Post #314304 by Swanky on Fri, Jun 22, 2007 10:06 AM

On 2007-06-08 09:50, martiki wrote:
Folks,

In order to keep this simple:

Lemon Hart 80 is a rum from Guyana made with a molasses derived from demerara sugar. It is aged in oak, and may or may not have a touch of caramel color added to balance its color profile. Most producers try to keep it under wraps if they add anything to the spirit. But most likely, as compared with other rums from the region like El Dorado, it is naturally full bodied with a little residual sugar from being a combination of pot and column distillation.

Bacardi Select is a molasses-based rum that is column distilled to 190 proof so that it is virtually vodka, then aged (as it is required by PR law) for 1 year. It is, however aged in stainless steel which imparts no character. It is then heavily colored, possibly flavored, and very lightly sweetened. It takes very little sugar to smooth out any spirit.

So what you are tasting with Lemon Hart is rum, and what you are tasting with Bacardi is sweetened flavored vodka. If you prefer it on your palate and in your drinks, then it's simply your taste preference, which is of course fine and up to you, but know that they are not particularly comparable.

Pot distilled is the prefered way. And all rum is 170-200 proof when distilled, and virtually the same as vodka. Colorless, high octane hooch. Single or double distilled will make a difference in this first product. Double distilled will give more flavor. It is the aging that makes it what it is for the most part. The barrels, the flavorings, etc. You can actually take the distilled starting stuff and put it in a barrel and make other liquor with it if you add the right stuff and certainly the right barrel. But rum is often aged in Bourbon barrels...