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he wrote alliteratively.
I know little about rum and haven't been terribly interested in drinking any of it straight, although I do like Pusser's. Now that I've been drawn into cocktails, I'd like to give rum a try but the liquor store shelves, even here in OLCCLand, are intimidating. Could I get some recommendations for a moderately-priced, cocktail friendly option? Or options?
With rums, are price and quality a direct correlation, or are there rums that are over-priced due to marketing?
Well, it depends on how all into it you want to get.
There are few spirit families more seemingly bottomless than rum.
For years I survived with only Mt. Gay Eclipse and the odd bottle of Myers Dark.
Unfortunately, lately, things have kind of spiraled out of control in the Rum section of the basement.
What sort of cocktails do you want to try to make?
For 1930s era cocktails you pretty much just need a light Cuban style rum, say Flor de Cana Extra Dry or Mathusalem Platino, and a Jamaican style Dark, like Coruba or Goslings.
Things get a bit more complicated with Tiki Drinks. I believe Jeff Berry makes some specific recommendations in "Sippin' Safari".
My current favorite is Barbancourt Rhum 5 Star (or Reserve Speciale). Really tasty stuff.
By the by, the bottom of the price ladder in rum contains some of the most dreadful spirits you can possibly waste your money on.
Not to muddy the waters here, but I think that a lot of the rums have differing flavor profiles.
I think a classic is a Dark and Stormy. Truly the sum of its parts, what you put into it is what you taste. Good ginger beer and Gosling's. That's it. Try making this same drink with spiced rum or dark rum and you will really taste the difference in the liquors.
In other rum drinks, especially those Tiki concoctions, I am not sure how important brand is because there are so many other things going on. Mai Tais, Zombies, Pina Coladas, Daiquiri...I think you could get away with lessor liquors here.
Sipping rums are a different breed of cat altogether.
Sippin' Saffari by Beachbum Berry is a killer book for rum. The Pimento Liqueur recipe I used from the book is almost finished.
Dark and Stormy is one of my all time favorites. Ever. Seriously. Especially with Cock n' Bull Gingerbeer.
I love Appleton Estate, Barbancourt and Goslings all quit a bit.
Depending on your liquor cost at your place, Jeff, Cruzan should not be overlooked if your boss is a little on the frugal side. Like mine.
For $11.00 a bottle, it is quite mixable. I don't think the price gouging for rum is quite the same as it is for Tequila or Ca. Cabs.
Hopefully Eje's selections will be more easily available in Oregon soon, because they sound really cool.
I always keep a bottle of Gosling's Black Seal on hand for Dark and Stormy's. Otherwise, my rum collection is rather sparse.
Rum!
At my home bar, where I can make just about any rum-based cocktail, I always stock, minimally, the following.
Coruba (Dark Jamaican) - Dark, with touches of caramel and molasses. Great sub for Gosling's in a dark and stormy, and utilized in a helluva lot of tiki drinks.
Lemon Hart 151 (Demerara) - Dark, smokey, woody, deep; this was the base for many of Don the Beachcomber's drinks.
Appleton V/X (Gold Jamaican) - An exquisite mixing rum, and a good "starter" for sipping.
Cruzan Light (St Croix, Virgin Islands) - Aged a bit and with very full flavor. Use anywhere a Puerto Rican is called for (not a lot of non-Bacardi Puerto Rican Rum available here)
Cruzan Dark (St Croix, Virgin Islands) - Works for anything calling for Puerto Rican Gold or Dark rums. Similar profile to the white, but a bit richer.
This is a nice selection of rums, non of which are going to bust your wallet. With these and plenty of syrups and juices, you can make just about anything in the Beachbum books (Grog Log, Intoxica, Sippin' Safari). The Cruzan light can be used in just about any classic cocktail asking for Rum. If you like the Pusser's, go get yourself some Orange Juice and Coco Lopez, make a Painkiller. That's one fantastic drink, though Pusser's does just fine by itself.
For sippers, give a shot to the Barbancourt, it's available in 3-start, 5-star, and 15 year. The higher you go with it the better it gets.
Rum is... well, like eje said, just about bottomless. It's a very wide-ranging spirit.
Blair beat me to it! And after a late night, too!
I'll add that I'm in love with Demeraras, at least 15 year old. El Dorado is good.
Oh and if cost is no object, get yourself a bottle of Pyrat's Cask 1623. Oh, and share (you may want to charge for sipping fees
cmh
Having opened that particular can of worms . . . a co-worker of mine is going to the Virgin Islands in April, including at least one visit to the British side. He rashly offered to bring me back a bottle or two and my mind immediately went to British whiskies I haven't found here (good vatted malts, for instance), but maybe I should have some specific rum request, instead. Any suggestions along that line?
Jeff, take a gander at the selection at Ministry of Rum.
Callwood looks particularly interesting:
I've been playing phone/email tag with Ed at Ministry of Rum for 8 months now. It's an obvious connection for those of us lost in Oregon, & hopefully we will start seeing some of these coming in. That said, Pearl Specialty has received OLCC approval for La Favorite Amber Rhum & El Dorado 15-year, which should open the doors to a great many others.
On another note, however, all of eje's earlier recommendations are in fact available in Oregon.
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