Hi, this is my first post here, I'm just getting into the whole tiki drink thing. I got Grog Log and have Intoxica on the way. Browsing through Grog Log though, I've made a list of rum to get based on what I could find at my local liquor stores. I've already bought most of it and plan on adding later on. Can someone tell me if these are ok selections? I don't know the least bit about rum, unfortunately. And I couldn't find much discussion about 'gold' rums around here.

White Puerto Rican - Cruzan or Brugal White (I know they aren't PR but I've heard good things)
Gold Puerto Rican - Bacardi Select (this is a bit dark, but will it still be ok or should I get another one?)
Gold Jamaican - Appleton V/X
Dark Jamaican - Myers
Demererra Rum - El Dorado of some sort
151 Demererra - El Dorado 151
Barbados Rum - Mount Gay

[ Edited by: Borky 2007-06-12 07:09 ]

The Bacardi Select is one of the better Bacardis, from what I've heard, but that doesn't mean it's good. I have tendencies to go for Mount Gay Eclipse & Appleton for generic mixing. I'd wait for some specific drinks before getting another gold. But if you must have a gold Puerto Rican rum, it may be that Don Q is your only choice outside of Bacardi - which IMHO means it's the only choice. I'd rather test Appleton & Mount Gay and - if neither works to your tastes - then try Don Q.

For Demerera, Lemon Hart is the standard for drinks. El Dorado ain't shabby, but so many tiki drinks specifically call for Lemon Hart that I would get nothing else but Lemon Hart. However, the LH 151 is reputedly very difficult to find, so stick with what you have there, but search out for the 80-proof Lemon Hart.

Myers is a staple, but there are better, like Coruba. Good luck finding it though. Since you have the Myers don't throw it out, since it will work, but when it gets low start looking for a better dark. (Sometimes the Appleton Extra is a nice replacement, but it doesn't replace Myers in ALL drinks.)

Scottes' Rum Pages - Rum Reviews & Info

[ Edited by: Scottes 2007-06-12 07:44 ]

How does Goslings dark stack up to its competitors? Where does it fit in?

Send me your rum, and the empty bottles I return will be the ones I approve! :lol:

I try all booze straight. Then on the rocks.
Next make a drink with it.
Try to follow the recipe at hand to the letter the first time.
Now tell me if YOU like it.
I like some booze others don't.
By testing this way you will know what to do
to fix a drink you like.
If you like a drink made different than the recipe
make a note on the recipe page it self So you
will know the changes to make next time.

I'm trying to stay true to the original recipes so I want to get only regional rums at first that are appropriate. As the other guy mentioned, Puerto Rican rum is a bit limited in choices, but was I correct to use Bacardi select for 'Gold Puerto Rican' rum?

As far as Lemon Hart goes, I think it's going to be impossible to get around here, so El Dorado is my only choice.

Bacardi and Don Q are really your only choices for Gold Puerto Rican rum (well, I know of a couple/few others, and they are atrocious).

In my opinion, the reason for using a Puerto Rican Gold rum is to get a decent rum flavor, not overly sweet, and not overly complex/floral/aromatic. That is, a basic rum with more body than a Puerto Rican white rum, more or less mid-line in flavor.

I'm not sure if I'm explaining my thoughts correctly... Remember that Puerto Rican rums were noted for being clean, light rums with mellow tastes that did not detract from a simple cocktail. Column still distillation tend to produce such a light spirit. This lightness is the Puerto Rican style - as compared to Jamaican rums which tend to be heavier and more aromatic and have more tastes of the underlying molasses. Most of these heavier, more earthy tastes are brought on from pot still distillation or blends with pot distilled rums. Barbados rums tend to be in between, slightly sweet and aromatic.

Gold rums are the same, but aged, and with a fuller body and more rum taste. So a gold Puerto Rican will have more taste but not necessarily distinct molasses taste like Jamaican rum. Again, Barbados is somewhere in between. There's definitely some, but not a lot, of diference when going from classic Puerto Rican to Barbados to Jamaican - especially if you're just starting out.

You might find that the Mount Gay Eclipse works well for you in place of the Puerto Rican Gold. If you find that it's too much rum taste then you have a good reason to try a more classic Puerto Rican.

Tikiskip has some excellent advice - make the recipe as close as you can, and definitely as accurately as you can. Do you like it? If so, then it's a winner. If not, what don't you like, or what would you think would make it better? Then try something a little different.

Another piece of excellent advice from DinkBoy, aka Robert Hess: Don't try to stock your bar all at once. Instead, pick a drink or two, and buy what you need for those drinks. Nothing else. Next week pick another drink, and buy more ingredients. And so on and on. Eventually you will have a nicely stocked bar, and you'll have intimate knowledge with a number of drinks.

http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/StockingTheBar.html
http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/SelectingYourBrands.html
http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/SpiritBrands.html

On 2007-06-12 12:09, Scottes wrote:
Bacardi and Don Q are really your only choices for Gold Puerto Rican rum (well, I know of a couple/few others, and they are atrocious).

In my opinion, the reason for using a Puerto Rican Gold rum is to get a decent rum flavor, not overly sweet, and not overly complex/floral/aromatic. That is, a basic rum with more body than a Puerto Rican white rum, more or less mid-line in flavor.

I'm not sure if I'm explaining my thoughts correctly... Remember that Puerto Rican rums were noted for being clean, light rums with mellow tastes that did not detract from a simple cocktail. Column still distillation tend to produce such a light spirit. This lightness is the Puerto Rican style - as compared to Jamaican rums which tend to be heavier and more aromatic and have more tastes of the underlying molasses. Most of these heavier, more earthy tastes are brought on from pot still distillation or blends with pot distilled rums. Barbados rums tend to be in between, slightly sweet and aromatic.

Gold rums are the same, but aged, and with a fuller body and more rum taste. So a gold Puerto Rican will have more taste but not necessarily distinct molasses taste like Jamaican rum. Again, Barbados is somewhere in between. There's definitely some, but not a lot, of diference when going from classic Puerto Rican to Barbados to Jamaican - especially if you're just starting out.

You might find that the Mount Gay Eclipse works well for you in place of the Puerto Rican Gold. If you find that it's too much rum taste then you have a good reason to try a more classic Puerto Rican.

Tikiskip has some excellent advice - make the recipe as close as you can, and definitely as accurately as you can. Do you like it? If so, then it's a winner. If not, what don't you like, or what would you think would make it better? Then try something a little different.

Another piece of excellent advice from DinkBoy, aka Robert Hess: Don't try to stock your bar all at once. Instead, pick a drink or two, and buy what you need for those drinks. Nothing else. Next week pick another drink, and buy more ingredients. And so on and on. Eventually you will have a nicely stocked bar, and you'll have intimate knowledge with a number of drinks.

http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/StockingTheBar.html
http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/SelectingYourBrands.html
http://www.drinkboy.com/Essays/SpiritBrands.html

Excellent advice and great reading on your site! Using mt gay eclipse in place is an excellent suggestion. Coruba is a great dark, although myers's taste is its own, it'll really come down to what you prefer, as mentioned above.

My suggestion would be to follow the bar-stocking process above, but also, whenever you get to half of a bottle of a particular rum type, go pick up a new bottle of a different brand of the same type. You'll end up with a larger selection to choose from in the end.

-adrian

Any suggestions on what to do about rums I can't find anywhere? Such as Martinque rum for my Mai Tais. Should I just abandon the whole idea completely until I can travel to somewhere that has it or should I try different rums. Any replacements?

On 2007-06-12 17:59, Borky wrote:
Any suggestions on what to do about rums I can't find anywhere? ...

Depending on what state you live in (BTW go back and edit the location in your profile), you may be able to order booze over the internet and have it delivered to your house.

Maryland, but I can also do my parent's house in NJ. I don't think either of those states allow it.

I've had my eye on this for a while and would like to know what everyone thinks of it. Also, what is the going rate to buy a bottle?

Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum

Mahalo,
Tikitatt

White Puerto Rican - Cruzan or Brugal White (I know they aren't PR but I've heard good things)
*
The difference between cheap white rum and expensive white rum is usually how much time they age it before filtering. But most mixed drinks that call for white rum are designed around very young rum, 1 year or less. I'd suggest going cheaper. :) Castillo White is a good one, made by Bacardi but without the Bacardi price.

Gold Puerto Rican - Bacardi Select (this is a bit dark, but will it still be ok or should I get another one?)

A good choice, nothing to complain about. :)

Gold Jamaican - Appleton V/X

Same as above.

Dark Jamaican - Myers

Dark Jamaican of the old sort isn't really made any more as far as I know. A while back the Jamaican distilleries raised the distillation proof on their rums to compete with the lighter more mixable Puerto Ricans. If you want a dark Jamaican, I'd suggest cutting Appleton V/X with a more pungent rum from another island, or maybe with some Demerara. If you can tolerate the taste of Pusser's Blue Label, I've found it to be a passable substitute for people who don't want to bother with rum blending. :)

Demererra Rum - El Dorado of some sort
151 Demererra - El Dorado 151
Barbados Rum - Mount Gay

No comments. :)

Good luck!

On 2007-06-12 21:40, Tikitatt wrote:
I've had my eye on this for a while and would like to know what everyone thinks of it. Also, what is the going rate to buy a bottle?

Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum

Mahalo,
Tikitatt

I love the stuff - it's in my top 3, along with Flor de Caña 21 and Ron Zacapa Centenario 23-year-old. I recent reviewed the Appleton and posted it to my blog - http://scottesrum.com/tag/all-rum-reviews/appleton-estate-21-year-old/

On 2007-06-12 08:10, DJ HawaiianShirt wrote:
How does Goslings dark stack up to its competitors? Where does it fit in?

Gosling's Black Seal is awesome stuff. I personally like it much better than Coruba, and I like the Coruba better than Meyer's. I often will use it in a Mai Tai. Granted it isn't Jamaican rum, but it is really, really good. I found a deal on it in Las Vegas at one point for $9.99 a bottle. Unfortunately I only bought two bottles. I REALLY wish I had gotten at least 4.

I also really like the Pyrat XO Reserve, which is about $20 a bottle these days. As far as I am concerned there is no better rum for a Cuba Libre. I usally mix 2 jiggers pyrat, juice of one lime, 1/2 oz Orgeat, and a can of Coke Zero. Really refreshing and tasty!

As for the Lemon Hart 151, I was lucky enough to find both the 151 and the 80 proof also in Vegas, at Lee's Discount Liquors. It was around $20 for each, as both were the same price. I should have actually purchased both, but I ended up only getting the 151.

Chris

[ Edited by: Kona Chris 2007-06-13 04:03 ]

I'm so envious when i see all the different brand names everyone throws around.There are only a few liquor stores around where i can get anything out of the ordinary.
Myers has just become available which i still haven't tried as it costs $60Aus(about $45 U.S.).A bottle of Coruba is only $30Aus($20 U.S.)
One of my favourite bars in Melbourne i go to regularly called DER RAUM,imports his own spirits,and i just sit under all the rum drooling(there is just over 60 in stock).However it costs around $30Aus per shot.Lemon Hart for exampl,and it's not even the 151.
Pretty pricey to try something that i have no chance of buying a bottle of.

Swizzle, the Coruba I feel is definitely better than the Meyers, and costs about $17 a bottle here in Tucson. As for those other prices, that's just crazy...

Chris

[i]On 2007-06-13 04:01, Kona Chris wrote:

I also really like the Pyrat XO Reserve, which is about $20 a bottle these days. As far as I am concerned there is no better rum for a Cuba Libre. I usally mix 2 jiggers pyrat, juice of one lime, 1/2 oz Orgeat, and a can of Coke Zero. Really refreshing and tasty!

---

That is a great drink! I just made one per your post.
Funny thing is. I made a second one and it was not as good.
Just goes to show it's all in the mix!

Swizzle, get with these guys they will hook you up.
http://www.wineandliquordepot.com/
They will have Lemon hart.
Great people!

Havana Club here.
http://www.extreme-trading-shop.com/
With the prices you quoted.
These places will be cheap!
I think you could get a bottle
to your door for less than two shots!
Oh yeah. This place has Lemon hart GOLD 151. (Jam)
Get it it's good! Plus cool bottle.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-06-13 23:32 ]

Does anyone know an online store that will ship to either Maryland or New Jersey? Rums like Lemon Hart and St James. Harder to find rums and cordials in general.

It's not that some will ship to MD and NJ, or not, but whether or not those states allow alcohol shipments.

There's a place called Pop's that I believe is in NJ, and they carry a decent rum selection.
Actually, in NY: http://www.popswine.com/

But if those states allow alcohol shipments then anyone will ship to them.

Well who's to stop it unless it says "ALCOHOL" in big bold letters on the box? Could I get in serious trouble for doing that?

Only if you get caught. :)

From what I've seen, any online liquors shippers will clearly state that they will not ship to particular states. Pop's, I believe, is one that does not say this...

Internet Wines & Spirits says:

Q: What States do you ship to?
A: We cannot ship alcohol to the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Utah, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming.

I would have to assume that MD and NJ do not allow shipments of alcohol.

On 2007-06-14 12:29, Borky wrote:
Well who's to stop it unless it says "ALCOHOL" in big bold letters on the box? Could I get in serious trouble for doing that?

Not so much that you will get in trouble, but that the shipper will be in trouble with the worst case of them loosing whatever license they have as a distributor.

The only 'real' way around this is to let us know what you are looking for specifically and somebody who has access to it to grab a bottle and ship it to you. One-to-One shipping is much easier and far less risky in the long run. It will cost a bit more becuase of the shipping, but sometimes it is still a deal because some people can get it cheaper in their area and that off-sets the shipping.

St. James it pretty easy to get around here so I will get you a bottle. PM me your shipping info and we can discuss in detail.

Hello, This is my first post though I have been trolling about for a bit. I was excited when I saw there was something I may actualy have the answer to. I have ordered from three internet companies that are located in NJ and ship. http://www.Planetofwine.com has St. James Rhum, I ordered a case of Coruba from them and it averaged out to about $15 a bottle with shipping which I thought was a good price. I can't say if there prices in general are good. I have also ordered from Shoppers vineyard which seems to have a nice selection and is also located in NJ. And the third one I am sorry to say I can't remember but if you want I can dig it up. The two I mentioned don't carry Lemon Hart I ended up having to buy that in RI. Hope this helps. James

Welcome to Tiki Central Formy!

And thanks for jumping in with such info. We rum lovers appreciate it.

You mentioned Rhode Island... Where do you go for good rum in RI? I visited Joyal's not too long ago, and they have an excellent selection, but they don't have everything I want... :)

Thank you for the welcome. Joyals is also the place I have been in RI. Found Joyals website and we decided to take a roadtrip to see it, we weren't disappointed. We did pass another fairly large liquor store that was close to Joyals. Next time provided the GPS takes us the same way we will try and stop in and see what they have. I am sorry I don't know the name of the store. Thanks again for the welcome it is nice being here.

Thanks for the websites TIKISKIP but wineandliquordepot won't ship internationally,and extreme-trading-shops page comes up in german.I'm determined to find someone though as i really want a bottle of Lemon Hart151.

On 2007-06-13 23:02, tikiskip wrote:

[i]On 2007-06-13 04:01, Kona Chris wrote:

I also really like the Pyrat XO Reserve, which is about $20 a bottle these days. As far as I am concerned there is no better rum for a Cuba Libre. I usally mix 2 jiggers pyrat, juice of one lime, 1/2 oz Orgeat, and a can of Coke Zero. Really refreshing and tasty!

---

That is a great drink! I just made one per your post.
Funny thing is. I made a second one and it was not as good.
Just goes to show it's all in the mix!

Yes, it really is. I find that mine are usually pretty good, but I will get too much orgeat if I free pour. Between .5 and 1 ounce is best, and it is really important to stir once you've added the coke.

In fact my usual process is to pour in the rum, then add the lime juice (freshly squeezed of course) and the orgeat, stir this together, add ice, and then pour in the can of coke zero (or coke if you aren't afraid of a sugar rush). I'll then stir with a bar spoon or just a table spoon, to make sure I've distributed properly. Most of the time I'll drop in one of the now squeezed lime shells too. Really tasty!

Chris

On 2007-06-13 21:16, swizzle wrote:
I'm so envious when i see all the different brand names everyone throws around.There are only a few liquor stores around where i can get anything out of the ordinary.
Myers has just become available which i still haven't tried as it costs $60Aus(about $45 U.S.).A bottle of Coruba is only $30Aus($20 U.S.)
One of my favourite bars in Melbourne i go to regularly called DER RAUM,imports his own spirits,and i just sit under all the rum drooling(there is just over 60 in stock).However it costs around $30Aus per shot.Lemon Hart for exampl,and it's not even the 151.
Pretty pricey to try something that i have no chance of buying a bottle of.

Maybe not much of a selection from abroad, but what about the homegrowns? Inner Circle's stuff is world class I hear, and Bundy's not that bad. :) Are they still making Beenleigh?