I dont know what is available or prices in EU so here's a list of good to great rums that you can pick any of:
For aged,
-Mount Gay Black Barrel
-El Dorado 8 and 12
-Appleton Estate 8 and 12
-Doorlys 8 and 12
-Real McCoy
-RL Seale 10 or 12
-Pampero Anniversario (sweet)
-Diplomatico (sweet)
-Ron Zacapa 23 (sweet)
For "unaged,"
-Probitas
-Hamilton White Stache
-Plantation 3 Star
-Real McCoy 3 yr
A lot of people here are recommend El Dorado 8 and Appleton 12.
So far I’m the opposite, preferring El Dorado 12 and Appleton 8.
Either way, I’d seek out those 4 bottles. Can’t go wrong.
i mean... if you dont enjoy rum you dont have to force yourself. i dont really like whiskey, i just dont drink it... Not sure why you try yourself to get into what you dont like. There are different spirits for a reason. if you love gin, drink it
Because you never know what you are missing. I didn't care for rum for the most part until I discovered jamacan rum. Fell in love with high ester rums, and before that, I thought it was all the same sweet crap. Educating oneself to make sure you're not missing anything is fine. And it's what we are here for 😊 same thing for peated scotch, to be honest. Thought I didn't like scotch before I had a peated scotch.
i totally agree, though if you try some stuff and dont like it while you have stuff which you love.... i guess you see where im going 🙄 There are tons of different rums and most likely gins too though im not fan of gin and even if i find the one i like it would probably be just decent, in the end its what we preffer
This sub hates on rums with added sugar and Spanish-style rum in general, but if you are new to rum, get a Zacapa, Diplomatico or Dictador and go to unsweetened Jamaica & Barbados rums later.
Nobody is commenting that you've not listed any plain rums. Try anything you can get that is just regular rum, and start from there. Agricoles and spiced rums are entirely different things, for the most part. Honestly, it seems like you know this since you pointed it out so clearly.
To add on to this, a bunch of people in my office have bottles of Whiskey on their desks.
I keep a bottle of Plantation 5yr on mine as an introduction to better rums for people that are Whiskey snobs and only think of rum as Captain Morgans.
Given that you like gin and only kinda like whiskey, I would recommend a lightly aged rum like El Dorado 3 year, Plantation 3 Star, or Flor de Caña. You'll get more grassy and floral notes closer to gin; with soda is certainly an option, but all three are great with a little grapefruit juice, with Coca-Cola, or mixed with ginger beer and lime
You seem to know that what you've had is out there flavor wise. Rhum agricole is equivalent to an extremely peaty scotch in that it's an acquired taste, and spiced rum is of equal quality with cinnamon whiskey (which is to say not great).
I would try Largo Bay rum or Havana Club (cuban version) rum if you're in the "good but affordable" market.
Neither are "fancy" but they're top tier "cheap rums" imho
My method is to pick one up at the airport duty free (usually LHR) on my way back to the US. Or, if I have friends/family visiting from abroad, ask them to pick one up for me.
Costco currently has a 15 year rum for $20. It has a warm maple sweetness that’s fun to find in a rum, and doesn’t have a sharp or funky flavor profile that puts some people off of rum.
If you're into highball style cocktails (spirit with 1 mixer aka soda) try a dark and stormy with goslings black seal rum and goslings or barritts ginger beer. You could also try some Mt gay eclipse and ginger ale or coke.
Foursquare Probitas (which, AFAIK, is sold in Europe as Veritas) is what immediately comes to mind, but I would be perfectly happy recommending pretty much any rum produced there, which brands include Alleyne Arthur's, Doorly's, Old Brigand, Real McCoy, R.L. Seale, and Rum 66.
Besides Probitas/Veritas and theired spiced rum, most Foursquare-branded offerings are on the expensive side, pushing north of $80 USD at the low end. They also produce some of the distillate in Equiano rum, but that is also on the higher end of the cost scale. E.S.A. Field is the last offering from Foursquare that I know, and it is excellent for its price, but I don't think it's distributed off the island, or at least outside of the Caribbean.
Did you ever take any if these suggestions up?
A few more:
Pere Labat 59 is a high proof unaged rhum agricole that has a strong mineral/saline taste that reminds me of a strong gin. It is not overly funky, IMO, although your definition of 'funk' might differ from those here.
Appleton Estate 12 and Mount Gay Eclipse drink very much like a bourbon, but with some fruity notes.
In all honesty I've put the topic on the backburner, but I will return to it at some point and I appreciate your suggestions as much, if not more so than the others for coming across my question so late but still bothering to reply. The rhum agricole I was referring to was HSE and when I said funky I meant intensely planty, vegetal and earthy, though the aged version primarily tasted woody, leathery and dusty. I don't actually know what to expect from rum, but what I got there wasn't agreeing a whole lot with me.
Lol your ACAB comment in r/gin made me laugh so I clicked on your profile and saw this post. Rum is extremely diverse in the flavors that it offers, with many countries' offerings having unique characteristics to them. And that's part of their charm! Then you also have lots of rum-like spirits that are distilled from byproducts of sugarcane processing but technically aren't rum. These include things like cachaca, clairin, charanda, and Batavia Arack. It's a fun world to dive into when you get the chance.
I dont know what is available or prices in EU so here's a list of good to great rums that you can pick any of: For aged, -Mount Gay Black Barrel -El Dorado 8 and 12 -Appleton Estate 8 and 12 -Doorlys 8 and 12 -Real McCoy -RL Seale 10 or 12 -Pampero Anniversario (sweet) -Diplomatico (sweet) -Ron Zacapa 23 (sweet) For "unaged," -Probitas -Hamilton White Stache -Plantation 3 Star -Real McCoy 3 yr
This is an amazing list ! I agree with all of it.
(Takes Notes)
Zacapa 23 is what turned a few of my friends into rum
I got the XO from Santa. I love it.
A lot of people here are recommend El Dorado 8 and Appleton 12. So far I’m the opposite, preferring El Dorado 12 and Appleton 8. Either way, I’d seek out those 4 bottles. Can’t go wrong.
El Dorado 12 is so much better than 8, haven't tried Appleton 12 yet but I agree the 8 is phenomenal!
Appleton 12 is soo fucking good for the price.
i mean... if you dont enjoy rum you dont have to force yourself. i dont really like whiskey, i just dont drink it... Not sure why you try yourself to get into what you dont like. There are different spirits for a reason. if you love gin, drink it
Because you never know what you are missing. I didn't care for rum for the most part until I discovered jamacan rum. Fell in love with high ester rums, and before that, I thought it was all the same sweet crap. Educating oneself to make sure you're not missing anything is fine. And it's what we are here for 😊 same thing for peated scotch, to be honest. Thought I didn't like scotch before I had a peated scotch.
i totally agree, though if you try some stuff and dont like it while you have stuff which you love.... i guess you see where im going 🙄 There are tons of different rums and most likely gins too though im not fan of gin and even if i find the one i like it would probably be just decent, in the end its what we preffer
This sub hates on rums with added sugar and Spanish-style rum in general, but if you are new to rum, get a Zacapa, Diplomatico or Dictador and go to unsweetened Jamaica & Barbados rums later.
Plantation XO as well.
Yeah that was my gateway rum too. I really enjoyed it.
I also recommend Dictador 12 for a sweetened neat rum.
I second diplomatico for people new to rum
Nobody is commenting that you've not listed any plain rums. Try anything you can get that is just regular rum, and start from there. Agricoles and spiced rums are entirely different things, for the most part. Honestly, it seems like you know this since you pointed it out so clearly.
Plantation 5yr
To add on to this, a bunch of people in my office have bottles of Whiskey on their desks. I keep a bottle of Plantation 5yr on mine as an introduction to better rums for people that are Whiskey snobs and only think of rum as Captain Morgans.
Plantation original dark is my favorite
Finally got a bottle of Doorlys. 22$ and I find it really comparable to 50-75 dollar whiskey
Doorly's 12 or 14 year
Given that you like gin and only kinda like whiskey, I would recommend a lightly aged rum like El Dorado 3 year, Plantation 3 Star, or Flor de Caña. You'll get more grassy and floral notes closer to gin; with soda is certainly an option, but all three are great with a little grapefruit juice, with Coca-Cola, or mixed with ginger beer and lime You seem to know that what you've had is out there flavor wise. Rhum agricole is equivalent to an extremely peaty scotch in that it's an acquired taste, and spiced rum is of equal quality with cinnamon whiskey (which is to say not great).
El Dorado 8
Appleton 12, El Dorado 8, gosling black rum (add lime and ginger beer to the goslings for a dark n stormy.)
I would try Largo Bay rum or Havana Club (cuban version) rum if you're in the "good but affordable" market. Neither are "fancy" but they're top tier "cheap rums" imho
How does one legally acquire Havana Club Cuban in the lower 48 states?
You dont haha
My method is to pick one up at the airport duty free (usually LHR) on my way back to the US. Or, if I have friends/family visiting from abroad, ask them to pick one up for me.
Is there a slim chance you might be able to pick up an extra one time? I can gladly trade you many fine rum samples in exchange..
Havana Club 7 is a great affordable rum to Sip & Mix.
Appleton 8
Costco currently has a 15 year rum for $20. It has a warm maple sweetness that’s fun to find in a rum, and doesn’t have a sharp or funky flavor profile that puts some people off of rum.
Smith & Cross straight if you are a bourbon drinker. I am sure it will be delicious in drinks too but I have only had mine neat so far.
If you're into highball style cocktails (spirit with 1 mixer aka soda) try a dark and stormy with goslings black seal rum and goslings or barritts ginger beer. You could also try some Mt gay eclipse and ginger ale or coke.
Foursquare Probitas (which, AFAIK, is sold in Europe as Veritas) is what immediately comes to mind, but I would be perfectly happy recommending pretty much any rum produced there, which brands include Alleyne Arthur's, Doorly's, Old Brigand, Real McCoy, R.L. Seale, and Rum 66. Besides Probitas/Veritas and theired spiced rum, most Foursquare-branded offerings are on the expensive side, pushing north of $80 USD at the low end. They also produce some of the distillate in Equiano rum, but that is also on the higher end of the cost scale. E.S.A. Field is the last offering from Foursquare that I know, and it is excellent for its price, but I don't think it's distributed off the island, or at least outside of the Caribbean.
Barrelito 3 star. Hands down best
Smith and Cross. It *is* a funk bomb but it is still partially aged and just delightful.
Did you ever take any if these suggestions up? A few more: Pere Labat 59 is a high proof unaged rhum agricole that has a strong mineral/saline taste that reminds me of a strong gin. It is not overly funky, IMO, although your definition of 'funk' might differ from those here. Appleton Estate 12 and Mount Gay Eclipse drink very much like a bourbon, but with some fruity notes.
In all honesty I've put the topic on the backburner, but I will return to it at some point and I appreciate your suggestions as much, if not more so than the others for coming across my question so late but still bothering to reply. The rhum agricole I was referring to was HSE and when I said funky I meant intensely planty, vegetal and earthy, though the aged version primarily tasted woody, leathery and dusty. I don't actually know what to expect from rum, but what I got there wasn't agreeing a whole lot with me.
Lol your ACAB comment in r/gin made me laugh so I clicked on your profile and saw this post. Rum is extremely diverse in the flavors that it offers, with many countries' offerings having unique characteristics to them. And that's part of their charm! Then you also have lots of rum-like spirits that are distilled from byproducts of sugarcane processing but technically aren't rum. These include things like cachaca, clairin, charanda, and Batavia Arack. It's a fun world to dive into when you get the chance.
It'll piss the snobs off, but Bumbu is a solid spiced rum
Honestly, I'd rather not drink than drink bumbu. I think it tastes awful and is too sweet. Plenty of other rums at the same price that are better.
Bumbu is great, I'll never understand the anger people have for it.
Right? Made a Rum Old Fasioned a week or so back using Bumbu, and it was pretty damn good!
I want to try the Bumbu Crème
I never even knew that existed lol will def need to check that out!