Anyone with experience using Hamilton Jamaican pot still gold rum?

I have seen it used by bar tenders making a couple drinks in my day. I know I've seen it used in a zombie, but wonder if others have had success using it? I found a bottle the other day and want to give it a try.

I have been using a bottle of the Pot Still Black, which is the same thing other than caramel color to darken it up. I really like mixing it with other Jamaican rums like Coruba dark, Appleton Signature or Reserve and using that as my old school style dark Jamaican that is funky but not quite so overpowering. I've seen people use it as the solo rum in Jungle Birds and the Montego Bay cocktail. I personally love the stuff but you have to be a fan of the Jamaican Hogo thing because it's got a lot of that.

On 2016-12-09 07:40, LeftarmofBuddha wrote:
I have been using a bottle of the Pot Still Black, which is the same thing other than caramel color to darken it up. I really like mixing it with other Jamaican rums like Coruba dark, Appleton Signature or Reserve and using that as my old school style dark Jamaican that is funky but not quite so overpowering. I've seen people use it as the solo rum in Jungle Birds and the Montego Bay cocktail. I personally love the stuff but you have to be a fan of the Jamaican Hogo thing because it's got a lot of that.

Thank you for your response! When you mix it with those other rums, what ratio do you use?

I've personally been mixing it 1:1 for a while but that might be a bit overpowering for some. I've seeen people on here suggesting something like 5 parts Appleton reserve to 1 part HJPot still to 1 part overproof rum like lemonhart, Hamilton, or plantation OFTD. That mix supposedly gets close to the Kohala Bay style old school Jamaican dark territory, which is what I am going for. It is a great mix but I haven't tried Kohala bay so I can't compare it. Mixing it with any other Jamaican rums in whatever ratio tastes good to you should be a great way to use it as a component of dark Jamaican Rum, at least from my experience. Hamilton should have a navy strength Rum coming out soon that is a navy blend of English style rums from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, etc. I'm ooking forward to that expression, as well.

On 2016-12-10 08:14, LeftarmofBuddha wrote:
I've personally been mixing it 1:1 for a while but that might be a bit overpowering for some. I've seeen people on here suggesting something like 5 parts Appleton reserve to 1 part HJPot still to 1 part overproof rum like lemonhart, Hamilton, or plantation OFTD. That mix supposedly gets close to the Kohala Bay style old school Jamaican dark territory, which is what I am going for. It is a great mix but I haven't tried Kohala bay so I can't compare it. Mixing it with any other Jamaican rums in whatever ratio tastes good to you should be a great way to use it as a component of dark Jamaican Rum, at least from my experience. Hamilton should have a navy strength Rum coming out soon that is a navy blend of English style rums from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, etc. I'm ooking forward to that expression, as well.

Wow! This is a level of rum consumption that is new to me. You mix them before putting them into cocktails? Thank you again for your response and for educating me:)

Haha, I do. I get a bit obsessive with my hobbies and interests. I've actually only been experimenting with tiki for about a year but I have learned a good bit in that time. I don't claim to be an expert but I know what I think tastes good. Glad I could be of help.

On 2016-12-10 22:24, LeftarmofBuddha wrote:
Haha, I do. I get a bit obsessive with my hobbies and interests. I've actually only been experimenting with tiki for about a year but I have learned a good bit in that time. I don't claim to be an expert but I know what I think tastes good. Glad I could be of help.

LeftarmofBuddha, do you then use it as dark Jamaican rum? And therefore use it in the same amount?

Hey, here in the Valley of the Sun/Phoenix area, we have a lovely little bar in Chandler called the Ostrich (in the basement of a Crust restaurant near the San Marcos hotel-they have done it up to look like a speakeasy, but truly, it is a fine craft cocktail establishment). They have a bartender named Maxton who says he was a bartender in New Orleans where he had his own tiki bar. Suffice it to say, I believe him. They have three tiki drinks on their menu including a Zombie and Mai Tai recipies, which are spot on. Relevant to this topic, they put the Hamilton Jamaican pot still in their Zombie in place of the gold Jamaican. I have really enjoyed each of the Zombies I have had there, and tried my own at home this evening: best Zombie I have made at home (I also put a lot more crushed ice in it-after watching Maxton pack ice into the glass). I will do this again, needless to say!

[ Edited by: arcadiandj 2016-12-15 04:02 ]

Yes, I use the hamilton pot still in a mix to make a Jamaican dark that may be somewhat similar to Kohala Bay, based on people/s descriptions and Hurricane Hayward's substitutions.

I am in middle Tennessee just south of Nashville and we have no Tiki Bars at all. Friends have said I need to open one. The best drinks I have had pretty much always have a funkier Jamaican rum in them so I totally get you on the zombies you have had at that bar and made for yourself at home. And the more ice, the better! And just to be clear, yes, I got really interested in Hurricane Hayward's Mai Kai Tribute recipes and found them to be the best tasting drinks I have been able to make. At the time, they were using Kohala Bay as their dark Jamaican rum in most drinks and I had no way of procuring any so I followed the substitution suggestions he gave and mixed Smith and Cross 1:1 with El Dorado 12 year, bottled that and mixed it in the typical amount of dark Jamaican rum called for in the recipe. Both of those rums are delicious, combine into a really rich and tasty blend, but it is an expensive blend for me. When I tried the Hamilton Pot Still I realized it was a slightly cheaper and even more aggressive alternative to Smith and Cross. And Appleton Reserve or even Coruba can fill in for the El Dorado 12 year. There are differences in all of these but when you blend them and use on 3/4 to 2oz of this blend, it isn't a huge a difference. Here is a link to Hurrican Hayward's blog if you aren't already familiar with it. So much great info to be found here! http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2012/05/08/rums-of-the-mai-kai-legendary-lemon-hart-returns-to-the-promised-land/#dagger

[ Edited by: LeftarmofBuddha 2016-12-14 11:13 ]

[ Edited by: LeftarmofBuddha 2016-12-14 11:26 ]

When a recipe calls for dark Jamaican rum I typically grab a bottle of Coruba, which is a blend of column and pot still rums. (Many say that recently that blend leans more toward column still.) Lately, instead of using one ounce Coruba I used 3/4 ounce Coruba and 1/4 ounce Hamilton Pot Still Black. Even that small amount makes a noticeable difference. Overall, I've found the drinks to be more full flavored.

If one were to swap out one ounce of Coruba for one ounce of Hamilton the two drinks would taste completely different but the addition of that quarter ounce just nudges the drink, in my opinion.

Hamilton's brings the Funk. The Pot Still Black and the Jamaican Gold are quite fonky in their own ways. I can see where it'd stomp all over other rums, ingredients in a complex recipe, esp. a '34 Zombie. However, it's great in a Jungle Bird, great in a Remsberg Planter's Punch

[ Edited by: Kill Devil 2017-01-12 21:42 ]

I use it all the time, it is my go to Jamaica rum.

it's great in a planters, it's great in a Hurricane, you can I use the dark for mugged drinks, I use the gold for glasses and punches.

It's SUPER funky, it's relatively cheap, it's the best old school JA rum you can get right now.

My second would be Smith and Cross but that is overproof, so you have to compensate for it a bit.

This rum is noticeable in cocktails.

I would recommend you get both the Demerara rums that Hamilton has put out, and both the Jamaicas, they are outstanding for mixing, and priced very well for the quality of the spirit.

I mostly free mix cocktails now, I have been doing punches with these with pineapple, grapefruit, lime, pomegranate, blood orange, various spiced syrups. Mixed with Barbados and Demerara and Spanish style rums.

It's outstanding go get a bottle now, before it's gone.