Post #737070 by JenTiki on Tue, Feb 10, 2015 9:08 AM

Here's the thing ... the categories of light, amber (or gold), and dark really don't mean anything since rum isn't consistently regulated between producing countries, and color can come from the barrel, or from added caramel color, or just the lack of filtering to remove the color that developed during aging.

Also, the flavor has much more to do with which country is producing the rum, rather than what color it is. Dark Jamaican rums are quite different from dark Spanish style rums (from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, etc) or Navy style rums. If Beachbum Berry calls for a dark Jamaican rum, it is a specific flavor profile he's looking for, so it's not necessarily interchangeable with say a Demerara or Puerto Rican dark rum. As for Zaya, it's too sweet for most cocktails unless it's the only sweet ingredient. Best to keep that one for sipping and only if you really like the sweetness of it. I loved it when I first starting tasting rum nine years ago, but it is too sweet for me now.

All that said ... it's really up to you! Experiment with what you have and see what you like best. The beauty of cocktails is that you can make them with whatever you want to please your palate. The thing to watch out for though, especially with this crowd, is that if you make significant change to a classic cocktail's ingredients, you should probably change the name of it. A Painkiller isn't a Painkiller if it doesn't have Pussers. Martinis aren't made with vodka! And a Mai Tai only has one kind of juice!