Dave2522

I'm a crusty old fart, a retired public relations professional with too much time and too little money.  For 20 years I avoided brown liquors and stuck with beer, but for the past year I've been sampling some of the better rums and whiskeys (I know "better" is a subjective term).  I first explored several Plantations, then Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva andEl Dorado 12--I didn't find them to be the syrupy sugar bombs that many do, but I wanted to get away from sweeter rums and moved on further--my palate has matured a bit and at the moment my go-to bottle is Doorly's XO...I haven't gone wrong with any Foursquare products and I'm a repeat buyer of several.  I'm on a budget--$60 is the most I've paid, and $30-$40 is even kinder.  I'm surprised by the vast differences in rums--with bourbons and Scotch it's more a matter of nuance and tasting experience, but with rum I taste the differences immediately and it's both an easier and harder spirit to understand, somehow...some concoctions that qualify as "rum" are hard for me to accept.  In any case I'm having fun with it and I'm reviewing everything I've tried (for whatever a newbie's opinion is worth).  This website has proven to be a valuable resource, along with thefatrumpirate...it's saving me time and money to read the opinions of others.  I've asked several questions in Discussion and quickly received great suggestions and recommendations...we seem to be an affable and helpful group of people.