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What Rum/Rhum did you buy today?


BFerguson

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I tried it against both the recent Velier 7yo 46% ABV Hampden and the Blackadder 16yo 58.1% ABV. It was too hot to drink neat (unlike the Blackadder which is super palatable at 58.1%)-- so I dialed it down to about 50%, and at that point it was very similar in most respects to the Velier 46%. So, although extremely tasty-- it wasn't worth twice the price of the base model. Both were missing the beautiful transformative delivery and complexity of the Blackadder-- but that's to be expected.
 
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The Hampden 46% is on my short list. I almost picked it up a week ago but the nearly $60 price tag made me pause. I feel this is overpriced by at least $10. I like rum and really like the Hampden funk and will likely break down and purchase this but rum is getting almost as bad as bourbon with pricing. A NAS rum less than 100 proof shouldn’t be priced at this amount.

That being said I’m really enjoying rum. There’s a lot of variation by distiller. I think I enjoy the distinctive funk that I’ve seen from Jamaican runs the most. Guyanese has been excellent as in the example below. I like the Barbados Foursquare but maybe too much similarity with bourbon for my taste.

The Smith & Cross has become my official mixer hope it sticks around.

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Passed on this single barrel “indie” Foursquare— seemed a bit of a stretch. Has anyone tried it?

 

 

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Passed on this single barrel “indie” Foursquare— seemed a bit of a stretch. Has anyone tried it?
 
 
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I've been waffling on picking that up myself? What's the price? The online store I was looking at was $115+$20 shipped
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22 minutes ago, jwperry said:
24 minutes ago, Marekv8 said:
Passed on this single barrel “indie” Foursquare— seemed a bit of a stretch. Has anyone tried it?
 
 
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I've been waffling on picking that up myself? What's the price? The online store I was looking at was $115+$20 shipped


It was $150 on the shelf in NYC— which made it easy to walk away from. Apparently it’s selling OK, they were on their second order.

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I had ordered this over a year ago while on an “organic” research kick and just got it today. First ever Neisson with a cork and at 750ml. 

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Couple of rums for gifting just arrived. Getting worried as these were ordered back in November and just showed this afternoon.  
 

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Picked this one up in NYC early last week and it just arrived— this one’s straight Agricole vs their rum/rhum blend in the blue bottle.

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18 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Picked this one up in NYC early last week and it just arrived— this one’s straight Agricole vs their rum/rhum blend in the blue bottle.

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I think you are going to like it! Interesting unique finish even when compared to Martinique agricoles.

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On 12/18/2019 at 8:10 PM, Marekv8 said:

Couple of rums for gifting just arrived. Getting worried as these were ordered back in November and just showed this afternoon.  
 

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I am guessing a Europe only bottle for this Foursquare release? Looks to be 70cl and the “Mark” designation is back on the label, this time Mark XI.

 

So how is the Merser & Co? Hayman’s  new venture seems to be a blend of rum from various sources with packaging from the same company that does a lot of CB labels. Claims a lot of high ester Jamaican influence in the blend but at $40 plus presuming I could even get it shipped to me if seems like it could be a bit pricey for cocktail use.

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35 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

I am guessing a Europe only bottle for this Foursquare release? Looks to be 70cl and the “Mark” designation is back on the label, this time Mark XI.

 

So how is the Merser & Co? Hayman’s  new venture seems to be a blend of rum from various sources with packaging from the same company that does a lot of CB labels. Claims a lot of high ester Jamaican influence in the blend but at $40 plus presuming I could even get it shipped to me if seems like it could be a bit pricey for cocktail use.


The Sagacity was gifted last night and immediately opened and poured by the recipient — we thought it quite nice and flavor (vs alcohol) dominant. One of the better recent Foursquare releases. Yes, I reeled it in from the UK to make for a trickier gift.
 

The Merser gets gifted on Christmas Eve, and I will probably never taste it as it will be thought too pretty to open. 

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Umm, too pretty??? I know Stranger & Stranger does some nice packaging and the bottle looks a dimpled a bit like HW but what am I missing? Doesn’t look all that swanky!

 

oh, and I am accepting rum as a Christmas gift and you can be sure I would open and share...

 

B)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by tanstaafl2
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I had to EU order my Sagacity too. I prefer Empery. I'll have to side by side the Real McCoy Madeira release. They're similar proof too.
My first time having Dominus, I liked it.
The Worthy Park Oloroso cask was super funky (rum funky). First pour impression is that this bottle will take a while to finish.
The Worthy Park 12y was a good balance of funk and flavor. IMG_20191219_114826327.jpg

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6 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Umm, too pretty??? I know Stranger & Stranger does some nice packaging and the bottle looks a dimpled a bit like HW but what am I missing? Doesn’t look all that swanky!

 

oh, and I am accepting rum as a Christmas gift and you can be sure I would open and share...

 

B)

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this particular gal will treat it like a jewel— maybe I should give her a Blanton’s instead and pop it open. 

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On 12/21/2019 at 6:29 PM, Marekv8 said:

Yes, this particular gal will treat it like a jewel— maybe I should give her a Blanton’s instead and pop it open. 

Sounds like a good plan to me!

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On 12/22/2019 at 10:41 PM, tanstaafl2 said:

Sounds like a good plan to me!

 

OK, she's getting an Oban 14 and a PS ER10-- this is really quite good. Very robust (for 43% ABV) with a wallop of wood and dry, spicy finish...

 

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On 12/9/2019 at 4:45 PM, tanstaafl2 said:

Have been working through a few rums I purchased during a trip to California plus one I picked up from NY. 

 

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Doctor Bird - Kind of an odd duck as it were but very enjoyable. A Worthy Park Jamaican rum imported by Two James distillery in Detroit of all places and then finished in Moscatel sherry casks (Somewhat similar to PX sherry but less common). I have had this before from samples sent to me by a fellow SBer but now I have some of my own! Works very well in a Doctor Cocktail* too!

 

Uruapan Charanda - An unusual Mexican rum made from cane grown at higher altitudes along the Pacific coast. This is a blend of pot distilled cane juice and column distilled molasses rum. Charanda is the name for this very local style of spirit. Haven't opened this one yet.

 

Uruapan Caranda Blanco Blended "Single Agricola Rum" - This is from the same distillery but proofed up to 93 and made only with the pot distilled fresh cane juice component more like a rhum agricole. This one got opened first and is a real delight. Grassiness aplenty but a little more subdues than some agricoles although that may be proof related as well. And a curious unusual but delightful fruit like note. K&L describes it as having a fresh baked bread quality but I din't really get that. But i liked it enough to keep looking for it!

 

The Funk - Who wouldn't love that bottle??? Looks like it came right out of the 70's! Although this is kin of a Worthy Park answer to Hampden Estate's overproof Rum Fire although it is not a Wrthy Park bottling. Oddly it is imported and bottled by a company called "Proof and Wood in good ol' Bardstown, KY ( a DBA for Willet or Heaven Hill??? Doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there on this one). Because it is 100 proof rather than the 126 proof of Rum Fire it is a bit more approachable and at least seems like it is a bit more "delicate" despite having a solid ester-y component of its own. In any case I wanted it for the bottle alone but am happy with the contents as well having tried it on a previous trip to San Francisco!

 

The next three are from Privateer, a seemingly up and coming American rum distiller in Ipswich, MA that states they don't color, filter or add flavoring/sugar. OK, good so far! The Navy Yard is a barrel proof rum at 108.2 proof and aged in new 53 gallon char 3 barrels.. I presume it is a small but unknown quantity batch of barrels. Distiller's Drawer is a special selected barrel, in this case again new American oak, that is 100 proof and designated as "Bottled in Bond" so presumably at least 4 years old. The last one is the Queen's Share which is again a single barrel of new American oak aged rum but in this case of unknown (at least to me) age.

 

The next one is from Wright & Brown, a small distillery in Oakland, CA (they also make . I don't know as much about this one except that they describe their single barrel program as "Hogo Style" rum made from Georgia blackstrap molasses. It is 99 proof and aged 2 years in Limousin oak (barrel 2). Limousin oak suggest a wine or brandy cask of some sort, perhaps from a local winery but no details are noted to include the size of the barrel. They note that they don't do any filtering coloring of flavoring. This has a surprising amount of color for 2 years but the taste is a bit unusual. Almost a bit artificial so perhaps it has some influence from the barrel. The "hogo" also seems to be a bit under represented. 

 

Last but not least was a bottle of Kuleana rum agricole made on the big island in Hawaii. This is a newer distillery that David Perkins, former owner of High West, is consulting with which is always a big plus for me! This is a rum with a big aroma that you can pick up from several feet away. It is full of that wonderful grassy, diesel character that Smokinjoe loves so well! At 92 proof it is solid on the palate but I have already mentioned to David that I would have loved to have seen it at at least 100 proof. But a really good start for any lovers of the wonderful world of rum agricoles!

 

I missed this post earlier-- thanks for the notes on THE FUNK-- like you the bottle alone is worth the price of admission, but I'm glad to hear the liquid has merit. I'll pick one up when I next happen across it.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Local shop has had these sitting on the shelf with the 2007.  I’ve been working my way through them.  These are the last two they had.  I needed to replace the ones that were emptied over the holidays.

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Lemon Hart 80 proof, Lemon Hart Overproof, and Mount Gay XO.

Edited by PhantomLamb
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1 hour ago, PhantomLamb said:

Lemon Hart 80 proof, Lemon Hart Overproof, and Mount Gay XO.

What's your use case for Lemon Hart overproof? I'd heard a lot of remarks that its sippability (?) has significantly gone down over the years, not that it used to be great at that proof. And now I'm hearing the new releases are great again.

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45 minutes ago, Kane said:

What's your use case for Lemon Hart overproof? I'd heard a lot of remarks that its sippability (?) has significantly gone down over the years, not that it used to be great at that proof. And now I'm hearing the new releases are great again.

The OLD old ones benefitted from the fact that ED did not yet have their giant "rum vodka" stills put in yet, so even their most aggressive distillations still had a lot of rich congeners within them.

 

The maroon bottle was just OK - blended by Ed Hamilton. He says he's improved on that to make Hamilton 151, which is not bad, but again no old school LH151 (because the blending stocks are not the same, as above).

 

I bought an 80 proofer a few years ago in Canada which was post maroon, but might not be the same as the current release. It was good in a "better than no Demerara" sense, but I wouldn't buy it over Pusser's.

 

The brand has been sold so many times and usually with a fair bit of mystery behind "who owns it this time, and what is their blending philosophy, etc?"

 

For a float I think the best thing to do is get one of the current LH151, a Hamilton 151, and an OFTD, dilute them down to about 100 proof, and taste them, noting the differences. Then decide what characteristics each one offers, and which particular cocktails will be pulled in the right directions by each one's strengths. 

 

You might find the best 151 for you is a blend of these. Go nuts.

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7 hours ago, Kane said:

What's your use case for Lemon Hart overproof? I'd heard a lot of remarks that its sippability (?) has significantly gone down over the years, not that it used to be great at that proof. And now I'm hearing the new releases are great again.

Floating and to expand my rum collection. Probably going to pick up OFTD and Pussers Gunproof next.

 

I can’t pick up too much rum-wise here in PA so maybe a little of trial and error.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A beautiful day for a drive in cave country.  Mid 60’s and sunny.  I ran into this at a shop near Mammoth Cave.  I’ve never had but  looked interesting.

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14 hours ago, markandrex said:

A beautiful day for a drive in cave country.  Mid 60’s and sunny.  I ran into this at a shop near Mammoth Cave.  I’ve never had but  looked interesting.

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Interested if this has sugar added to it? Let us know your tasting notes.

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On 2/18/2020 at 9:05 AM, PhantomLamb said:

Interested if this has sugar added to it? Let us know your tasting notes.

In some of the lists of sugar measured in rum, which was something of a "thing" a few years ago, Flor de Cana was noted to have at least some sugar in some of the rums tested but not all. No one had the 25yo on their list but the 18yo was noted to have a bit of sugar (but less than some brands). I have had the 18yo but not the 25yo as best I can recall and it was OK but not something I felt the need to buy.

 

And at that time I felt the need to buy quite often so you can take that as you will! :blink:

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