Trader Vic's Rums

While I was browsing around BevMo's web site tonight checking out their selection/prices I noticed that Trader Vic's has introduced some new line extensions, a banana, pineapple, mango & coconut rum.

http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductList.aspx?Ntt=trader+vic's&N=0&Ntx=mode%2bmatchall&Nty=1&D=trader+vic's&Ntk=All&Dx=mode%2bmatchall

I thought that this was interesting in light of a thread that I recently read over at noted rum authority Ed Hamilton's Ministry of Rum site, where Ed stated that Trader Vic's is a private label made in the Virgin Islands possibly by Cruzan:

http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2271&highlight=trader+virgin

The new TV flavours seam to correspond with Cruzan's newish flavored line extensions, so is it safe to assume that TV's rums are actually Cruzan? I don't drink either brand (except for Cruzan Blackstrap) but for those who have had both brands what do you think? If they are indeed the same rums the TV label is usually several dollars less expensive than Cruzan and would be a good buy for Cruzan fans, much as Castillo is rebranded Bacardi that's sold at a discounted price.

I use the TV's rum when I mix large batches of anything. I went through 12 bottles at Tiki Oasis this year, 6 dark and 6 light. Thankfully they are only $7.99 at Hi-Time Wines. As for being Cruzan, it's hard to tell..I use the Cruzan Dark (not really dark) and the Cruzan Single Barrel quite a bit, neither of them are very close to the TV's at all. If Cruzan is making the Trader Vic's, they are different formulas and not just re-badges of the existing Cruzan. As for the flavors, I can't vouch for those.

I picked up a bottle of the pineapple when we did our big stock up in Cali, but we haven't tried it, yet.

On 2009-08-31 22:38, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
The new TV flavours seam to correspond with Cruzan's newish flavored line extensions, so is it safe to assume that TV's rums are actually Cruzan? I don't drink either brand (except for Cruzan Blackstrap) but for those who have had both brands what do you think? If they are indeed the same rums the TV label is usually several dollars less expensive than Cruzan and would be a good buy for Cruzan fans, much as Castillo is rebranded Bacardi that's sold at a discounted price.

The TV rums are definitely not Cruzan.

As much as I support Trader Vic's restaurants, they uniformly have made bad choices in whoever they franchised their liquor franchise to. No good rum has been sold under the name for years.

They have been around for at least 2 years. Whatever they use to flavor the pineapple type gives me a headache everytime I drink it.

the last few times I have been to the New TV's in Downtown LA.
the TV's rums they used in the drinks tasted gawd awful, and I barely got a buzz, like I used to.
and no hangover.

which makes me believe its a grain alcohol, and small bit of rum blend.
I heard that Barcardi was doing these blends, and that's why they taste so bad.

I wonder if Barcardi is making the TV's rum?

Jeff(btd)

I use the coconut one sparingly for flavor... and too much is definitely way too much.

Trader Vic's base rum is made by Cruzan. It's sold in bulk and not aged as long as Cruzan. The flavors are different from the Cruzan flavors.

Castillo is made by Bacardi but is not the same rum- it uses a different yeast strain.

Martiki,

Thanks for the info, it's great to know!

Mahalo,

Craig

On 2009-09-05 20:12, martiki wrote:
Trader Vic's base rum is made by Cruzan. It's sold in bulk and not aged as long as Cruzan.

so the lesson learned is: if you're burning through 6 bottles in a night and cost is a factor, TV's will suffice, but otherwise use the Cruzan in recipes calling for "regular" light and/or gold (PR or VI rum?

On 2009-09-01 10:04, bewarethe151 wrote:

On 2009-08-31 22:38, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
The new TV flavours seam to correspond with Cruzan's newish flavored line extensions, so is it safe to assume that TV's rums are actually Cruzan? I don't drink either brand (except for Cruzan Blackstrap) but for those who have had both brands what do you think? If they are indeed the same rums the TV label is usually several dollars less expensive than Cruzan and would be a good buy for Cruzan fans, much as Castillo is rebranded Bacardi that's sold at a discounted price.

The TV rums are definitely not Cruzan.

I stand corrected. Sure doesn't taste like Cruzan!

The Zen Tiki Lounge podcast hosted our first ever room crawl at Tiki Oasis 9. We featured two drinks we had picked up from bartenders while on our travels. One cocktail called for Cruzan vanilla, Cruzan coconut and Cruzan Black Strap. Because Cruzan was on sale at Hi Times I also picked up their pineapple and mango just for fun. A friend had recently given me all of the Trader Vic's flavored rums so I decided to taste them all and see who does it better. From the first pair I tried (the pineapple), Cruzan kicked TV's butt. Then the coconut, again Cruzan was clearly a better flavor. As I went through each of the flavors I could easily say that Cruzan really must be using "natural ingredients." It shows.

On a side note: Cruzan Vanilla is amazing. Does anyone else even make a vanilla rum? I may not have to make my vanilla bar syrup any longer. The Cruzan coconut actually appears to have a bit of a toasted flavor, better than Malibu and Bacardi as well. Yummy!

I'm not a huge fan of Vanilla rum,
but Whalers(sp?) from Hawaii has one.

Jeff(btd)

On 2009-09-11 12:45, Sunshine Tiki wrote:
The Zen Tiki Lounge podcast hosted our first ever room crawl at Tiki Oasis 9. We featured two drinks we had picked up from bartenders while on our travels. One cocktail called for Cruzan vanilla, Cruzan coconut and Cruzan Black Strap. Because Cruzan was on sale at Hi Times I also picked up their pineapple and mango just for fun. A friend had recently given me all of the Trader Vic's flavored rums so I decided to taste them all and see who does it better. From the first pair I tried (the pineapple), Cruzan kicked TV's butt. Then the coconut, again Cruzan was clearly a better flavor. As I went through each of the flavors I could easily say that Cruzan really must be using "natural ingredients." It shows.

On a side note: Cruzan Vanilla is amazing. Does anyone else even make a vanilla rum? I may not have to make my vanilla bar syrup any longer. The Cruzan coconut actually appears to have a bit of a toasted flavor, better than Malibu and Bacardi as well. Yummy!

Sunshine Tiki- I loved the drink the vanilla drink you served at your party! Would you mind sharing the recipe?

Picked this up at the local rum dump. I don't usually buy a bottle of rum just on bottle appeal alone but I liked this one. I know Trader Vic's rums are not the best and I am not a big fan of spiced rum but my wife enjoys it. The label has a great vintage look and feel to it. The label actually has the texture of cloth. We haven't tried it yet though. Even if the rum is bad they did do a good job with the packaging in my opinion.

Trader Vic's Spiced Rum just made it to the antiquated Pennsylvania State-owned Liquor stores, but none of the other flavors or the pre-mixed cocktails. I gotta say I was happy, but totally bought it for the name/packaging not because I thought it would be excellent.

I havent tried TV rums yet, but their Amaretto is flippin smooooth! I love it.