What's your latest rum purchase?

Kirk and Sweeny. I like it neat but its the rum used in the “Rum Babalu”at Tommy Bahama, Newport Beach.

On 2014-08-10 17:53, thePorpoise wrote:
I can't imagine that a 17-y.o. rum could have ever shined through the proportions of the original recipe.

The J Wray 17 would have been bottled at the turn of the century, and I'm sure technique and quality has been refined over the years. Since the current recipes call for a mix of funky Jamaican and hojo Martinique, I would imagine this wasn't as smooth a rum by today's standards.

That being said, I do cut down the lime considerably in my version and sometimes I prefer a more pungent rhum, like La Favorite, over Clement VSOP.

I wouldnt call the Appleton Estate Extra 12-yo "funky" by any stretch, it's a sipper for sure.

On 2014-08-12 19:31, thePorpoise wrote:
I wouldnt call the Appleton Estate Extra 12-yo "funky" by any stretch, it's a sipper for sure.

Smoothed to the point of wonderfulness by the time in wood, but there are still unmistakable Jamaican pot still notes so I think sophisticated funk is fair.

On 2014-08-12 20:28, Sunny&Rummy wrote:

On 2014-08-12 19:31, thePorpoise wrote:
I wouldnt call the Appleton Estate Extra 12-yo "funky" by any stretch, it's a sipper for sure.

Smoothed to the point of wonderfulness by the time in wood, but there are still unmistakable Jamaican pot still notes so I think sophisticated funk is fair.

Appleton 12 would have been distilled in this same century. Go back a hundred years and they were probably still using goat heads in the dunder pits.

bought a bottle of Olo Silver Rum-- "premium Brazilian rum in the style of cachaca"

not bad- bit sweet, very smooth, only hints at an agricole funkiness though. still looking for a french-style clear rum that is good, cant find barbancourt white anywhere to sample...

On 2014-08-10 17:19, KrakenHunterSteve wrote:
That's what I understand, that the Denizen 8 is supposed to be similar to Trader Vic's original rum choice for the Mai Tai. I'm having my second one tonight, and I'm still not sure about it. I feel like the flavor is too light, and while the first sip is nice, the rum starts to disappear behind the other flavors. I don't really want to start tweaking my recipe again just for one rum, but my current recipe is designed to stand up against rums like Coruba and Clement, and that may be the problem.

I'm finding the Denizen 8 a tad on the sweet side.

the day is mine, Trebek! found Barbancourt white-- a nice buttery but funky taste, a pleasant middle ground between the harsh Clement agricole white and the sweet brazilian sugarcane rum...

After a nice Rum Tasting Seminar with Martin Cate of Smuggler's Cove, I have learned a little bit more about Denizen 8 and Trader Vic's Mai Tai. Denizen 8 isn't supposed to replace the J Wray 17, it is supposed to be an approximation of the J Wray 15/Martinique blend used after the 17 year had run out. Most of the descriptions used to describe the Martinique Rhum didn't fit with our current understanding of the Agricole flavor profile, and it turns out we had the wrong Rhum. We are supposed to be using a Molasses based Martinique Rum, not a Sugar Cane Agricole, and the Denizen 8 is modeled after this Jamaican and Molasses Martinique blend. So now I have to find a new name for the more popular Agricole Mai Tai, and develop a taste for the Denizen Mai Tai.

It was also hinted that Appleton may be working on a J Wray 17...

Also, I just picked up the Angostura No.1 Limited Edition. This was part of the tasting and was the only one I almost guessed right (it was a blind tasting). This tasstes like a perfect blending of the Vanilla Cream 1919 and the more heady 1824; a perfect balance of the two.

I'll be damned, it was supposed to be a rhum industriel all this time...

i wonder if the dark jamaican/demerara combo many of us fancy is close after all...

i wonder about Donga Punch; and Three Dots and a Dash...

were they originated with agricole, or industriele...??

Was down for a quick jaunt to Key West and ran across this rum. It's 6x (!) distilled from local Florida cane juice. Pretty smooth -- possibly TOO smooth -- especially for a white, maybe not the ideal thing for when you want your rum to be crisp.

Fun tour, too.

That KrakenHunterSteve is a smart guy. I also went to the Martin Cate tasting and this was my favorite rum of the 8. I noticed it at my local store and since they are not making anymore, I decided to grab the last bottle.

Hang10- where did you find the Lemonhart?

On 2014-08-18 16:55, lunavideogames wrote:
That KrakenHunterSteve is a smart guy. I also went to the Martin Cate tasting and this was my favorite rum of the 8. I noticed it at my local store and since they are not making anymore, I decided to grab the last bottle.

You're lucky you got the last one. I took two and left three at around 5 on Sunday. I'm guessing a few other people came looking for that rum and I'm sure a few more were disappointed after. If you haven't grabbed it already, try the Plantation 1989 Reserve Trinidad. I had it at another tasting and it is truly sublime.

My guess with the Agricole/Molasses debate, we will have to do a little more research through the notes to figure out where he meant Agricole and where he wanted Molasses Martinique. I don't have the resources for this, but maybe someone else has a few menus to go over. There are only about 6 recipes in the app that require a Martinique Rhum.

[ Edited by: KrakenHunterSteve 2014-08-18 22:33 ]

Bought up the last of the St James in San Diego that I could find.

They still have Angostura No 1 in Coronado at the Orange and Ninth liquor store. 3 bottles or so. No more St James though.

Aggh - you're killing me with those Angostura No. 1 photos! We shoulda gone straight from the tasting to the liquor store (but that probably would've been dangerous.)

Only $49.99 in Coronado. I paid $59.99. Three bottles there that I could see. I am sure there must still be a few other stores that have them around SD too.

Scored one ($59.99) - Wooo!

Is the Angostura that good? Might need to track some down.

Not that I need any more rum.... :)

Even though they only have a small number of rums, everything I have had by Angostura has been top notch. The 1919 and 1824 are exquisite, and I enjoy the 7, as well, even though I haven't found a cocktail suited for it.

The No.1 is limited, and all bottles have been distributed to the retailers. Go find it now if you are considering it, and if you can't find it, get the 1824 instead.

All the Mai Tai talk in another thread had me craving a 12/12 Mai Tai so it was time to restock the Appleton Extra and ED12.

I was out of Pusser's as well but wasn't going to drop any more money on rum until I took a closer look at the bottles. Mixed in with the normal 84 proof blue label product was one lone bottle nearly identical in appearance except for one small difference:

109 proof, "The Original Admirality Rum at issue strength." To make it even better it was marked at the same price as the normal stuff.

Was this just an out if the blue happy accident or are people starting to see Navy strength Pusser's on store shelves? Until a few years ago I would sometimes stumble across a dusty bottle of 95.5 proof Pusser's, but I don't think I have ever encountered the 109 proof. For the Glorida folks, this was at an ABC in Palm Bay.

@Sunny&Rummy - perhaps 3 of my favourite rums :)

If you've not the Pussers 109% Blue Label before, you are in for a treat - the smell & a sip neat will blow you mind & that's how a Navy Rum should be!

On 2014-08-21 18:50, KrakenHunterSteve wrote:
The No.1 is limited, and all bottles have been distributed to the retailers. Go find it now if you are considering it, and if you can't find it, get the 1824 instead.

I've got the 1824 and 1919, along with some random older bottlings. I suppose I almost need the No. 1, right? :)

Ordering some stuff online and they've got St. James Extra Old for ~$53 (with shipping).

Anyone want me to pick them up a bottle? :) I don't think it's worth that much.

Treg- (lemon hart 151) Got it from Chris
He called me a while back when he found a few
I bought 2
Had to wait for Oasis to pick em up
Worth the wait...

Thought I would give this a try

I was amazed to find this. This was "number one" at Martin's Rum Revolution symposium at Tiki Oasis. An amazingly good rum, I had to grab it when I saw it at Total Wine in Redondo Beach. There is only one left on the shelf. Not cheap.

[ Edited by: PiPhiRho 2014-08-24 18:41 ]

Is it just me, or is that link to the photo broken? It has an extra space in "tikiroom" that makes the picture fail. Can you take a look and edit that post for us? Thanks. I fixed it in my browser, so I've seen it. Just sayin' for the benefit of others here.

I'm gonna look for that at my local Total Whine. Cheers!

I just got the set of rums from Koloa for my birthday, but haven't tried any yet.
Anyone love, hate, like dislike... it?

whoa- just tried out a bottle of Plantation 3 Stars. out-freaking-standing!

All Spec's locations in Austin have been mysteriously out of Appleton Extra for a while but (thanks to Freeland for the heads up) I found a bottle on sale at Twin. Plus they had the mug from Texas Tiki Week that I missed. Now me happy.

Grabbed these recently. Actually my lovely wife bought the Pusser's for me. I get a real winner! :wink:

let us know how that Cali Agricole drinks.

Tried it quickly, but it is not your standard Agricole. To me it tastes a lot like olives. Not as smooth as I expected it to be. I don't think it would be ideal for a Mai Tai, in fact it might be tough to make any tiki drinks with it. It might go well in a Martini, but I don't know.

I will try it out more and report back. It didn't work in the 151 Rum Swizzle that I first made with it.

On 2014-08-28 20:28, Kahuna Kraig wrote:
I just got the set of rums from Koloa for my birthday, but haven't tried any yet.
Anyone love, hate, like dislike... it?

Love the dark, though similar to Coruba in a way. The coconut rum for me is where it's at, given the awful selections in competition out there. Really worth the price of a full bottle to me, because the few recipes that call for coconut rum taste a billion times better than Malibu, Parrot Bay, Bacardi O, Cruzan, etc.

Got more LH151, plus a few other things.

TV 151 because it was a bargain, not really to drink. Caliche just on a whim, never tried it.

Havana Club: A friend on a Caribbean cruise is a friend not to lose!!!

^ the Havana Club 3 star is good stuff!

Binny's in Evergreen Park outside of Chicago yields two more LH151 bottles for the strategic reserve.

How many bottles do you have now? :)

I think I have 8, plus a bottle of old label. I've resisted getting any more...

I have a mere six bottles. I would sock a few more away if the pocketbook would permit it.

I have 8 bottles and one full 80 and one almost empty 80. Hope they start making it again.

I just picked up a bottle of Denizen Merchant's Reserve to use for my Mai Tai, upon Martin's recommendation at the Rum Seminar at Tiki Oasis.

[ Edited by: FelixTiki 2014-09-11 23:05 ]

Trader Joe’s Whittier has Mt Gay at !5 bucks. I grabbed the last “old label” bottle on the shelf for posterity. They have plenny with the black and white label.I find Mt Gay to be a solid all-around rum in the Sharkbite Bar.
Cheers

Picked up 6 bottles of Mount Gay Black (100 proof).

Last weekend I ran out of Myers making someone a Hurricane, I'll be damned, every drink I've wanted to make since i would have used it in!

Once upon a time I considered Myers 'low rent' because it can overpower most drinks. But even the low rent rums can be great if used right :)

Ah, that's better...

Ain’t a “Planters Punch" unless it gots Meyers. I use it in lotsa cocktails too!
Cheers