Help needed with Dominican Republic Rums

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GeoD
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Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:52 am

A friend of mine is going to the Dominican Republic in a month (lucky her). She knows I love rum and always tries to score me a unique bottle or two that's exclusive to the area (island). So far I have Atlantico on my list. Does anybody have any other suggestions to add to my list? Brugal is definitely out. She went to Puerto Rico last year and got me a bottle of Brugal Anejo. To date, it was the only rum I couldn't drink. It was absolutely terrible...Image It tasted so bad I had to give it away. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions please post them within the next 30 days. You input will be greatly appreciated.

p.s. Right now Im enjoying a mix of
Pyrat XO, Cruzan dark, The Kraken,
and a smidge of Sprite Zero!!

:cheers:
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Capn Jimbo
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Sat Jan 15, 2011 3:35 pm

It seems you have a taste for sweet, spiced or altered rums (which would explain why you didn't like the Brugal). Brugal, the Anejo and Extra Viejo, are really pretty jarring with a sweet opening counterposed with a musty finish. Here's some Dominicans you may find interesting:

Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 (don't waste your $$ on the 18 or 23) is world class, and a very pleasant, provocative and pleasing cuban style rum. You must buy this one.

Vizcaya is an sweet and spicy altered rum that was orginally destined to sell to the premium crowd. We found it too altered, but it is closer to what you are drinking.

Last are the Cubaneys - I'd suggest the 8 or 12 year, no older. Think of eggnog with a cinnamon stick, sprinkled with nutmeg and clove. Again, perhaps a fit for your tastes.

Good luck... let us know what you get and what you think.
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Sat Jan 15, 2011 5:26 pm

Thx Captain!! I appreciate the suggestions! Musty wasn't the word. I would describe the finish of the Brugal as moldy and/or mildewy. My palette found it offensive.

I guess I do tend to gravitate towards the sweeter rums. But, Im open to try any and all rums that cross my path. I will say I don't like overly sweet rum. The Ron Pomalca Special Black and Pyrat XO I found to be sweeter (in an artificial way) than I like and makes for a bad hangover the next day. Image I also get mean heartburn when I drink too many Pyrat's.

Ok, so now I have the Atlantico & Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 on my wish list. I will pass this on to my neighbor and see what presents she brings back!! I might also put the Ron del Barrilito 3 Star on the list because I really enjoyed it.

I just looked at the bottle of Ron Matusalem. I think I can get that at the liquor store. I will have to stop by next week and see. If so, I will take it off my wish list. I try to get rum that's not availabe at the liquor store.

Image
Last edited by GeoD on Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:41 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:10 am

I also found Brugal to be very musty in flavour. I didn't find it horrible but it didn't really "do it for me" in any case. A lot of people I know love Brugal, however. :hsughw:
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Capn Jimbo
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Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:48 pm

Agreed, on a good day for us though. The "mustiness" is quite apparent, and after a time we ran into this peculiar aroma more than once - and all in Dominican rums. Now as you know - or should - there are either four or five "styles" of rum (not geographical) which include Barbadian style, Jamaican style, Demeraran, Cuban and Cane Juice styles.

It always amuses us to see rums compared on age or color in competitions, as these factors are trivial in comparison to style. What happens then is that a light, smooth Cuban style rum gets compared to a heavy, aromatic and dunder influenced Jamaican style rum. Not fair. Thus the "competitions" simply become popularity contests and reflect personal preferences.

When we review rum (and now a bit of single malt whisky) the first question we consider is: what style is this rum? Then we explore it fully, and finally compare it to a reference standard. For example, a Jamaican style will be compared to Appleton 12 Year. A Barbadian to MGXO or perhaps Seales 10. You get the idea. Without considering styles, and without comparison to a known and respected standard bearer the tasting is close to useless - merely a list of descriptors and a general purpose "score".

We can't stress this enough.

The Dominican "mustiness" is common enough and striking enough that we've actually considered adding a "Dominican style". But not quite yet! Still, the mustiness is so striking...
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Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:13 am

Again, thx for the info Captain J!! I actually didn't know that about the five style of rum. Ive done a lot of reading about rum but the only differences I read about was the color and base product (cane juice or molasses). Do you have any more info on those styles of rums? Is there anything on this site regarding the styles? I definitely want to read more!!

That news about Dominican rums kinda has me worried now. I most certainly don't want to pay $40 for a bottle of must! :cry: I hope Atlantico doesn't have the musty finish like Brugal.
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Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:16 pm

The Atlantico is nothing like musty Brugal. It is thick, sweet almost syrupy, and definitely tweaked. At least here in S. Florida it is overpriced. Althouth we really don't like altered rums, it may be something you will enjoy. Now as far as the "styles" of rum goes, the notion of "styles" was first discussed by Dave Broom, who has published a number of truly great books about both rum and whisky. He is considered one of the few, if not only, great tasters and reviewers.

We adopted his styles and added one more - the Barbadian. Our entire website and tasting philosophy is based on considering and comparing rums of like style. If you follow the green and blue links below you will find plenty of information about styles and what rums fit into which one.

The green link will take you to our main site, where I once posted the first few chapters of my e-book on rum and which should be useful to you. The blue link is to the forum where over 120 rums are reviewed by style, including Atlantico. Good luck...
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Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:53 pm

Here are a few you should try to find :
- Macorix 8 Anos
- Bermudez 1852
- Barcelo Imperial
- Unhico XO

The Bermudez et Barcelo should be easy enough to find. The Bermudez would probably match your 'sweet' taste the closest imho. If you can, definitely get your hands on Barbancourt 5 Star. It's made in Haiti, but it is quite available in the DR.

Hope this helps!

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Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:16 am

Thx for the info guys!! I really appreciate it.

Capn Jimbo. What is tweaked and altered rum? It sounds like something you folks look down upon. If so, I mostly certainly don't want to be lumped into that stereotype. I think I have a pretty good diversity with rums and so far I liked every rum I tried except for the Brugal. But then again, maybe all the rums I tried are of the altered variety!! LOL!!! I'm learning guys....Im learning. And...Im having fun doing so!! :mrgreen:

Capn. I will be visiting your links you posted above real soon. I look forward to the articles. Thx!!
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Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:59 pm

Please know that although I speak only for Sue Sea and myself at The Rum Project, many experienced tasters have noted unlabeled flavorings and additives, sometimes to the extreme, in many rums. These altered rums (with unlabeled flavorings, sugar, etc) are what I mean by "tweaked". This is often done to make a relatively young, continuously distilled and relatively inexpensively produced rum taste older and more interesting (again, using cheap additives and often artificial flavorings). A good example of a tweaked rum would be Pyrat XO, labeled "rum". Many rums are tweaked with glycerol, smoothers, sherry and artificial vanilla to name just a few. But they are still labeled "rum" (and not "flavored rum").

"Tweaking" is almost unheard of in Scotch and Irish Whisky, or say American bourbon, where purity and honesty in labeling is the norm. With rum, like Canadian whisky, anything goes. If you don't care what's been added to your rum, it doesn't matter as long as "...it tastes good".

The problem with this is that one really never knows which rums are honest and pure, and which have been taste engineered. Personally I am a big believer in purity and respect those rums which achieve their complexity and quality through the honest artistry of skilled fermentation, distillation and aging - an expensive and time consuming proposition, and not as the result of a cupful of liquid artificial flavoring tossed into a barrel of cheap young rum.

I'm not alone in this - there are a number of major distillers who believe in and promote purity, not to mention a growing number of experienced tasters, some of whom post here as well...
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GeoD
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Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:29 am

Very nice explaination Capn Jimbo. How about some names of rums that are non-tweaked/unaltered/unmolested?
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Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:40 pm

GeoD wrote:Very nice explaination Capn Jimbo. How about some names of rums that are non-tweaked/unaltered/unmolested?
As mentioned in another thread, anything from Richard Seale aka Foursquare Distillery is a safe bet. St. Nicholas Abbey and Bristol Spirits Classic Rums as well.

Edit: +Rhum Agricole ie Clément.
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Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:54 am

Here's something wild I just found out about Ron Atlantico. The bottle and cork are made in Horsham, Pennsylvania (about 45min away from my house) but, we can't get this rum here!! Crazy!!!

http://www.saxcointl.com/press95.htm
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