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My go-to for a Mai tai with plenty of Jamaican funk and high octane is Denizen + Smith & Cross. If I want to be able to have a couple, then it’s Denizen and Plantation Xaymaca. And then if I want to catch a buzz a little faster, I do Denizen + Xaymaca + Smith & Cross + OFTD. That one is super delicious with lots of funk, and it packs a punch. So yes, I go through a lot of Denizen. It is my workhorse mai tai rum. It’s not expensive, and it’s really good with plenty of funk. Easily an 18 or 18.5 out of 20. And then for orgeat, I am all about BG Reynolds and Latitude 29.
Wow! Once again a banging episode! By using ones taste buds and not the eyes as you have shown, the underdogs are kicking arse! I just knew that the last two rums were going to be the 33/66 and Drop Works 😂. When you get the can of coconut cream remove the lid and use an immersion blender to bust up the lump and make it smooth ( you won’t be able to do it by shaking) , and transfer to an easy pour vessel such as a measuring cup otherwise you’ll probably make a mess 😂. I might not yet have the collection like you’ve got but I’m working diligently on it 😂! Speaking of which I just scored 3 more for Under the Sea @ $62 each ( need 2 more to complete, and for the Birds of Paradise the Australia. 😅
I have made a blend to recreate Denizen 8 just by looking at an article I can't find currently, where Martin Cate disclosed the Rums included in the Blend. I used: 20% Le Galion Grand Arome (I think i got the last bottle in the EU or something because I can't find it anymore, it was an aged version in a 0,5l Bottle) 48% Appleton 8 8% Smith & Cross 8% WP Rum Bar Gold 16% WP Rum Bar Silver I also took some Denizen 8 home from the US The Blend is really similar to the Denizen, especially in a Mai Tai I also tried it with a Savanna Grand Arome from la Reunion with a Port Finish and it was not quite the same but still similar. It lacked a bit of depth and richness. But I recently stumbled upon a J.W&N17 imitation recipe by Greg Easter from his book "Advanced Mixology: A New Approach" Which instantly became my favorite Mai Tai Rum. His recipe is based on a bottle of the original J.W&N 17 which was tampered with by Vic himself and was a gift to Greg's father by Vic. According to Greg, Vic did not use straight J.W&N 17 but he added thigs to it. He also has his own Mai Tai recipe in the book but I haven't tried that jet. The Blend also uses Ingredients available in the EU. The book is a definite recommendation even if the only thig you are interested in is the Rum Blend for the Mai Tai.
I had a bottle of the Denizen Merchant's reserve a few years ago and was very disappointed. I would say 4/20. My favorite Mai Tais theses days are made by using some high ester Jamaican stuff (nothing beats a DOK here, or something like Fiji, even Australia) and some heavy stuff from Belize/Barbados etc.
Hello Steve. Thanks for this video. I love these comparisons! I tested a duo that goes pretty well together for Mai Tai. So it's Ron Colon for Jamaican fruitiness and Pusser's Coronation for richness and indulgence. It will be necessary to test by adding a little agricultural white rum to see if it is interesting. I had tested Boutique blanc quite a long time ago, I found it rather good, but maybe a little too much Jamaican solvent, as I remember correctly. I absolutely have to try the bitter lime you presented in your last video. Cheers 🍸👍
Cheers mate! Yeah... I'm kinda thinking a little touch of Demerara could be interesting, but it's hardly spoken about, so not much of a Mai Tai thought for some reason.
Hello Steve. Yes, that's true and I thought about it afterwards. You are right, we must stick with Jamaican rums. I would like to taste the Appleton 17 to see what it gives but it is unfortunately a bit expensive or can be tested as a sample. Well done 🍸
I keep experimenting with Mai Tais but not more than 2 rums. My latest was pretty darn good. 1 Appleton Estate 12 1 Plantation Original Dark .75 Lime Juice .25 Clémont Creole Shrubb .25 Grand Marnier .25 Giffard Orgeat 1 Dash of Fee Bros Black Walnut bitters Small pinch of salt Shake & Dump
Im a big MT fan , great to get your perspective! We want more MT and zombie style rum comparisons. Also finding the best custom blends. Smith n cross and link n wray are absolute belters in this context! Rumbar doesnt reach L&W in this context imo
What about Rum Fire instead of Wray? Cos weirdly, I do prefer Rum Bar OP to Wray. not that I'd probably tell the difference if I didn't know what they were in the glass!
Hello Steve, Thank you so much for the Mai Tai tests. I assume the reason to find a good single rum recipie is to save costs, isnt it? For me as a beginnet the most efficient(best cost/taste ratio) is the oftd. It costs about 26Euros but can be used in many other Cocktails. As a next step may I ask you to make 2 rums Mai Tai tests? Maybe with 2 rums you can reach a higher Score than 16??? Regards Sektionchef
Ive gone through a couple of bottles of DM during my Mai Tai rabbit hole and I’d give also give it around a 16 or 17. I think Kevin Crossmans Ultimate Mai Tai recipe is a bit better, like an 18 or 19 but for an easy one bottle Mai Tai its hard to beat the DM in my opinion
For me merchant's reserve is a solid 20/20. I've made dozens of mai tai variations, but I have yet to top it. The 1.5oz hampden 5 yr with 0.5oz of oftd is a pretty amazing second place though, but it's far from traditional lol.
We were at a local Tiki bar and my wife ordered a banana daiquiri and it just tasted like a banana smoothy. It did not taste like a cocktail at all. She wouldn't drink it. We told the waitress and she laughed and said "So I should tell them the banana daiquiri tastes too much like banana." I said yes. It's not balanced, you can't taste anything but banana.
@adamg.manning6088 actually. No. This is where quite a few get confused. Cos in Rum world, “Blended” actually refers to the Stills. Pot and Column. So you have Column Still. Pot Still. And Blended. Well…that’s if you follow Smugglers active for example. Even Gargano’s is loosely referring to that… However yes. A lot of aged Rums will be a Blend of different Distillates. But generically, when we’re talking “Blended” we’re referring to a Blend of Pot and Column still Rums! 👍
@@StevetheBarmanUK Yes I Know how the SC works. Maybe I was off in saying “most are blended” as I’m sure there’s lots of distilleries just using columns, so they don’t fall under SC’s definitions for “blended”. However, I stand by the statement that unless you’re drinking single barrel rum (for argument’s sake, wasn’t a blend of column and pot) as vast majority of rum in the world is a blend and can vary from (deep breath) Different mashes, Different fermentations, Different washes Different wash runs Different low wine runs Different spirit runs Different stills Different barrel ages, origins and use cycles Different maturation times Different post-maturation abv Different water chemistry. And probably so much more than my tiny brain can handle. All a multi-island/origin blend really means is that those decisions made by each distillery management team and blenders (clue in the name) has been brought together and decisions made two to five times again by yet another blender/ rum trader and packaged and sold to to consumer, which either enhances a drinker’s experience, or makes blending with other products (for a Mai-tai style house blend) slightly more challenging because you have to encompass those micro-nuances that made up the multi island blend. Most consumers don’t regard products like Appleton 8 or such to be a “blend” (despite SC’s definition) because the Master Blender spends so much time ensuring consistency. It’s the same in Scotch, where we valorise Single Malt so much.
Hi Steve. Really like your videos. But... you are making hard to see them from beginning to end. They are 50, 60min. Just a friendly observation Salud🍻 from mexico🇲🇽
Thats okay. Each to their own. it'll always be 50/50...cos some people just don't have long attention spans. Me...I can't be done with anything under 5-10 mins. Will rarely even click a video less than 10 mins unless it's very specific to what i want. I do agree 60+ mins can be long... but I'm working on bring these down to 30-45. Analytics prove people watch it for that long.
Denizen merchants reserve makes a solid Mai Tai. I've gone through 2 bottles at this point. If I had to score it...16/20? 17/20 because it's so easy to make. 20 being the best mai tai I've ever had. It has a esther-y burned rubber undertone that I find a bit unappealing, same flavor I also find in Rum Fire- though much more mild. But it works incredibly well in a mai tai overall. edit: revised my score down by a point after trying it again, definitely solid, wants a bit of OFTD or a Demerara rum desperately IMO.
Nothing wrong at all! Sounds fascinating! I've liked playing around with amaro or bitter orange aperitif in Mai Tais. Hadn't considered mezcal. I'm getting an education!
