White rum - What's the point?

I guess this might be heresy to some people but what's the point of white rum? I don't find on it's own that it has any great taste characteristics, and when used in cocktails, I find that any subtle tastes that it may have are washed away.

Am I just a heathen?

I tend to agree. When I buy rum, I go top shelf and get Appleton, St. James, etc, but when I get white, I go bottom and get ROn Rico. I taste no difference.

On 2011-08-04 12:45, Swanky wrote:
I tend to agree. When I buy rum, I go top shelf and get Appleton, St. James, etc, but when I get white, I go bottom and get ROn Rico. I taste no difference.

Snap. I have tried some better quality white rums but they haven't tasted that great to me.

I think side by side neat you will notice differences, but in multi-layered mixed cocktails it's doubtful. I have an even stronger feeling about vodka.

On 2011-08-04 12:45, Swanky wrote:
I tend to agree. When I buy rum, I go top shelf and get Appleton, St. James, etc, but when I get white, I go bottom and get ROn Rico. I taste no difference.

I'm pretty sure I can make you a handful of daiquiris in which you will taste the difference. It's subtle but a good white/silver rum will have a distinct flavor profile.

On 2011-08-04 14:15, arriano wrote:
I think side by side neat you will notice differences, but in multi-layered mixed cocktails it's doubtful. I have an even stronger feeling about vodka.

I know a lot of people say that about vodka -- and I believe them -- but I can taste a difference between various vodkas and certainly have my preferences. (And it's not for the really expensive ones. My current favorite is Sobieski, which is cheap.) So I think, as with so much when it comes to food and taste, the individual's taste matters a lot. But once you mix it all up with a bunch of ingredients, I think it becomes less important.

I only keep it around to use in the old cocktails.
When Vic says "white rum" in a recipe, then dammit, I'm gonna use "white rum" in a recipe.
But... flavor-wise... only the high alcohol pure-cane ones do anything for me.
The La Favorite Agricole Blanc is freakin' stellar.

On 2011-08-04 14:15, arriano wrote:
I think side by side neat you will notice differences, but in multi-layered mixed cocktails it's doubtful. I have an even stronger feeling about vodka.

Good question posed here and i have to say that agree with arriano.

Going back a while ago now a bottle shop ordered a bunch of rums in specifically for me that are not available here. One of those was Appletons white. Now you may laugh, but here in Australia all rums that are imported must be, by law, aged for a minimum of 2 years, including white rums. This bottle shop was able to side step that as a private importer (with a licence, of course).

Now i don't know how much you guys in the US are aware of what a very limited range of brands of alcohol-spirits and liqueurs-in general is available here in Australia, although it is getting better. When i got that bottle of Appletons, all i had to compare it to, in regards to white rum, was Bacardi and Havana Club. Bacardi is just rubbish. The Havana Club definitely has some sort of flavour to it compared to the Bacardi, and when i got that Appletons, i was quite surprised how different it was to the HC. Although i prefer aged rums myself, Mount Gay white has just become available here so i will buy a bottle of that at some stage just out of curiosity to see how it compares to those others.

A little while ago a bar i frequent imported some of Dan Akroyds Crystal Head vodka which i was able to try. Now i don't really care for vodka at all but i must say that i quite liked it, as much as i could like vodka, and could notice that there was some sort of distinct flavour you could notice.

So is suppose after all that my point is exactly what arriano said. Side by side you should definitely notice some different flavours going on, but as soon as you start mixing white spirits like rum, vodka, and even tequila, with other alcohols, juices and syrups, it is going to be a lot harder to notice much difference, unless you have a truely refined palate. Especially after you've had a few. :lol:

[ Edited by: swizzle 2011-08-05 01:13 ]

Wow Swizzle, I am stunned at how limited the range of rums is in Melbourne.

Here in Wanganui NZ (pop. 45,000), I have a choice of several varieties of Appleton Estate and Mount Gay rum at my local bottle store.

Why this strange disparity?

CN

On 2011-08-04 12:41, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
... but what's the point of white rum?

A simple answer for you.... To add alcohol to an otherwise weak drink. Maybe you don't want to add flavor to an already balanced drink like a Daiquiri. Or maybe you only want to add a wee bit of flavor while adding alcohol, and white rum has more flavor than your typical vodka.

As to the part of your question about being a heathen.... you are participating in an on-line discussion on a site that identifies itself with the carved idols from times past. Still a tough call.

On 2011-08-05 10:28, Chip and Andy wrote:

On 2011-08-04 12:41, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
... but what's the point of white rum?

A simple answer for you.... To add alcohol to an otherwise weak drink. Maybe you don't want to add flavor to an already balanced drink like a Daiquiri. Or maybe you only want to add a wee bit of flavor while adding alcohol, and white rum has more flavor than your typical vodka.

That's a good point although I like the flavour of the spirit to be part of the drink. Speaking for myself, if the flavour of the drink doesn't need alcohol, why add it.

we'll get on ya Kon-Hemsby, wanna know, whyyyyyyy do you drink?

Siesta Key White is actually a pretty darned good rum, and I typically don't care for white rums.

I use white Rum in vodka drinks since my GF can't drink vodka

I actually perceive pretty big differences between the white rums, as proved by a recent tasting of the following light/white/silver rums from my bar (I was trying to answer the same basic question--what's the difference?)

-Bacardi Silver
-Mount Gay Eclipse
-Flor de Cana White
-Cruzan Light

Without going into a load of boring tasting notes, I did find pretty marked differences among the white rums. The Flor de Cana is really dry compared to the Eclipse, for example, which has a softer, rounder mouth feel. The Bacardi silver (a leftover from a party) had a much harsher taste than the others.

Whether or not I could tell the difference between these rums once mixed into juice-laden cocktails is another question, but if the drink is only as good as its ingredients, then I'll stick with the rums that taste better on their own.

Crazy people :wink:

White rum is so fantastic. That is, Agricole White rum of course.

You can really taste differences between all the martinique and guadeloupe rums. Some are very floral, some taste like banana, there's the blue cane that is wonderful, and I probably buy more white than amber, as I drink a lot of ti-punch (best white rum you can get with a 1/4 of lime and a dash of sugar syrup, no ice), it's the best easy apetizer to make before dinner.

Although, I agree, it doesn't really fit in tiki drinks.

Anyone bashing white rum hasn't tried Treaty Oak Platinum, a small batch rum distilled domestically in Austin, TX USA of all places. Outstanding stuff that is as enjoyable neat as it is mixed. It's filtered through carbonized coconut shells and tastes like spiced Christmas cookies. 9/51 drinks in my upcoming second cocktail book call for Treaty Oak Platinum by name.

Here's Treaty Oak's website:
http://www.treatyoakrum.com/

And here's the only place you can buy it online so far (near the bottom):
http://www.specsonline.com/cgi-bin/snf?body=/cgi-bin/prodlist&index=Liquors|240|RUM

[ Edited by: Kahuna Kevin 2011-09-17 15:13 ]

Virani-

we have three new Martinique brands at my neighborhood store-- Dillon, Rancado, and Negrita Bardinet.

Do you recommend any of them?

[ Edited by: thePorpoise 2011-09-17 21:34 ]

Dillon is good. Not the best, but a good white rum.
Rancado ? Are you sure that's a Martinique rum ? I've never heard of it.
Negrita is the worst rum ever. Don't take it, or just for cooking.

my mistake, you're right, the Rancado is not Matinique. it's a white "West Caribbean" rum bottled in Germany (!)

thanks for the insight on the other two.