Nice little rum to try with a cigar.

[El Presidente]

I tried this yesterday with Ken during our video review. 

I have never had it before. It is not expensive. 

Not a huge Bacardi lover. In fact I can't recall a rum of theirs that I have enjoyed previously. 

However this was excellent. It is inexpensive (relatively) and while it doesn't have the layered depth of a Zacapa, it has loads of orange peel, vanilla and no alcohol burn whatsoever. Add an ice cube (as we did) and it is an excellent rum to sip as you enjoy your cigar. 

Track it down if you haven't tried it 

Bacardi Carta Fuego

[Warren]

Bacardi , I don't think I've had that since the early 80's. I'll have to give it a go.

[MIKA27]

Dan Murphy have it and it's listed as a spiced Rum..? Never seen it. Cool, will give it a try

 

Would be nice to sip while I wait for the census website to actually work 

[Ken Gargett]

ayala, you could not keep a secret to save the world! wasn't this supposed to be revealed in the next vid?

apparently around A$45. great value and a cracker. honey and spice.

it is their new spiced rum. they already have oakheart, i think. much prefer this. getting a huge response. bacardi 8 is also worth a look.

[westg]

 

called into Dan Murphy's on the way home ....thankfully I picked up a few bottles of red as well ....banished to the boat.... It will be fishing rum for me ...this Friday  ... 

 

 

 

[ultramag]

I'll have to try and track some down and try it. I have never had rum neat, or with just an ice-cube. Always mixed mine with Coke. I guess I need to broaden my horizons and give it a try.

[Ethernut]

I'm quite the Bourbon Connoisseur and know my Scotch quite well too. Never spent much time with Rums. What would be some top 5 essentials I should always have in my cabinet? Impossible I'm sure. Didn't meant to thread hijack!  :-)

[Lewinsky]

1 hour ago, Ethernut said:

I'm quite the Bourbon Connoisseur and know my Scotch quite well too. Never spent much time with Rums. What would be some top 5 essentials I should always have in my cabinet? Impossible I'm sure. Didn't meant to thread hijack!  :-)

You're going to get a million different answers, but here are mine!:

If you want to try some premium rums that won't break the bank, then Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva and Ron Zacapa 23 Solera are widely recommended. The Zacapa XO is also very popular, but it's more expensive and (IMO) a bit overrated. 

Some of my personal favourites are the Appleton Estate line (for drier rums - the 12 yo is affordable and decent) and the El Dorado line (for sweeter rums - again, the 12 year old is affordable and great for the price). But I reckon that the best bang for your buck has to be either the Plantation XO (a really well balanced rum that is better than a hell of a lot of expensive 'super-premium' offerings) or the Ron Millonario Reserva Especial 15 (which can stand up to any other rum at that price point IMO). 

There are loads of other good rums that I've left out (including some very expensive ones and the 'agricole' rums, which are something of an acquired taste), but I don't think that you can go wrong with any of the ones I've mentioned. They represent various different styles of rum, so working your way through them would allow you to get a sense of what you prefer in a rum. Some people will find El Dorado and Diplomatico rums too sweet, others will find Appleton Estate rums too dry. But I reckon that every rum lover will have a soft spot for at least one of the rums I've mentioned. 

[Ethernut]

Many thanks @Lewinsky! I'll check out your reccos!

[garbandz]

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva and Ron Zacapa 23 Solera

my top two...........

[Ethernut]

@Lewinsky and @garbandz Both of you mentioned Dip Reserva Exclu and Ron Z 23, what's the difference between them?

[Lewinsky]

12 minutes ago, Ethernut said:

@Lewinsky and @garbandz Both of you mentioned Dip Reserva Exclu and Ron Z 23, what's the difference between them?

The Diplomatico is made in Venezuela from molasses and is definitely on the sweet side, but it's very smooth, with notes of butterscotch and caramel. The Ron Zacapa is Guatemalan and made from sugar cane. It's less heavy and has less 'dark' flavours than the Diplomatico, and is also rather less sweet. It's probably even smoother and better balanced than the Diplomatico (although they're both smooth and well balanced sipping rums), but that might come at the expense of a little of the Diplomatico's intense and flavourful character. They're both very nice rums though, and which one I would choose would depend on my mood at the time. If I had to compare them to cigars, I'd say that the Diplomatico is like a Ramon Allones (dark, fruity, Christmas puddingy) and the Zacapa is like a Cohiba (smooth, balanced, elegant). 

[lafabrica]

thanks for the recommendation  - the bacardi carta fuego looks worth trying - haven't seen the label in the states, but haven't looked for it by name.

i agree with the above - the diplomatico & zacapa are sweeter rums and great to sip.  zacapa 23 is a favorite and a fine compliment to spicier cigars.

i would add flor de caña to the list - the 4/5 year are good to mix with, the 5/7/12 year are great alone.  prices go up with aging of course, but reasonable overall.  i like the 7 year as its not as sweet (vs. the above) and compliments hay, grass, and tannic profiles.

 

[Habana Mike]

Generally not a fan of spiced rums but always willing to give something new a go.

I enjoy Zaya, Zafra, Zacapa, Flor de Cano 18, Plantation Barbados 5 - great bang for the buck! Cruzan Gold for mixing. Diplomatico, El Dorada, Santiago de Cuba very good. Pyrat XO was great back when handcrafted in Antigua - went to crap when Patron bought them....

Check out the Rum Howler if you're interested in a broad range of reviews.

[Aardwolf]

On 8/9/2016 at 1:25 PM, garbandz said:

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva and Ron Zacapa 23 Solera

my top two...........

Agreed.  Just to add another one to the thread, Papa's Pilar 23yr.  Darn hard to find the Diplo and Zacapa XO where I am...

[billh1]

On August 9, 2016 at 11:21 AM, Lewinsky said:

You're going to get a million different answers, but here are mine!:

If you want to try some premium rums that won't break the bank, then Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva and Ron Zacapa 23 Solera are widely recommended. The Zacapa XO is also very popular, but it's more expensive and (IMO) a bit overrated. 

Some of my personal favourites are the Appleton Estate line (for drier rums - the 12 yo is affordable and decent) and the El Dorado line (for sweeter rums - again, the 12 year old is affordable and great for the price). But I reckon that the best bang for your buck has to be either the Plantation XO (a really well balanced rum that is better than a hell of a lot of expensive 'super-premium' offerings) or the Ron Millonario Reserva Especial 15 (which can stand up to any other rum at that price point IMO). 

There are loads of other good rums that I've left out (including some very expensive ones and the 'agricole' rums, which are something of an acquired taste), but I don't think that you can go wrong with any of the ones I've mentioned. They represent various different styles of rum, so working your way through them would allow you to get a sense of what you prefer in a rum. Some people will find El Dorado and Diplomatico rums too sweet, others will find Appleton Estate rums too dry. But I reckon that every rum lover will have a soft spot for at least one of the rums I've mentioned. 

Nicely done!

[OZCUBAN]

Now $47.00au at BWS (Woolworths)

[marty922]

One for the Aussies - Zacapa 23 Solero - $79 at Dan's - this  usually goes for $97 at Dan's.

And remember - International Rum day = Tues 16th Aug!!

[TabacoLibre]

A great rum to try is the Santa Teresa 1796, from Venezuela. I am a rum guy and this is definitely my go-to rum when smoking a cigar. Dry, in not too sweet, and extremely complex. It was the first fine rum produced through the Solera method (basically marrying differently aged rums in the same barrel, in this case Spanish sherry), and every barrel always uses a rum aged minimum 25 years (which does not mean the whole thing is aged min 25 years, but close enough). It has won many accolades. You can find a better description here: http://www.astorwines.com/SearchResultsSingle.aspx?search=09194

Also the Diplomaticos are great sweet rums, but if you ever manage to find one of their single vintage, don't doubt to take it. It is near impossible to find them outside of Venezuela (and extremely hard even inside). I was lucky to find a vintage 1997, only 23,000 bottles were made. The single vintages are smoother and a tad less sweet than the gran reserva. Here are some pics of what's left of my bottle.

[Phillys]

I usually hate Bacardi with a passion but am always open to trying new things. I will pick some up next weekend to try it out. It's under $30 in Canada! Cheap stuff.

I have to concur on the Santa Teresa 1796, it's a great rum, one of my favorites. I usually find that most popular high end rums are often too sweet for my taste (Dip, Zacapa...), but I drink Bourbon, Rye and Scotch... 

Plantation also offers some good rum depending on the country and the year, very interesting offerings this year I want try. I also love well aged rum agricole.

 

[PatrickEwing]

Got around to trying the El Dorado 15. Was pretty damn good, perhaps a touch on the sweet side for me. Don't have much experience with rum, so it's been fun to give a few a shot. I have/had a bottle each of the Diplomatico Reserva and Reserva Exclusiva (definitely preferred this one more). After reading a bit, appears I need to branch out a bit to the other islands/regions to get a different profile. Thanks for the post everyone.

[BEVOSREVENGE]

16 hours ago, magste said:

I like the Bacardi 8yo as a sipping rum, not as sweet as the Zacapa or Diplomatico. Might give this one a try as well, never seen it before.

Btw here is a good article on rums and sugar addition, for those who wonder why some rums are sweeter than others. Its just because they add sugar after destilling, nothing to do with the destillation process or aging techniques.. http://thefatrumpirate.com/when-is-rum-not-a-rum
 

Thanks for providing the link.  Lots of good reading to be found there and to other sites he has links to.

Although the sugar element is interesting, I tend to drink what I like, and I like different rums for different reasons.  Assume this is the same for everyone else, as well --- but the fun is pairing them with different cigars and seeing what combos result in pleasurable experiences.

Last night paired a Coro with El Dorado 21 yr, which was definately a good pairing.

Next up is a Flor De Cana 25 yr, and I need to pick a cigar to try with that one.

[miurajus]

Glad that this thread was started, lots of info to be gleaned for the inexperienced lurkers (here!).

[Bohn007]

Admiral Rodney rum from St. Lucia has always been my "go to" to sip with a cigar. Wonderful complexity and very smooth. 

[PatrickEwing]

Im down in San Diego for a wedding this weekend and went to IronSide for dinner. I'm not a huge rum drinker, but I thought this menu had a lot more than I normally see. Thought I'd share. Plus, the restaurant was great, recommend it.