Blending Rums

Does anyone have experience in blending rums? I was thinking it would be nice to have my own "house rum" but I'm not sure if there's a tried-and-true technique to follow. If anyone has any tips, or can point me to a web site or book with good info, I'd appreciate it.

Hey Arri I have extensive experience blending rums. E. G. : onuce Martinique rum, ounce Jamaican,ounce lime juice,1/2 oz. curacao,and 1/2 oz. orgeat-oh, I'm sorry,that"s shaken. Seriously, I just used some "Origine" rum in a couple of mai tais for my wife and I. Origine claims to be a blend of seven rums. I dunno. I do know that it made for a quite tasty mai tai. Check out the label-see what you think of the combo's they used. Kinda pricy for me ($28,, $10 off right now at Albertson's_.
Cheers, and good luck. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
David

I use a blend of Appleton Extra and Wray & Nephew Overproof as a decent sub for Smith & Cross, which isn't available through the LCBO. It's not the same but it does a pretty good job most of the time.

First off, this site helped me out a bunch http://www.therumelier.com/id59.html. Since taste is subjective and you are trying to create a personal blend, I'd say pull everything out of your cabinet, put on your lab coat and goggles, and get to work. Maybe a good place for us to help you better is to describe what types of drinks you will be making.

For drier cocktails, I sometimes use a combo of El Dorado and Appleton and a wee bit of Coruba. This mixture came out of desperation one evening and isn't too bad with lime, simple syrup, bitters, and a splash of soda water.

For what it's worth, Trader Vic's 1944 Mai Tai rum is nothing more than a 50/50 of their dark and golden (IIRC) rums.

Thanks for the comments and especially the link - I'll read through that. And I think I may not have been as clear as I meant to be - I didn't mean blending rums in a cocktail, I meant blending rums into a bottled batch. So I guess what I was looking for was whether there is a preferred procedure. Can I just combine half/half (or whatever) of rums, or should I add portions of them in increments, should it be primarily one rum (say, 60-80%) with the remaining being a mixture - or are there no real rules and it's just a matter of taste?

arriano,

Since I don't expect you to be barrel aging anything I would expect you could just use whatever proportions you want and just start blending away.

From my reading I don't think too much changes after you initially blend especially if you are just doing so in glass bottles.

I suppose we could experiment. Make a blend, try it the first night then come back a few days or a week later and see if there is any flavor change? But I don't think there would be much going on in terms chemical reaction just within the glass bottle. But then I do always hear of cognac, scotch, and some other spirits being rested after blending....but i thinking that is usually done in barrel. hmmmmm.

I like your idea though, I have thought of doing a "house" blend for the home bar too, I know Hurricane Heyward has said that Kohala Bay Rum used at the Mai Kai is supposed to be very close to the old dagger rum Don the Beachcomber used to use. And he mentioned you could get close by using El Dorado 12 and Smith & Cross, so I have been thinking of making my own Dagger Rum using those two and maybe something else.

Either way sounds like it could be fun.

On 2012-05-17 13:09, arriano wrote:
And I think I may not have been as clear as I meant to be - I didn't mean blending rums in a cocktail, I meant blending rums into a bottled batch.

I knew what you meant.

On 2012-05-17 15:52, Rawim wrote:

And he mentioned you could get close by using El Dorado 12 and Smith & Cross, so I have been thinking of making my own Dagger Rum using those two and maybe something else.

Either way sounds like it could be fun.

I had a 1/4 bottle of S&C and less than half of a bottle of Appleton v/x and mixed the two with decent results.

FWIW, I have no idea what I'm doing; I just combine things hoping serendipity is on my side.

On 2012-05-17 15:52, Rawim wrote:
I know Hurricane Heyward has said that Kohala Bay Rum used at the Mai Kai is supposed to be very close to the old dagger rum Don the Beachcomber used to use. And he mentioned you could get close by using El Dorado 12 and Smith & Cross, so I have been thinking of making my own Dagger Rum using those two and maybe something else.

Actually, that's exactly what got me thinking about it in the first place. Can't buy Dagger/Kohala Bay rum? Make a substitute.

I am sorry to report, but Kohala Bay rum is nothing like original Dagger. For that matter, nothing is like the old Dagger - by itself. But, as you blend rums for a cocktail, certain taste elements fall behind and others come out. I would say it's similar to the NEW 151 Lemonhart: By itself, it does not stand up to the original, but as a mixer it seems to function fairly well along the same lines as the old.

OK, getting back to this idea -- I put off creating a "house rum" for awhile because I couldn't make up my mind what I should be blending. Then I became intrigued by the conversations that were taking place about diluting Lemon Hart 151 to create Lemon Hart 80. I know there's a thread on Tiki Central somewhere, but here's the one from Ministry of Rum:

http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5778

Anyway, it got me to thinking - if you can dilute 151, you're not obligated to make it 80 proof. And so I bring you the house rum at our bar, the only bottle of Lemon Hart 114-proof "Navy Strength" rum in existence (that I know of):

Here's a close-up of the label I created for the rum:

Excellent post Arriano. How has your new LH Navy Strength been working in cocktails?

I like it a lot. So far I've used it in a Navy Grog and a Mai Tai. I recommend creating it if you're looking for another Lemon Hart for your shelf. You can even use my label. :)