Rum Lovers - Good Quality Rums

[Ethan Bentley]

The credit for this thread has to go to MisterCairo, I hope you don't mind.

Good quality Rums, does anyone have favourites?
The sort of rum that you can drink neat, effectively the rum equivalent of a Single Malt Scotch.

My personal favourites are of the Dark Rum variety and I tend to drink them neat or with a single chunk of ice.

Pussers

OR Woods; this has a nice thickness and a great flavour.

Third preference, which is more readily available would probably be Lambs.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Quite a few listed in this thread.

My brother's 40th birthday party on Saturday was a luau, so I brought some Sailor Jerry for the drinks. Some folks on the FL recommended it, if I recall. I've drank very little rum in my life, but I tried some of this neat, and it was nice, for the price.


Brad

 

[Opas Coat]

I don't drink allot of rum however when I do its Captain Morgan Special or spiced. Usually with a Coke but once and a wile straight (neat?).

 

[CopperNY]

Ron Zacapa 23 Anos.

cane juice rather than molasses. solera method aging.

it's what i use to convince people that rum isn't just a 'mixer'.

 

[JennyLou]

Rum is probably my favorite liquor. I usually stick with Malibu flavored rums. I'm not sure what to look for on the higher end of rums.

 

[CopperNY]

neither did i. i read a bunch of reviews on rum oriented boards/blogs and then tried the best rated that i could get locally.

the Ron Zacapa is around $34/750ml. i think it's fair and the local booze snobs all expect it to have cost more.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Rum is probably my favorite liquor. I usually stick with Malibu flavored rums. I'm not sure what to look for on the higher end of rums.

I've never come across any flavoured malibu, what's available?

 

[rkwilker]

I like Pusser's and Captian Morgan spiced. Two good selections. I can recall sitting in a bar in Tortolla with two young ladies watching the waves come in with a bottle of Pusser's. Well...ok...I can remember some of it......Also Appleton's is pretty good.

 

[JennyLou]

I've never come across any flavoured malibu, what's available?

Here are some flavors of Malibu Rum: Coconut, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Mango and Banana

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I like Pusser's and Captian Morgan spiced. Two good selections. I can recall sitting in a bar in Tortolla with two young ladies watching the waves come in with a bottle of Pusser's. Well...ok...I can remember some of it......Also Appleton's is pretty good.

Sounds like a charming evening,
I was on a pier last night and had some Lamb's Navy and a pipe by the sea.

 

[MisterCairo]

Gee, I've inspired a thread already! Honoured.

A very nice snifter of rum that I've come across is Mount Gay Extra Old from Barbados. Here is what one review says about it:

Appearance: Deep golden brown like a well aged bourbon.

Nose: Sweet and smooth with lots of molasses and oak.

Palate: Smooth with a little bit of alcohol warmth, which you expect in a rum. Characteristic rum flavour with some vanilla, spice and nice toasted oak flavours. Not as sweet as you would think based on the nose. A warm clean finish with some pepper, lingering oak and a subtle sweetness.

The Mount Gay Extra Old is definitely a sipping rum with subtle flavours. In terms of sweetness it falls between the Flora De Cana 7 and the Havana Club 7. The nose is very good and the flavour is subtle, so a rum and Coke is probably not a good idea.


It's available in Canada, just under $40 a bottle depending where you can find it. If your Ontario LCBO doesn't have it in stock, you can ask for it to be ordered in.

 

[Murph351]

If you like Ron Zacapa you owe it to yourself to try:
Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
It is an excellent sipping rum and at $25 a bottle a great deal.

 

[Tomasso]

I attended a Rum Tasting Event a couple weeks ago. Premium sipping rum is the rage. Here's a good Rum forum for your perusal.

 

[Undertow]

Pussers is fine; good enough to sip although I find it has a little bite.

I've never argued against Cruzan Black Strap, although I'm personally of the notion it's better with Coke.

Cruzan 2 year, in my opinion, is excellent considering how inexpensive and available it is. Sure, it's not the greatest by any means, but it's surprisingly smooth and good for an every day sipper.

Mount Gay is superb and I've never heard anyone speak badly of it. Very smooth and definitely a sipper.

I've always enjoyed Myer's Dark Rum because it is silky smooth and tastes excellent by itself. If you insist on mixing it, try it with a 1/2 shot Kahlua and some cream (like a white Russian). The drink is called a Jamaican High Wind.

 

[CopperNY]

If you like Ron Zacapa you owe it to yourself to try:
Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
It is an excellent sipping rum and at $25 a bottle a great deal.

will do. haven't seen it locally, but i'll ask at the store.



Undertow: Cruzan Blackstrap is the local first choice for Dark and Stormys. something about the aroma reminds me of raisin, clove and nutmeg. first time i smelled it i said "Christmas in a bottle".

 

[Geesie]

Does anyone know of a good quick reference guide about the characteristic differences of jamaican, barbados, puerto rican, etc? I can find that sort of thing for scotch regions but I haven't seen a guide to rum producing regions.

 

[Arcot]

Well the rum that really opened my eyes up to what rums can be (more so than just mixers) and is still one I keep for special occasions is definatly the following.

Ron Zacapa Centenario, 23 anos

It was a very VERY pleasent introduction into the world of rums that until that point consisted of Malibu, Bundaberg and Bacardi.

However the standard rum I have on the bar these days for mixing or straight is Matusalem Gran Reserva. Grown quite fond of it recently.

 

[CaptainB]

Around here I've never seen the Zacapa 23y. for 25 $ . In Austria it's about three times as much...
Anyway, it also was my introduction to the rum world and I was convinced immediately - I found something of bananas and cherry and also chocolate in the taste. It is exceptionally smooth.

Right now I'm sipping at my first glass of the recently acquired Havana Club 7y. There's a dark chocolate flavor that's more pronounced than the Zacapa's, also I find it less fruity with a noticeable hint of vanilla and caramel. It's also a bit harsher, but not as much as expected.

Best regards,
Captain B

 

[Cigarband]

You can't go wrong with any of these.

Goslings Black Seal-The official rum of the official drink of Bermuda, the "Dark and Stormy"

Ron Matusalem

Ron Bacardi 8 year old

El Dorado 15 year old

Pyrat

Any Mt. Gay bottlings

10 Cane

and hundreds of others actually.

I've been a rum drinker for years while the fashion came and went and is now returning. So glad to see people rediscovering this fabulous drink. There are so many wonderful noble rums, that the tasting adventure could last you the rest of your life. At the risk of offending
some, Captain Morgan, and Malibu, should properly be called distilled alcohol with spices and flavorings added. They are nothing like a really fine rum. They have however,
caused many to begin the search for something good. So they have served a purpose beyond getting college students drunk for profit. Seek out the best, and forget the rest.

 

[Temeti]

Bundaberg all the way... usually with lime and dry or coke