Rum recommendation, please

Dear Gentlefolks,judging from what is going on in the forum, I assume that it is OK to post requests for individual rum recommendations.The reason I ask is that I find myself in a bit of a dead end. Not in a bad way really. I very much enjoy Pusser's ("normal" blue and the higher proof gunpowder one), Appleton Estate 12 Rare, Wray and Nephew White Overproof, Smith and Cross. I also love the Plantation Multi-Island rum, but the price is deterring me from considering buying more at this point.Rums that I thought I might enjoy but did not enjoy as much as I though I would are El Dorado 12 (too sweet), I really do not like overly sweet rums. Centenario 20 is a disaster for me, Diplomatico is better, but also way too liqueur-ish. I did not like the English Harbour 5 too much (interesting, but ultimately a bit boring and the strange, musty note is not quite my thing).The most disgusting rum I ever tried was Gold of Mauritius Dark - gooey sweetness, very artificial flavouring, somewhat rotten (not in a good, funky way).I am OK with Havana Club 7, but I do not find it exciting. The same goes for the one Barbados rum that I tried, which was a "premium" supermarket rum. 8 years old, did not state what distillery it is from.I did like most agricoles that I tried, but found them quite close to bourbon in most cases (mostly not in the database, since I did not yet have time to re-review and type a review here). I like bourbon, but so far I like bourbon better than the agricoles I tried. (Bourbon is also cheaper on average).Feel free to look at my ratings and reviews, also feel free where you think I might be wrong.So, overall, I think I like robust, funky, molassy rums. I am not really a miser, but I have to be very convinced to spend 50 Euros on a bottle of spirits. 100 Euros is sort of a hard limit for me. I might spend more, but I would need very good reasons for that.Now, can anyone recommend me something that I should try next?Thank you!

That is a rather open question so be prepared to get advice on 100's of rums! I do not agree with you on Pusser's so much but the Appleton (12yo) and Smith & Cross I like a lot as well.I agree with you on English Harbour so whe might have a match of sorts. Some of my must haves are various Chairman's Reserve expressions and two of them are the Original (~€20) and the Legacy (~€30). Both IMO well operating above their pricepoint and 100% dry. Then there are 3 Dutch blends that are really good all in the €25-30 category; Mates, Ultimatum Selected Rum (both available at Drankgigant.de ) and Kintra Sample Eleven (Dramtime.nl and whiskyvanzuylen.nl both have it and ship to Germany). Also 100% dry and all three with a little Jamaican twist. All three have in common that they are at the same time easygoing and have bold flavours. Especially Kintra (with a drop of Caroni in there) is very entertaining from nosing to the pretty long finish. The list is very much longer but those 5 are very much to my liking, very affordable and really worth a try. Good luck with your search!

That is quite helpful, thank you! I realize that the question is quite open. If there is anything I should add, I would be happy to do so.Oh, and looking at your ratings has helped me quite a bit. Doorly's XO and one of the cheaper Mount Gays are on my watch-and-decide list. Also pleased to see the Hampden Gold rated so high - I do also not understand the negative ratings of this one.I do like Pusser's better than Appleton 12. I very much enjoy a mix of Pusser's and Appleton 12 (about 50/50).

There is a new version of El Dorado 12 y with 6g sugar, at drankdozijn.de. New El Dorado 15 is without sugar. Gold of Mauritius dark has an islay finish, it's sweetened and smooky. I don't like it also, it's like eating a pineapple from an ash tray. You can start with a reference collection of rums, you already know some: http://rumproject.com/menuitem5.htmlI would try some Jamaica rums like Worthy Park, Long Pond and Hampden.You can also buy samples. Join some rum groups in german FB.

Thank you, Vomi. I am pretty sure that I have actually tasted the new version of El Dorado 12. Still seems overly sweet to me. But I re-taste it from time to time to see if it grows on me. Interesting point about the Islay finish on the Gold of Mauritius Dark. Unexpected. I quite like Islay whiskies, even the sweet ones (like Laphroaig).

Laphroaig sherry oak is nice. But the Mauritius Dark is not my rum. There are some Jamaica Rums with Islay finish, they are much better.

Rumtrinker, You wrote that you’d like W&N, then I suggest you go for a Hampden Rum Fire which is even better in my opinion. About Cuban rum I suggest the Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros. About Bajan rum and Agricole’s it’s a little bit harder to give suggestions, cause I don’t know what you’ve tasted. But anyway I suggest the R.L.Seales, the Real McCoy 12yo and the Sixty Six 12yo from Barbados. About Agricole’s I suggest the J.M XO and the La Mauny XO from Martinique which both are a perfect entrance to the Agricole world in my opinion. Besides those two from Martinique I also suggest the Montebello 10yo and the ReimonenQ 9yo from Guadeloupe, cause Montebello and ReimonenQ are my favorite Agricole brands. Picture: My Jamaican white Overproof’s.

Rum recommendation, please Stefan Persson user image

Thank you! Have to look into white rums more, especially the Jamaican ones. Had a glass of Wray and Nephew with ginger beer ("white and stormy"?) today and that was quite an experience. I like it far better than many of my other rums (and whiskies) that cost more. As for Havana Club: Do you think that the Seleccion de Maestros will significantly change how I look at this type of rum, as compared to Havana Club 7? It is more than twice as expensive - is it that good? Havana Club 7 is competent to me, not great. Maybe I should try their 3 year-old or the Anejo as a reference point first - both of which I can regularly buy for 11 Euros or so. I am quite price-aware and I refuse to pay for "luxury" flanel (if I spot it in time - bad luck there with the Centenario 20). I am willing to pay higher prices if they are justified. So thank you for suggesting reasonably-priced offerings.

Rumtrinker, About the Havana Club is the 3yo just for mixing and the 7yo is more or less a mixer in my opinion, while the Seleccion de Maestros is a sipper. And yes, I think it’s worth the higher price, but not as a mixer.

@ Rumtrinker, If you are interested in Cuban rums for sipping you might want to have a look at Conde de Cuba. They are all rather delicate (and some will find them underwhelming) but when you are open to elegant and delicate flavours they are really nice. All of their aged rums (3-5-7-11-15 years old) can be sipped neat and apart from the 15 yo I think they are worth their price. The 15 yo is a bit pricy for what it offers, the 7 yo is probably the best deal, the 11 yo I like best and the 3 yo is for me a typical hot wheather sipper (slightly cooled).

Harrie: Thank you. The advice is much appreciated. I am not very much into delicate rums so far. But with whiskey I am quite fond of some whiskies that others call "delicate" (mostly fruity Speyside whiskies). And with summer approaching, it might be a good time to try some lighter rums. The lightest rums I had so far where that 8-year-old rum from Barbados and Havana Club 7.

@Harrie Hello also from the Netherlands where do you find your rum in the Netherlands

@Rumexplorer I buy my rums in various webshops; Drankgigant.nl has usual the best deals (but not always) and a lot of variety, but there are some smaller specialised shops that are interesting too. Such as; zeewijck.nl, whiskyvanzuylen.nl, whisky.nl, slijterijvandenbos.nl to name a few. Google is your best friend here especially when you want a specific rum. Searching a bit is a good idea as prices can vary very much; I have seen bottles that costed under €70 at one place and over €100 somewhere else. Even with cheap rums there are differences over 50% sometimes.

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