I think it's a big step down from the 15 and also the 12 for sure. There are some similarities, but the main impression is the striking alcohol and navylike taste.

If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the 15 you could try the 12. It is a similar but different rum, if that makes sene lol. Some different tasting notes, some overlapping, another difference being the 12 is a bit sweeter.
It's a fine rum, perhaps my favourite in that price range. It's quite a bit cheaper than the 15, but only like €8 more than the 8.

Thanks for the updates Vig.

I just (couple weeks ago) got a copy of James Murray's 2020 Whisky Bible (IDK the official name, but they include all those words) which is/was much less enjoyable to read than this thread. My hope is this thread will become the start of Vig's Rum Bible (2025?).

so this thread and that captain jimbo rum journey site inspired me to try this rum game out a bit. I am a whisky man and usually stick to bourbon or islay singe malts.

Went to the store after work today and bought
Mount Gay XO
El Dorado 15
Barbancourt 8

drinking the MG XO currently and it is pleasant. VERY smooth, sweeter than what i am used to butu it is rum, and the finish is nice and long.

Thanks a bunch for the very kind words! There are certainly rum "blogs" out there that are far more informative and/or accurate than this, but I'm glad you like this one.

That sounds great! The MG XO is one I keep coming across (like in my calendar), and one I'm on the lookout for if it goes on a sale. I've read great things about the Barbancourt, and the El Dorado 15 is my sweetheart (you better rate it, or else! /s).


I have identified the next 2 rums I'll order! Actually, it's specifically one of them, but my go-to online rum store has free delivery if you order for $75 approx


The one my aim is set on, is the R. L. Seale 10 year old Barbados rum.

It is named after Richard Seale. He is the master distiller at the Foursquare Destillery, a well renowned brand (at least one I've come across often). He is famous largely for being against the adulteration of classic rum, and protective of the countries that produce rum. Therefore the rl 10 is supposed to be a unique rum in the sense that there is nothing added just for the pleasure of tee consumer.
He is apparently a very unique figure in the rum industry and has won "Rum producer of the year" 4 years in a row.

(here's an interview with him, if anyone is interested:
https://www.rumauctioneer.com/news/m...-richard-seale)

I read good things about that rum, and I think it's a natural "next step" in my rum odyssey.



As I mentioned there's a discount (free delivery) at a certain cost, so I've got another bottle to order.

I've been looking into the Old Monk (7 years) that Garick recommended, but sadly it's sold out from my regular rum pusher, so instead I'm looking at buying an Old Monk 12 years, which, judging from a review I read, is similar but better (and a drier version).

I ended up ordering the old monk 7 rather than the 12 because the store restocked the 7. Sadly the rums didn't get here today, but I count on having them next week (assuming I haven't died to coronaids by then). I think I overpaid for the Monk 7, it comes in both 0.7 and 1L versions, and apparently the one I ordered is the 0.7. Oh well.

As I haven't received my new bottles, I had a look in the old stash today. I had a glass of Ron de Jeremy, which just remains a rum that somehow continues to surprise me by being actually good when I thought it was a gimmick.

I also had a glass of Plantation Rum Xaymaca Special Dry. It dawned on me I've never talked about this rum, I only mentioned that I owned it.
It was actually the second rum I acquired, after the El Dorado 12.
I got the Plantation like 2 days later because I drank the Dorado so quickly I had to have something else to drink so that I wouldn't have emptied it immediately. - and then I ordered more rums shortly after that because I drank half the Plantation in 1 day (in my defense it was Friday). That was the beginning of it all, and my strategy was to order something new immediately because I kept drinking the new ones I got at such a high pace because rum is DELICIOUS .


This might be my favourite Plantation. Having barely had anything else, it was a cultural/taste shock after the El Dorado because of how different it was, but I immediately liked it, even tho it wasn't what I expected - and I think it made me more interested in exploring the countless different types of rum, because, while it was very, very different, it was also very, very good.

When I drink it now, it's much different than I remember, though I'm not sure what I remember about it, just that it's different than what I had thought (probably because I'm somewhat familiar with Plantation).

It smells so good. Super powerful, complex, deep and inviting smell. Sweet, but far from the sickly Black Cask version, it's just very nice.
The taste very complex for such a rum at that price (it's about $5 more than the sickly sweet Black Cask). It is dry with a very exotic and dried fruity taste, with a nice warmth and power in the mouth, and as the power recedes, new notes appear. It is sweet, but natural (no added sugar, I believe) which really contributes to making this a lovely rum. It's far better than the very not great Black Cask Plantation.
It is very nice for drinking pure, and I think it is an ideal entrance rum into the world of Plantation Rum, because it has the different elements of plantation, without being overly either this or that, and once you've tried this, you can then decide whether you want something sweeter, or less sweet, or more whatever.
It is a very, very nice rum. 8.5/10.

Drinking some captain Morgan's spiced pre-mix at the moment. 6%. Not bad. Love to throw in some captain Morgan with all the Mount Gay and Appleton I drink.

Also, should I be stocking up on my rum supply because of corona virus? You have probably seen reports here in Australia of toilet paper being sold out at supermarkets but upon going to the bottle shop today I couldn't help but notice that all Bundaberg Rum (which is Australia's local and most popular rum) was sold out.

Thanks for the review of the Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry. I'll have to check it out. Plantation and Jamaican rum are two concepts I would not have thought of. I always thought of Plantation as being from Barbados, though reading up on it I see they are actually from France, and bring Caribean rum over to finish in barrels in France and then be blended.

The only Plantation I'd had before was the 20th anniversary XO, which was quite good, but over-hyped and over-priced, imo. It tastes like the golden version of Zaya, but costs twice as much.

Bundaberg is quite likely the worst rum in the world. It tastes like rocket fuel. The only reason I would ever drink that stuff again would be to get the taste of Vegemite out of my mouth. Actually, even then I'd just use it as a rinse, as I don't want to be burping kerosene for two days afterward.

Yes I agree re Bundaberg Rum. But fact is it has sold out so question was whether I should insure my rum stocks by buying more. I'm thinking yes

I'm with you there. The 20th XO is very good, but it is also expensive. I guess if one is really big on sweet plantation rum, it is the perfect rum, but it's not my favourite though I enjoy it.
The Xaymaca is very different but I guess it would still be fairly easy to guess that it was made by the same distillery as they definitely have some similarities. It's just that there is no dominant sweet toffee and spices, instead it's super (dried) fruity and quite dry. I think for such a cheap (and relatively young*) rum, it has a great taste.

Haven't tried the Zaya.

*there is some 17 year old Jamaican rum mixed in, but the "base" is quite young.

+1

If we have to die/live in isolation for months, it would be terrible to not have access to nice spirits. You can never have too much rum lying around, but can certainly have too little!

Zaya is very sweet and toffee-y. It is basically a desert rum. It's much like the Plantation XO 20th Anniversary, but a bit more molasses and a lot more toffee.

Yes plus when you think about it that being isolated because you don't want to catch a disease is probably the closest we will all come to being what a rum drinker aspires to being in a different lifetime which is a pirate with their long periods of isolation out at sea.

I could see where people could develop a taste for Vegemite, though. Not for everyone, but I kind liked the yeasty flavor (in very small doses).

If you think Bundaberg Rum is bad I should send you all a sample of an even more local rum Beenleigh Rum.

Bought a bottle of Mount Gay Black Barrel as value wise it was better than buying a bottle of Mount Gay Eclipse ($5 more for the black barrel). Would should I expect compared to the standard?

The black barrel one has been in charred bourbon barrels before being bottled, which should give contribute to the aroma. I think it's also just a higher quality rum than the eclipse, being made from older rum. Great value btw.




I've been drinking this one recently: R. L. Seale 10 years - Export Proof

Rum from Barbados (like Mount Gay), more specifically the renowned and widely known Foursquare Distillery, responsible for a long list of different rums, including the well known Doorly's.

This rum comes in 2 versions. There's a standard version and an Export Proof version. Taste, I gather, is close to the same, but the export proof has a little higher alcohol percentage (46% to 43%).

It is a Bajan-style rum, which is a type of unadulterated, light and sweet rum, made by blending column and pot stills, and often has a fruity flavour.

The rum comes in a beautiful, crooked, dark bottle. A very nice bottle, which gives off an impression of quality and attention to detail, for example the "stamp" on it (not sure what it's called in English) is not made from plastic like with many other bottles, but metal, which is an insignificant, but nice touch. In the glass it has a light, golden color.

It smells great. Powerful, sweet, caramely, spice and a much different fruit. A complex and very rich smell. A bit of wood, and just a plethora of beautifully balanced spices and fruity nuances I can't quite put my finger on, but which makes for an exceptional smell, one of the best I've experienced. I think it goes back to it being all "real" taste and notes, without its magic coming from added sugar, which doesn't do much for the smell.

In the mouth it is really powerful, like an explosion. It is dry, sweet, oaky, with a nice warmth and such a richness that the impression is ever changing and I am bombarded with many different notes, but it's enjoyable all along. Many fruity notes, along with many spices, it's difficult to discern, but it is really delicious. The aftertaste is warm, lingering and evolving, with a surprisingly powerful impression.

I'm blown away just by how powerful this stuff is. Sometimes rum is "just" pleasant and nice to drink, but this is more than that, it just commands my attention.
It's challenging, in a way, not as in difficult, but in that it wants to be explored and demands attention. It doesn't aspire to be just a well tasting and pleasurable liquor. I think this is a rum that will never get boring.

I tend to think that it's typically deep (often dark) rums which accomplish such nuance and variation, but this is pretty much the opposite as it is light and powerful. It is simple and complex at the same time, and it just works because it tastes so real.

The price is fairly low, at about €45 which isn't much for something so good. This is a rum I would recommend to anyone who wants to try a "raw", but refined, rum, not artificially sweetened, but sweet, incredibly complex, despite not having all sorts of things mixed added to it.
It is a great rum. 9/10

One thing I'll note is it might be more suited for people with some familiarity in rum/liquor, because it is strong and not the easiest rum to drink in the world. So if you're completely green in the world of liquor, this might not be your cup of tea.
On the other hand, if you've hated every rum you've ever tried and found them too sugary sweet or synthetic, this could be the holy grail, or at least one that shows you another, distinct path in the very diverse world of rum.

Anyone know the shelf life of liquor?

I'm not much of a liquor drinker, so a bottle will last me a long time. This weekend, I felt like some rum, so poured out some from my currently open Santa Teresa Gran Reserva.

I got this in Venezuela at the end of 1996. Still tasted ok, as nearly as I could tell.

(FYI, I've went through a few other liters in the interim from other trips, so it's not taken me 24 years to go through a single bottle. But it will take me multiple years to go through a bottle.)

Depends on the type of liquor. Alcohol itself isn’t going bad. Flavorless vodka should taste the same way even if you opened the bottle 50 years ago. If there’s some flavor components in it, they might fade over time. So your whiskey or rum might be a little less flavorful but won’t spoil.

That is as long as there’s no added sugar or anything else that might deteriorate. Good example is stuff like Bailey’s that contains cream. For that stuff, the alcohol concentration might determine how long it stays good. The same kind of liquor at 80 proof will stay good longer than one at 40 proof.

you're not a true degen until you wipe the dust off a bottle of baileys and only realize it's gone off until you've finished most of it and a sober person walks into the room and asks what that rotten smell is

what's up fellow quarantined rum enthusiasts.

my rum budget is usually betting profits, and as sports have been standing very still for a while, I also haven't acquired any new rums, sadly.

I have a couple of rums on my "to get" list, mainly, Compañero Ron Panama Extra Añejo, Rum Nation Jamaica 5 Years Oloroso and, most importantly, the El Dorado 21 Years. Especially the El Dorado is one I feel I just gotta get my hands on, it's the next step in line, after the 12 which was my first* rum when I began collecting rums, one of my favourites, especially at the price. Followed by the majestic 15, which I've on more than one occasion hailed as the benchmark for a 10/10. And like they say, the 21 is totally different from the 15, like the 12 is different from the 15.

*Millionario 10 Anniversario was the first "quality" rum I got, but for the purpose of making Dark n' Stormys (which, by the way, is a more than exceptional drink). The El Dorado 12 was the first I got just for savoring.

I tried the Old Monk 7. It's quite good. It's super spicy, on more than one occasion my stomach was hurting for a bit after having too many glasses, but it quickly cooled down. It has some of the same nuances as the El Dorado 8 and Pussers, in a "kinda navy" way. But because it's so spicy, which takes over, it's a different experience.
I think it's a 7.5/10. It's a solid rum for drinking pure, I think that for a cocktail it will also do well. On top of that, I bought the 0.7L, not the 1 liter version, which I think is even better priced.
But it's also quite strong, and if spicy rums isn't your deal you will not enjoy this, I bet.

In the meantime I'm just depleting my reserves, and in different ways. Today I tried a "Brass Monkey", which is like a rum-ified Vodka OJ.

I first tried a recipe which was 1 part rum (used El dorado 8), 1 part vodka (Smirnoff) and 0.25 OJ. Tasted like ****. Then I found another one which had the same parts vodka and rum but 4 parts OJ. This was much better. It's actually great, like a sweetish vodka OJ with depth.
Though, if you don't like vodka OJ this is probably not your drink. But I like vodka OJ, and I love rum, and this works very well. Here's a picture of the done deal:

Nice. I've always wondered what to pair my rum with apart from coke even if you have to add another spirit.

Not a cocktail, but I really like sipping rum straight up, paired with a darker beer. Something like Fat Tire, Shiner Bock, maybe into the porter or stout area sometimes.

Sip of rum, get the warmth and flavor, then a sip of beer. Nice way to pass some lockdown evenings.

Dark 'N' Stormy

Yes rum. I like all barrel aged spirits and always have several rums open. I like it neat as I do all my spirits. I try to find ones that are ideally age stated, no sugar, coloring or any other alteration and minimal filtering.

My general advice is to buy rum from what use to be English colonies. Places like Barbados in particular and Jamaica have more regulation to what can be added. I tend to avoid Spanish colony stuff as they tend to be full of sugar and with shady producers and misleading marketing. Stuff like “Solera 23”, etc. French colonies like Martinique have interesting rhum. Basically same as rum but made directly from sugar and not a by product of sugar production. Problem is they tend to be much more pricey.

Also if you find it and are ready to splurge get your hands on some Caroni. A Trinidad distiller that shut down like 20 years ago. Believe guys from La Maison du Whisky bought up the stock and are barreling. Best rum and one of the most interesting spirits I’ve ever had.

Given lack of desire to step foot in a bar anytime soon, a Facebook Ad for a delivery based liquor tasting “club” caught my eye. Anyone have experience with one of these or recommendations on one to choose (I’m surprised it’s even legal, but they have a list of OK states and mine is fine apparently).

I assume Facebook ad would be worst way to chose one, but it was Flaviar and apparently you get to choose 1 “premium” bottle quarterly and they send you a bunch of samples of differ liquors quarterly as well. It’s $300 a year but still unclear to me what you actually get for your money from a quick look at site, so probably getting overcharged but I do like the concept if getting to sample bunch of different stuff seeing as won’t be going to bars.

Anyone with thoughts or recommendations?

Edit: here is an article listing more possible options
https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/d...ription-boxes/

I would take that $300 and invest half in low risk mutual funds and then take the other half to my friend who works in securities and then when this covid thing is over by a flight to any south american or caribbean country of my choosing and have a sweet ass vacation then stock up on $3 bottles of stuff that you can't even buy back home with the rest of the profits