What Rum Do You Drink Neat?

[Vision]

I have some Capt Morgan and Myers dark. I can't drink either neat.

[LeNell]

The rum liqueur fooled me. It smelled tropical and sweet, but finished off like an aged rum.I totally wasn't expecting that. Kinda nice surprise.

The dark rum, as I mentioned, smells delightful. It really made me think of buttered pecan ice cream initially. A deeper nosing brought out more of a black walnut aroma. The finish on this rum is lightly smokey, almost Highland Scotch like. I'm really intrigued.

[empire]

Dont know if you guys can get it, but a friend of mine brought over a bottle of Matusalem rum over to a poker night we were having,the stuff is fantastic! Lovely white rum that has a nice crisp clean finish with nothing to overpowering, the stuff is easily (maybe too easily) drinkable straight. I recommend this stuff highly for any rum drinkers out there.

[dgonano]

My favorite that I have ever had is Mt. Gay Sugar Cane Brandy from Barbados

This is one of my favorites also. You can get this in the U.S.A. but it is labeled as "Sugar Cane Rum".

Bacardi Ron Anos 8 is another sipper that I enjoy.

[Ghoste]

Getting in this one very late but my preference is a Barbados rum called Cockspur Dark.

I had a real rum fetish going for a few years and I have decided preference for the dark ones. The darker the better. I tend to prefer the Barbados rums. I don't particularly like the Jamaican ones, they have a nasty aftertaste.

[scubadoo97]

I drink most of my rum neat or with a couple of ice cubes. Hmm, like I drink bourbon. My favortie rums are

Barbancourt 8

Pyrat XO

Matusalem Special Reserva

Mount Gay Extra Old

Appleton Extra

Bacardi 8 and Anejo

[GrayFox]

Some may scoff...I've enjoyed many fine rums over the years but somehow I still enjoy a simple glass of Captain Morgan's best of all. Couldn't tell you why.

Ducks and waits for the rotten fruit to fly....

[wrbriggs]

One nice thing I've noticed on these boards is that very few people will attack you for having an opinion on something.

Trying to force that opinion onto others is another matter... but hey, enjoy the Cap'n! There's a reason it's a top selling rum.

Just the same way that Beam white label is a top selling bourbon. It's not fancy, it's nothing extra special, but as I believe Chuck said in his publication, it's the baseline by which pretty much all bourbons can be judged. And for $12 / 750ml, it's pretty hard to beat value-wise in many parts of the country (especially places where BT, AAA 10yr and other "better" bourbons in the same price segment are unavailable).

[Jake_Parrott]

Barbancourt 5* and St. James Hors d'Age, both with a drop of water, which I think brings out some complexity (like with Scotch). Apparently, some new Martinique cane juice Rhums Agricoles are coming into the States early next year, but I don't have any more info than that. Nu?

[brian12069]

I recently tried one that I really enjoyed..."Goslingers Black Seal"...very tastey.

[Ghoste]

I found Black Seal to have a taste similar to Appleton or Wrey and Nephew. I don't particularly enjoy it. I don't dislike it by any means but there are others I much prefer is all.

[halpap]

You might try Ron Zacapa Centario, a 23 year old very rich tasting Guatamalan Rum. On the expensive side (in the $30s).

[Nokia]

I drink the Barbancourt 8yr fairly often and have also been enjoying a bottle of Venezuelan Rum called Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. I found it a little over a year in a store in Florida and have only seen it at one other store since. I enjoy both neat.

[camduncan]

Australian made Bundaberg Rum was my drink of choice before I found Bourbon.

An 1125ml bottle, 2 flatmates and a very sick me the next day has probably put me off it for life That was over 15 years ago - even today, the smell alone turns my stomach...

[gr8erdane]

For any of you mail order rummies out there, I just saw the most fantastic sale on my favorite rum, Pyrat XO in a holiday gift set no less. 750ml with two Pyrat Martini glasses marked down from 45.99 to a meare 19.98! See it at HiTimeWine.

http://www.hitimewine.net/istar.asp?a=6&id=162300

[Charter13]

Everyone who enjoys rum should definitely check out Ed Hamilton's site that TNBourbon mentioned www.ministryofrum.com. He is a mainstay on the egullet forums and knows quite a bit about the subject.

As far as good brands to drink:

St. James Hors D'age

Plantation rums (Barbados, Jamaica, Venezuela, Trinidad and Guatemalan)

Barbancourt 15

Pyrat Pistol

Havana Club Anejo

Riserva Aneja

Diplomatico

Gran Blason

Flor de Cana 5, 7 or 12

and for the Captain Morgan drinkers: Foursquare Spiced Barbadian.

Edit: removed extraneous period from URL.

[musher]

For my birthday this year, my brother-in-law gave me a bottle of Ron del Barrilito (Superior Especial), which is quite good. It is a Puerto Rican rum that is aged for 6 - 10 years in used charred oak barrels (thus the name, I would assume).

[dougdog]

I've only tasted a handfull of rums, most aren't worth looking at again. This post has some interesting suggestions and I'll be on the lookout for some of those labels.

I do have one that is quite good neat. It is a "pot still" rum from Jamaica/Guyana...Sea Wynde.

I believe there are two versions/editions currently out. I have both, I've only opened the first one and have not done a side-by-side yet.

A bit surprised that I didn't see it listed here in the other posts. Is it because there are others that are so much better? If you have tasted Sea Wynde and could suggest a BETTER one, please let me know which one that would be. Sea Wynde was on the shelf for 45 bucks, not an inexpensive rum I think. Did I pay to much for what I got? Thanks!

best, dog

[barturtle]

I quite enjoy a nice aged rum from time to time.

For my regular pours I use either Mount Gay Extra Old or Bacardi 8 (both are pretty readily available)

When I can find them I like Angostura 1919 and Ron Matuslem Clasico

I once got to try one from a microdistillery started by Dogfish Head (the microbrew folks) that was quite nice (with an interesting flavor, hops, maybe?) but I have yet to find it for sale to do more extensive "testing".

[kbuzbee]

I quite enjoy a nice aged rum from time to time.

For my regular pours I use either Mount Gay Extra Old or Bacardi 8 (both are pretty readily available)

When I can find them I like Angostura 1919 and Ron Matuslem Clasico

I once got to try one from a microdistillery started by Dogfish Head (the microbrew folks) that was quite nice (with an interesting flavor, hops, maybe?) but I have yet to find it for sale to do more extensive "testing".

In Purto Rico, we picked up some of the Mount Gay, it's quite good. But my favorite is the Cruzan Single Barrel. It's very reasonably priced and delicious.

Ken

[Ghoste]

I hadn't heard of Sea Wynde before. I'll have to search that one out. You found that locally in north Cali?

Which is a long way from me but it does tell me they export it.

[Chuck_Osborn]

Matusalem 15. Not too shabby.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Recently introduced here in Sweden was a Rhum Agricole from Martinique called J. Bally (1993 vintage). I was really knocked out by its almost unbelievably sophisticated sweetness. Definitely worth a sip if you can find it.

Another recent purchase was Plantation Rum 1993 from Trinidad (from Angostura, I believe). Surprisingly Cognac-like.

My personal favorite is the 15yo El Dorado which has the Demerara sweetness almost perfected.

[ddubb]

I haven't tried too many but I like what I've tried so far. In order of preference:

Sailor Jerry's is pretty good for a spiced rum, often its the only thing decent in the dives I end up in. I like Capt Morgan's but for me this is a step up.

Next is Curzan Diamond Estate, aged 5 years. I'm not a big fan of mixing but this does go pretty well with fruit juice like orange or orange/pineapple. I almost always drink it neat but sometimes I like the mix. Actually my favorite juice (with or without rum) is orange-pineapple-banana.

After trying this D.E. 5 yr I thought I'd like the more expensive Single Barrel, aged at least 10 years. But no matter how prejudiced I was, I kept liking the 5 year better than the 10 year old. Its been a few years so I can't remember exactly why but I remain convinced.

My favorite so far is Goslings Black Seal Black Rum. The nose isn't too impressive. Not bad but nothing special to give away what a treat it is on the tongue. Matter of fact, when I drink it I actually pour it across the length of my tongue and let it linger. Only slightly warm at 80 proof at first but gives way to a heavy molasses flavor. I'm not at all a fan of liqueurs and this is as close as I'd want to get. I'm not often in the mood for this syrupy molasses/licorice rum but when I am I really, really like it.

I don't want my next comment to turn anyone off... its not really like Jaegermeister's at all... except that its easy to think of Goslings as a winter drink in the same way Jaeger's is thought of.

This is the first drink I had where I noticed an effect that I've now tasted in many other drinks. It seems that if you are gentle with your glass while sipping that the flavor changes as you drain the glass. Is this just me? Is this an effect of changes to sensory perception as a response to the drink, or is it a change in the drink itself? Mostly what I notice is that many many drinks tend to have a bit more of a licorice taste when draining the last drops out of the glass.

I noticed the final/licorice accent first when sipping Goslings. Not too surprising considering the rum itself. But then I started noticing it in many whiskeys too. I do seem to notice it less if I swirl the drink around from time to time between sips. Is this all in my mind?

[chperry]

Tanduay 5 yr. Made in the Philippines. Sadly it is not available in the US and I have only one bottle left. I also like Brugal Siglo de Oro from the Dominican Republic, also not available in the US.