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Does spiced rum get an unfair shake? |
pappythesailor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 07, 2005
Posts: 1566
From: Mass.
|  Posted: 2007-11-21 12:19 pm Permalink
I've been thinking 'bout this for a awhile. Namely, how there's a strong bias against spiced rum around these parts and I think it's undeserved. ESPECIALLY now with the revelations in Sippin' Safari, consider the stuff we're putting in our cocktails: vanilla and almond extract, cinnamon and cinnamon syrup & nutmeg. I don't have it in front of me--what other weird stuff is in that book? Doesn't the mystique behind those drinks make so much more sense now that you see what the hell was in the Coffee Grog? You need a back room full of Oompa Loompas find and mix all the ingredients.
But what's even stranger is no one says boo about falernum (about which the "correct" taste nobody seems to agree), pimento liqueur (which everyone is suddenly ready to believe is just Allspice and whatever rum you have lying around) and the worst of all, Angostura Bitters which is an unfathomably complex spice mixture.
Sailor Jerry isn't a substitute for any ol' rum but I wonder why people attack it so venomously. (If you wanna attack Captain Morgan, I won't stop you.)
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Scottes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 490
From: A Little North Of Boston
| Posted: 2007-11-21 12:40 pm Permalink
From the spiced rums I've tasted, about 8 of them, I'd chalk it up to 3 things:
1. Some of them taste like artificial crap.
2. Not everyone likes the same thing.
3. The flavors can vary wildly.
As to #1, much of this is because distributors need to have the rum taste good for at least 1 year on the shelf. That makes sense for such a product, since it might not sell fast enough. Next, the ATF allows something like 0.1% of the ingredients to be artificial and still have the product be called "All Natural." This is due to the 1-year-shelf-life demand, at least in part. Alas, 0.1% of an artifical flavoring can be quite powerful, so a teeny tiny bit can overwhelm any natural flavorings and end up tasting artificial. Even though it says "all natural" on the bottle.
#2 is self-explanatory.
3. New or different flavors can be difficult to introduce even if the flavor is excellent. And it's difficult to come up with cocktail recipes that suit the new/different flavor. Since bars are a huge part of the spirits industry, cocktails are by default a huge part of the reason to sell spirits. But if you can't get many people to try a new cocktail made with your new spiced rum, you don't sell much. It's much easier to produce a rum that can be substituted in any recipe that calls for rum or light rum or gold rum or whatever.
Look at all the work being done to promote Ten Cane. Moet-Hennesey is pushing this to no end, always towards the cocktail drinkers and/or bartenders. It's different, but not nearly as different as a spiced rum can be, and it's taking a huge marketing and promotion campaign to get it accepted. Just in the Boston area I've come across 3 places that have *weekly* Ten Cane "tastings" or "cocktail nights" just to push the stuff.
And Ten Cane is easier to push than spiced rum...
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[ This Message was edited by: Scottes 2007-11-21 12:40 ]
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Tipsy McStagger
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 21, 2004
Posts: 3673
From: HELL
| Posted: 2007-11-21 1:00 pm Permalink
..no need to shake it - it adds nothing to the flavor if you do. just pour it straight from the bottle on the rocks and enjoy!!
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The Granite Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 02, 2005
Posts: 817
From: Nashua, NH
| Posted: 2007-11-21 1:20 pm Permalink
I enjoy Spiced Rum! Especially in a bar where you can't get a Mai-Tai, or anything I'm very interested in.
I'll even admit that Captain Morgan was once my favorite rum. I was introduced to it in Root Beer, which I loved. I later even mixed it in with IBC Cream Soda, which is similar in color, and the mix of spiced rum and vanilla was nice. Of course, most of the time it comes in Coke at your local bar, and I'll drink that in a pinch. But NEVER in Pepsi.
I honestly haven't had many different types besides Captain Morgan and Sailor Jerry. I'd like to try some.
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Suffering Bastard of Stumptown
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 09, 2005
Posts: 648
From: PDX
| Posted: 2007-11-21 1:28 pm Permalink
Redrum's Voodoo Spiced Rum is cool simply for the packaging. The flavor is nothing to write home about. But it's cool to have a bottle of it. coffin shaped with a tiki on it. what's not to like?
Sailor Jerry surprised me with being so fruity. i was expecting something more earthy, but I found that it was a rum you could have with a little soda and ice quite easily.
These are the only two I am willing to have at this point. Cap'n Morg'n is nasty. I avoid Bacardi except for 151 (cuz its the only 151 I can get around here). and otherwise, i have little reason to try the others.
but then I am not quite the connoisseur that Scottes is.
is it odd that so far only New Englanders have piped in on this thread? (except for Tipsy)
..sb
[ This Message was edited by: Suffering Bastard in Maine 2007-11-21 13:29 ]
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pappythesailor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 07, 2005
Posts: 1566
From: Mass.
| Posted: 2007-11-21 1:49 pm Permalink
According to Tipsy's "From", he could be in Chelsea.
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Mr. NoNaMe
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 10, 2006
Posts: 1919 | Posted: 2007-11-22 10:28 am Permalink
I just did a quick taste test. Montecristo Speiced Rum is way better than Sailor Jerry's.
SJ's tasted salty compared to the Monti. The Monti tasted like Christmas.
I bet the spiced rums sell best during the holidays.
I still have a bottle of Kuya infused rum. I seem to remember that that one actually tastes like rum and coke when it is just over ice. It has been in the bar sealed for a year with the $3.99 blowout special tag still on it. It is still good, right? At least not really any worse than fresh? 
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Scottes
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 490
From: A Little North Of Boston
| Posted: 2007-11-22 12:22 pm Permalink
Pappy: Chelsea... ROFL! I was with a bunch of folks from Boston and one whined about the toll on the Tobin going up. Another quipped "They could double it and I'd still pay just to get out of Chelsea."
Mr. NoNaMe: The Montecristo Spiced is supposed to be very, very good. As good as Foursquare Spiced, which is certainly excellent. I hope to get a bottle of the Montecristo one of these days.
And yes, the Kuya is still good. WELL, as good as it was when it went into the bottle.
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The Mayor Of Exotica
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 09, 2005
Posts: 392
From: Boston
| Posted: 2007-11-25 12:59 pm Permalink
As loathe as I am to admit it, I was in a band once, the official drink of which was Capt'n & Capt'n. It's just like a Capt'n & Coke, except instead of pouring coke in a glass of 1 oz. of Capt'n and ice, you pour another oz. of Capt''n. That's a recipe just about any bartender I've come across can nail, first time!
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jpmartdog
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 27, 2005
Posts: 650
From: Amesbury, Mass
| Posted: 2007-11-25 2:17 pm Permalink
captain morgans makes me hurl, blechhhh
I do like that pirate style bumbo, or bimbo, or dildo, or whatever it was.
That stuff was delish! and it is rum with spices... go figure!
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 5272
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2007-11-25 2:37 pm Permalink
All rum starts its life as some PGA and "spices" tossed ina barrel and aged. So, Spiced Rum may not be any sort of evil sacrilege, just a different recipe for the same thing we are always drinking.
Just don't tell me Coconut Rum gets a bad shake.
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Chip and Andy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 13, 2004
Posts: 2277
From: Corner table, Molokai Lounge, Mai-Kai.
| Posted: 2007-11-26 06:32 am Permalink
Yes, I think Spiced Rum does get an unfair amount of bad press.
And, saying that I am not one in favor of most spiced rums... I find the few of them I have tried to have a synthetic taste, or synthetic aftertaste, and most of the ones I have tried have a weird mouthfeel like I just ate some cloves or something.
I love the Capt'n Morgan commercials, but don't care for the rum (it is OK in Dr. Pepper...). I don't like the aftertaste I get from Sailor Jerry's. And I can't recall the other two spiced rums I have tried sort-of recently, which shows how outstanding they were....
I lump most of the spiced rums in with most of the flavored rums.... I will take a 'good' rum and add whatever I need to it to make my drink. I control the amount and quality of the additions and I can make only what I need for the task at hand.
But that is just my opinion. And listening to my opinion is dangerous because I drink.
.... Pappy the Sailor, I have a bottle of Sailor Jerry's under the bar. When you finally make it down to my place I will pour you a nice big cocktail.
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The Gnomon
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 01, 2007
Posts: 1293
From: MD-DC-VA
| Posted: 2007-11-27 09:15 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-11-25 14:17, jpmartdog wrote:
captain morgans makes me hurl, blechhhh
I do like that pirate style bumbo, or bimbo, or dildo, or whatever it was.
That stuff was delish! and it is rum with spices... go figure!
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Yep. Bumbo seems to be the original spiced rum. No doubt that's why Captain Morgan call theirs Captain Morgan. Bumbo is not a particularly attractive sounding name. Sounds like Bo that comes out of someone's Bum. I'm guessing that's why commercial bumbo is called spiced rum. Fortunately, homemade bumbo is great and doesn't require that you make your own rum. You just make it like the pirates did. Find rum. Spice it up. I haven't had the desire to check out everyone's commercial bumbos, but I'm sure there are some that are decent enough. The ones I have tried were not impressive, especially, CM.
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Mr. NoNaMe
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 10, 2006
Posts: 1919 | Posted: 2007-11-27 6:37 pm Permalink
Got a little ginger in ya?
Ginger slices in white rum. (or dark?) Several slices. Who cares what brand! Shake it once in a while. Taste it straight in three days time. Not spicey enough? Let it go longer.
Remember!! You only want to think it is spicey. Not know it spicey right off the rim.
"Hmm....that is kinda spicey!?" Or..."Is that some sort of "spice" I taset?" Or.... "WHOOOAAAA, That is freakin spySAYYY"
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conchchowder
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 04, 2009
Posts: 47 | Posted: 2009-08-26 12:57 am Permalink
With the release, and shameless promotion at the Mai Kai, of Seven Tiki Rum, I thought it is time to re-visit this thread.
People are now ordering Seven Tiki Barrels.
I didn't care for it.
Your thoughts?
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