Post #770763 by lunavideogames on Thu, Dec 1, 2016 12:34 PM

I got a bottle recently as well. I had heard that many people do not like it, so I went into it with very mixed reviews. It is a much better deal than St Elizabeths so I was hopeful that it would make a good sub. I am a huge fan of the dram, one of my all time favorite ingredients in tiki recipes.

We tried it against my friends home made recipe. First, the smell is a lot funkier than the St E. This put me off a bit at first but the nose doesn't always know best in flavoring of booze. At first sip I noticed a much bolder flavor than the St E. It was obvious to me that Ed had mixed a funky Jamaican rum with his formula. As we sat and pondered the flavors, we tried the home made against the Hamilton's. We both thought that the Hamilton's was favored by both of us. We also both thought it was superior to St E.

Knowing Ed's knowledge and background with rums, I would say that the funky rum is more likely the more authentic flavor that would have been used in classic drams. I feel like his is much spicier than the classic would have been, but I enjoy the spice. I have never tried any mid century drams, so I am just taking a guess that Ed did his research and tried his best to replicate the recipes he has tried in the past.

I have not had time to make too many cocktails with the new dram, but if my first taste holds up in drinks, I am switching up to Hamilton's Pimento Dram for good. Far better value and flavor than other drams I have tried on the market.