lets talk about rum

[Judge Dredd]

For the price, I think the El Dorado rums are my favourite. I can only get the 15 Year Old for $50 thanks to Canada's archaic liquor taxation, but it is worth every cent.

$50?!?!? Bargain. Cheapest I've seen it here is $A125. I'll take Canadian archaism any day!

Bottle of Ron Zacapa is $A90. Ninety friggin bucks. It's no wonder between my rum and my bay rum I'm having a fiscal crisis.

[Acmemfg]

"Ron del Barrilito"

Rum from the little barrel. Not easy to find, but the 3 star version is probably the best of all the rums I have had over many years; 2 star is all right as well but pales in comparison to the 3 star.

Made in a very humble distillery in San Juan, PR. It is a rum well worth searching for.

[delamain]

$50?!?!? Bargain. Cheapest I've seen it here is $A125. I'll take Canadian archaism any day!

Bottle of Ron Zacapa is $A90. Ninety friggin bucks. It's no wonder between my rum and my bay rum I'm having a fiscal crisis.

Judge Dredd,
I have a friend in Toowoomba who has had me review the websites of his local liquor stores - Dan Murphy's, for example - so that I can pick out worthy products for him to try.

On the whole, your prices are better. There are a few outliers - El Dorado is definitely one of them in this case! - but I think you folks in Australia are better off than Canadians.

For one thing, you have far more choice than we do. I don't even have the option to purchase many great products. We can only purchase alcohol from a government-run monopoly, and every listing they carry is decided by bureaucracy and not consumer demand. It takes a great deal of politics and red tape to bring in a new product, and you can't just have anything you want ordered in...

We have Ron Zacapa 23, by the way, and it is $85. That is way more than I'd want to pay for it. I'll stick with my El Dorado! It is truly one of the best values in our stores. (Our province does business with Demerara Distillers - I don't know if we have a preferential agreement with them but it would make some sense if we did)

[Judge Dredd]

Dan Murphy's is one of my favourite shops. I've long been darkening their doorsteps. If I recall correctly, old man Dan himself was pinged for sales tax fraud, and his son Phillip set up his own chain in direct competition. Dan and Phillip then each sold their chains to one of the duopolist grocery operators, and the rest is history.

[Judge Dredd]

I took one for the team and procured a bottle of Old Monk rum.

It comes in an ugly squat little bottle, like the Musgo Real shower gel, only bigger and made of glass.

The rum smells like artificial vanilla essence on the nose. Reminds me of cake mixtures from my childhood.

I was expecting it to taste like cough syrup. It's not that bad. It's more like a tawny port, sort of a mile toffee/caramel. Not like rum.

No burn. At 42.8%, there's no burn at all. And if some of the claims I've seen out there are to be believed, there's no hangover from it either. I didn't consume enough to test that out.

I'd only recommend it if you are really keen on trying something different and have got absolutely nothing left on your bucket list. There are better rums to experience before you get to this one.

[Face&Head]

Gosling's in a Dark & Stormy for me...de-lish

++1 I developed a taste for these on my honeymoon with my first wife 30 years ago. Still make them to this day but instead of ginger beer I make a ginger syrup (make a simple syrup and simmer corsely chopped ginger in it for about 45 minutes) and mix with Perrier Lime.

[KodiakAttack]

I really enjoy Zaya on its own, but it's also very tasty in mixed drinks. Hints of vanilla and its natural sweetness are a real selling point for me.

[Mad Man]

Appleton Estate if mixed. Kraken neat.

[CptBlueBear]

Mmmmm, rumumum!

I'll vote for Mt Gay. Best bang for your buck across the board: Eclipse ad Lightning for mixing and Extra Old for sipping. Great stuff for not a lot of money. Havana Club is great for Mojitos and Cuba Libres, as is Santiago de Cuba. For the benefit of any Aussies reading, all of the above are to be found at Dan Murphys.

Once I've scratched a couple of single malt itches, I mean to expand my rum collection. Anyone care to comment on Pussers, Lamb's, Flor de Canna or St Lucia?

I see no Aussie has yet made the obligatory comment on Bundaberg so I'll get in first: it may be our rum but it still tastes like paint thinner.

[LegendofVogel]

It may be cheap, but I love Lambs. It was all my grandfather drank, so maybe its nostalgic. I can't get it in the U.S. so I have to stock up everytime I visit family in Canada.

[Judge Dredd]

I see no Aussie has yet made the obligatory comment on Bundaberg so I'll get in first: it may be our rum but it still tastes like paint thinner.

But which one, Cpt? The Bundy Bear has been busy lately producing all manner of spin-offs...not that any one of them is necessarily better than the other...kind of a Musgo Real thing I suppose

[Mad Man]

But which one, Cpt? The Bundy Bear has been busy lately producing all manner of spin-offs...not that any one of them is necessarily better than the other...kind of a Musgo Real thing I suppose

Bundy & coke is only "slightly" above the su-bourbon & coke in the Bogan stakes...

[CptBlueBear]

But which one, Cpt? The Bundy Bear has been busy lately producing all manner of spin-offs...not that any one of them is necessarily better than the other...kind of a Musgo Real thing I suppose

Indeed the Great White Furry One has been a busy bear. I had the standard yellow label product in mind. Club security people call it aggravation in a bottle. On reflection, Inner Circle is worse, however. If you want a good Aussie rum I can highly recommend Cainfire. The label is a bit naff and you can only get it from WA, but it's a damn fine drop. Has anyone tried the new Beanleigh now that it's made in Fiji?

Bundy & coke is only "slightly" above the su-bourbon & coke in the Bogan stakes...

It's better on tap but still far to sweet for my taste. Strangely enough I loved Dark & Stormy and I don't mind premix Canadian Club & Dry. If you want to try something really awful (and I can't imagine why you would) get yourself a can of Cougar & Cola. It's just horrible. What on earth do people see in that stuff?

[xero2099]

AM a big Don Q fan , I love their Anjeo and regular light rum. I am also a fan of Cruzan spiced 9

[427TRI]

For mixing Mojito's and Daiquiri's I love Mt Gay Silver Eclipse


For sipping or mixing, The Kraken

[jakko]

just went and bought a bottle of el dorado 12 yo. Wow.... what a completely different taste profile from the havana club 7 yo anejo.

[ShadedDude]

I was recently introduced to Pampero Aniversario, a Venezuelan rum.

By far the best sipping rum I have ever tasted.

[WoodfordReserve-Neat]

For clear rum I like Mount Gay. Its cheap(like $13 dollars) and tasty. For dark rum I like Goslings or a brand called Kilo.

#1 Mount Gay - I buy the dark...If its good enough for Jimmy Buffet......
Funny, I generally only drink rum at the Beach for some reason...Rum & coke usually.

[CptBlueBear]

#1 Mount Gay - I buy the dark...If its good enough for Jimmy Buffet......
Funny, I generally only drink rum at the Beach for some reason...Rum & coke usually.

Great stuff especially for the price. I figure that budget isn't an issue for Buffet so that might actually mean something. Me, I'm out of Eclipse but I've most of a bottle of XO.

Sexy that plain ol' rum 'n' coke up with a squeeze of lime. Just enough to kill the sweetness.

[ReAndyMator]

Brugal 1888. My favourite by about a million miles. Preferably neat. With a twist of orange peel if I'm feeling posh.

(Oh, and Hi.)