Post #794398 by Hurricane Hayward on Wed, Apr 10, 2019 1:47 PM

On 2019-04-09 12:34, Quince_at_Dannys wrote:
The other thing that would be lacking in a S&C/Xaymaca blend is the considerable amount of molasses that is added to a dark rum like Kohala Bay after the aging process. It's what brings a lot of the flavor and color in Coruba and similar offerings (that color ain't all coming from the barrel). I'm sure the old Dagger rum had a ton of it as well. Smith & Cross and Xaymaca are very pure rums, I don't think either one is "dosed."

A tantalizing prospect is that the raw ingredients for the blend that was sold as "Kohala Bay" are probably commercially available in some form somewhere. The biggest advantage the bottlers have is more stock rums at their disposal, as well as different proofs to bring in the right amount of heat vs. sweet.

I will continue to beat the drum for the Coruba/Xaymaca blend for everyday use; I found it to be almost identical to KB other than lacking a few subtle "bright" notes that I was unable to bring back with the rums I had on hand.

Quince_at_Dannys,

I believe you are correct on the "dosing" aspect of Kohala Bay and Dagger. Though if they're produced 100% in Jamaica, they're prohibited from dosing with sugar. Caramel color, however, is fair game and obviously used with a heavy hand.

I'm very close to putting Coruba/Xaymaca to the test vs. the other top suggested replacements. But first, I wanted to test the suggested Dagger replacement from Trader Tom and Hiphipahula ...

I like to do my tests totally blind so I'm not clouded by any expectations of what I'm tasting. In this test, I put three rums head to head vs. Kohala Bay. The closest to the flavor, compared to Kohala Bay, was once again the old standby of 1:1 Smith & Cross and El Dorado 12. The addition of Lemon Hart actually detracted, IMHO, and that blend finished third.

So what was No. 2? Out of left field, we have a new obscure rum that I'm revealing here for the first time. It's eerily reminiscent of Kohala Bay, believe it or not, and possibly includes some of the stock alluded to above. There are other rums in the blend, so it's not promoted as a Jamaican rum, but the nose is very funky and the taste very much in the Jamaican wheelhouse. If you ever see this on the shelf, be sure to check it out ...

More on this obscure new find coming soon

So for my ultimate blind tasting showdown, I will be comparing these rums and blends to see which comes closest to Kohala Bay, both neat and in cocktails ...

• Equal parts Smith & Cross and El Dorado 12 (the current #1 suggested replacement)
• 5 parts Appleton Reserve, 1 part Lemon Hart 151, 1 part Hamilton Black (current #2)
• 4 parts Coruba, 2 parts Hamilton Black, 1 part Plantation O.F.T.D. (current #3)
• Equal parts Plantation Xaymaca and Coruba (the new contender)
• Red Heart (the wildcard out of left field)