What is funk?


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KU
kudzey 🇵🇱 | 38 ratings Author Posted 7 Aug '21

"funk" and "hogo" are the words some people use to describe rums rich in aromas, especially from Jamaica. I drank Appleton and Hampden and I still have no idea what these terms stand for. Could anyone explain this to me and name the "funkiest" rums? Are "funk" and "hogo" the same?
vomi1011 avatar image
vomi1011 🇩🇪 | 403 ratings Replied 7 Aug '21

Funky means a fruity explosion for me, I will associate that with a high ester rum. So a funky rum could be a Hampden >LROK or WPE. Hogo are the heavy or rotten flavours for me. Could be petroleum, bacon, rotten fruits, meat... I would say Velier TECA has the best hogo flavours. It's sweet but you can also taste bacon or meat, I love this kind of rum, but they are very rare. Or Fiji rum, it has vegetables and petroleum without the high ester funk in the taste, this is a hogo rum for me.Maybe there is no right or wrong definition of thus terms, but maybe there is a consence. You can read about it here: https://www.liquor.com/articles/hogo-rum/
Paul B avatar image
Paul B 🇺🇸 | 472 ratings Replied 7 Aug '21

kudzey: As all on here know me, I am no fan of including links to other websites since some of them have been flagged as dangerous by my anti-virus software. However, this link is to an excellent article explaining all that you could want to know about hogo and funk. I might add that the Jamaicans and Haitians added some very disgusting things like rotting bananas and dead critters to speed up the fermentation process. This may sound disgusting, but all of the harmful things are removed in the distillation process. This explains why unaged clairins from Haiti are so full of flavor, because those flavors have not been removed from aging in barrels. Be wary of the muck pits! https://cocktailwonk.com/2016/03/days-of-dunder-setting-the-record-straight-on-jamaican-rums-mystery...
KU
kudzey 🇵🇱 | 38 ratings Author Replied 30 Sep '21

I've tried El Dorado Skeldon recently, with some salty bacon taste. Would you classify it as hogo?
vomi1011 avatar image
vomi1011 🇩🇪 | 403 ratings Replied 30 Sep '21

Skeldon becomes dry in the mouth like a Foursquare. It is true that this, when combined with salty flavors, creates the impression of bacon. 

However, I have less of this impression at the Skeldon. But it is definitely right for you, your sensors may be more sensitive than mine. It is sweet at first, then dries out the mouth, barrel flavors are rising with salt aromas (and in your case it creates the impression of bacon, in my case it stops here). A similar impression is created with the TECA 2005 in exactly the same way. Since I would definitely say that TECA has many hogo flavours, in your case it also applies to the Skeldon. Some use the term hogo similar to funk. But Skeldon is not funky, instead I would say it has some hogo flavors. The fermetation, distillation and aging was done quite well.

When you talk about it, I would always first state what I mean by it. I found a short explanation on youtube, the description is not very precise, but it does clarify what is generally understood by it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMc0nt5E75I