On a sweltering day, what spirit is the spirit you enjoy most? If you said rum, then I like you already. If you said Tequila, I still like you, but not as much. The Tiki crazed people know it, and I doubt there are any vodka bars in the Caribbean, so rum must be the spirit of summer. That is the perfect excuse to go and buy another bottle of rum. So after a little research I decided on English Harbour rum, because of one influential magazines review. That's not the best reason to buy rum, but who really needs a reason?
Continue reading English Harbour Rum.
When it comes to spirits, rum is one of my favorites. It has such a varied flavour profile and is supremely mixable. It also ages exceptionally well, and a perfect example of this is Ron Zacapa Centenario. This rum is dated at 23 years old and is aged in the warm climate of Guatemala. By all account this is suppose to be an exceptional rum that could very well be one of the best in the world. Well, that’s what I’ve heard from a bunch of spirit competitions and read in other publications. The only way to determine this is to give it a taste and compare it to something like the 
The Cockspur brand of rums is the second one in this review from the Barbados, the other being 
This rum reviewing sessions are almost finished, there are only a couple of more rums in my collection that need to be tasted. In this review I’ll be looking at Cruzan Estate Diamond which is a 5 year old rum from St. Croix. The rum is actually a blend of rums older than 5 years, but younger than 10 years. This rum has a long history, well maybe not this particular rum, but Cruzan has been distilling rum, in the Virgin Islands, since 1760. Making rum for that long means you must be doing something right. This is one of the younger rums in the review and probably won’t be as complex as others, but let us take a look. 
Here's a rum that suffers from both great marketing and bad marketing. The good marketing is the following statement about Newfoundlanders trading salt code for Jamaican rum: “Would they have sailed 5,000 miles for bad rum?” The other part of the marketing is based on a story from the 1940's about how this made a US Serviceman headed to Europe during World War II screech for his life after trying a shot. It has won a Gold Medal at the 2003 International Rum Fest, so it can’t be as bad as you might think based on its name. So what is the reality?
Here is a rum with a long history in the Commonwealth navies of the world. Only in the last few decades has Pussers Navy Rum been available to us commoners, because it was exclusively made for the navy fleets of the world. After the British navy stopped issuing tots in 1970 and the Canadian Navy in 1973, Pusser’s eventually made its way into the commercial world. The version I’m tasting is the Canadian Blue Label version, which is 42% ABV, which is the lowest alcohol rum that Pusser’s offers, the US version weighs in at about 48% ABV and the German version is 54%. 
Here is a rum that is a popular call brand at the bar. Mount Gay Extra Old is a premium rum from Barbados which is aged for 17 years in charred oak barrels. Like the label says, it is an extra old rum which gives it the character and smoothness many people appreciate. Most of the time people want the Eclipse rum, which is Mount Gay's main stay rum, but the Extra Old is an even better choice considering the price of the Mount Gay Eclipse is $28 CDN per bottle and the Mount Gay Extra Old only costs $37 CDN. So if you want to pick up a bottle of Mount Gay, you should seriously look at the Extra Old.
With many products image is everything. When it comes to rum, the image of Cuba seems to be the holy grail of marketing. Bacardi has always been associated with Cuban rum, because they were founded in Cuba in 1862 but left after the Cuban revolution. Matusalem is another Cuban company that began producing rum in 1872 in Santiago. But in 1959 the Cuban revolution forced the Matusalem company into exile, just like Bacardi. After some family issues the Matusalem brand was re-launched in 1995 as a premium brand of rum with Cuban heritage. Today it is made in the Dominican Republic. This rum is made using the Solera process.
When you think Cuba, you either think Castro, cigars or rum. Well skip the first two and focus on the rum. Havana Club is the main rum producer on this tropical island and they have been producing great rum since the late 1800's. The most widely available aged rum is the Havana Club 7 Year version, which is my preferred rum. Why do I like it you ask? Well, it is reasonably priced ($30 per bottle), it can be sipped straight or used to make a rum and Coke and its flavour is fairly light bodied so it doesn’t over power cocktails. This rum works really well in a Mai Tai too. 
Rum is probably my favourite spirit. It has so many variations and flavours that you could spend a life time exploring it. It can be enjoyed straight out of the still or aged for as long as any other spirit with all the benefits. It's also not as pretensions as the whisky crowds, well for now anyway. As rum becomes more popular and softens that “kill devil” nickname, people will gravitate towards rum for more than a rum and Coke or a random tiki drink. With that, I will embark upon reviewing my growing rum collection. The first review will be of a rum I've had for a while, but didn't pay much attention too; Flora De Cana Grand Reserve 7 year old Nicaraguan rum. 
Rum is one of those spirits that has everything going for it. It can be complex like a fine whisky, fiery like a cheap bourbon or smooth like a vintage cognac. Really, rum can be smooth, even though it has a reputation for being the devils drink and the lower quality rums can be down right sinister. But if you find a well aged rum from a reputable distiller, then you have found something truly special. In my personal quest to find great spirits, I'm constantly sifting through lots of information to discern what is good. After perusing the latest Vintages releases I came across a reference to Appleton Estates Master Blenders Legacy rum, which is suppose to be an exceptional rum, well at least according to the marketing material. Let us put it to the test.
The world of spirits is constantly evolving and there are trends that develop. Right now vodka is the spirit in the spotlight, but with the thousands of brands of vodka inundating the market, the bright light of vodka will burn out soon. So what’s going to take its place? Well most people believe that rum will come around for another turn in the spotlight and I tend to agree. One reason for this is that new types of rum, or rhum, are making appearances on the world stage such as rhum agricole. For those who don’t know, rhum agricole is a relative of rum but is distilled from a “wine” made from fresh pressed sugar cane, instead of the sugar processing waste product molasses. The starting ingredient is the same, but the finished product is much different, and good.
