One can never go back to other spirits after rum

The holiday times in December have always inspired me to go back to cognac or champagne. So I researched cognacs with multiple reviews from Total Wine drinkers to find something better than my usual Courvosier VSOP Cognac. I picked out a $60 US bottle called A de Fussigny VSOP Grand Champagne Cognac as well as a $38 gift set with two snifters from Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne Cognac (at only $1 more than the bottle without the snifters!). So what in hell is this cognac discussion doing on this rum site? Hang in there! Where would these two rate in my vast ratings of rums? The more expensive cognac would rate as a low 7 and the cheaper one would rate as a high 7 (if they were compared to the best of my rums). What do rums and cognac have in common anyway? Both are gluten free and Plantation rums often use cognac casks for final aging. It is really grapes versus sugar cane and/or molasses. This helps to prove that rums provide the most vast array of flavors among spirits. I have gone through many phases of testing in my drinking years and getting into each segment with intense research: beers, red wines, champagnes, bourbons, single malt scotches, tequilas, liqueurs, you name it. I even tried a handful of gins and vodkas, God forbid. My initial rum phase was during my Caribbean travels in the late eighties and early nineties, but nothing was available back then like it is now. So the moral of this story is that once one tries some really good rums, one can never go back to any other spirit, wine, or beer. This current obsession with craft beers among many also gags me. I call these new "beers" as snow-ball syrup with alcohol added for those who just turned into their legal drinking age. By the way, one of my key luxuries that I had to give up before retiring was my single malt scotch hobby, which was some damn expensive! So glad to have gotten back to my Caribbean roots even though I no longer travel there!

AGREED! I too love me a good scotch. Clynlish? Delightful. Dalmore Port? Magnificent! Lagavulin? Don't know why, but I love it! All three of these are so different from one another, it's hard to believe they're (technically) the same thing. But when it comes to rum... Trois Riviere Couvee L'Ocean? Teleports me to the beaches of an island I've never been. Diplomatico Gran Reserva? Suddenly camping in the forest in the dead of winter. Platation Jaimaca? Don't' have words for that yet. Rum can, and will, take you ANYWHERE. Thanks in part, surely, to the lack of restrictions around the name "rum," literally anything is fair game for the distiller as long as they're starting with sugar! And economically, from what I've experienced, rum can't be beat! Those scotches I mentioned earlier, splendid as they are, are somewhere in the range of $80, $100 and $90 respectively. But the rums? $40, $45 and $30. Rum is a wonderful thing, and I consider it an obligation to make sure all my friends in life know it!

I completely agree. I gave up beer when I was 20 since it caused digestive problems. I still happen to drink wine but it seems heavy, especially the red one. I decided that strong alcohol was the best for health and I learned basic bartending to mix up cocktails. For historical reasons vodka (especially shot-drank) is the national alcohol of Poland. Vodka is still ok but the ones I enjoy cost over 25 EUR per 0.7l, which is 5 times above the regular vodka price in here. I tried some cheap tequilas (my bottom tier alcohol so far) and gins (middle tier), but these didn't impress me. Then brandys/cognacs are generally ok, same with whisky. These are complex and well-designed spirits but the flavors they offer are far less interesting then the ones you find in rums. The second thing I love about rums is that you can afford them. The most expensive rum at the moment, I think, is under 10000EUR (not counting the vintage historical artifacts like Harewood), while the most expensive whisky costs at least 100 times more. This allows you to try the world elite rums, i think I will not afford drinking whisky at the same rarity or quality level. My alcohol tier list: Net Rum or cocktails Neat Whisky, brandy, cognac Vodka shot, neat Vodka Wine Gin, tequilla, absinthe Refusing to drink ... Beer

How true! I used to drink vodka, tequila, gin and absinthe, many years ago! Never liked Scotch/Bourbon/Whiskey, for some abstract, unfathomable reason, that only my palate and taste buds can perceive, yet not describe... The Rum is simply the most diverse of them all. And whenever standards, tradition, transparency and legal guidelines are being faithfully kept, it becomes a top notch masterpiece, that anything else simply becomes irrelevant before it, after you taste it. Lately, i 've been reading all about "rum revolution", "rum drinking culture rebirth", articles on educated barmen and rum specialists talking openly about rum and trying to make the public correctly acquainted with it, shedding light upon its many categories, exotic cuisine using it and cooking experts nowadays adopting alcohol usage in kitchen, etc. There is a type of rum out there, even for the most demanding and peculiar individual! Spiced? Flavored? Rum liquer? Coconut? Pineapple? Mango? Coffee? Chocolate? Dark? Golden? White? Molasses? Agricole? Single? Blended? Aged? Premium? Luxury? Vintage? Overproof/navy strength/cask strength? Sweet? Bitter? Smooth? Harsh? Dry? Oily? Damn, there 's even a kind of rum infused with Voodoo ritualistic herbs, manufactured in an area near Haiti! It is impossible to not find something great for any taste in the rum world, that easily puts any other spirit to shame, or at least substitute any other drink adequately enough. I cannot even return to and revisit any other type of alcohol(ic beverage), anymore. I wholeheartedly belong to rum, till death do us part.

Thanks everyone! Quite a few really good points were brought up. It is the lack of standardized rules that allows for so many variations of rum. Some want to standardize the rules like what Barbados is aiming for because this is the exact opposite of the solera system that is often criticized. The Latin style rums seem to offer the most variations, but the labeling is what pisses off many buyers and I don't blame them. One needs to read the fine print. As for the agricoles and cachacas, those are in a class by themselves. And as for absinthe, I tried that once and never again! Rum is also much cheaper than single malt scotch because of the temperatures where the two are aged. Colder climates take much longer to age than tropical climates, and this costs a LOT more. Optimum aging for rum in the tropics is 8-12 years. I had to give up drinking single malt scotches before I retired because those are damn expensive. I could drink a bottle of Lagavullin 16 in just three days. Now that one is a seriously acquired taste!

I agree that rum is number one when it comes to drinking spirits neat, but also as drink mixer, mainly due to the versatility and that it is possible to find good rum at a relatively low price even though some distilleries and mainly some independent bottlers do their best to bring up the price level. However, I don’t say no to a better single malt from Scotland, for example a Lagavulin 16 years old or a at least 18 year old Macallan. When it comes to Cognac I see no reason to neither buy nor drink the lower fusel oil tasting levels, i.e. VS or VSOP which are only suitable for cooking (VS) and drink mixers (VSOP), but I don’t say no to the better cognac levels, XO or EXTRA if they are from Grand Champagne.

Stefan: The two VSOP cognacs that I have on hand now would both rate as a 7 in my rum ratings, none being worthy of buying again. I did get to try one XO many years ago. My friend swore up and down how good it was, but I failed to see what she was raving about. It simply was not worth the extra money in my book. By the way, one of the cognacs on hand is a Grand Champagne VSOP and I actually prefer the Fine Champagne VSOP one to it. I seriously doubt that I will buy any more cognacs next December. By the way, for only $94, I found a bottle of Ron Zacapa XO for the January 20th world wide celebration! It won't last a week, as usual!

Paul, About the coming celebration I will open one of my better Agricoles. About cognac on this excellent rum site. I took a congac course a number of years ago led by a popular Swedish television presenter together with the chief blender of the highly acclaimed Swedish blended cognac Grönstedts with lots of gold medals. They explained that it is impossible to make a VSOP of grapes from Grand Champagne and that in principle the same applies to Fine Champagne. For that reason is for example one of the worlds best selling cognac, Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne highly questioned by the industry. If someone wants to test cognac I recommend the small houses like Hine or Delamain with a lowest level XO. This is good cognac that I should rate between 8-10, but unfortunately to a cost of at least €100 if you don’t find it tax free. The big houses are in my opinion not so good, just more expensive.

Stefan: Remy Martin VSOP Fine Champagne happens to be one of the two cognacs that I now have on hand and it was chosen quickly from very minor research. It is also the cheaper of the two and my personal favorite of both. However, if rum bottlers can lie, so can every other spirit producer. This world has come to a place whereby we really no longer can tell who is telling the truth. I am thankful for the mostly truthful reviewers on Rum Ratings. We tell it like it is because we pay for these rums out of our own pockets. Then we find out who writes rave reviews as friends of the company and report them!

Paul, Yes, Remy Martin is probably the VSOP that tastes best of the ones I’ve tried, probably because it doesn’t taste like a VSOP should. If it’s really made from grapes from Fine (pronounced Finn) Champagne, I would think that it’s probably a VO which is the level between VSOP and XO. It's all about a marketing ploy, as VSOP sells better than VO because it’s cheaper then a VO at the same time as most people think that VSOP is better than VO. Fine Champagne is also selling good as uninitiated translates "finn" to the English word "fine", so even there it’s all about marketing.

dsurtai1: Small world! I actually live in Slidell where there is only one clearance store. Sometimes bargains can be found there at Aquistapace's Wine Warehouse. I also visit their main stores in Covington and Mandeville. As for Martin Wine Cellar, their smaller store in Mandeville is more to my liking than the much further Metairie store that has better choices. Now that Total Wine has opened up in Mandeville, I no longer have a need to cross the big pond to their Metairie store. Also in Metairie is Dorignac's with a great selection and higher prices. In uptown NOLA, Elio's carries a lot of rums that are very hard to find. The only way that you can order any spirits is through a store like Keife And Company on Howard, who will order them for you if it is available from a Louisiana wholesale distributor. It is illegal to order any spirits sent to one's home in Louisiana. This then provides excuses for road trips! Then there is Pensacola. My favorites are Bambooze, ABC Fine Wine & Liquor, Publix Liquors, and Fusion Spirits. Going a bit further, Beach Liquors has some great finds. Any excuse to go back to those gorgeous beaches! Just keep driving through MS and AL because nothing good can be found in either state. Basically, to find really good rums, look for stores where the money flows.

dsurtai1: On Pensacola Beach about two miles west of Portofino (those five huge towers), there is Island Wine & Liquors. He does not have the best prices, but one never knows what to find there. However, as one goes out of the door, there are a few bottles of Pappy Van Winkle on display for whomever from Portofino can afford them (and is damn foolish enough to spend thousands on a grade B bourbon). I had one bottle around 2009 for about $75 from Martin Wine Cellar in Metairie. I made it last for six months. Then the legend began that was started by crooked employees at Buffalo Trace stealing barrels of it and selling it on the black market. After that, the prices skyrocketed to ridiculous levels.

I can occasionally enjoy a good beer, especially a good German beer, but rum is the only spirit I ever really liked. I keep 1 bottle each of vodka, gin, mezcal, and bourbon for guests but I almost never touch them - I am just not interested. I have currently a separate bar with over 30 different bottles of rum.

Mujuru: You have more than twice the number of rums on hand at all times than I have. I have about 12-15 rums in heavy rotation that changes day by day based upon repeat purchases. One famous rum expert says that he only needs six essential rums and nothing more. But he owns a bar and his focus is on authentic Tiki drinks, with very little focus on those who like to drink their rums neat. As usual, different strokes for different folks.

Paul: I have 10 that I love. About 13 that are left over from trying that I like but are rare sippers or mixers. The remaining 7-8 are rums I have bought but haven’t tried yet. I didn’t mean to suggest that I have over 30 rums on rotation. I have about 10 or so on rotation.

Fellow Rum Raters: Enclosed is my list of repeat purchases. Ron Zacapa XO is not on this list because it is a once a year purchase for special occasions such as the January 20th inauguration and world wide celebration. Peace and love to all!

One can never go back to other spirits after rum Paul B user image

Since I try to act like rum evangelist and educator, I often (used to bcs now my country is locked down) arrange tasting sessions with my friends. Currently I have around 15 bottles open, however, I still think this is not enough to tell the entire story of rums to a newcomer. I still lack Demerara rums (they seem more expensive then the others for now) and Agricoles (as one said: not my slice of gouda. Or at least I haven't found the one I like yet.).

My permanent rotation (repeat purchase list) is comprised of the following: Zafra 21 year Doorly’s 12 Year Barbancourt 15 year Plantation XO Foursquare 2007 El Dorado 15 Smith & Cross Selvarey White Appleton 12 Year Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Panama Pacific 15 year Clement Premier Canne

Sorry but I couldn't disagree with you more, other than that I never found Cognac all that interesting. I do have one pricey XO (Frapin Fontpinot) that I got on clearance half-off that is nice but IMO barely worth the $58 I paid several years ago. For the money Marie Duffau Napoleon Armagnac ($35) was the only brandy I would buy again. I am finding myself going to rum less often these days than I used to, and Bourbon and Rye more and more often. Tequila is probably my favorite spirit to sip straight but my GF loves Bourbon and our favorite mixed drinks use it. It is true that Bourbon and Tequila have less variety of flavor than Rum but more of my favorites make me just sit back in my chair and go "Ahhhhh". I have gotten some amazing cask strength Bourbons and Tequilas in the $50-60 range recently. Still love our MaiTais and other Tikis, but a Bourbon/Rye old fashioned is soooo good and so much easier to make. My true love remains Islay Scotch but they have gotten ridiculously expensive. 10 yrs ago I could find Lagavulin 16 yr for under $60, these days you are lucky under $100. I did buy two bottles of Kilchoman yesterday, which I have never tried, and liked them a lot for $50-60. It is getting harder and harder to find drinkable single malts under $50. Still great Bourbon under $40 just nothing from Buffalo Trace, the entire lineup has been inflated by the Pappy insanity. To bad because I did love some Weller 12 year and Antique 107, but that same craze has produced a lot of new Bourbons that are very good and reasonably priced. I also have had a couple great BBA Belgian beers recently from Ommegang. I agree that the whole craft beer thing has gotten silly lately but the core beers are still worth drinking. Peanut butter and jelly beer? Pfft. Give me a good Imperial Stout or Belgian Quad. (I did enjoy Duclaw Sweet Baby Jesus but only in the bottle, not on tap.)

Scott T: Good to see you back after such a long time!!! I am a borderline diabetic with borderline hypertension. When I visit my doctor every 4 months, he is always amazed at how well that I am doing. I just grin and tell myself it is all about the rum. I am not allergic to gluten, but with rum being gluten free, this has a lot to do with my good health. As for taste after 353 reviews, Clement 10 Year tastes exactly like a fine Kentucky bourbon. I challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference! A delicate rhum agricole absorbs too much of the charred oak barrels when aged for more than 3 years. Close on it's heals for tasting like bourbon are most of the Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series (for a lot more money than Clement 10 Year) I also never allowed GF's to influence my drinking habits. I actually showed one the door because she was cutting into my drinking time. Trust the rum, but never the women. My lovable dog Jessica keeps me sane as well as keeping old GF's from trying to barge back into my life. One marriage was also one too many.

Hi Paul, long time no see. I do find that all spirits tend to taste very similar if aged long enough. I have had 21 yr old Scotch (Balvenie), 21 yr old rum (Appleton) , 9 yr old Tequila (Fuenteseca), that XO Cognac (Frapin Chateau de Fontpinot XO, uncertain of the age), 18 yr old Bourbon (Elijah Craig) . Though all were quite nice, they had taken on so much barrel characteristic that it was hard to tell what type of spirit they had started out as. My GF likes everything I do except peated smoky Scotch and Mezcal. I still have plenty of opportunity to drink them just not nights that she feels like having something. She has some acid reflux issues so it is always a coin toss. I have become a huge fan of Suerte Tequila, their Crown Extra Anejo (6 yr old I think) is one of my favorites and measures up to ones costing twice as much. I recently grabbed several of the anejo at a good price from a place closing them out. They guy there told me they had sold one bottle of the blanco in the entire time they had stocked it, but had sold plenty of the crappy celebrity brands such as Casamigos (George Clooney), Teremana (The Rock) or Cincoro (Michael Jordan).

Never say never, but this year more people have switched to rum than to other spirits. Today I spoke to Steffen Kerner, it's a connoisseur from "The tasting Gang" -> Velier Caroni. He confirmed to me that many whisky drinkers in his area have switched to rum this year. Because currently it is much more attractively to buy rum instead of whisky. This year there were a lot of high quality bottlings for attractive prices. The owner of Whiskytempel.de also said on FB that he made more sales with rum than with Whisky this year. The trend is currently more towards rum. I think the willingness to switch will depend on the availability and variety of rum. I also found this article: "rum revenues goes up 13.2% in October". Maybe you can translate this site: https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/rum-cresce-consumo-casalingo-e-quello-luxury-collezione-vendite-gdo-132percento-ADY17u8 So, it's still a good time to buy high quality rum bottlings and then you never have to switch back to other spirits.

vomi1011: I used the link that you provided above to try and read the article. It let me translate to English, but then it would only let me read a few broken sentences because it demanded that I accept cookies and cough up all kinds of other personal information, so to hell with them. This is more information that I can do without. Rum drinkers are finding out the health benefits of it being gluten free and also having more varied flavor profiles than bourbons. Single malt scotch ranks right up there in taste, but costs a hell of a lot more besides not being gluten free. I had to give that expensive hobby up in order to retire and I don't miss it.

Paul, I was 100% with you (until yesterday). I've stuck to rum exclusively and I don't get hungover.

But my wealthy neighbor was driving by me in his Corvette convertible yesterday and asked if I liked tequila and want to drink some. It was Clase Azul for $150 a bottle. Now I see why articles now say try certain rums and tequilas for Old Fashioned's.

I'm not running out to buy a bottle, but it snapped my multi-year rum streak -lol.

Even tho I "slipped," I agree with you in principle!

RonRumHead:

I briefly got into premium tequilas a few years ago. The only one that I would still buy is Jose Cuervo Reserva de Familia in the wooden gift box. It was almost $200 and the price has gone up much more since then. And thanks to a website called Taste Tequila, those reviews steered me away from buying an overpriced bottle of Clase Azul. Thank your wealthy neighbor, but don't splurge on a bottle. It is for those who have money to burn. My price limit for one bottle of rum is now also $150 US.

Paul B,

I'd never splurge on Clase Azul ... and I love having rich neighbors with money to burn - lol.

Go Saints!

RonRumHead:

Another Who Dat fan on here?!!!!!! Wow!!! My dad took my brother and I to see the very first Saints game in Tulane stadium way back in 1967. I remember that day like it was yesterday and I met many other lifelong fans who were at that game. Being a Saints fan must be our secret to longevity!

I was trying to find some of those old flat black Dictador bottles today because the rum in those was what we all loved until they recently changed it. They are all gone, but I saw another bottle of Jose Cuervo Reserva de Familia. It now runs $224. The new wooden box is now pink. Yikes!!!!

I did score a liter of 2004 Limited Edition Bacardi Reserva 16 Year at 90 proof for only $89. That is a bargain and so much better than most of the Foursquare ECS limited edition rums.

On another note, it is very hard to maintain my Who Dat fanaticism because I have been banned from the Superedome since 2017. Long story!

RonRumHead,

I have never had Clase Azul, but I know it to be a highly sweetened and manipulated mediocre juice in a very fancy bottle, engineered to appeal to the masses who like sweet things - specifically, the American palate. Other very popular brands that use sweeteners or other additives are Don Julio (mainly the 1942), Casamigos, Adicitivo, Cava De Oro and a few others. None of these represent what Tequila should actually taste like.

You can find far higher quality Tequilas for 1/3 the price, but you might or might not enjoy them because you would have to like the taste of agave. Fortaleza, El Tesoro, Ocho, Siete Leguas, G4, all are traditionally made pure Tequila with a strong agave taste. Most of the top brands purposely age them in depleted barrels so they don't take on strong barrel flavors that obscure the agave. Patron is actually a well-made Tequila but their basic lineup is not well regarded by true Tequila lovers because they purposely produce a milder agave profile to appeal to a wider range of palates.

Paul B,

Depending on where you live, you should be able to find the Cuervo for under $200, even under $150 in some parts of the country. There are some other truly outstanding XAs in that price range - Tapatio Excelencia, El Tesoro XA and Paradiso, Suerte XA (Crown bottle is a 7 yr and Lucky Lips is 8 yr). A little more pricey is Tears of Llorona, which usually runs $225-250 but is a liter bottle and widely regarded to be the best currently available. (Best ever is El Tesoro 70th anniversary XA, of which I am lucky enough to own one full and one mostly full bottle).

i don t think that one can t go back to other spirits after rum !

as a bar owner i do try every kind of stuff i can find, after 5 and a half years i m becoming an expert,

will always drink a good aged honest spirit (with no additives),

just today there are some problems:

rums are often with added tons of sugar/other additives

tequilas are 99% mixtos (yes if you don t see 100% agave, it s 15/20% agave, plus brasilian cachaca)

and if they are 100% agave they are very expensive (more than cognac)

cognac mostly you ll find from the top 5 houses, good stuff but everything over rated and too

expensive for what you get

(you can find good brandy from every place in the world that have some grape production, it s cognac but you can t call it cognac and sometimes really good, better than many cognacs)

whisky (scotch single malt or irish, japanese) too expensive too !

bourbon also expensive because its from another continent

(and here 90% of american whiskey drinkers chose jack daniels that in my opinion is the worse of all)

vodka and gin i m not interested, just mixers, becoming too expensive after intensive marketing ...

so now my idea is: drink happily every kind of spirit you like, when you find a good

product buy it and drink it ... no matter what it costs if it s good !

in the net you ll find sites for every kind of spirit to help you chose ...

than when you try and try, you know wich brands to avoid ...

but ok rum is my preferred spirit ...

Bar la moura

i don't know how things are where you live - Croatia according to your profile - but overall there are very few mixtos on the market today, unless you look at the absolute cheapest crap on the bottom shelf. Even those must be at least 51% agave, I think you are getting confused with blended Scotch which usually are 15-20% malt and the rest grain whiskey.

no, true tequila you ll find most in few specialized stores, jose cuervo, sierra, agavita,

(ok cuervo and sierra have good stuff too but not in normal supermarkets)

such stuff are normal offerings in normal stores, and no i m not confused,

for example tio pepe have 50% tequila, other stuff way less, never heard about 51% agave is a must ...

i know the story about blended, i always have a bottle of teachers highland cream at home, it s cheap and 45% of single malt inside (ardmore)

I know it's a rum site, but since Tequila has come up, Scott T. is spot-on with the recommendations of Fortaleza, Ocho, G4, El Tesoro, Siete Leguas. I'll also add in there ArteNOM 1579 and Codigo. All of these are reasonably easy to find in, in my neck of the woods anyway... Not sure if it is universal across their entire lineups (probably), but as I understand it, these are all unmanipulated.

The likes of Don Julio, Patron (though also unmanipulated I believe), and Clase Azul seem to be marketed for a younger, particular demographic by my observations, and it can be challenging to convince them to look elsewhere or try something new.

Near me, mixtos (by definition) are definitely the exception, by probably 100:1. If wee're just talking m

I do like me this site:

https://tequilamatchmaker.com/

Bar la moura

Does google not work in your country? These definitions and regulations are very easy to find. There is one mixto I buy all the time, El Tequileno blanco, 70% agave and 30% made from piloncilo sugar, which makes a high quality neutral spirit.

https://www.insidehook.com/article/booze/mixto-tequila

ok found it, mixtos must have 51% agave destillate,

and i found some time ago that the other 49% is cachaca (brasilian sugar cane juice destillate)

now i hate just the idea of mixing 2 different spirits, so for me mixto tequilas are a big no !

was in mexico with family in january this year, brought home a gran centenario leyenda

(we don t import it here) and it is good, but i really like rum more :)

spent around 115$ for the bottle, for that sum could have been some really good rum...

but ok mexico is the tequila country ...

One can never go back to other spirits after rum bar la moura user image

DB,

Codigo is a good brand (especially for a celebrity brand), but it has become far too pricey in recent years compared to its competition. I got a bottle of the blanco for $35 a few years ago, but at its current $50+ just not a rebuy. I had a mini of the anejo in a sample pack and it is very good but not $120 good, that puts it up against some good XAs. The Rosa is interesting and a kind of love it or hate it bottle, at its current $65-70 price tag just not a buy. (I did luck into a couple bottles a year or so ago for $45).

True Scott, it is a bit pricey! (But good - I always recommend giving it a try if one is willing to put forth the $$$...)

Bar La Moura - yeah, I thnk if you're gonna get a hangover, it's far more liley to happen with a mixto! But hey, it's cheap for the college kids...ha, ha...

are we speaking too much about tequila ? let s talk about rum here please

bar la moura

There are plenty of other threads about rum, feel free to hit the scroll button. Seeing as "other spirits" is in the title of the thread.

Scott T:

Good to see you back on this site after all these years. You have obviously switched to premium tequilas. I did for a while and even delved into mezcals. One brand of mezcal stands out for me, and that is Xicaru. Del Maguey may be the most popular brand of mezcal, but I just stick with what works best for me. I still returned to my beloved rums. Another really good affordable tequila is El Padrino, which I believe that it is only available from Total Wine.

Hi Paul,

Yeah I've been on a Tequila kick the last year and a half or so. Before that it was Bourbon, before that Scotch. Seems like quite a while since I really have tried many new rums. I did recently buy a bottle of Appleton 15 yr Black River cask, and although it is quite good I don't know if it is worth the premium over the 12 yr. Next time I go to TW in Knoxville I might try the Plantation Xaymaca and maybe Fiji.

I have branched out in mezcal quite a bit, trying other agave varietals than Espadin (which is what most entry level offerings are made from). Unfortunately, these can get pricey very quickly. I tried a Jabali by Bozal I found at a very good price of $70 (avg over $100 on wine-searcher.com ). I have a cupreata that tastes like minty juicy fruit gum lol. The variety and intensity of flavors in mezcal is incredible, I have only begun to scratch the surface having tried maybe 20 or 25 different ones.

I have bought a bottle of El Padrino - anejo, I think - several years ago. It seemed decent at first, but by the time I finished the bottle and tried better brands, it seemed very boring and fake tasting, so I suspect heavy use of additives. I recently tasted the blanco at a store sampling and it was not good, bitter peppery aftertaste. I have seen decent reviews from a few years back, and I suspect they have begun mixing in some diffuser juice as many cheaper brands have done in recent years. It is a TW store brand from a distillery that cranks out over 140 contract brands, many of them celebrity brands laden with additives.

Scott T:

As for wasting your money on the two fairly new offerings from Plantation, don't do it!!! The Xaymaca is a low ester Jamaican rum further ruined in cognac casks. I posted a lengthy review on it. As for their rum from Fiji, the pretty bottle fools many. It smells like a bicycle tire patch kit. Others have mentioned Magic Marker. And who would want to drink this!

Have you ever tried a pechuga mezcal? It sounded good in theory as to how it is made, but I did not think it was worth the extra money.

Paul,

I know people who love Pechugas, but I have never found the concept of distilling with a raw chicken or turkey breast to be very appealing - or lamb (borrego) or ham (Iberico) can also be used. There is a vegetarian sacrificio (general term) by Bozal using nuts, pumpkin seeds, and such that is supposed to be very good that I plan to buy next time in Knoxville. I thnk my gf will like it because it is not smoky at all and she's vegan.

Scott T:

Here in Ontario, Canada it's almost impossible to find decent additive-free tequila. It's sad because tequila is such an interesting and complex spirit. The state of cognac is also laughable here; the most basic offerings from the mass market houses (Courvoisier, Remy Martin, Hennessey, Martell) run $66-$80.

Odysseus,

I have heard about what a wasteland Canada is for Tequila - even worse than North Carolina, which has an awful selection. I load up on trips to Tennessee.

That evil spirit vodka was alway my tipple...straight up shots not polluted.

At some stage of life, RUM suddenly came into my life. I was like a new born baby! I had suddenly escaped from my mother and I was a free spirit! I've never looked back, only upwards and onwards, better rum means better life!

Paul B,

Do tell about the banishment!!!

I'm originally from Detroit. When I was 12 years old the Michigan Panthers won the USFL title & I was smart enough back then to not root for the Lions but I love football (UM grad).

Who was the Panthers QB? None other than the legendary Bobby Hebert. He started playing for the Saints when I started HS. I was the only kid in Detroit who was a Saints fan. I had a hat and everything.

Even my daughter & wife wear Saints shirts. Thinking of driving up to watch them play Tampa next season.

Who dat?!?

Interesting conversation. New to this but I've been intrigued by tequila. Rum is the new world order (we wont discuss) but tequila has interested but scared me. So, recommendations please, beer is so passe unless it harvestoun beers. Currently listening to The Rolling Stones

Can I just sat that Jimmy Cliff is an absolute God. Please listen many rivers to cros. You're all good folks.

RonRumHead:

My being banished from the Dome comes from my refusal to get a smart phone. In 2017, admission was by those cardboard season tickets or after market tickets on smart phones only. In years before that, I spent LOTS of money to buy aftermarket tickets to sit close to the field and get that section fired up making noise. It did work and I could mention a few QB's who we all adversely affected. Now since my aftermarket ticket was always a printed copy of the PDF file, I knew that these were subject to being hacked and counterfeited. I always entered the Dome when the doors opened. If someone hacked my ticket, they would not be able to enter the Dome. Well, one time a young man came up to my seat near the 50 yard line on the lowest level. A very pretty heavy set girl sat to my right. She was his girlfriend. He told me that I was in his seat. I showed him my paper ticket. He went upstairs and called his dad. Yup, his dad sold that seat online to me because he did not want his son with a fat girl. Both went storming off to enjoy the game elsewhere together. As for rum choices in the Dome, they were all pathetic. And 2017 was when they stopped accepting paper tickets, after all of that money that I spent on them in prior years. Let's just say that it was loud fans like me that helped them get to the Super Bowl. I still refuse to get a smart phone to this day.

I had my run with cognac when I worked maintenance at a local liquor distributor and found that at least with cognac you get what you pay for and including all the other guys, our go to, although on the expensive side, is Remy XO. We found that any XO is way superior to any VSOP, fact! Trust me, we tried them all except the Louis the X111, that was locked up tight, don't short yourself with anymore VSOP. And, if you don't feel the price is right stick with rum. As far as the $1 for the snifters, you may have unduly paid for what should be free. At least in N.Y. it's against the law to sell a bottle with added "gifts" for more than the bottle price. Although it was only $1 do the math times 100k..... If the laws are the same, which they should be, go back to that retailer and tell him your on to him. Lol! By the way, I'm far past anything else but rum, if you haven't noticed! Oh, by the way our favorite scotch was also Lagavullin, when it first appeared at the distributor, Although that was some 20+yrs ago. I tried it about 6yrs ago and will not buy again. Seems another cash grab to me! When it became popular 20+yrs ago it was on target. So, let's think about this for a moment. We have this liquor industry wide cash grab. If we run out lie to the consumer he's an idiot and will still buy. Ring any rum (ships) bells? This also applies to tequila, which I see there are quite a few lovers on this blog. You need to switch to mezcal. To be precise, 400 rabbits, do not go to Monte Alban. That's just like your bottom dollar 2killya. Now, another favorite at the warehouse was Porfidio, that tequila is way worthy if you can find it.

must say that not always XO cognac is better than VSOP, why ? because some

producers also add more sugar to mask some bad aging or really i don t know

why, an example ? kelt XO, with all the story of ocean aging, is really very sweet,

another example ? claude chatelier XO, also unnaturally sweet, done some research,

it s part of pierre ferrand that also owns plantation rum ... so with cognac also we

need some luck to find products without or with low dosage

but in principle XO of course is better than VSOP because from 1 april 2014, by law

XO have to be minimum 10 years in barrel (before it was 6 years), still trying new cognacs

sometimes and i must say that i have had some good and bad surprises, prefer to buy ones

from smaller houses because less expensive ones, but many times they are hard to find

5 big houses are always more expensive than others (remy martin, courvoisier, hennessy,

martell and camus) but also you ll find them easier in stores and airport duty free ...

as for lagavullin 16 it s a classic peated single malt, it s among the most peated ones

and i have it, sell it but personally i don t like it because it s too much peat for me, i prefer

speyside whiskies, tried good stuff even from other 3 whisky regions but really cant drink

islay whiskies