Post #123828 by KuKuAhu on Fri, Nov 5, 2004 5:57 PM

I was first introduced to Cruzan rum on St. John a number of years ago and have been a huge fan ever since. They make the finest mixable light rum in the world as far as I am concerned.

When Berry wrote in Intoxica that he recommended using VI rums in place of Puerto Rican brands I felt vindicated having bastardized his Grog Log drinks with Cruzan already.

For those that enjoy the Black Strap, I cannot recommend enough that you try a good ol ti' punch with it. The molasses flavor really comes through when cut with water.

I have been making them with homemade blond Hawaiian sugar syrup, and because of the rums inherent sweetness, you can really cut back on the gomme. This rum was just made for water, lime and bitters.

You might also try a sort of reverse cuba libre I've been mixing on hot days. Rather than using a light colored rum with dark coca cola and lime, try the Black Strap with 7-Up and lemon in the same proportions as your usual cuba libre. The taste is similar, but a little fresher almost. Crisper.

I've sampled every flavor and or variety of Cruzan on the market, and tend to bring back bottles from St. J since it's such a steal there ($3-5 a fifth). They are all good, though the Junkanu (now called citrus) is a tad bitter in the aftertaste and the 120 isn't terribly more useful than the 151.

The standard Cruzan dark is acceptable. Mount Gay is a comparable rum to it.

They really shine in their coconut rum, mango rum, light rum, single barrel, and black strap.

Cheers!

Ahu