Angustora 1919 or Appleton for Mai Tai?

Greetings Tiki Centeral;

I've been stocking up and getting my friends nice and intoxicated on delicious tiki, and now that my Flor de Cana is running low, I'm planning on picking up some aged rum. My choices are somewhat limited by selection (Mass and New Hampshire).

As best as I can tell, there is no martinique rum available anywhere I shop. For the aged rum, I'm looking at the following, and I feel I can only get one bottle from this selection (Price for a 750ml):

Angostura 1919 - $26
Appleton Est VX - $18
Appleton Extra - $33

I feel like the extra's a bit expensive, though I'm willing to splurge a bit this time of year.

Any suggestions on which to go with, as well as a substitute for martinique, are very much appreciated.

Peace.

The Appleton VX is a very decent mai tai rum.

Also try the Brugal Anejo or Santa Teresa.

The ST in particular is probably the best rum bargain out there - perfectly good for mixing basic tiki drinks, and only about $15 per bottle. It has become my go-to cheap-o rum.

The Brugal Anejo has become my mid-priced mai tai fave lately, but I still like St. James H'ors D'Age if I'm getting fancy-pants.

I'd definitely go for one of the Appleton's over the Angostura rum. Personally I'd say pick up the VX. It is a great rum, not too expensive and shows up in quite a few of the Bum's recipes.

Tough to find a replacement for the St. James. It has a funkiness that doesn't show up in non-Martinique rums. It'd be different, but you could use a Demerara instead (Lemon Hart or El Dorado) to make another interesting combo.

[ Edited by: hiwattowner 2009-04-15 06:50 ]

Appleton's Estate Extra makes the best mai tais, in my opinion. I am not a fan of blending a Appleton's with a Martinique rum for a mai tai. In my view, Martiniques work better with spicy drinks.

You can try to go cheap by using V/X or Santa Teresa, but I find that a mai tai made with either of these rums lacks body. If you go that route, I recommend V/X. Or, for a decent substitute for Extra, use a 50/50 blend of V/X and a dark Jamaican rum such as Myers or Coruba.

I prefer the V/X for a Mai Tai and mix it with whichever of the three Rhum St James rums I happened to have open at the time, or the Rum Clement (more smokey flavor overall).

I wasn't looking for Martinique rum, but when coming back through NH 2 weeks ago, I found some 5-star Rhum Barbancourt (with free glass) for $13 at the state liquor barn. I already have some of this Haitian rum, but for $13 bucks, I figured I'd stockpile. I think its $25 around my parts. I've never tried this in a Mai Tai, but it might compliment the Appleton V/X or Special Gold. Anyone try that combo?

I have used Appleton VX with great success. Pyrat or Zaya makes a real nice Mai Tai, too!

I would choose the Appleton for a Mai Tai, but get the Angostura for this great original drink by Martiki, the Twenty Seventy Swizzle:

Twenty Seventy Swizzle

• 1 oz Angostura 1919 Rum
• 1 oz 151 Demerara Rum
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz rich simple syrup
• 1/2 oz honey syrup
• 1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• 4 drops Pernod
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 pinch freshly-ground nutmeg

Add all ingredients to a glass. Fill with crushed ice. Insert barspoon and swizzle until frost forms on the glass. Top with extra ice if needed. Serve with a straw.

From:
http://cocktailnerd.com/?p=1276

The day I find something smaller than 750ml of Pernod is the day I buy it; maybe NYC will have a short bottle. Thanks for the heads up, went with the V/X and some Rhum St. James Royal Ambre, not noticing THAT much of a difference, but my palate can always improve.

On 2009-04-23 06:14, Carpathia wrote:
The day I find something smaller than 750ml of Pernod is the day I buy it; maybe NYC will have a short bottle. Thanks for the heads up, went with the V/X and some Rhum St. James Royal Ambre, not noticing THAT much of a difference, but my palate can always improve.

You can probably use any absinthe or absinthe substitute instead of Pernod in the 2070 Swizzle.

Hey Dean, check your p.m.s, please.
S.

Do they even sell allspice dram in the united states? That seems to be a theme on tikiroom: pimento dram is great, but impossible to find.

On 2009-04-23 19:58, bigbrotiki wrote:
Hey Dean, check your p.m.s, please.
S.

Are you saying I have PMS? :lol:

On 2009-04-27 14:25, Carpathia wrote:
Do they even sell allspice dram in the united states? That seems to be a theme on tikiroom: pimento dram is great, but impossible to find.

Yes, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram has been out for a year or two.

http://www.alpenz.com/portfolio.htm