The Only 6 Rums a Tiki Enthusiast Will Ever Need??!

OK tiki centralites, I'd love to hear some opinions on this right here: http://www.eater.com/2015/3/18/8250187/the-only-6-rums-a-tiki-enthusiast-will-ever-need
Beachbum Berry says all we need are: Cana Brava, Banks 7 Golden Age, English Harbor 5 year, Samaroli Demerara 1988, Hamilton Demerara, and Clément Grand Réserve 10-Year.

No, he didn't say they're the only 6 you'll need.

per the article: "According to Berry, these are six of the best...."

Though according to the misleading article headline, "The Only 6 Rums a Tiki Enthusiast Will Ever Need"

I'm willing to bet the headline writer is the one who said this, not BB - just wouldn't make a whole lot of sense given the intros to his books.

I find it interesting there are two Demerara Rums on the list.

And regardless of Six Best or Only Six, it IS a good line up and you could make a whole lot of really good cocktails using those bottles.

I did a quick check on Hi-Times Wine Cellars (Costa Mesa,Calif.) website. All except the Samaroli Demerara are available for a total of $171 or so. The Samaroli rums on their site were 145 bucks on up. I located Samaroli Demerara at a place in New York State for 189 dollars-don’t know if that includes shipping.Cheers

The photo of the six rums accompanying the article includes El Dorado Demerara and not the Samaroli Demerara. It does not depict the English Harbour but instead includes a Samroli Rhum Agricole. I wonder which is correct. The photo of the six or the list of the six in the article?

Interesting concept, that of having a minimalist approach to what you keep in your bar. I bought and started reading "The 10 Bottle Bar" but haven't finished yet. (Dang home repairs...) The concept is interesting to me because I'm at a point where I'm weeding out spirits that I've accumulated throughout the years but don't really need or use that often. Some were gifts, and we all know how those tend to go...

I actually don't think any of those are essential for tiki drinks. Not that I wouldn't mind trying a few, especially that Samaroli..

Id also been wondering about this article, regardless of the title & rums featured in the picture, I took the article to be '6 rums that are recommended' rather than this is all you need - I don't think 6 rums is enough!

I thought it was interesting that it had a link to Latitude 29's rum list & that was only 22 bottles long - that's not a bad thing but I was surprised at their choice of bottles:

Dark:

• Clement Grand Reserve 10-Year
• Neisson Reserve Speciale
• Rhum J.M. VSOP
• Hamilton Demerara
• Samaroli Demerara 1988
• Mount Gay Extra Old
• Samaroli Agricole 1998

Gold:

• El Dorado Single Barrel 7P
• Barbancourt 15-Year
• Don Q Gran Anejo
• Clement Cuvee Homere
• Neisson Eleve Sous Bois
• English Harbor 5-Year
• Banks 7 Gold
• Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold
• Smith & Cross
• Ministry of Rum St Lucia 7-year
• Chairman’s Reserve Forgotten Cask

White:

• Clement Canne Bleue
• Plantation 3 Star
• Cana Brava
• Bacardi Heritage Limited Edition

I can admit to having tried only 4 of the rums on the list so I cant speak to the quality of most of that list but they are 'names that you know' that are reputed to be good.

The selection makes me think...

What would you use in a Coconaut or Nui Nui?

One is invented by the Bum, the other is often mentioned as a drink he recommends.

Obviously you could sub around (e.g. a Jamaican / Demerara combo for a Coconaut or Don Q for a VI rum in the Nui Nui) but I was surprised to not see no Cruzan Gold / Flor De Cana / Appleton 12 / Coruba (i.e. solid mixers) on the list or any overproofs - there are a lot of agricoles (6 + Barbancourt) & no truely dark Jamaican (Corbua / Myers / Kohala Bay / Appleton 12).

There is another post about Jeff Berry & Stephen Remsberg combining 4 non Jamaican rums to make substitute a gold Jamaican rum... but a good dark Jamaican rum straight out of the bottle is hard to beat.

The article does mention that Latitude 29 does stock 'a handful of value bottles in the well' so maybe the list of 6 / 22 bottles is just their sipping portfolio.

Here's another list (from a few years ago) that Jeff Berry contributed '10 essential rums' to, he selected:

• Lemon Hart 151
• El Dorado 5 year
• Appleton Estate Extra
• Appleton Reserve or V/X
• Clement VSOP
• Flor De Cana Extra Dry white
• Flor De Cana 5 year or 7 year gold
• Barbancourt 5 star
• Cockspur Fine rum
• Old New Orleans spiced

None if the rums match but the Latitude 29 list has several more premium (more expensive) versions of similar rums (eg Clement VSOP becomes the 10 year, Barbancourt 8 year is replaced by the 15 year). That's more like what I was expecting - a mixing focused selection.

So maybe Latitude 29 have a 'selection' of well rums that they makes a good quantity of the drinks with - anyone visited & tried a few? :)

i'm surprised that he lists NO 151 on the essential list. I know LH151 is hard to come by now, but the Hamilton 151 in a 151 Swizzle is probably my current favorite.

Plus, he sure does seem to have a lot of LH151 on display :)

I am thinking this article is just sloppy (or sensationalist) journalism.

Jeff Berry starts talking about the 20 rums at Latitude 29. Next thing you know we have his opinion on 6 - accompanied by a photo of 6 rums - only 4 of which correlate to the 6 mentioned.

I was at Latitude 29 a few months ago and did have the pleasure of discussing rum with Mr. Berry. Among them was my favorite sipper, the Samaroli Demerara 1988. It would be a pretty safe bet that no cocktail recipe there uses the Samaroli. You can buy a taste for an appropriately steep price. The Clemente on the list would be a sipper only also.

Pursuing the six rums mentioned as the only rums you need to make great tiki drinks is a fool's mission, IMHO.

I think it would have been great if the article listed the 20 rums featured at Latitude 29, and even better if it revealed which drinks they are used in, but I get the impression that the author knows nothing about rum, Tiki, cocktails, etc. Just another writer dabbling in unknown (to him or her) waters fronting to be an expert to get a paycheck.

It seems to have created a stir though, so - great!!!

Just MHO.

Jack