Liquorists

Captain Morgan Parrot Bay coconut flavoured liqueur. Quite a mouthful.
While the bottle in front of me looks a bit different then the one the left (see bottem picture), the caribbean rum based spirit inside should be about the same.
Where the bottle in the left is 24% alcohol (48 proof) the one in front is me is 20% (40 proof). And it has to be said, i do like the bottle design, especially with the beach concept printed on the inside of the sticker on the back.

To clear some confusion, the bottle i have in my hands is the Gorter Estaro White Label Dark rum.
Label looks different then the picture shown, but i've seen both in the shop. Something with new designes etc.

But on topic: a dark rum that hints towards the golden colours.
The sense is rather light, and if i didn't know this was a dark rum, i would have guessed a light/blanco rum. Just because it has a more light and fresh feel to it. Maybe even a tiny hint of citrus, but no woody or smokey factors.
You do get a bit of alcohol, but nothing strange. The alcohol content is standard, 37.5% (75 proof).

Everyone knows Bacardi, and everyone can get Bacardi, making it one of the biggest rum brands around.

This particular gold (can be called oro aswel) is priced a little above the average rum i usually encounter, with around €17,- for a 70CL bottle. As usual, this rum sports a 37.5% alcohol (75 proof).

The colour, is obviously, a amber or rich gold.
When taking the first *sniff*, you will get some ethanol properties, but that soon makes place for a pleasant vanilla with some hints of sweet oak.

This white rum is named after the Jamaican capital Kingston, contains 37.5% alcohol (75 proof) and is around the middle/lower budget range of rums. Costing around €13/14,- for a 100CL bottle.

While some white rums are a little bit coloured, this one is as clear as it can get. As the picture shows the bottle is just a average looking bottle, nothing to write home about.

The scent is a sharp one, that hints towards ethanol, but isn't strong. Not much rum in the nose, but what you do get is really light.

When drinking this spirit, you will notice a little numbing on the sides of the tongue and quite allot of alcohol. Not that it burns, the alcohol taste is more from the nose department as it vaporises in your mouth.
A typical sharp but light rum that doesn't have allot of forced sweetness.

Another product from Boomsma Distillery, a gold/dark rum. 37.5% (75 proof) alcohol, and blended from a few different Caribbean rums.
With a price around €9,- for a 70CL bottle, priced more towards the lower budget range.

That reveals itself in the smell a little bit. You do get quite some ethanol if you dive in deep. But also a darker rum smell that isn't overwelming strong, but smells a bit warm. With a very tiny hint of spice (caramel) once in a while. Since the label tells me well matured, no surprise there.

The taste pure is not for the weak hearted, from almost nothing initially on the tongue, to a dark heavy rum near the back of the tongue. With a little tickling on the sides of the tongue from the alcohol, that turns into a warm feeling further down the throat. The alcohol evaporating right away in the mouth causes a strong taste/smell sensation at first, but dims out quite a bit after you are used to it.
Then it takes place for a more bitter, i almost want to say woody taste. But not as in whiskey, not sweet, no smoke.

When mixed into other drinks all alcohol related smell and taste issues disappear right away, as usual. What remains is a dark/bitter rum taste, in a more mellow way. Exactly as the well matured on the bottle suggested.

Another gold rum in the lower end bracket, and yet another one without a website ( to my knowledge).
This 37.5% alcohol( 75 proof) containing golden rum in a really simplistic bottledesign, has a rather light yellow gold colour, a bit lighter then what's usually the case with *golden* rums.

The rum doesn't has much nose, so in the end it will give the impression of beeing quite potent. Only due the alcohol overwhelming the other odors.
The bigger the surprise was when i realized when tasting this rum, it hints more at the sweet part of the pallet in the beginning, almost like a spiced rum. But it doesn't have the caramel taste a spiced rum has, it does hint in that direction. Especially in the very beginnig of the sip.
Only when swallowing the spirit releases the typical alcohol *taste* and leaves the intire mouth a little numb, especially the tip of the tongue. And it ends with surprising little burn down the throat.

Especially for a lower end rum, we are talking about around €9,- for a 70CL bottle, this tends to be rather mellow, and due this it will blend in really good into your cocktails. Where spirits in this pricerange are usually ment for.

Overall, quite a good deal if you ask me. Really does a good job in the mixing section, what surprised me a bit since usually cheaper brands tend to be much sharper.

As usual, no website again, so unfortunally no link for additional information...yet. I'll see what i can do.

Time for another lower budged liquor, to be more specific, the Old Pascas Ron Negro Dark rum, a whole mouth full.

This honey gold colloured rum has a busy classic looking bottle, as seen in the picture, and retails for around €8,- for a 70CL bottle.
The rum is originated in Barbados and contains 37.5% alcohol ( 75 proof ).

This rum smells pritty average for a dark rum.
When drinking pure you sertainly notice the alcohol, not that you will really taste it, but more notice the alcohol vaporize. It also has a strong aftertaste that remains quite prominent.
While for example the Havana Club añejo has a more direct attack, this rum takes a little bit longer to kick in. Maybe thats why it says rich and mild on the bottle. Although i have to say i find it not especially mild or rich. But then again, who would expect that for this pricetag.
In a cocktail this rum blends right in like most rums, nothing special.

Conclusion, an average rum for its pricetag, and due that price, it won't be a big waste if it isn't what one would expect. Afterall, normally speaking, cheaper liquors tend to be best used in cocktails anyway.

Since i could not find any website from the distillers themself (if someone knows, a comment would be appriciated), so here is a link to the (German) importer: Borko

Time for another funky bottle, the baquba rum blanco.
And that's the first thing you will notice, not a standard glass bottle, but like the picture shows, a aluminium blue bottle.
But how outstanding it might look, it also gave me my first problem. It's a little bit hard to pour from, and i ended up pouring really really carefull not to spill a bit.

According to the bottle this is rum is blended from ages rums, some ages for over 5 years in oak barrels. And then blended with fresh sugar cane destillate, ending with a charcoal filtering. Sounds impressive enough, but aging in wooden casks usually gives you a darker rum, and this is a pure blanco. Maybe a specific wood or barrel type. At least, there is no hint of aging due color nor smell to find. The rum is sporting a 37.5% alcohol (75 proof), so normal for a blanco.

That leaves us to the smell.
I'm getting a rather typical blanco rum smell. Meaning you can sense the alcohol right away, followed by some natural odors.
Now when tasting this, i do have to agree with the labeling. The rum does have a alcohol numbing on your tongue effect, but nothing strange. Just a little burn in the throat.
The taste itself is sweet at first, and going over in a more bitter aftertaste. And i don't know if i'm imagining things (my nose isn't working 100% at this moment), but in the aftertaste, i'm sensing just a tiny tiny little hint of a smokey, oaky thing. But only noticable when i'm trying really hard.

Maybe due the filtering that this rum has blended into a more mellow sweet rum, it might also have taken away a bit of complexity. But compaired to other rums in the same price range (around €17,- for the 100CL) it can stand it's ground.
A bit less complex, but a mild sweet rum with a somewhat more bitter aftertaste.
But i do also have to say, almost all rums in this pricerange, and especially blanco's are made mostly for mixing, not for sipping.
And thats what i thing this rum is doing fairly good. The lack of complexity won't be noticed in a mix, neither the slight bitterness in the end. So a good alternative for your cocktails from the other mass market rums, that tend to be 1 or 2 euros higher in price.

This rum is made from blended caribbean rums, but the company itself is dutch. So it's because i noticed the blue bottle in the shelves, otherwise i had never heard of this brand before. Therefor i don't know the availability in other countries.

Overall final note: because the company seems to be quitte young, and for the pricerange of this rum, i don't have anything bad to say. It won't be sipping material, but i don't think you will find any other blanco rums that are, that are comparable in price.

Find more info on: the Baquba site.

Today i've had the privilage to have not one, but 2 bottles of havana club to review.
The Añejo Blanco and Añejo especial.
According to their website, the añejo blanco is the most aged of all white rums, and the most white of all aged rums. Best suited for your mixed drinks The especial beeing a more aged darker rum. Also perfectly suited for the more classic cocktails, but also suited for drinking on the rocks.

First off, the añejo blanco. It's indeed a colorless, clear drink. While the añejo especial kicks in a nice clear golden color.
When doing the smell test, i came to the conclusion the description on their website is somehow correct. The blanco has a light odor to it.
It has a little bit of a fruity thing going on, but due it having a light smell, the alcohol does kick through. But not in a offensive way. It's a bit of a complex smell, and not as sweat as, a bacardi superior for example.

The añejo especial has the same odor, but smells somehow more aged. Probably due a hint of oak comming through. When compairing it to a captain morgan's spiced rum, the smells are way off. The smells in the havana club are much more subtile and harder to pick, while the captain's bombards you with a really sweet caramel/vanilla mix.

On to the taste. The blanco has a little bit of fruit going on at the very start. After the initial taste you get a bit more bitter, somewhat oaky aftertaste. Due it beeing not as sweat as the bacardi mentioned earlier the burn is a bit more intense. Mixed it keeps the complex flavor and smell but the oaky aftertaste fades away first.
The especial has far less burn going on, but more oaky flavors. It does keep the destinctive havana club taste, and the difference with the blanco isn't a huge gap. When mixing you also get a hint of vanilla in the especial, that tends to be hidden a bit when drinking it pure. Would be suited on ice ofcourse.

When compairing it to the other rums in the same price range, the bacardi superior and captain morgan's i mentioned above ( just because i happend to have them im picking those) it comes out the havana club has it's own distinctive smell and taste. It's a bit more complex and less sweat then the other brands but does have some extra, almost spicey kick to it.
For the occasional rumdrinker that might be bad, since the first impression is less sweat, but once you get to look beyond that it's a fine tuned rum for it's pricerange ( around 17 euro's for a 100cl blanco, and the same for a 70cl especial ). The añejo blanco has a 37.5% alcohol content, the añajo especial kicks in at 40%.

Overall it got me interrested in the more expensive higher end rums they have, to see if they are a bit smoother then these two. Since that's the only thing i'm missing a bit. If i can manage to find one that is, the local stores around here don't have the biggest assortiment. Since it's a Cuban brand, this won't be sold in the US.

For more info about these and other flavors visit the havana club website.

Now here is a rum that was on my wanted list. This 35% alcohol containing spiced rum was rated high from some friends and some internet sources i've read.

Now to start off, it's a light yellow-gold colored liquid, not a surprise there. What did surprise me a bit was the smell. It's a much sweeter smell then the other rum's i've had before, and has a hints of caramel and vanilla in it. Which i did not expect in a spiced rum. But they did mix in very well.

In the taste test, i found this a very smooth, but sweet rum. No harsh flavour attack but balanced at the sweeter part of the rum section.
First things you will notice ofcourse is that its spiced up a bit. The alcohol burn isn't bad on this one, and after the initial taste is gone, you will once again taste stong hints of caramel and a little bit of vanilla in the aftertaste. Which seems to smoothen the drink quite a bit.

Pure, this rum is not bad at all. I like it, but drinking 35% stuff pure wont last you very long. So i found out when mixing it, the spiced portion of the drink goes away a bit faster then the caramel after taste, which remains rather prominent even while mixing.. And it tastes yet again smooth on the pallet while the spices crank it up a bit. But in a good way.
No bombardment of complexity going on, but the spicey intial taste and the sweet caramel aftertaste do balance quitte good.
So my friends are correct. Pages i've read on the internet are correct. This rum is simply put good, especially for the pricerange.. And it's around the normal price you would pay for a average rum aswel. (around 16 euro for a 70CL bottle if i remember correctly) Deffinately worth checking out if you like a sweeter rum, with spicey hints, and spicy drinks in general.

Captain morgan's website is right about: here

Now who doesn't know this caribbean rum with coconut taste, in the white bottle.
Since it has malibu in its name, its not too hard to think of where it's from. And its actually a liqueur and not a pure rum, with its 21% alcohol volume.

To start off, its a clear silver rum, with a very strong coconut odor ( duh =P).
When drinking this stuff, you don't really get much rum taste at all, its mostly coconut, so if you'r not a fan of that, skip this right away. Its very sweet and easy to drink pure aswel, but it might be a bit far to sweet for that purpose.

But stuff like this is ofcourse just perfect for mixing drinks. When you want your drink to have a tropical taste and smell, you can just add a dash of malibu to the drink. You don't even have to use much to get the coconut taste going, and it might even overpower the drink really quick.
Mixed pure with some fruitjuiced, this will be a very light and fruity cocktail, just be aware of the massive amount of sugars going on then ( no one wants a bad headache the next day).
When mixing a heavier drink, where you want to actually taste rum, its best to use a normal silver rum, and just add a little bit of malibu, since mixed all the *burn* from the alcohol seems to vanish and you have a really sweet drink left.

It's a popular liquour, and it is priced like one. Nothing really expensive since its only 21% alcohol, but it will be something around 17/18 euro for a 100CL bottle. Nothing wrong for having a bottle of this in the house for when you feel like adding some tropical hints of coconut to your cocktail, just dont really pay attention to the rum label on it.


Malibu website: here

Starting off at this dark rum, a relatively cheap one at it.
It's been a bit tough finding some info on this rum, and the bottle doesn't have much information on it either. Other then having 37.5% alcohol in it, and having some caribbean origin.

Now for the actuall stuff itself. Its a gold collored liquid, and smells a bit less sweet then a bacardi dark rum ( just to compair the two). Mostly because it has a bit less odor, so you smell the alcohol itself better.
The taste, well the obvious dark rum-ish, but it tends a bit more to the bitter end with a strong aftertaste thats actually stronger then when you take the first sip.
Mixed with something else, it turns milder very quickly but still keeps up with a strong rum taste.
Personally i think its not as smooth as other dark rums i have had, but this will ofcourse only be relevant if you drink it pure or in stronger mixes. Which isn't too bad since its a fairly cheap rum, costing around 14 euro for a 100CL bottle.

Since the rum isn't that expensive, its a good base for mix drinks where the rum content isn't too high, but for pure, or drinks with higher rum contents, i would go for a smoother, often higher priced rum. But for the price it's at, its a good deal.
Its not too bad for drinking pure, but will be a bit better in cocktails due the rather heavy taste attack.