Post #345612 by Chip and Andy on Fri, Nov 23, 2007 7:29 AM

.... I never substitute anything else for the 12 year old Appleton . . .

Always. Never. Only. Overly broad and general statements like this are dangerous. Especially in the cocktail world. One should never go at a cocktail with absolutes.

Nor should you just pour willy-nilly whatever you have that is close to the recipe. All rums are not created equal. (the same is true for a lot of vodka and most tequila and I don't just mean the name-brand stuff) The recipe of the drink you are making is there for a reason and one or more people have worked that recipe to some sort of perfection. If the recipe calls for something specific you should try as hard as you can to find and use that something.

Now, having said that... It is perfectly acceptable to use whatever you want in your cocktail. If you can't find or afford a 12 year old rum, by all means use what you have. It is your drink, pour whatever you like.

The point I am going for is people who say they never or they only bother me because what they don't say is how they got to that absolute position. Did you decide that was your favorite and stop because you had found your level of perfection? Did someone who's opinion you value give the knowledge to you and you fear to challenge it because you trust their opinion?

Or, are you like me and you got behind your bar one night and said "This smells good, I wonder would it would taste like in a Mai-Tai (or whatever cocktail you are making)?" Which was followed by either "this sucks" or "well, it could use a bit of..." And after a while I came up with a list of things that pair well together and a list in my head of pairs not to try again.

Now, I know I say all the time you should always or never in regards to cocktails so I am just as guilty. So, in order that we can all cleanse our collective cocktail sins in this regard, you must now violate anything you regard as an absolute in regards to cocktails. If you only use a float of Myers on your Mai-Tai, you must make your next one without it. If you never use anything but a specific rum, your next cocktail has to use a different rum.

It is for the greater good. And who knows, maybe one of us will come up with something exciting....