Hi - this is probably a very basic question but am wondering about the relation between bottling percentage and dilution.

I was hearing and reading a lot of praise for high ABV rums - which I first assumed was wanting more of an alcohol kick - but is it more about flavour and dilution?

If barrel strength is 60+% then any spirit bottled at 40% is diluted with water by at least a 3rd..?

Is that right? Is the preference for higher ABV mostly that that it's less diluted?

Are there significant steps up in flavour even at say - 40% vs 43% or 46%. I imagine it would take quite a bit of extra water even to get something from 46% to 40%.

Hi - quick question.

I'm trying to find the episode of Comedy Vehicle that was about musical comedy... where Stew is holding a guitar and saying how you can get away with poor material when you're playing music alongside...

I think it's series 3 - but none of the episode titles are helping find it.

Any clues?

Thanks.

Hi - does anyone have a cola syrup recipe that they've developed/worked through?

I really enjoy a cola daquiri with homemade syrup - but I'm not sure about the recipe yet.

I was following a recipe that called for a one hour simmer - which seemed OTT - and as I suspected, ended up with a quite dense result.

Posting the recipe below - it's basically citrus zest & spices.

I don't really see the point in cooking it that long - I assume the spices will release their flavours around boiling point..?

Recipe:

250g white sugar

200g water

Zest of one lemon / one lime / half orange.

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 star anise

pinch nutmeg

1 tbsp demarara sugar

Hey - been diving into rum a fair bit the last couple of months.

I'm looking for a recommendation for some mid-funky Jamaican flavours.

I got a bottle of the Hampden Pagos on a recommendation and - while I liked it - I find it a bit overwhelming and tend to just use a splash of it at a time in cocktails. Is it the Rum Fire distillate? It tastes a lot like rum fire...

On the other side - I love Appleton 12 but that has very little funk character.

I'm looking for a new bottle something with a good amount of Jamaican character that I can use more of but isn't overwhelming - (from basic googling/research I'm) - looking at Worthy Park (109 or - or single estate) maybe Plantaray Xaymaca...

I have had Smith & Cross before right at the start of my exploration and can't really remember it - maybe because I didn't have much to compare it to at the time. Is S&C mainly a Hampden distillate also?

How would you rank different rums in terms of funkiness?

Hi - I've had a small micro camper (Berlingo) for a couple of years and I'm now looking to get something larger while not spending too much.

I've had a quick look around - looking probably at something like a VW T4/T5 or similar sized.

I'm not keen to do a full build - I'm OK at DIY but not an expert.

Most of the second hand vans I'm looking at have kitchen units / sink / cooker setups - and TBH that just seems like a huge waste of space - I'm almost always going to want to be cooking outside and rarely using in the winter - I'd rather use that space for something else.

How easy is it to adapt something like that - or to get someone to do it - where would you even find someone to do that? Any initial pointers would be super useful - like I said - I'm not looking for a guide for a full build...

Many thanks!

Question about syrups - how quickly do you find they go bad?

Have been mainly making my own and haven't found too many go bad yet... If they do 'go bad' what does that mean? Do they go sour - or is it that they get mould floating in them?

A couple of recipes - eg: Morgenthaler's grenadine - suggest adding a shot of vodka to help extend the life - does that work?

Sometimes when I've made a big batch - eg: Orgeat or Grenadine - I'll freeze some - but they don't seem to actually freeze - I assume because high sugar content - but I'd also assume that because they are stored at -0 temp - there's not going to be any bacterial activity even though it's not frozen.

Any tips? Any advice on what syrups/ingredients are more likely to degrade than others?

Hi - relatively new to a cocktail journey and have been doing a deep dive into rum...

I'm looking for suggestions on how to adapt one of my favourite cocktails into a rum version.

It's called Indian Summer (from BBQ restaurant Pitt Cue) - recipe follows.

Rye Whisky 35ml
Cointreau 25ml
Lemon Juice 20ml
Ginger Syrup - dash
Ginger Ale - 50ml

I'm thinking something aged in Bourbon casks might be a good swap for the Rye - and maybe switch lime for the lemon as it's a better rum match..?

Is there an existing rum cocktail that looks similar?

Many thanks!

Hey all - I'm looking for tips/recommendations for a workhorse dark rum for mixing.

I've been exploring some of the more premium ones as sippers, but also in cocktails - Foursquare ECS (Equidem/Convocation), Doorlys XO, Hampden Pagos, etc.

For most cocktails a full 2oz of these is a bit much - and I prefer to split the rum base and have an oz of the premium and 1oz of something else. This has mostly been Appleton Signature as it's what I already had.

Does anyone have any tips or recommendations for something that's flavourful but more neutral as a workhorse mixer? What kind of styles should I be looking for..?

Hey all - recently started exploring Rum and enjoying the journey. I have a question about 'Jamaican Funk' - and what it means.

So far have the following bottles:

Appleton Signature

Appleton 12

Hampden Pagos

Rum Fire (Hampden distillate?)

Foursquare ECS Equidem

Dillon Aged Agricole (Martinique)

I definitely understand what people mean when they talk about Jamaican funk - the Pagos and the Rum Fire really show it. But the Appleton rums don't particularly, and they're also Jamaican.

What is the main factor that creates it? I'm assuming it's mainly caused by deliberate actions made in the distilling process. Is it to do with residual yeasts/flavours in the fermenting process? That's kinda what it tastes like - as with Brettonomyces in some wines.

TBH it's quite impressive that they manage to retain such intense flavours even when distilled to 60+%

Edit after first two comments: A couple of people have said that answer is esters - I'm aware that Jamaican rum is famous for having a high ester content and those are the flavour compounds. But I don't thingk that actually explains anything - it just begs a further question - what is it specifically about certain Jamaican producers that makes more flavour compounds (esters) - the fermenting process, the yeasts, the distilling process..?

Hi all - I'm very new to rum after being more of a wine drinker for many years.

Enjoying exploring the different styles and have been watching all the rum content that the YouTube algorithm now keeps sending me...

I'm trying to remember a rum aged in Madeira casks that was recommended on one of the videos I watched a while ago (it all rolls into one) - I've given it a quick google and nothing rings the bell. It says that Doorlys 14 year has a portion of madeira aged added, but only a small amount - and there's a Mount Gay madeira cask, but that's getting on for £200 a bottle.

Are there any lower priced ones that anyone can recommend? I'm guessing that maybe the Foursquare ECS series has one..?

Hi - I was recently offered a second hand Macbook pro in pretty good condition for a good price (I think 2024 model). However - it's a French AZERTY keyboard. I'm based in the UK and used to Qwerty settings.

Does anyone know if it's possible to manually change the keys, or switch out the keyboard entirely to turn it into a Qwerty model?

Many thanks!

EDIT: Just to clarify - I'm aware that you can change the keyboard in the OS, but the physical keys - and particularly the function keys - won't match. I can probably get by OK on muscle memory of the letter keys - but not all the functions/punctuation etc.

Hey - I have a maybe odd meta question. Been diving deeply into cocktails over the last year or so after being more of a wine drinker.

Nearly all cocktails are mixed/shaken with ice - why is that?

Is it because high proof spirits are too intense at higher temps? Or is it because every cocktail requires a dilution.

From drinking red wine I know that a difference in only a few degrees make a huge difference - so I guess making every cocktail with ice makes a baseline tasting experience - otherwise things would taste very different depending on time of year, location, weather etc.

Are there any popular cocktails that are served at room temp?

cheers

My eBay app no longer makes the kerching! cash sound when I make a sale... this was a highlight of my week tbh.

no changes to settings, I've even reinstalled the app and still no luck - anyone experienced the same? any ideas?

cheers.

I have an Explorer 2000 which I use for camping/touring.

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I have a fridge that's permanently on - and use it also for kettle/toaster etc.

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I don't know a huge amount about how it works - but I saw someone comment about how it was more efficient to power from the DC rather than the AC. Before that I was running the fridge from the AC plug socket.

​

Am I right in thinking the reason it's less efficient is because by using AC you are basically needing the machine to run an inverter/converter?

​

I've noticed that if I forget to turn off the AC power after use the battery drains much quicker - even if nothing is plugged in.

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Is this right?

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Hey - does anyone have any suggestions for ice making that makes things easier...

I realised how annoying it got having to remember to load up the ice tray so thought I'd buy a m,achine from Amazon, but then realised it made weird hollow bullets of ice that just don't really work for cocktails (melt too quickly).

Are there machines that make 'normal' cubes - or any other good solutions to major ice production.

I'm a little confused about brewing temperatures - in particular how they are affected by the cooling effect of the coffee/vessel itself.

I live in the UK - make coffee almost exclusively with aeropress. I only have a standard kettle so water at boiling temp.

I've been reading that 90-95 is the ideal brewing temperature and so was wondering about different ways to achieve that - maybe adding a dash of cold water first... And also wondered how much the water would be cooled by the temp of the coffee and the aeropress itself.

I just did a test with a temperature probe and once the water was poured onto the coffee grounds - it was almost exactly 90c for the brewing/steeping.

Does that mean it's perfect, or is there an issue with the boiling water hitting the grounds at the start potentially burning/scorching them? But if the water was added at 90c - then it would cool down to 80 or so for the steep and that would be too low, no?

Hi - I'm an eBay seller who uses RM all the time - usually without any problems.

However - I had a delivery go missing - Tracked 24 - and after 'item recieved' - it just didn't update for a week. Seven days is the recommended time to issue a claim - so I refunded the buyer and made a claim.

I just rechecked the tracking and it's now showing this:

Pending

We normally expect to deliver to your address between 10:45am - 2:45pm

**Sorry, either the sender didn't pay enough postage for this item or there's a customs charge due. We're holding your item at  Knowle DO and will leave a card at your address with more information. **

This is infuriating in many ways - firstly this only updated TWO WEEKS after it was due to be delivered - it's also bizarre because I've sent hundreds of the same items with no issues - it's not oversize/weight and it's not a customs issue.

I also don't appear to have any way to get access to the item - there's no online way to pay whatever fee they are wanting - it seems to rely entirely on a physical card that the buyer never received.

Is there anything I can do to get this item back?

Does anyone have any tips for making cocktails in warmer weather?

Starting to get towards summer here in the UK - which means that when making a cocktail the base ingredients are warmer, and the ice is melting more... Some of the drinks are significantly different with more dilution.

Is that just something you get used to - or do you start refrigerating more things? Any tips?

Hi - I've really been enjoying Negronis made with Gran Classico - I still enjoy the classic Campari version, but the GC version is a bit more subtle - less a slap in the face and more savory/caramel. I also enjoy splitting the amaro base with half GC and half Campari.

Are there any other similar Amaros that make a diffent kind of Negroni style drink that anyone can recommend?

Many thanks.