Dark Rums

Hi all,
I'm a bit of a newbie to making tiki drinks though I have enthusiastically been knocking out one or two a night for a couple of months. Anyway, apologies if I am duplicating an already discussed topic, but I searched and didn't find quite what I was looking for. I have some questions for you mixologists and rum experts on DARK RUMS.

So far I have been making drinks from the Beachbum Berry books and a few from this board and have tried a variety of dark rums. Here's my question:

It seems like a lot of the recipes call for dark Jamaican rums specifically. In Intoxica Berry recommends Myers but I'm one of the lucky ones who can actually find Coruba cheaper locally. I LOVE Coruba so far. Only OK as a sipping rum but I'm really enjoying it in my drinks. Every drink I've made with it has basically been a winner.

My question is, how substitutable are other rums for Coruba/Myers? For instance, I have Goslings and have tried that in place of Coruba and in some drinks it seemed totally fine. I've also tried Zaya which is a bit sweeter and more vanilla-tasting, and it certainly seemed to blend well with Appleton in a mai-tai, but might work for some drinks better than others. I also have Pussers, and have been thinking of picking up Cruzan Black Strap. But is Black Strap interchangeable with dark Jamaican? And where does a dark Virgin Island rum like Pussers fit in the greater scheme of rum categorization? Pussers looks pretty dark but the flavor seems a bit less sweet and more alcohol-forward than the other darks. And then isn't there a dark Appleton? Would that be a good substitute? Any others?

Finally, I realize that Demerara rums are their own thing and that they have a different flavor profile than the dark rums. Are they in any way interchangeable? Would using dark rums in place of demerara substantially change the flavor of many drinks? What about vice versa - using a demerara instead of Coruba? I have El Dorado 5 and Hamilton's 86. I thought about trying a hurricane with Hamilton's instead of Coruba, just as an experiment, but of course good rum is valuable and I don't want to misuse it.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated. I'm learning a ton from this board and friends and family seem delighted with my new-found hobby. Drinking a Chief Lapu Lapu as I type this...

Wup.
You've mentioned many of my favorites. Seems to me that you ought to keep doing what you’re doing. Keep us posted with your discoveries.

On 2015-02-09 18:26, wupput wrote:
But is Black Strap interchangeable with dark Jamaican? ...And then isn't there a dark Appleton? Would that be a good substitute? Any others?

Finally, I realize that Demerara rums are their own thing and that they have a different flavor profile than the dark rums. Are they in any way interchangeable? Would using dark rums in place of demerara substantially change the flavor of many drinks? What about vice versa - using a demerara instead of Coruba? I have El Dorado 5 and Hamilton's 86. I thought about trying a hurricane with Hamilton's instead of Coruba, just as an experiment, but of course good rum is valuable and I don't want to misuse it.

Blackstrap is certainly funkier than your standard dark Jamaican and I wouldn't consider it interchangeable unless there are a good many ingredients in a drink to where you wouldn't notice the swap as much. If a drink has maybe 5ish ingredients, you'll definitely notice it. Lots of people don't care for the taste, but I don't mind it when it's used in recipes it was made for, etc. You can make a Jet Pilot with it and notice the drink is a bit spicier than if it was just made with a dark rum, though the taste wouldn't be a complete 180 from what you would be used to.

I haven't seen any dark Appleton and am not sure if it's made anymore. Now lots of people will sub a dark Jamaican with Appleton V/X (Jamaican still, but can be considered gold/amber/aged) and you'll lose the more recognizable moleasses taste of the dark (say Coruba) though it makes a fine drink still. Honestly if you can get Coruba Dark easily then you're a lucky one. I love the hell out of that stuff but Myers's is the common one around here. I find Myers's is a bit more on the lighter fuel side, where Coruba is a bit richer and doesn't taste like it should be set on fire.

Demerara is certainly it's own thing. In using it instead of dark rum, I would liken it to the Appleton swap - it won't completely change things 180, but you'll certainly lose that signature dark taste that something like Coruba does so well. I could be wrong but it might be safe to say that demerara rum is more...dry? Smokier? At any rate, you can be a little more lenient with your rums and if something isn't exactly to recipe then that's okay. You might unlock a great flavor profile that you prefer or just enjoy a different outcome. That's why people love the mai tai so much, because it lends itself opengly to a ton of rum pairings.

Here's the thing ... the categories of light, amber (or gold), and dark really don't mean anything since rum isn't consistently regulated between producing countries, and color can come from the barrel, or from added caramel color, or just the lack of filtering to remove the color that developed during aging.

Also, the flavor has much more to do with which country is producing the rum, rather than what color it is. Dark Jamaican rums are quite different from dark Spanish style rums (from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, etc) or Navy style rums. If Beachbum Berry calls for a dark Jamaican rum, it is a specific flavor profile he's looking for, so it's not necessarily interchangeable with say a Demerara or Puerto Rican dark rum. As for Zaya, it's too sweet for most cocktails unless it's the only sweet ingredient. Best to keep that one for sipping and only if you really like the sweetness of it. I loved it when I first starting tasting rum nine years ago, but it is too sweet for me now.

All that said ... it's really up to you! Experiment with what you have and see what you like best. The beauty of cocktails is that you can make them with whatever you want to please your palate. The thing to watch out for though, especially with this crowd, is that if you make significant change to a classic cocktail's ingredients, you should probably change the name of it. A Painkiller isn't a Painkiller if it doesn't have Pussers. Martinis aren't made with vodka! And a Mai Tai only has one kind of juice!

I'd say your best choices are Myers's and Coruba for dark. You got that covered. A Demerara would work but is maybe overkill. If you can afford that route, I think all your drinks made with Coruba will be better with El Dorado 12. But try and see. I use Myers's exclusively for my dark rum.

I essentially have only 5 rums in my bar:
Myers's for all Dark rums.
A variety for gold rum from Mt. Gay to Myers's gold to Cruzan. I just refill the bottle that's on the shelf labeled "gold".
Same for white. Usually Cruzan.
Lemon Hart 151
And lastly El Dorado 12 year.

The only real exception is I use Havana Club when I make a Daiquiri. And the final "exception" is I use Bacardi 151 to burn. I could throw all my other rums out and not miss it at all. I have a few straight sippers I like, but don't use them much and don't mix with them unless I want a high end Mai Tai.

*On 2015-02-10 09:08, JenTiki wrote:*A Painkiller isn't a Painkiller if it doesn't have Pussers.

(You might agree w/me on this) Pussers did a sneaky thing by trademarking the drink/recipe as theirs and specifically calling out Pussers...smart move. So that one might be debatable (I like mine w/Smith & Cross).

On 2015-02-10 09:08, JenTiki wrote:
Martinis aren't made with vodka!

Jen, that by itself is a great revelatory statement.

I pity the non-imbiber.

I did an A/B test with Coruba vs Myers in a Remsberg Planter's Punch (calls for 3 oz dark Jamaican, lime, angostura and simple) and Coruba (for me) was a clear winner: more flavorful, less medicinal-tasting. I'm fortunate enough to get Coruba down at the corner liquor store, so I'm luckier than alot of folks on this list. I first started looking out for Coruba when the Buens at Tiki Ti recommended it to me.

I've also recently tried the Plantation Original Dark in some recipes and I found it be really good dark Jamaican sub. ED12 (as are ED5 and ED15 in their own way) is great, though I see it firmly in the Demerara "camp" as it were.

Contrary to Swanky, I would say my home bar is all about having lots of different rums on hand!

To separate the golds & darks is a little difficult because you can use them interchangeably - some rums are darker than others but here's a picture of everything darker than a Puerto Rican style rum:

Some of those darks I don't really rate, Appleton VX was the same colour as the Puerto Rican style rum (ish) so it's not in the picture. I also have a other golds & whites not pictured.

Re Coruba Vs Myers:

I like Coruba but can't get hold if it in the UK (I picked up my bottle in the pic on my travels) - I've come to appreciate Myers is likewise good, you've just got to mix it right (the dilution & sweetness is key) - I use good ol' Myers a lot.

But what Swanky says is true - if you switch a rum in a drink it can make all the difference & that includes switching to 'cheaper / less refined' rum.

I think Coruba is the best choice. I don't really like Myers and I almost hate Blackstrap. Coruba is what they use at Tiki Ti and Bali Hai, so it is the cheapest and the best for mixing. Gosling is decent and I would use it over Blackstrap.

You can interchange any rums to your own flavor preference. Sometimes it will change the recipe but making drinks at home is for you to like so go ahead and experiment.

On 2015-02-10 09:58, kkocka wrote:

*On 2015-02-10 09:08, JenTiki wrote:*A Painkiller isn't a Painkiller if it doesn't have Pussers.

(You might agree w/me on this) Pussers did a sneaky thing by trademarking the drink/recipe as theirs and specifically calling out Pussers...smart move. So that one might be debatable (I like mine w/Smith & Cross).

I agree Smith & Cross all the way. Going to Disney on Friday so I predict many Tiki Rums with S&C.

I like Coruba the best of all the "dark jamaican rums" I've tried (I usually assume that dark jamaican means a jamaican rum that has had molasses added back to it, based on nothing other than the fact that hamilton's black jamaican pot still is that). I find Myer's to be less fruity than Coruba and more vegetal, almost tequila-like in some ways. I use Coruba pretty much any time that dark jamaican is called for, unless the recipe calls for/recommends a different rum, or I'm making a Jim's Special, since the Tiki-ti specifies that they use Myer's and I find that the tequila-like elements of it go good with whatever reposado I'm using. I'd say to exploit the hell out of the fact that you can get Coruba easily and save the other stuff for situations where it's specifically called for.

@wupput - for the record, I highly encourage you to post here if you have any rum either-or type of questions. The thread has received little love unfortunately but I could write on this daily: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=48627&forum=10

On 2015-02-10 14:49, lunavideogames wrote:
I agree Smith & Cross all the way. Going to Disney on Friday so I predict many Tiki Rums with S&C.

Do you ask for it by request? Otherwise its Pyrat XO.

Yeah Keith, they will happily make it for you with S&C. I always go that route over Pyrat.

Thanks everybody for all the responses! Great info and I love that picture of all the rums. Thinking about it, the place I've had the most good tiki drinks and about my favorite spot to get a drink within 100 miles is Tiki Ti, so if they use Coruba exclusively for the darks, no wonder I naturally like it. Jim's Special, gotta try that one of these days. Last time I was in there, there was Jim, drinking one....

On 2015-02-10 15:11, PalmtreePat wrote:
(I usually assume that dark jamaican means a jamaican rum that has had molasses added back to it, based on nothing other than the fact that hamilton's black jamaican pot still is that).

Actually, it is caramel that is added to Hamilton's Jamaican Pot Still for color, not molasses. Two very different things. I was with Ed at Smuggler's Cove when he actually brought in samples of the caramel he uses and showed us the difference just a drop makes in the color.

On 2015-02-10 23:02, wupput wrote:
Thanks everybody for all the responses! Great info and I love that picture of all the rums. Thinking about it, the place I've had the most good tiki drinks and about my favorite spot to get a drink within 100 miles is Tiki Ti, so if they use Coruba exclusively for the darks, no wonder I naturally like it. Jim's Special, gotta try that one of these days. Last time I was in there, there was Jim, drinking one....

Tiki Ti doesn't use Coruba exclusively, but they use it more often than Myers. The Ooga Booga has a LOT of Myers in it, but it seems like Coruba is their go to for a dark rum.

On 2015-02-11 08:04, JenTiki wrote:

On 2015-02-10 15:11, PalmtreePat wrote:
(I usually assume that dark jamaican means a jamaican rum that has had molasses added back to it, based on nothing other than the fact that hamilton's black jamaican pot still is that).

Actually, it is caramel that is added to Hamilton's Jamaican Pot Still for color, not molasses. Two very different things. I was with Ed at Smuggler's Cove when he actually brought in samples of the caramel he uses and showed us the difference just a drop makes in the color.

Interesting. Is -that- the defining feature of dark jamaican? The caramel? I see lots of "dark" rums from other places, but their color is more amber, probably just from being in the cask. "Dark Jamaican" rums always seem to be verging on opaque and almost black in color, which I assumed was from the addition of a little bit of molasses, but it was actually caramel?

Almost all rums are made from molasses. Martinique rums (as well as a few others, 10 Cane, Barbancourt) are made from pressed sugar cane. All of these dark rums we are discussing are made from molasses. I do not know why they are darker in coloring, the caramel coloring could be why.

[ Edited by: lunavideogames 2015-02-11 12:41 ]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the dark color can come from either added caramel coloring (which is actually used in most gold and dark rums in some amount to ensure consistency in color from batch to batch), and/or from the aging process. Molasses is generally only used in the beginning fermentation process.

I can't help but think that a good way to settle this question would be to arrange for distillery tours around the islands of the Caribbean. Let's go!

From the "Goats On The Road" web site:
River Antoine Rum Distillery, St. Patrick, Grenada
"It’s a known fact that rum is the drink of choice throughout the Caribbean. The River Antoine Rum Distillery’s processes have changed very little since the 1800’s. This is the oldest functioning water-propelled distillery not only in Grenada, but in the whole Caribbean. Tours here are $5EC and you get a delicious tasting at the end."

On 2015-02-11 14:53, AceExplorer wrote:
I can't help but think that a good way to settle this question would be to arrange for distillery tours around the islands of the Caribbean. Let's go!

From the "Goats On The Road" web site:
River Antoine Rum Distillery, St. Patrick, Grenada
"It’s a known fact that rum is the drink of choice throughout the Caribbean. The River Antoine Rum Distillery’s processes have changed very little since the 1800’s. This is the oldest functioning water-propelled distillery not only in Grenada, but in the whole Caribbean. Tours here are $5EC and you get a delicious tasting at the end."

Haha if only

JenTiki, I'm totally feeling you on the Zaya. At first I loved it - a great sipping rum. I thought. Now I prefer Plantation 5 neat, which is cheaper anyway.

But while I can still see sipping Zaya occasionally, for mixing, the Zaya has turned several of my drinks into disasters. Zaya Hurricanes were awful! I even tried mixing it half and half with Pussers to cut the vanilla. Still awful. Didn't like Mai Tais with it either. I have a feeling my bottle will be sitting around unused for a while.

I have been on that distillery tour! Very rustic and interesting. They make overproof rum exclusively. Basically Caribbean moonshine. My tee-totaling mom did her shot, then someone else's (it's pretty much like drinking grassy flavored kerosene) and she was toast for the day. I still have about a half a bottle left. It's got a cool handmade label, but the rum is pretty much a novelty.