r/rum

New to me bottle and the cap just spins 😭😭

Only back from Italy and managed to get a hold of these two while over there just in time for the birthday today. I also got a nice Romeo y Julieta Cuban to pair with as well so I reckon that will go nicely with the Black Tot. Looking forward to experiencing both later.

Trinidad and Barbados

I just wanted to know whether it’s safe to drink or I should tip the rest out?
Very nice rum though would recommend

Finally made it to Undercurrent this last weekend. These are the bottles we tasted. All of them were delicious except for the far left, which is also the only bottle that was NOT a recommendation from Paul. Lesson learned.

If you are in the NYC area this new place is a must stop.

Again, just trying to get people in touch with imported rums in an import-challenged market. Living in Venezuela, 98% of the rum available here is Venezuelan. Exceptions are Bacardi (just the white rum) and Zacapa 23.

Guyana? What's that?

A few years ago the government made a huge campaign about Guyana actually being part of Venezuela and I think that's the first time a lot of locals realized there was a country there. But of course, going as far as learning they make rum and that it's a great rum, totally unheard of.

So I put together a tasting of what I could find elsewhere and ship it back here, which wasn't an easy task.

• El Dorado 15: If you're in the rum sub and you don't know about this rum, you should probably go try it and check back here. This 15-year-old expression is a blend of selected rums that can reach up to 25 years old, produced using four different distillation units, including Coffey and Enmore columns and the wooden stills known as Port Mourant and Versailles. It's aged in American white oak casks, and it is worth noting that the "15 years" stated on the bottle refers to the youngest rum in the blend. This differs from many Spanish style rums, for instance, which tend to include a number and not the word years and are often a blend of a little old rum with a lot of younger rums. Even bottled at a 'mere' 40% ABV, I can easily put it in my Top 5 rums, with strong notes of licorice, chocolate-covered toffee (like the Heath candy bar), plums, raisins, dates, pipe tobacco and dark chocolate.
• Plantation Guyana 2007 (Under The Sea): This is a molasses-based rum, distilled in 2007 following a one-week fermentation period. What makes the distillation of this rum unique is that a portion of it takes place in the Port Mourant still, which is over 300 years old, and another portion is column-distilled. It is aged for 13 years in 200-liter ex-bourbon casks, followed by two years in 350-liter ex-cognac casks. Finally, it is bottled at 51% ABV. Probably not as dark as El Dorado, but very citrusy, with notes of orange pulp, lemon peel, red fruits, marzipan and vanilla.
• Hamilton Guyanese Rum: Part of the Hamilton Single Cask Strength Collection. In this instance, the distillery is Diamond, and the rum was produced using a double wooden still. The rum spent 11 years in ex-bourbon casks in England before being bottled at 60% ABV—without dilution, coloring, or filtration. The Continental aging made for an entirely different experience, with notes of plum, coconut, oak, black tea, cardamom, leather, and vanilla.

It's funny because the government campaign denouncing Guyana as part of Venezuela was met with very little popular support. But after trying these Guyanese rums, everyone was ready to take over the country. Seeing people's faces and realizing rum can be this good and not be Venezuelan, was incredible. Just one of the things to love when you host a tasting of something no one has tried before, even when they think they've tried all there is.

Posting for anyone in the area -

A relatively new distillery opened by me with a focus on rum. Since I am a rum enthusiast, I had to check it out.

Extemely satisfied with one of their core offerings - double barrel rum.

Extremely bold rum with a lot of oak and toffee. I feel like this can stand in it’s own or work in a mixed drink.

I will be buying more of this one.

I haven't been drinking rum seriously very long but found a Planteray Dark while on a work trip. Time to pour..

One My go-to's, how we feeling about Planteray PXXO?

Saw this at a local shop - anyone ever try this? If so what is it like?

Yesterday I put together a special rum flight for my mom's birthday! She's not a rum enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, but she'll usually try a thing or two when visiting. She does manage a restaraunt with a decent bar, so she enjoys learning about and trying new things spirit/cocktail related.

From left to right, we have:

• El Dorado High Ester Blend PM/DHE
• Bedford Park 23yr Hampden LROK
• Black Tot MBR 2021
• Beenleigh 2013 10yr
• Pere Labat Les Mangles
• Hampden HGML 2017 8yr Single Cask (Astor Select)

Her rankings:

1. Black Tot MBR 2021
2. Bedford Park 23yr Hampden LROK
3. Hampden HGML 2017 8yr Single Cask
4. Beenleigh 2013 10yr
5. El Dorado High Ester Blend PM/DHE
6. Pere Labat Les Mangles

It was a fun time! Overall, her rankings were about what I expected, but she ended up rating the HGML decently higher than I thought she would. Black Tot MBR 2021 and Bedford Park 23yr LROK were her favorites by a pretty big margin. She did NOT like the Les Mangles 😂

Good fortune smiled on me, this sure helped cool down the scorching hot Monday!

(Not bogarting or hoarding, one bottle going to my buddy in Nebraska)