The Rum Expert Thread (Age 21+ Only?)

[AmateurEmale]

I'd like to start a new thread about the alcoholic beverage we call rum, and its ability to make a mixed drink anything from mildly alcoholic to head-spinning buzz factor.

The rum I have drunk the most of in my lifetime is Captain Morgan's, which most of the restaurants in Cincinnati use in their drinks. Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and just about any others know what a "Captain and Coke" is.

But I know that Bacardi makes stronger drink, and their Bacardi 151 rum is about 75% alcohol. The first time I mixed it with a Coke Zero, I didn't realize that it was much stronger than the Captain, and I just about passed out from drinking it a little faster than I should have.

So what brands of rum do you gentlemen recommend to a guy who has graduated from Captain Morgan and his pirate band, but doesn't want to live dangerously with Bacardi 151? I happen to be on medications where the use of much alcohol is advised against, and so I'd possibly want something that is less than 50% alcohol (80-100 proof?) Bacardi 151 is actually 151 proof.

I suppose this thread will have to be limited to people of age 21 or over in the United States, because our drinking age is 21. But if we have any German users, I don't think Deutschland has a drinking age? So if any of you Germans out there know rum like your country knows beer, I'd like to hear from you. Or Australians, considering that rum was popular in your colonial period... (Rum Corps reference)

Seriously, I'd like to hear from the more knowledgeable, harder-drinking VEF users for this thread.

[redsquirrel]

For centuries the Royal Navy issued a daily rum ration to its sailors, so you would think rum would be very popular in Britain as part of our heritage. However, that is not the case, far more people drink Scotch, vodka or gin. Bacardi was trendy in the 1980s but rum in general is very much in a minority compared to other spirits.

There are a few rum brands sold in Britain that claim to be Royal Navy style, like Lamb's and Pusser's, and I think some of these companies actually supplied the navy. I don't know if they are sold in the US but if so they are probably worth trying.

[Cumquat99]

If I’m mixing it then I’ll use either Appleton Estate – VX (40% proof) or Wray & Nephew – OP (63%).

Drinking it straight, then I’ll go for Angostura 1919 – 8 Year Old (40% proof).

[Sir Honkers]

Yeah, I'm a Captain Morgan man too.

[AmateurEmale]

@RedSquirrel: It's a small world. There is actually a restaurant called "Red Squirrel" ten minutes from my house. It's a small American sandwich shop, featuring gourmet sandwiches better than McDonald's or Arby's. Their reubens are awesome.

Seriously, I am fascinated by the possibility of trying a British rum, since I never have. I'm going to have to go to my state liquor store up the road from Red Squirrel (still on good old Colerain Avenue, the main drag where I live) and see about any imports.

[slimOl55]

I first tasted Navy Rum on holiday when I was sixteen! It tasted pretty much like medicine to me: heavy, sugary, alcohol, and so I mixed it with anything I could find. The result was my first hangover, and since then I have tasted a few Rums and learned to respectfully savour them.
My uncle was a submariner and called this Navy Rum - "The Leg Opener"
I believe this rum is mixed in Pimms Cocktail, and I remember a wedding party falling to pieces in the first hour due to Pimms Punch.



My friends from Brixton (Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue Brixton) drink Wray & Nephew Overproof White Rum - as shots to guard against the winter, and it seems to work.They are still smiling. It reminds me of Portuguese fire water - like its trying to be a whisky - but from the wrong country. More like paint stripper to me.



Eddie Grant is from Barbados and they have their version of Rum too. I was recently given a bottle of Mount Gay Golden Rum, and even my father who was in the Navy refused a nip. I suspect he knows it will rot your gut if you let it! This Golden Rum was warm and like putting on an old jacket, friendly like - goes in fruit punch, puddings, and sauces. My friends from Barbados tell me this Rum will ruin you if you like it too much!



I lived in Brazil, and they have their version of sugarcane Rum called Cachaça, and I have to say this one is an acquired taste but tops all the others for bang for buck value - its a real party drink when mixed correctly - I recommend Caipirinha (Ice, Lime & Sugar with Cachaça) after two - forget everything else - you are gone! Literally 'sex in a glass'



Visitors from Caribbean arriving next month - so maybe something new to savour. Haha!

[tygrkhat40]

When I drank rum (or rhum, to use an archaic spelling), my preference was Bacardi Silver.

[onehourplus]

I'm one of those folks who finds most whiskey and bourbon too vile-tasting to actually drink. Gin also tastes like chewing pine needles to me. On a trip to Russia (before the fall of the USSR) I acquired a taste for good vodka, though. Also, at least some rums taste good to me, especially this one, Capt. Morgan's Black. It mixes well with Coke or Pepsi, and you can sip it straight. If you're ill, it's good for your throat to sip some straight.

An old navy man who used to be my technician put me onto the "candle treatment" for the flu: Sit at a table, light a candle, and drink rum until you see the candle split into two candles side-by-side. If these candles merge, drink more rum.

[otiscleotus]

Pusser's is my rum of choice. It's one not to drink in quantity but to enjoy for the flavor like you would good scotch - straight or with as little other flavoring mix as you're comfortable. For quantity drinking & mixing Mount Gay is pretty good.

My take on spiced rums is that they're spiced in order to cover a crappy tasting hot hellish cheap product. Advertising can do wonders.

There are quite a few high end small label rums out there. You might want to make it a project to cycle through them over time (try the small 750 ml bottles) and get to know the taste from one another.

Rum really is good to have a shot of when you have a cold or have just come inside from some frigid temperatures. There was a small amount of it kept on the subs I was on and actually got given a couple times to guys that had to be up in the sail in cold foul weather.

The Royal Navy discontinued its rum ration in July 1070. My sub was lucky enough to find itself in spot where we were able to purchase a quantity of the remaining stock at a port of call. This is what the containers looked like:



If you ever watch the movie Breaker Morant you'll see the condemned men drinking from these in it.

[HugoHackenbush]

It depends on whether I am out at a bar, or buying something to drink at home. Mount Gay is usually my choice when out because most places carry it. A better choice IMHO, is Gosling's Black Seal. A very dark rum (almost black) with a unique taste which is made in Bermuda. There is a regular 80 proof and a 151 proof version which you definitely have to sip very carefully or you'll be on the floor in no time. Watch out because the bottles look exactly alike, except for the "151" at the top of the label. Problem is that it is hard to find it when out.

Combine a couple of shots of Gosling's and ginger beer, and you'll have a "Dark and Stormy", the national drink of Bermuda.

Cheers!