
_________________
From the Land of the $27 Myers's
[ This Message was edited by: kick_the-reverb on 2003-01-31 13:06 ]
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kahukini
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 555
From: Saint Louis
| Posted: 2003-01-31 2:14 pm Permalink
I just bought "Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum" for the first time and am sipping it now... truly the other end of the spectrum from meyer's and demerara - those are perfectly rich, dark and mellow. But the rum needs to match the mood right? Diamond Estate is in one word "exciting"! It's aged for 5 years on St. Croix in oak barrels..
descriptors:
moderately sharp smoky bite
sugary oak flavor
finish is spicy and hot
Cruzan has been a growing force in the rum industry during the past few years.
http://www.cruzanrums.com/
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donhonyc
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2003
Posts: 1173
From: The Quiet EAST Village
| Posted: 2003-01-31 6:00 pm Permalink
Yeah...Meyers makes all the diff. It's a great rum because it already has some kind of tropical sweetness added to it already. Even if you make a Meyers and Orange Juice-which is what's called a 'Sharkbite' on the back of the Meyers bottle (minus grenadine)-you've already got a pretty good tasting cocktail right there.
 aLoHa
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KuKuAhu
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 23, 2002
Posts: 567
From: Kahiki, Ohio
| Posted: 2003-01-31 8:35 pm Permalink
Re: Cruzan
I'm a big fan. I use the cheaper Cruzan rums in place of Bacardi or any Puerto Rican rum unless the drink recipe is very specific. Even then I still use 'em.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Foxy's Firewater brands or Pusser's blue label.
Rhum Barbancourt 5 is still my straight up fave on ice, although I have yet to try Gosling's.
I also like Mount Gay "sugarcane brandy aged rum". Nice sweetness behind it. Good mixer. Nice in a cuba libre.
Anybody down any Fernandez Black Label? Or puncheon rum?
I have a friend from Trinidad that is recommending these. I'm going to get some on her good word, but I'd be interested in anyones experience.
pele
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SlovakTiki
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Jul 07, 2002
Posts: 96
From: Minneapolis, MN
| Posted: 2003-01-31 8:37 pm Permalink
My favorite rum is Trader Vic's authentic dark rum. It has a really pleasant aroma and flavor.
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Traitor Vic
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 02, 2003
Posts: 428
From: Greenville, SC
| Posted: 2003-01-31 11:00 pm Permalink
This is Great! Let me explain. I'm Diabetic as all get out. I recently got an insulin pump and began counting Carbohydrates and all sorts of interesting things that allow me more flexibility in my diet. Long story short... I didn't have even a sip of rum (or any drink with rum in it) for over 17 years and now I can! Whoo-hoo!
It's very helpful to find good suggestions on different brands as I have been buying Bacardi and Myers, pretty much, so far. I was told, by the fella that runs the liquor store behind the office, that there was absolutely no reason to buy an Añejo rum for use in cocktails when Bacardi Gold Reserve would do just fine. Was he full of it?
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