Post #368576 by BrickHorn on Sat, Mar 22, 2008 12:37 PM

On 2008-03-21 21:07, Chip and Andy wrote:

On 2008-03-20 20:47, BrickHorn wrote:
Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the Extra Old and Hors d'Age?

I have, actually.

The Extra Old (Royal Ambre) is a blend of 4 year and younger rums and qualifies as an overproof at 45% abv, with high notes of vanilla and oak.

The Hors d'age (Black label) is blend of rums older than 4 years and clocks in at 43% abv with the oak being much more predominate note.

The aroma, well that is unfortunate for both bottles because there are a lot of distracting notes on the nose that do not translate onto the tongue. I wouldn't use either bottle as a sipping rum.

I prefer the Hors d'Age in my Mai-Tai's because I think the smoothness that comes from the age and the woody high notes compliment the spicy notes in the Jamaican rums.

Someone commented about mixing young and old rums to keep the life in the drink... I agree. Generally. Younger rums have the life and heat of youth. Older rums have mellowed and gained a lot of woody bits from the cask. One should compliment the other.

However, for my Mai-Tais, I prefer two older rums so that the drink stays rich and complex. I don't like a lot of heat in my Mai-Tais, I like the complex play between the subtle undertones of the regional influence on the rums.

Good points. I'll have to pick up a bottle of Hors d'Age.

I agree for mai tais that an aged rum works best, which is why I prefer 2 oz. of Appleton's Extra. I also agree that the young rum is an essential component of many drinks. For example, I make a drink of my own recipe in which I typically use 1 oz. V/X and 1 oz. Myers. With this combo, it's a great drink. Last night, out of curiosity, I tried it with a new rum combination: 1 oz. Lemon Hart demerara and 1 oz. Appleton's Extra. The drink was downright AWFUL, despite the fact that it contained, overall, a higher quality/price rum combo.