for those of you lucky enuf to have joined the burger and beer lunch yest'd you knew this thread was coming ( and I got some great suggestions.. thanks Grumpy ) but still wanted to post this...

A mate of mine has just moved up from Slough all the way to Henley but his tastes are still in Slough... he still thinks "Woods 100" is a nice rum... unfortunately my tastes in rum never made it much beyond "Screech" so...
...
As I'll be visiting over there in about a month.. can anyone recommend a nice rum, to be drunk neat ( as opposed to me, as I am a sloppy drunk )

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Champagne don't make me crazy...

Pussers be the grog ye seek...

Insist on stock from the last supplies held in Gibraltar.

Glug it, don't sip.

Mount Gay Rum - Extra Old. Simply stunning over ice, or with a little dash of Sprite.

Though I've no idea where you'd get hold of it around here, so maybe not the post useful post ever...

Easy enough to pick up in London though if you're travelling through.

I was perusing the rums at Manor last week ( trying to get a clue ) and I'm pretty sure they had Mt.Gay there.

I'm not sure what Rums are available here, but definitely Mount Gay is a good choice. A couple others are Cockspur and Chairman's Reserve.

Try a Guatemalan rum, they're great for drinking neat. It'd be a sin to make one into a cocktail (and don't get me wrong, I adore rum cocktails!).

The most famous and probably most readily available is Zacapa, but I picked up a lovely one at Jelmoli called Malteco.

Disclaimer: I am 1/2 Guatemalan. :P

a ti'punch from the Caribbean isles.

Well you've come to the right place. I happen to be a Rum lover, member of the Adelaide and Melbourne Rum Clubs, Collector of fine rums and educator of all things rum.

If you want to know anything just ask. Now Rum is a lot like Whisky in that it caters for all different palets. I can't just say "this is the rum for you" when i don't know what flavours you enjoy, what makes your tongue tingle, or tickles your fancy... :P Tell me a few flvours and i can work with it. There are many many types of rums each with their own characteristics and their place in the world.

As mentioned by Tooki, Guatemalan rums tend to be very smooth. One thing to note about them is they are made at High altitude (over 2000 amsl), are usually made from Sugar cane Juice (agricole), and made using Solera method of ageing/blending. This gives them a smooth sweet well rounded flavour. Ron Zacapa has been aged for up to 23 years. For those that know rums, they age differently to whisky's mainly due to the fact that the locations are hotter, hence a 12yo rum is equivalent to a 20yo whisky. Ron Zacapa is a very pleasant tasting, very sweet rum for those of you that like the sweet spirits without too much of a bite of alcohol. Typical rum that a lady would drink neat as well as blokes.

There are also the 3 main types of rum. Rhum, or Agricols, (made from fresh pressing of sugar canes), has a more plasticy/sweeter flavour... Rum or Ron (Rum is traditional, Ron is Spanish, usually made with Molasses), has a lot more characteristics in the Caramel, toffee coffee flavours, this section also has a lot of subsections like heavy Demerara styles(el dorado), Jamaican style(appleton), Black style (Gosslings), white (pampero) etc... Then there's the Rest of the rums that aren't really rums, only made with some part of the sugar cane. (Cachaca, Bundy etc)...

Now, Don't knock woods, it is actually nice IMO, when used/drunk correctly. Same with Gosslings etc.

Pussers Nelsons Blood has an interesting story behind it, and the shape of the bottle if u like to hear it. Not my favourite of rums.

If you like a really nice complex not overly sweet Rum to sip on, the St Ettienne is superb as is the Brugal Siglo de oro. My personal favourite is Pampero Aniversario. If ur after a cheap fix, go for the Ron Sibony Reserva Especial, it's probably the cheapest Sipping rum imo, easy to drink, but not too complex.

Hope u enjoy...

ok... as above I don't really "know" rums... just the occasional barcardi for me.. or when with my mate ( once or twice a year thankfully ) Woods100 straight.

obviously he likes woods but it's too harsh for me... with whisky my tastes run to Islay.. peaty, smoky ... I don't imagine those are flavours that run to rum, are they?

anyway...no ladies involved.. when we get together the ladies go off for their girl weekend .... so ... something strongish but not overpowering alcohol bite and yet still smooth.

hows that for a confusing remit?

Personally, never thought much of the Indian rum "Old Monk" but almost all my frinds swear by it.

Wot 'e says

Ya don't wonna do that if it's the 110proof version


Another one that's a bit off the beaten track, but that might float your boat is

Well there are those flavours in rum where they add the leftover Dunder back into the batch (sour mash might be a more common term in whisky's) or in the case of Bundaberg rum, they add the Limings back into it (this is the leftover scum after the process of Molasses extraction, ie the foamy crap at the top) and in this case they don't have enough complex sugars to ferment quick enough so they add simple sugars. The Limings and Dunder are used in rum much in the same way that Peat is used in whisky's. I personally stay clear from those rums, as the Simple Sugar content makes it a very aggressive (hyperactive) drink...


If u just want the complexities of a whisky i suggest agricoles as they tend to keep the flavours and spices present in the batch. St Ettienne is a good one available here in zurich at Glenfahrn. Check them out they have a pretty decent range. Anything else u would prolly have to order. casadeltequila.ch is a good site for inside switzerland, otherwise best to drive across the border as the slection here is either small or overpriced.


Old Monk is Very caramely, nearly Cordial like (for those Aussies out there who know what that is) This is because it has had caramel flavour and colour added to it, and it has a powerful caramel flavour, is sweet (not overpowering) and smooth. If u have a nose for spirits it has vanilla spices and old wood/leather nose with a bit of caramel, buttery and oily on the pallet with mainly hints of caramel and Christmas spices, also get a hint of chocolate. So, easy to drink, but I consider it a flavoured rum.

thanks again for all your help... but I'm down here in GE so Zurich is a bit of a commute for some rum... I'll have a look at that mail order tho.

cheers,

Both Glenfahrn.ch and Casadeltequila.ch both ship to anywhere in Switzerland, just in case u were wondering. Besides I'm sure there are some around your area that stock rums, I just haven't been there to find out... Good luck with your hunt.

Having been "screeched - in" and kissed the cod before having seal flipper pie, I can say that while I have yet to find navy rum here, and my tastes having matured I enjoy sipping Havana Club reserve.

A little bird tells me that across border in Italy it can be found for just less than 12 euros.

I always use el ron de Cuba, but what I really want to say is - time flies when you're having rum

EvenPar... you a Maratimer then? where from

and just n.b.... the rum request was for a boys weekend which is now long past - I wound up just getting a bottle of Havana Club 7 from the airport... but as it turns out my mate was dead sick with a cold and didn't have a drop. ( I sampled a bit for him tho. )

Well grandpa, if you're ever in need of a decent rum...then I can only suggest Appleton...goes down like skizzurp with a very refined tasted.

thanks.. but the latest kick is Bourbon... a friend of my friend put me onto some very nice stuff... Black Dog or black moose or black something or other... was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice.

I think



ahh yes.. I just checked my Facebook cuz I "knew" it was black dog, or black bear or something...
so of course it...........Buffalo Trace.


( makes sense to me )

Why they put a picture of you on that bottle?