RUM POLL

What's a good rum I should try? Preferably not exhorbitant, preferably not overly spiced or flavoured.

I'm quite partial to some Sailor Jerry even though it's probably a bit low end for ilx

wouldn't say no to a SJ, I'm just a bit done with sweet, spiced rums.

My dad got me a bottle of Wood's a while back and it's like 57%, really strong tasting - maybe a bit too much!

A friend had a nice bottle of Diplomatico which you can drink straight as it's very sweet and really quite nice tasting, but I read online that that's because they add sugar to it, which I wonder if it's a bit anti-purist?

goes along smoothly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5aPrf2zE0

I used to sometimes get offered swigs of some unspecified overproof rum in unlabelled bottles or cola cans from Afro-Caribbean punters in the bookies when I worked there, that stuff was dynamite!

For mixing my go-tos are Zaya Gran Reserva (Trinidad & Tobago, for something slightly darker) and Flor de Cana (Nicaragua, for white). I don't drink straight rum, though, but I have a couple of other older aged bottles somewhere.

I like Diplomatico, it's probably the best bargain for rum in my area. Seems a bit odd to me for people to object to adding sugar to a beverage made from sugarcane juice?

El Dorado's 12 and 15 years are good too.

This is amazing: https://rumratings.com/brands/3966-el-pasador-de-oro-xo

(that site is moderately useful, though tilts toward big spenders)

probably basic to rum nerds but havana club 7 is sooo good and their others are nice as well. what's the fake american version like?

it's probably the best bargain for rum in my area

just want to amend this to "drinkable straight" rum as there are certainly cheaper mixing rums. I don't really make cocktails at home much

We have a bottle of El Dorado 12 year, makes delicious rum old fashioneds.

This may not meet the affordability requirement since it runs in the $30-$40 range, but I'm a huge fan of rhum agricole. Clement is the main brand you see in the U.S. It's made from fresh-pressed cane juice, not molasses. It's very grassy, and you can make a Ti Punch with 2 oz, one squeezed lime and a few spoons of cane syrup or simple syrup. Soooooo good, and quick to make.

This is a really good strong drink, it's really complex but not at all sophisticated, which is nice.
It's from a posh tiki bar in Times Sq. Great drinks. Not the nicest place to hang.

The Derelict

.75 oz lime juice
.75 oz grapefruit juice
.25 oz lilikoi puree
.25 oz Don’s Spices #4
.50 oz Demerara syrup
.75 oz banana blend
2 dshr dshs Angostura bitters
4 dshr dshs absinthe
.25 oz Hamilton 151 proof Demerara rum
.50 oz Hamilton Navy Strength rum
.50 oz Appleton Rare Blend 12yr rum
1 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
1 oz El Dorado 12yr rum

lol

it's really complex but not at all sophisticated,

a needlessly complex tiki cocktail? be still my heart.

I just meant it's bold and fun and funky rather than elegant or delicate. Have you ever had a 1934 zombie?

It's a great value as well, I think they charge $21 which is like $5 more than your average cocktail in Manhattan with maybe a third of the booze. You don't need a second drink unless you wanna get really blasted, and even then you only need 2.

Had a drink there with peanut butter in it once!

Anyway, to answer the question I think Appleton Estate 12 is a good one.

Tipsy, what is the name of that big Caribbean rum book you got at xmas?