Rhum Clement substitute?

Hello all. I am working on my Don the Beachcomber Zombie, but I'm having a problem with the Rhum Clement. You see...it's too expensive. Far too expensive for me. Does anyone have a good rum substitute they use whem mixing their own zombies?

Nope.

Do or do not.

If there was a cheaper alternative, The Bum would have mentioned it.

Quality costs cash.

Clement products are pretty unique.

However, that certainly should not stop you from experimenting with other Martinique rhums (agricoles), as these will give you the "best" approximation of Clement because they are made in a similar style (fermentation of the fresh-pressed sugar cane juice). Bad news is that I don't think there are any "cheap" agricole rhums out there because of the cost of production.

I agree with tikibars that the Bum would have suggested alternatives, but hey - maybe you'll find something that tastes good to you and takes it in a different direction - just be sure to change the name of any such creation.

Maybe check out the line of JM Rhums - these are also produced by Clement and may or may not be less expensive than Clement, depending on location. As a slight de-rail of this thread, I think the JM 1997 vintage is one of the best rhums around for plain old sippin'.

I'm not an alcoholic, I'm an enthusiast.

[ Edited by: leisure master 2008-10-02 06:15 ]

St Etienne hors d'age, or other top quality Martinique Rum are really good too.
Some are better than Clément or St James. But, yes, it can change the recipe.

[ Edited by: virani 2008-10-02 07:29 ]

On 2008-10-01 22:41, tikibars wrote:
Nope.

Do or do not.

If there was a cheaper alternative, The Bum would have mentioned it.

Quality costs cash.

I must be missing something, but where does the Bum specify Rhum Clement for a Zombie?

Rhum Clement is not specified in Sippin Safari for any of the Zombie recipes. No rum is specified by name. But Martin Cate used Rhum Clement as one of the three rums he used to make the Spievak Zombie at his symposium at Tiki Oasis. It is a fairly costly rum. For a cheaper alternative, I use Mt. Gay Sugar Cane rum (not the Eclipse) with Rum Barbancort and Lemon Hart 151. It works and is a little cheaper than using the Clement and Montecristo. The Lemon Hart you just can't substitute.

Here is Ben Jones the VP and GM of Rhum Clement in LA at a tasting last spring.
Quite a story about his great great grandfather. Did anyone meet him at Tiki Oasis?
I use the Creole Schrub which is expensive too but at 1/2 oz per drink, lasts longer than their rhums do at 2oz-3oz per drink.

quote

Rhum Clement "Creole Shrubb"; Martinique Rum 80 proof
A blend of the finest white rhums and aged rhums with macerated bitter orange peels and exotic Créole spices married together in oak barrels.....

History

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Martinique was the source of the highest quality of sugar for Europe and was the epicenter for all Caribbean sugar commerce. By 1883, a great sugar crisis overtook the island because European countries used less expensive sugar from South and Central America, In 1887, Homere Clement, the mayor of Le Francois, purchased the prestigious sugar plantation in his village.
Out of banlrupsy. His intentions were simply to stop the rioting planter’s and have them return to the fields to harvest sugarcane again, not to be refined into sugar, but to be pressed for their natural juice and to distill rum. He took the imaginative idea from the brandy producers of southern France who were distilling grape wine into Cognacs. Homere is now coined as the father of Agricole.

I have a complementary question. Is Rhum Clement a good substitute for St. James Hors d'Age? Or is it more akin to St. James Extra Old?

I ask, because I finally found a store that carries Clement and it runs about $7 cheaper than the lowest price I've seen for the Hors d'Age but slightly more than the Extra Old.

On 2008-10-15 11:20, Austin_Tiki wrote:
I have a complementary question. Is Rhum Clement a good substitute for St. James Hors d'Age? Or is it more akin to St. James Extra Old?

I ask, because I finally found a store that carries Clement and it runs about $7 cheaper than the lowest price I've seen for the Hors d'Age but slightly more than the Extra Old.

From what I remember, the Rhum Clement tastes more like the St. James Hors d'Age than the S.J. Extra Old.

Clement is definitely a staple, just be weary of some of the cheap Martiniques and some of the Martiniques you can find down south (South America). I have tasted a few that go down like Zippo fluid and, which i think, seems to be a common characteristic of a bad Martinique, is a very chemical ethanol finish. Similar to a lot of bad light rums and Pyrat.

On 2008-10-03 22:28, PiPhiRho wrote:
he Lemon Hart you just can't substitute.

True. But.....

El Dorado is about as close as you can get if you can't get Lemon Hart.

But you can get Lemon Hart. I know you can. El Dorado is close, but...