Post #243271 by Chip and Andy on Sun, Jul 16, 2006 4:37 PM

I have an advantage at the moment and that is I have four people in the house right now, four people who are all willing to be my taste testers. I took the opportunity and pour some rum for everyone then in my best interviewer voice asked them about what each rum tastes like.

We sampled some St James and some Appleton and here is what we think:

St James Royal Ambre: A two year rum with an easy nose and slight hints of caramel. A bit astringent overall and the oak comes through on the nose and very weak on the palate.

St James Extra Old (Black label): Much smoother overall with much higher notes of oak. All around sweeter.

Nothing overly remarkable about either of these two. Very solid rums worthy of being on any home bar. The Wahine is starting to feel all warm and squishy inside by this point...

Then, on to the Appleton!

Appleton Estate VX: Very smooth overall with very pleasant notes of oak and slight hints of something 'green' like fresh cane.

Appleton Estate Extra: A 12 year blend that everyone liked, but no one but me was willing to drink straight. Very smooth, very sweet on the nose and palate, then the alcohol, then a sweet lingering after taste.

And, with special thanks to Helztiki, a special sampling of Appleton 21 year: Everyone loved this one, is was smooth and clear in taste, no harsh or 'hotness' to it. I am going to guess that since this was the last one tried and everyone was starting to feel (and talk) like a pirate by now, this one would have had a better description if we had started here.

Again, for those of you late to the game, do please continue to tell us about your tastings of Lime, Curacao and Orgeat.

For those of you excited about getting a complete set of taste profiles, tell us about your rums because very soon we will be pulling all of our tastes together into one glass for what we hope to be the best Mai Tai you have ever had.

Who wants a Mai Tai?

[ Edited by: chip and andy 2007-06-25 15:02 ]