This is my Rum Reviews Channel. Here you'll find my Rum Reviews and Rum Tastings...and the odd UK Distillery Tour. I will split my reviews between British Scratch Rums to showcase them and then the big famous Global Brands too. All with the central them of Rums under £50/$60/€60 and how they work in Cocktails.
If you want Rum Education, head over to my Main Channel @stevethebarmanuk or if you want Rum Cocktails and Spiced Rum, then check out @stevethebarmanextra
Interesting review. Just a few FYIs - The Old Gold you have there looks a little light in colour. 20 years ago Old Gold was the most popular rum locally in Barbados for ordering a rum and coke. That has switch to Old Brigand in the last 10 years. The Old Brigand has a similar flavour but is a little younger, so not as smooth. Rum that is exported from Barbados is often slightly different than what is sold locally. The 3 rums you have there are all 43% locally. The Cockspur Fine Rum is called 5 Star. The Eclipse and 5 Star are generally considered 5 year old rums but they took the 5 Year labeling off the bottles years ago. Rum in Barbados tends to age about twice as fast due to the constant heat and humidity, so they just started calling it Cockspur 5 Star. The Old Gold is about an 8 year old rum and should not have any sugar added. Traditional Barbados Rum distilling and blending does not add sugar to rums. There is a battle going on locally because Maison Ferrand, who bought the West Indies Rum Distillery, because they are sugaring the Plantation/Planteray rum. As far as I know, the Cockspur rum is still made the traditional way. Old Gold is my go to rum for rum and coke! My sipping rum is Perkins & Sons 75 which is about a 12 year old rum that has a touch of bourbon blended into it to make it incredibly smooth. Cockspur previously produced a VSOR rum but it has been replaced by Cockspur XO which is a completely different rum. With regards to the rum punch, the most important ingredient is the lime juice and nothing beats a fresh squeezed Bajan lime. Old Gold rum is about $42.99 BBD ($21.50 USD) for a 1L bottle locally.
Nope Kevin. Same liquid to my knowledge. But at 20g per litre, it’s not as sweet as your Diplomatico, Abuelo, and many others for example. And it doesn’t actually taste like 20g per litre either. Also in the UK, many would actually compare this to the likes of Bumbu. And I dare many many in the US too. So in relation to those, nope, it ain’t that sweet.
LOLS, it always cracks me up when people get so transfixed by this kinda stuff. Yes some Rums brands don't add anything. Yes, some Rum brands add a little. Some Brands add a lot. In the grand scheme of things, 20g/litre is about the average amount once you take the likes of Appleton, Worthy, Foursquare, Mount Gay etc. And this only applies to the small teeny tiny percentage of the market who drink Rum neat. (Less than 10% of the Market in the UK). But look lets get real for a second. 20g/litre sounds a lot. But if we're talking 25ml UK measures, thats less than 0.5g per shot! HALF a gram. it's a tiny amount and nothing really to get worked up about. And thats without the whole Cocktail convo. If you're using Plantation XO in an Old Fashioned for example... just add 1-2ml of sugar less than you normally would... simples! 😂😂
@@StevetheBarmanRumReviews Respectfully, my ire for this expression (and the "Barbados 5") is in large part because of how Barbados rum typically doesn't contain the sugar/additives of those Spanish heritage countries where that sort of this is expected.
Good evening. thank you for taking the time to compare, found your tasting very interesting. Although I use Appleton signation with Myers rum as topper, I love Clement Rhum for single Rhum Mia Tia. I mix from scratch, Trader Vic's recipe. Always fresh fruits and mint (lucky I live in Florida and grow my own mint). You are right the 8 year old is much more fruity and I am Scotch/Whiskey drinker, the 12 year old and up are much more as you said Toffee oaky taste. Thank you for your review. FYI I also like to use Hamilton 86 and St Johns Gold when I can get them, especially St. John's. are they still in business?
I love Smith and Cross for tiki cocktails. I usually add Hamilton Rum’s as well, they have fantastic imports for all things tiki in the USA. Their worthy park Jamaican golden rum blend is crazy, overripe bananas for days.
I am a whiskey bourbon drinker but lately I have been craving rum so I went out and bought Flor De Cana 7, 12, 18, I still haven't opened any of them yet.
Can’t believe there’s so many 8 fans. I feel like Hamilton blows it out of the water as a sipper and a mixer. Might as well be drinking whiskey because that’s all I taste
I feel like Appleton is a really nice rum but it lacks that Jamaican “Hogo” you love so much. I’m lucky that my interest in alcohol and rums coincided with me moving to New York where any bottle I want is available, albeit at a premium. Whereas the 750 is available at $26 at Astor Wines, Warehouse sells the 1L for only $1 more. Given what a great entry it has been for Jamaican rums, I definitely see Appleton having a permanent place on my bar. That said, I might upgrade to the 8 or 12 year if im looking for a bit more “hogo” but even so, it can be cut with smith and cross, which I also like to drink in a daiquiri, or perhaps even with the Coruba, which I have not yet tried.
El Dorado 12 is very easy to distinguish, it has a dry aftertaste, it leaves a dry effect after drinking it. Plantation XO is distinguished by a thicker texture, it is more oily. All 3 are excellent rums. My favorite is Dictador 20, then Plantation XO, this from the price range up to 50 euros. For Cuba Libre I prefer For de Cana 7. Good luck!
Hi Steve, not long subscribed to your channel as wanting to dip my toes into the fascinating world of rum and enjoying the content your providing for this! Do you still have your discord channel? Can’t seem to find the link for it
Hey Steve, you struck a nerve with me on this one and I couldn't let it go for a while... Well, I had like 4oz of Doorly's 12 left in a bottle and decided to make a daiquiri with it to lay it rest. 1oz lime, .5 oz simple, 1.5oz Doorly's, clear pour. My impressions (which could be clouded with your influence on me!) - while drinkable and not bad, the rum overpowers the lime. I would have to say that I may use this rum elsewhere, but not in a daiquiri. I have another unopened bottle, it is perfectly drinkable on its own as a cognac, and I may use it in other cocktails. I can get on sale for about $28.
RL Seals 10 year is $27.99 all day long in Texas where the Plantation is around $59.99. RL Seals is the best bang for your dollar at this time between the two!
So the double retort holds wash, vinegar and heads in the main tank, early tails in the first retort, and late tails in the second retort. Making good rum from molasses is HARD!
Tip from a French speaker: As long as you visibly make an effort, your charming enthusiasm will way outweigh any judgment we would have about your accent. Love your channel.
I ordered a bottle directly after watching this video. That, and a Selección de Maestros. I'm really a whisky sipper but thought it would be nice to have a summery alternative not too complicated for a beginner.
Mixing with Mount Gay XO is a hard call for me on price ($90-100 CAD). I reserve it for sipping (maybe a Corn n' Oil or Rum Fashioned wouldn't feel as wasteful idk). I use the Eclipse for highballs and punches. I think it works really well for those and it's super affordable at $33 CAD (under £20). Then there's the double cask, the Black Barrel, at $60-70 CAD. That's a harder one to mix with at that price, but maybe it's cheaper for you. That's the one you can sip neat much more easily than the Eclipse, standouts in cocktails better like the XO. It is more barrel forward, more oak and none of the cognac of the XO, but that's both a matter of preference and question of whether or not that will show thru in a cocktail. In any case, while you might be looking for one bottle (maybe the Black Barrel is that), the core range exported from Mount Gay is less than $200 CAD (£110) to stock three bottles that each bring something different to a drink or for sipping. If they exported the unaged Silver, I'd say you could probably get away with just having those 4 bottles in your bar and you'd be set! 😂 Edit: I know in more recent videos, you've said your palette has really dried out. I would be curious to see you compare Planation XO and Mount Gay XO again given how much sweeter that Planation/Planteray is.
Very engaged review. And exactly the puzzle I am trying to solve: which Jamaican rum to bring with me on Holiday for a great Mai Tai. I already have a bottle of Clement Canne Bleue. I will go for the Worthy Park 109. But am afraid to miss out on the SC banana funk I so much love.
Myers and o.j. the go to drink. Not sweet and the o.j. cuts the sweetness even more. Why would anyone go looking for bananas in a sugarcane drink? If you want banana put one in and make a cocktail. Just saying.
Rums and Cigars from Cuba are so good that even the cheap ones are better than some expensive foreign brands. The Communist Gov prioritize the quality of this business and they pay well their engineers if not they will leave the country; I have bought this Santiago de Cuba Rum and is superb! My respect to you Sr, great review!
