Rum.

[ama]



Had a rum sampling at the house last night. Results:
Plantation 2000 Jamacia - horrible nose on this. smells like rotten bananas. It was very weird in that it would mellow a bit after a pour, then when I'd come back to it the smell would return. Couldn't get over it.
Plantation barbados run 20th anniversary extra old - the nose on this was better but the taste was worse. sort of rotten bananas again. not impressed with the Plantation family, obviously.
Rum Martinique - rhum agricole Neisson reserve special - this one has a sort of creme brulee nose but really lacked any sort of body on the finish. Might have been helped with an ice cube but I doubt it.
Smith & Cross Traditional Jamacia Rum - Pure Pot Still Navy Strength - The strongest of the bunch at 57% alcohol, it literally tasted like rum cut with rubbing alcohol. Horrible.

Crazy talk. You must not care for the cognac finishing.

 

[Rambo]



Crazy talk. You must not care for the cognac finishing.

Not true kind sir. I do loves me some Dos Maderas. There was just something about it, and the Jamaican, that made me want to gag.

 

[ama]

Dos Maderas = sherry

 

[Rambo]



Dos Maderas = sherry

God damn it, you're right. My bad.

Tonight's tastings:

Ron Barcelo Imperial - very honey scented nose. The finish is sort of a cross between a fine rum and honey. Nice. Not my fav, but definitely not offending in any way.

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva - Very sugared/molasses nose. The taste is sweet but with a bit of burn on the finish. Just a slight bit. Complex character on this one. I get a bit of charred sugarcane. I like this.

 

[Huntsman]

Quote:

Had a rum sampling at the house last night. Results:

Plantation 2000 Jamacia - horrible nose on this. smells like rotten bananas. It was very weird in that it would mellow a bit after a pour, then when I'd come back to it the smell would return. Couldn't get over it.

Plantation barbados run 20th anniversary extra old - the nose on this was better but the taste was worse. sort of rotten bananas again. not impressed with the Plantation family, obviously.

Rum Martinique - rhum agricole Neisson reserve special - this one has a sort of creme brulee nose but really lacked any sort of body on the finish. Might have been helped with an ice cube but I doubt it.

Smith & Cross Traditional Jamacia Rum - Pure Pot Still Navy Strength - The strongest of the bunch at 57% alcohol, it literally tasted like rum cut with rubbing alcohol. Horrible.

Everyone seems to praise the Plantation 20th Anniversary, so that's interesting. I've had the Smith & Cross in cocktails, and didn't even like it there. I don't understand the point of it.

To that end, I just ordered this Rum book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0789208024/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1

We'll see if its any good. I've really been enjoying Rum since my first bottle of Zacapa two years ago, but am only now really getting into it. I don't know that I yet really understand it -- it is not as easy a spirit to learn as, say, Scotch, or even bourbon.

Crazy talk. You must not care for the cognac finishing.

Speaking of finishes, ama, one of the stores I take quarterly trips to sometimes has the Murray McDavid rums with various finishes. Do you have any experience/recs for rum finishes? I so often love them with whisky, especially when they add a winey element to a estery whisky, or a sweet treacle to a smoky one. When I imagine a rum like El Dorado 15, I can't really see what note I'd want to add.

God damn it, you're right. My bad.

Tonight's tastings:

Ron Barcelo Imperial - very honey scented nose. The finish is sort of a cross between a fine rum and honey. Nice. Not my fav, but definitely not offending in any way.

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva - Very sugared/molasses nose. The taste is sweet but with a bit of burn on the finish. Just a slight bit. Complex character on this one. I get a bit of charred sugarcane. I like this.

Dude, you are really rockin it out. I am impressed.

~ H

 

[ama]



Everyone seems to praise the Plantation 20th Anniversary, so that's interesting.
 
Speaking of finishes, ama, one of the stores I take quarterly trips to sometimes has the Murray McDavid rums with various finishes. Do you have any experience/recs for rum finishes? I so often love them with whisky, especially when they add a winey element to a estery whisky, or a sweet treacle to a smoky one. When I imagine a rum like El Dorado 15, I can't really see what note I'd want to add.

~ H

M McD finishes that I've had I thought were overpriced. I love the Plantation cognac finish though. My recent lower priced favorite has been Dos Maderas PX 5 + 5. I don't think that is really a finish though, as it spends its entire life in sherry casks. I've had some interesting finishes from Renegade too, but again, I think they are largely overpriced. Finishes with rum are an odd thing because of the vast breadth of vessels that rum is aged in. Check out the Zacapa blending and aging process sometime to see what I mean. They use practically everything in their process to stellar results.

The only thing that I would do to El Dorado 15 is make it smokier. I think that is an incredible flavor in rum. (Hudson's rum can be very smoky depending on the batch. I usually try to keep a bottle of it around for a change of pace.)

 

[Rambo]

Dos Maderas 5+5 isn't so much a finish as an incredibly smooth ride all the way through. Sometimes I don't even think it tastes like rum.

 

[b1os]

Any good rums available here around 30€? Nothing sounds familiar but some sound interesting. And I might as well buy one rum and one gin instead of two gins.

 

[Rambo]

http://www.finest-in-bottles.de/Rum...Maderas-PX-5-Jahre-5-Jahre-07l-40::10881.html

Get this. Its ******* fantastic.

http://www.finest-in-bottles.de/Rum-aus-aller-Welt/Anguilla/Pyrat-XO-Reserve-07l-40::10860.html

This is good too but I'd get the Dos Maderas first.

 

[b1os]

Thanks, Rambo!

 

[Rambo]



Thanks, Rambo!

Any time, smiley face

 

[kwilkinson]



. My recent lower priced favorite has been Dos Maderas PX 5 + 5. I don't think that is really a finish though, as it spends its entire life in sherry casks.

Dos Maderas 5+5 isn't so much a finish as an incredibly smooth ride all the way through. Sometimes I don't even think it tastes like rum.

Ramboaner got me a bottle of this as a Christmas gift. It is the cat's meow. I say a little sheepishly that my bottle is almost gone already, but it's really hard not to have a couple of ounces every night while unwinding. Very smooth, just slightly sweet, complex, beautiful.

 

[ama]



Ramboaner got me a bottle of this as a Christmas gift. It is the cat's meow. I say a little sheepishly that my bottle is almost gone already, but it's really hard not to have a couple of ounces every night while unwinding. Very smooth, just slightly sweet, complex, beautiful.

I found it for $30 at a place and bought the last six they had. I think its easily that good.

 

[Rambo]



I found it for $30 at a place and bought the last six they had. I think its easily that good.

Its $40 here so I would have definitely done the same.

 

[ama]



Its $40 here so I would have definitely done the same.

Here too, usually.