u/tjm1371

Almost done with my bottle of APS as a newby to rum and am thinking about moving to Probitas as a blended light age mixer. How does it compare for mixing in Tiki drinks? For reference, my favorite mixing rums are Appleton 12 for age/depth and Smith & Cross for flavor.

I'm about a month into my rum/tiki journey and am starting to look at expanding out my bottle selection beyond what I currently have to make new drinks that interest me. As of now I've only done Mai Tais and Painkillers using various combinations of Smith & Cross, Appleton 8/12, and Pusser's Gunpowder Proof (I'm a fan of all 3 bottles). I want to expand out to trying Jet Pilots, Hurricanes, and Tradewinds and am looking at picking up Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black as the black blended rum to use for Jet Pilots and Hurricanes, but have heard mixed things on here about it (I don't have good local access to Coruba or Hamilton 86 before anyone suggests them as alts). I'm thinking that I'll like Ham JPSB since I like S&C (both funky rums), but I hear it's a different kind of funk and it would be my first exposure to Worthy Park juice. If I find S&C to be great (I use it 1:1 with AP 8/12 for my mai tai base) would I probably like Ham JPSB? Would you guys recommend it as a good bottle for black blended rum called for in Jet Pilots and Hurricanes? I also have OFTD on hand as another mixer for the Jet Pilot recipe.

Additional question: does Pusser's Gunpowder Proof qualify as a black blended rum? I know it will have a *very* different profile than something like Ham JPSB since it's a Guyanese Demerara vs a funky Jamaican, but can you use PGP 109 when a recipe like a Jet Pilot or Hurricane calls for a black blended rum? It's my understanding that Hamilton 86 qualifies as a black blended rum but wasn't sure if PGP 109 does as well.

I really like Appleton 12 as my favorite neat rum sipper and I try to conserve it for that purpose (in addition to it being pricier) while using a 3:1 split between Appleton Signature and S&C for my mai tais, but I see a lot of people using Appleton 12 for their mai tais and was wondering if it's really worth the upgrade versus the cost considering the mix I use. I pay $22 for Appleton Signature vs $49 for Appleton 12 locally. I'm guessing that it's not worth double the cost to bump up to Appleton 12 in a mai tai where 0.5 ounces of S&C and the mixers (1/4 oz dem syrup, 1/4 oz orgeat, 1/2 oz PF, 1/2 oz lime) will probably drown out whatever the Appleton 12 is bringing to the table, but just thought I'd gather opinions from more experienced mai tai drinkers here on the question for folks who have tried both in their mai tais.

I'm a little over a month into my rum journey after coming over from the bourbon side. I started out trying El Dorado 12, Appleton 12, Doorly's 12, and some Venezuelans (Diplomatico and Santa Teresa 1796) neat and basically liked them all but really liked El Dorado 12, Appleton 12, and ST 1796 the best out of those. I then went on to making a bunch of different Mai Tais and Painkiller variations as my cocktails of choice and added OFTD, Appleton Signature, and Smith & Cross to the collection as mixers. I really like Smith & Cross and Appleton Signature for mixers, but also mixed El Dorado 12 and OFTD into some Mai Tais as a split base alongside my Jamaican favs (AP12, AP Sig, S&C) and found them to add a depth and unique sweetness that I really enjoyed. I've come to find El Dorado 12 as a standout favorite both neat and mixed and am trying to find other Demerara-style higher proof mixers and maybe some lower-priced/equal-proof mixers as well so I can save my ED12 for neat sipping. So far I am thinking Pusser's Gunpowder Proof may serve as a good slightly higher proof mixer, and Lemon Hart 151 as a high proof mixer. I do like OFTD, but would like a full on Demerara closer to ED12 rather than OFTD as I really like the deep/sweet/dark molasses profile that I get from ED12. Do Pussers Gunpowder 109 and Lemon Hart 151 fit the bill for this on the higher ends of proof? Both are available locally. Also, is there cheaper 80-86 proof substitute for El Dorado 12 that has the same flavor profile and thick mouth feel, or at least one that comes close? I have El Dorado 5 locally (no El Dorado 8) but I've heard it's a lot thinner and not as rich in flavor (maybe that doesn't matter as much for mixing, but I'm still a novice). Any thoughts and/or recommendations from other more experienced El Dorado/Demerara fans here?

First time poster and new to relatively rums and rum cocktails. I do love rum cocktails and want to start making some on my own, but don't have access to a lot of the recommended rums, specifically Smith & Cross. I'd like to try to mimic its profile for making Mai Tais and other similar cocktails, so I'm looking for ideas here. I understand it's a pretty funky Jamaican rum, and the funkiest rum I think I can find locally is probably going to be Plantation Xaymaca. The overproof rums I have access to locally are Hamilton Navy Strength 114, Plantation OFTD, and Wray & Nephew. Anything in that group stand out as something that would make a good substitute, even if combined?

Also curious about split bases for some cocktails like a Mai Tai and was thinking about doing 3:1 or 2:1 Xaymaca to OFTD and wondering if anyone has had success with this combo before? Bottles I currently have at home are El Dorado 12, Doorly's 12, Diplomatico RE, Plantation Xaymaca, and Santa Teresa 1796. I plan to pick up some Plantation 3 Star and OFTD on my next stop at the store for mixers (3 Star for Cuba Libres, OFTD for dark/Demerara cocktail backbone). Thanks in advance for any advice!

I get bad migraines fairly regularly, and it comes from the bruxism I have that's under my service connected mental health rating umbrella. I'm wanting to file for the migraines secondary to my bruxism/MH rating, but I'm worried about potential decreases to my MH rating from what I've heard about happening to other people here (any secondary claims to MH get a MH review and can get decreased from what I understand). I'm just past my 5-year window on my mental health rating so I understand that it would take more than just a single C&P exam for the VA to knock it down, but what's the reality of the risk of the VA just arbitrarily saying that I've "gotten better" for whatever reason? My tooth enamel has been worn the fuck down from the bruxism over time to the point where I barely have any on the tops and I'm starting to get TMD symptoms, I still have persistent nightmares and yelling in my sleep that wakes up my wife and then she has to wake me up to stop it, I still have depression and anxiety that affects my daily life (especially the anxiety), and I still avoid any crowded places and have issues maintaining social relationships, etc. Am I over-worrying about the risk to my mental health rating here if I file for migraines secondary to my bruxism/MH stuff? The migraines definitely come from my tooth grinding and I can get a nexus letter from my primary that says as much. I wake up with them some days and other days I develop them mid-day from stress (I subconsciously grind during the day when stressed and wear a night guard for when I do it at night). Just wondering what folks here with more experience than me dealing with the VA system would say about my concerns here.