Cruzan Rum - How's it Rate?

I bought a bottle of light and black strap Cruzan rum at Trader Joes this weekend. What's the scoop on Cruzan?

The dark was real molasses tasting (I do like molasses, but usually on grits with a fried egg on top, bacon, sausage, some buttermilk biscuits, burp!).

I just bought a bottle of coconut Cruzan. It's ok. I like it tons better that Malibu though!

I love that Black Strap Cruzan. Tastes good for sipping on the rocks.

I made up a variation of a Mai Tai recipe using Black Strap and it turned out to be, dare I say, quite good!

Take a big rocks glass and fill with shaved ice. One of those Don Ho glasses works well.

Rabid Mongoose:

2oz Bacardi white rum
2oz Cruzan Black Strap
1.5oz Sweet and Sour
.75oz TV Orgeat Syrup
.5oz fresh squeezed Key Lime juice

Combine the shaved ice and booze in a handheld shaker and shake well. Pour back into the rocks glass.

I tried it with regular limes but it just didn't have the pizzang that the Key Lime juice gave it. Damn tasty and very potent. My new favorite drink. Try it! Gotta use key limes though, even if they're from Mexico.

[ Edited by: Kono on 2004-07-04 21:57 ]

Here's what Beachbum Berry says:

"VIRGIN ISLANDS RUMS are similar to their Puerto Rican counterparts but mellower and generally more palatable (whenever he can, the Beachbum likes to substitute Virgin Islands rum in recipes that call for Puerto Rican). Cruzan markets a smooth white and a solid gold, as well as a lovely - and affordable - "single-barrel" sipping rum."

Cruzan is my personal cheap-rum favorite!

Here's a cheap-ass, somewhat tiki drink I like to binge on.

1/2 glass cruzan rum of your choice
1/4 glass dole orange/strawberry/bannana juice
1/4 glass dole orange/pineaplle juice

voila, drunkedness awaits!

[ Edited by: chase_317 on 2004-07-16 12:53 ]

Two thumbs up on that Cruzan black strap rum and three cheers for Trader Joe's for their everchanging and always challenging selection of affordable booze for the home bar afficianado on a budget.

Cruzan single barrel is an excellent sipping rum.

And black strap is a big improvement on Myers's when the heavy stuff is called for.

I was working on creating a new drink that would be done with Don the Beachcomber style ingredients (I call it "The Combover"), and I tried using the Cruzan Black Strap as one of the ingredients, but the taste was too overwhelming (the caramely flavor stood out too much), so consider that if you're mixing the Black Strap with stuff that might get "buried in the mix".

Ran

I got to try the Black Strap at TikiMaxton's during the Portland Crawl, and it was yummy. Like kick_the_reverb says, though, it's a strong flavor, extremely molasses-y. A great sipping rum, and an interesting option for more simple drinks, like a cuba libre.

On 2004-06-28 17:08, Kono wrote:
Take a big rocks glass and fill with shaved ice. One of those Don Ho glasses works well.

Rabid Mongoose:

2oz Bacardi white rum
2oz Cruzan Black Strap
1.5oz Sweet and Sour
.75oz TV Orgeat Syrup
.5oz fresh squeezed Key Lime juice

Combine the shaved ice and booze in a handheld shaker and shake well. Pour back into the rocks glass.

I tried it with regular limes but it just didn't have the pizzang that the Key Lime juice gave it. Damn tasty and very potent. My new favorite drink. Try it! Gotta use key limes though, even if they're from Mexico.

Somebody PLEEEAAASSSEEE give this a try dammit. I need some feedback! The only difficult (maybe) ingredient is the fresh key lime juice, but I suppose you could sub bottled key lime juice if you had to. The key lime juice offsets the strong molasses flavor of the Black Strap nicely. I've started kicking the key lime juice up from .5oz to .75oz for a little more zip und zang. Keep it at .5oz for more of that molasses flavor.

It's a strong drink that goes down pretty smooth IMO. Even let me know if you don't like it as it is better to be hated than ignored. :wink:

I'm drinking a Rabid Mongoose right now (3rd one yow!) and it's tickling my palate, short circuiting my cerebral cortex and gut punching my liver in a workmanlike fashion as I type.

I fear the morning. Fortunately, I don't work tomorrow. :)

An excuse to by Black Strap and key limes? Sold. I'll have to give it a whirl.

In case I can't track down fresh key limes, have you tried making it with bottled key lime juice? I've found the bottled lime & lemon juices to be stronger than their fresh counterparts, I want to get the balance right. Maybe the bottled key lime juice isn't as concentrated.

On 2004-07-27 22:50, Humuhumu wrote:
An excuse to by Black Strap and key limes? Sold. I'll have to give it a whirl.

In case I can't track down fresh key limes, have you tried making it with bottled key lime juice? I've found the bottled lime & lemon juices to be stronger than their fresh counterparts, I want to get the balance right. Maybe the bottled key lime juice isn't as concentrated.

I haven't tried it with the bottled juice but I'll pick some up next time I swing by Publix. I actually haven't seen any real key limes in a while and I'm almost out, so the bottled juice may be the only way. The key lime juice that I saw didn't look like a concentrate, it looked just like juice in a clear bottle complete with pulp.

Thanks for trying it Humuhumu. Just don't drink four of them! Errggg, my head's a little tender.

love the cruzan rum, even all the different flavors.

favorite has to be the single barrel...bottles of that don't last long in my liquor cabinet...

On 2004-07-28 10:52, Kono wrote:

On 2004-07-27 22:50, Humuhumu wrote:
An excuse to by Black Strap and key limes? Sold. I'll have to give it a whirl.

In case I can't track down fresh key limes, have you tried making it with bottled key lime juice? I've found the bottled lime & lemon juices to be stronger than their fresh counterparts, I want to get the balance right. Maybe the bottled key lime juice isn't as concentrated.

I haven't tried it with the bottled juice but I'll pick some up next time I swing by Publix. I actually haven't seen any real key limes in a while and I'm almost out, so the bottled juice may be the only way. The key lime juice that I saw didn't look like a concentrate, it looked just like juice in a clear bottle complete with pulp.

Thanks for trying it Humuhumu. Just don't drink four of them! Errggg, my head's a little tender.

you can get key lime juice at William & Sonoma, I use it for PIE! It's kind of milky green though, and thick. They occasionally have key limes at trader joes, I love trader joes!

Kono:

Where do you get the TV Orgeat in Orlando? Or do you order it online?

Mahalo.

Scott

On 2004-08-12 14:34, new2tiki wrote:
Kono:

Where do you get the TV Orgeat in Orlando? Or do you order it online?

Mahalo.

Scott

I get it online. I think it came out to about $9 a bottle with shipping. Florida's quite lacking when it comes to exotic booze and exotic booze accessories.

Moderators can't moderate what I take out.

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2009-06-05 15:57 ]

we finally got a bev mo here in the almond capitol of the world. i finally have access to some of the good stuff! the cruzan single barrel is very very good(highly recommend), and i have also sampled the run of the mill cruzan and it ain't bad. i have yet to try the black strap but it is on the list!!!!

After striking out at Beverage Warehouse and Vendome, I finally picked up some Black Strap at Trader Joe's--$8.99! That's practically free! Now I just need to track down that damned key lime juice....

I was a bit leary at first, but now that I've been using Cruzan for a while now it has become one of my favorites. I really like using their flavored rums in mixers. You can't beat the price either.

On 2004-08-12 14:34, new2tiki wrote:
Where do you get the TV Orgeat in Orlando? Or do you order it online?

Scott,
Try "World Market". They carry Torani brand syrups, including Orgeat, at the stores here.

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2004/08/16/story3.html

JTD

On 2004-09-16 10:37, JTD wrote:

Scott,
Try "World Market". They carry Torani brand syrups, including Orgeat, at the stores here.

JTD

I use the Torani brand of Orgeat and Passion Fruit syrup. both are very good IMHO.

On 2004-09-16 10:37, JTD wrote:

On 2004-08-12 14:34, new2tiki wrote:
Where do you get the TV Orgeat in Orlando? Or do you order it online?

Scott,
Try "World Market". They carry Torani brand syrups, including Orgeat, at the stores here.

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2004/08/16/story3.html

JTD

I went there today and they did indeed have Torani orgeat syrup but no passion fruit syrup. Neat little store. The orgeat syrup was 5.99 for a 750ml. Thanks for the tip JTD.

Is there an online place to buy passion fruit, and other tropical syrups? I can't find any here in Milwaukee.

Here's a good one for passion fruit syrup (and other syrups):
go to http://www.tradervics.com and look under products / drink syrups

Not that this has anything to do with passion fruit syrup, but they happen to sell their Mai Tai glasses too.

[ Edited by: Hakalugi on 2004-10-05 08:14 ]

[ Edited by: Hakalugi on 2004-10-05 08:15 ]

I just recieved a bottle of Black Strap as a gift and I love it. The taste is a bit strong at first, but I really dig the rich caramel yumminess of it. I can't wait to try it in a mixer. Does anyone know if there is color added to Cruzan rums? I know Myers adds die to make it dark, so I was wondering if Black Strap added die to make it so dark.

Also, does anyone have an opinion of Bacardi 8? I like it very much and would like to get a hold of a bottle of Bacardi 12 to see what that's like.

CA folks,

Your Trader Joe's sells booze?!

Man, Maryland has GOT to get with it!

On 2004-10-21 10:33, Deery Luau wrote:
CA folks,

Your Trader Joe's sells booze?!

Man, Maryland has GOT to get with it!

hey deery,

we were talking to the clerk at beltway liquors last weekend. despite rumours, his inside info suggests that when it comes to liquor sales, maryland will NEVER get with it. our best bet is to go to d.c. or noVA...

As anyone tried the Cruzan Clipper 120 proof? I saw it yesterday at a liquor store that's new to me. I wonder what it might be useful for other than those evenings when the 80 proof just don't have enough kick but the 151 is gonna make it too tough to get to church the next morning.

For Orlando area TCers, Aloma Liquors on Aloma Ave by the Publix is worth checking out. The liquor selection in Florida sucks but this owner has a better than average selection of rum and liqueurs.

I finally picked up a bottle of Cruzan single barrel. Has to be the smoothest 80 proof rum I've ever had the pleasure to taste. Yum.

I was first introduced to Cruzan rum on St. John a number of years ago and have been a huge fan ever since. They make the finest mixable light rum in the world as far as I am concerned.

When Berry wrote in Intoxica that he recommended using VI rums in place of Puerto Rican brands I felt vindicated having bastardized his Grog Log drinks with Cruzan already.

For those that enjoy the Black Strap, I cannot recommend enough that you try a good ol ti' punch with it. The molasses flavor really comes through when cut with water.

I have been making them with homemade blond Hawaiian sugar syrup, and because of the rums inherent sweetness, you can really cut back on the gomme. This rum was just made for water, lime and bitters.

You might also try a sort of reverse cuba libre I've been mixing on hot days. Rather than using a light colored rum with dark coca cola and lime, try the Black Strap with 7-Up and lemon in the same proportions as your usual cuba libre. The taste is similar, but a little fresher almost. Crisper.

I've sampled every flavor and or variety of Cruzan on the market, and tend to bring back bottles from St. J since it's such a steal there ($3-5 a fifth). They are all good, though the Junkanu (now called citrus) is a tad bitter in the aftertaste and the 120 isn't terribly more useful than the 151.

The standard Cruzan dark is acceptable. Mount Gay is a comparable rum to it.

They really shine in their coconut rum, mango rum, light rum, single barrel, and black strap.

Cheers!

Ahu

Thanks, Ahu, for all the great ideas. Seeing the local price of Cruzan makes me ill. In my pre-tiki awareness days, I made a few trips around the Caribbean on cruises several times (years ago), and always saw people stocking up on rum to bring back home. Now I know why!
:drink:

Ditto the thanks. I haven't tried any of the flavored Cruzans yet. I will have to. Cheap as Cruzan is in the VI, it's still pretty darn reasonable here. Comparable to Bacardi in price but much tastier.

No problem. I'm always in the mood to talk about rum. It's so nice to see that Hanford has portioned up the forums a bit. It makes for better discussions I think.

Re: flavored Cruzan rums

The coconut is the best of that flavor you can buy. The great thing about Cruzan is the use of all natural flavorings in their flavored rum line. When you compare the taste side by side with some of the other brands (Malibu, Bacardi flavored rums, etc.) the difference is subtle, but surely there. I find the mango Mount Gay to be good stuff as well.

While these flavored brands didn't exist in the old tiki drinks of yore (save coconut), it gives us new age tropical bartenders a unique edge in the creation of new drinks and variations on old ones.

Many of these flavored rums are sweet enough to replace a similar flavored syrup. Not only do you get to bump up the alcoholic kick in a drink when you do this, it offers an easy path to morph an old tried and true concoction into a whole new beast.

The orange Cruzan as a substitute for Curacao in a Mai Tai for an example of liquer sustitution. Or even a mango Mai Tai for that matter.

The citrus rum can be used in place of sour mix on occasion (so long as you rebalance the sour with more or less fresh lime or lemon juice) for a less heavy cocktail with a sprightly profile.

Fun stuff for sure.

Ahu

[ Edited by: Ku Ku Ahu on 2004-11-05 19:03 ]

On 2004-10-30 08:47, Kono wrote:
As anyone tried the Cruzan Clipper 120 proof? I saw it yesterday at a liquor store that's new to me. I wonder what it might be useful for other than those evenings when the 80 proof just don't have enough kick but the 151 is gonna make it too tough to get to church the next morning.

kono- i have the clipper 120 in my bar. i definately choose it over bacardi 151. i just use a little more then the recipe calls for to make up the difference in proof. it is smoother in my opinion. but for the money your better off with demerara 151 which is the best.

note- bevmo will special order demerara for you if your closest store does not stock it. where i live it only costs me $24 and tax. and it arrives at the store in less than a week! which reminds me i'm down to only 1 bottle after the hooptylau. i better order more!

Cruzan does make a 151 version of the light rum. It has a red label.

It is certainly better than Bacardi.

That is what I was getting at when I mentioned that the 120 isn't as useful.

Now Demerara 151 is a whole different matter...good stuff as far as high proof juice goes.

Here's a small pic:

The label has since changed to look like a bright red version of the dark and light rum label.

You won't find it on the Cruzan website for some reason (?).

Ahu

[ Edited by: Ku Ku Ahu on 2004-11-06 01:26 ]

I've got the Lemon Hart 151 and it is a step above the rest, but I go easy on it because I have to mail order it from California. It's not available in Florida. El Dorado's the only demerera that you can get here that I know of.

I've got a bottle of Cruzan 151 but it's a 2yo dark rum and the label is nothing like that. I've never seen a light 151 Cruzan.

I've got a bottle of Cruzan 151 but it's a 2yo dark rum and the label is nothing like that. I've never seen a light 151 Cruzan.

Weird. Cruzan must have some sort of covert thang goin' on with their overproof stuff.
Now I have to rescind my early claim of having sampled all of their rums, because I have never seen the dark 151.

I noticed on the website that they have changed the name of the spiced rum as well. It used to be Clipper and now it's called Atocha.

I've never been much of a spiced rum drinker myself, but I usually keep a bottle around for the "Cap'n an' Coke" crowd. They not only changed the name and label, but now it has gold flakes tossed in there too. That's a bit much if ya ask me. Tryin' a little too hard methinks.

Then again, I'd be hard pressed to justify my criticism of a rum company for tossing glitter into the bottle after participating in a drink forum thread about the proper usage of dry ice in a cocktail.

Eh...what are ya gonna do, right?

Ahu

[ Edited by: Ku Ku Ahu on 2004-11-06 08:51 ]

kono- who is you supplier of lemon hart demerara? is it beverages and more? if they order at the store they may do special ordering online.

i have never seen either of the cruzan 151s. i'll have to look for them and give them a try. thanks for the info folks!

also i was at trader joe's here by the house and they carry 3 or 4 different cruzan rums for only $8.99. if you have a trader joe's by you check it out. the price is definately right!

dh

...liquor in the front, poker in the rear...

[ Edited by: the drunken hat on 2004-11-06 09:37 ]

Ahu, I said dark but I meant gold. It's a gold rum that looks like their 80 proof gold rum. It has a small oval red label that says Cruzan Estate 151.

drunken hat, I get the Lemon Hart from Hi-Times Wine online. They do a good job, reasonable prices and package it like it's going to Fort Knox. I recommend them for anyone looking for hard to find liquor.

On 2004-11-06 13:25, Kono wrote:
Ahu, I said dark but I meant gold. It's a gold rum that looks like their 80 proof gold rum. It has a small oval red label that says Cruzan Estate 151.

Ah, then we are talking about the same spirit then. For a minute there I was wondering what other Cruzan brands might have escaped me. In my fevered mind there were whole aisles of bottles of secret rums sitting on shelves in stores far from my home in places I've never been...

Whew!

Ahu

[ Edited by: Ku Ku Ahu on 2004-11-06 14:21 ]

On 2004-11-06 14:20, Ku Ku Ahu wrote:
Ah, then we are talking about the same spirit then. For a minute there I was wondering what other Cruzan brands might have escaped me. In my fevered mind there were whole aisles of bottles of secret rums sitting on shelves in stores far from my home in places I've never been...

Whew!

Ahu

Is your picture realistic? Mine doesn't look that yellow. It has more of a caramel color to it.

No, the picture is not realistic. The 151 I have here in the bar is the same as the Cruzan light rum in color.

Ahu

With the cold weather here at night(Las vegas), I have been using the Black strap in Trader Vic's Hot Buttered Rum mix (the recipe from his book), it's alot better than using a light rum. Also I use it instead of whisky in a bar-b-q sauce.

Also I use it instead of whisky in a bar-b-q sauce.

Cool. Sounds great. When can we all stop by for dinner?

Ahu

For any of you Washingtonians, and those of us who live across the River or Border, WA state liquor stores are closing out Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum for $22. That's $10 cheaper than here in Oregon. After all the rave reviews on this thread, I was going to wait to spend some Christmas money, but at this price, I hightailed it across the Columbia this evening.
Do a product search on http://http:www/liq.wa.gov to find closest stores to you that have it, and then call to make sure.
And yes, it is delightful!

So what was the final verdict on Cruzan 151? Worthy substitute for Bacardi 151 or no?

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2005-06-06 08:07 ]

On 2004-07-27 22:50, Humuhumu wrote:
An excuse to by Black Strap and key limes? Sold. I'll have to give it a whirl.

In case I can't track down fresh key limes, have you tried making it with bottled key lime juice?

You're in West LA and you can't find fresh key limes?! Go to any hispanic market, and almost any Asian market too for that matter, they're always available!

I think I've seen little meshbags of them at Ralph's here in the Valley (at 2-4 times the price at Superior or Vallarta markets).

GO ETHNIC, Tiki-lovers. Asian/vietnamese markets always stock good quality fresh mint for about $.69-$.99 a bunch.

=Kukoae=