Post #726515 by Hurricane Hayward on Sat, Aug 30, 2014 1:44 AM

Mahalo Q-tiki and djmont for the perfect set-up for my promised list of recommended white rums. As mentioned, I'm lacking many of the top-rated rums from some of the popular review sites, but I have a decent collection of nearly 20 white rums that I've collected over the years. My bar is built on the foundation of Beachbum Berry's appendices and ingredient recommendations, but I've recently branched out and included some impressive new brands as the rum landscape continues to expand. I too use the daiquiri as a standard in evaluating mixing rums, rating them on a 1-5 scale.

Hurricane Hayward's top white mixing rums

• Havana Club Añejo Blanco (Cuba) – 3.3
• Plantation 3 Stars (Jamaica/Barbados/Trinidad) – 3.2
• Papa’s Pilar Blonde (Central America/Caribbean) – 3.0
• Flor de Cana Extra Dry (Nicaragua) – 2.9
• Cruzan Estate Light (U.S. Virgin Islands) – 2.8
• Don Q Cristal (Puerto Rico) – 2.8
• Mount Gay Special Reserve (Barbados) – 2.8
• Mount Gay Eclipse Silver (Barbados) – 2.8
• Tanduay Silver (Philippines) – 2.8
• Clement Premiere Canne (Martinique) – 2.7
• Ron Matusalem Platino (Dominican Republic) – 2.7
• Doorly’s Macaw (Barbados) – 2.7
• Tommy Bahama White Sand (Barbados) – 2.7
• Appleton White (Jamaica) – 2.6
• El Dorado Superior (Guyana) – 2.5
• Vizcaya Cristal (Dominican Republic) – 2.5
  Special mention:
• Wray & Newphew White Overproof (Jamaica) – 3.0

As thePorpoise can attest, Plantation 3 Stars is indeed fantastic. It's a welcome newcomer, along with Papa's Pilar, and I look forward to working both into regular rotation. Havana Club, of course, is hard to come by in these parts so I only use it on special occasions.

I continue to stand by Flor de Cana, Cruzan and Don Q as the workhorses of the bar. They may not be as distinctive as some others, but it's hard to beat the value for the price. And often all you need is a good solid base rum, and these do the job nicely.

I consider the Mount Gay rums above average, but have not done a lot of mixing with them. Same goes for Tanduay, which is new to the Florida market and impressive in my limited experience with it.

Clement Premiere Canne is the only white agricole on my list. Its uses are limited, but I'm happy to have it as an option. The rest are solid but unspectacular. Ron Matusalem Platino is fine in drinks that call for a dry, Cuban-style rum. I'm a huge fan of El Dorado's aged rums, but the standard white rum is nothing special. The Superior White is not to be confused with the Cask Aged White, which I understand is an excellent rum that I've got on my short list of potential purchases. Others I have in my sights include Bacardi 1909, Brugal Titanium, Diplomatico Blanco Reserva, Denizen, Starr, Oronoco, Elements, Banks, Neisson, Caliche, et al.

Wray & Newphew doesn't really fit with the rest here, but I had to mention it since I consider it a crucial rum to include in your arsenal, if only to make Jasper's Rum Punch.

Okole maluna!