Hamilton White Stache

This is an excellent of a cost effective pot still coming in at 87% that can substitute any white rum for a cool funky cocktail.

Hamilton made a solid base hit on this one. 87 proof (43.5% ABV) dry, white rum with a hint of natural coconut flesh playing in the flavor. On top of that, it's a great deal at 1L for $25! I'm excited to play with it in drinks.

White Stache has become one of my go to light rums for mixing. Proofed perfectly. Plays extremely well in a cocktail. Appropriately price in one liter offerings. You simply can't go wrong here. I hope it is always available. I try to keep two bottles on hand at any given time.

This is good lightly aged mixing rum but nothing special as other reviews would suggest, in my opinion. It gets the job done but doesn't add any exciting depth unlike other white rums such as Plantation 3 star. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy this again but I also wouldn't be upset if it was my only option. Just aggressively average.

1 Liter. Great value! Great all around white rum as intended.

Clearly meant for mixing, I had this both plain and in a daiquiri. The latter was quite nice, not the most complex I've ever had, but mellow and sweet with a bubble gum and light coconut flavor.

This is an easy drinking white rum that pairs well with fruity drinks and daiquiris. Good stuff!

I've tried a few of the Hamilton rums, and I'm not a huge fan. But this one surprised me, and I think it's pretty good! Many thanks to Joola69 for providing me a bottle.

Semi sweet, with a very light coconut hint. I like it!

Ed Hamilton is well known for producing some very affordable aged rums. This appears to be his first attempt at finding a good white rum from somewhere in the Caribbean. It works, except for the bitter finish. At $22 US per liter, one can do better on white rums than this one.

This is a blend of lightly aged rums from Trinidad, Guyana, and Dominican Republic that have been filtered and blended for mixing. I can guess that the Guyana rum is a column still rum from DDL; and the Trinidad rum is likely a column still rum from TDL. But I have no clue where the Dominican rum in the blend comes from.

Ed Hamilton has a great reputation with some really spectacular rums, and I have heard a lot of good things about this rum, especially from the mixology side. So first I am going to review this straight and with water, and then I will make a classic daiquiri with it. So first, how is this rum on its own?

Wafting it from the Glencairn I get Dried Apricots, faint Toasted Marshmallow, Lime, and then Unripe Green Apples and a faint whiff of the classic southern breakfast/desert Peaches and Cream

Taking a sip straight I get a rush of Green Apple followed by a hearty mouthful of Plum Wine. As the rum begins to leave my mouth I get a bitter herbal note that I can best describe as Dandelion Greens

The finish is at first short and presents as Sour Cherries, faint toasted Marshmallow, and the return of Plum. After sipping on the rum for a short while, a bitter Dandelion Greens note becomes ever presen to the point of being overwhelming.

The rum is significantly more complex than you would imagine from taking a whiff from the bottle. In fact, from a wet-cork smell I could only detect faint dried Apricot and alcohol. But upon pouring 2oz in the Glencairn a bunch of other notes blossomed. Initially, it presents decently with dried Apricots, Plum, Green Apple, and faint Toasted Marshmallow. Unfortunately, as I sip on it, this bitter Dandelion Green note becomes overwhelming. It is completely out of whack and does not synchronize with the other flavors at all to the point that I hoped water would change it. While the addition of water does mellow the impact of the dandelion green bitter note, it is still there and the water mutes the other more enjoyable (to me) notes also.

Basically the addition of water makes it slightly easier/smoother to sip…but eventually I still find myself puckering from the herbal bitterness on the finish.

From a sipping perspective, frankly I am rather disappointed. What starts out as interesting becomes drowned in a rather odd herbal bitterness. In my humble opinion, this is not really enjoyable to sip straight unless you really like bitter herbal notes (maybe herbal Gin enthusiasts might like this).

But sipping is not really what this rum was made for. It was made for mixology and specifically for daiquiris. So how does it perform in that respect? In short, excellent. I subsequently made a traditional daiquiri from this rum and it is quite excellent. It is complex enough for some of the intriguing notes to shine through while the added lime does a good job at neutralizing the awkward bitter note. The result is a rather delightful concoction.

While this rum is quite good in a daiquiri, I am disappointingly perplexed at how incompatible it is to sip on straight or even over ice. If I am being honest, I expected a bit better from Ed Hamilton on a mix like this. If Havana Club, Panama Pacific, and Selvarey can make dual purpose mixing and sipping white rums, Ed Hamilton should be able to as well. And while it works well in a mixing bar, that’s kind of it - though it’s not so bad that you have to “hide” it in cocktails. It adds great character to cocktails but I can’t recommend it to sip on straight or over ice.

This will find use in my home bar for Daiquiris, once I go through my Banks 5 Island and Denizen 3 Year bottles. This is good for mixing, but frankly Ed Hamilton is well capable of better in my humble opinion.

Short Description: An odd mismatch combination of stone fruits, green apple, and bitter dandelion greens. Great to mix with but not otherwise enjoyable

ABV: 43.5%

Countries of Origin: Trinidad, Guyana, Dominican Republic

Nose: Dried Apricots, Toasted Marshmallow, Lime, Unripe Green Apple, faint Peaches and Cream

Palate: Green Apple, Plum Wine, Dandelion Greens

Finish (short): Sour White Cherries, Toasted Marshmallow, Plum, Bitter Dandelion Greens