Tag Archives: dark rum

Review: And a Bottle of Rum

Posted on by
Reply

Rating: ★★★☆☆
And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails
by Wayne Curtis

By the author’s own claim, “And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails” is not an effort to claim that the history of America was defined by rum, so much as it’s an effort to share just what that history was, and to do so through the prism of rum as it reflected the times. From the early days of grog and flip, to the more recent history of Mai Tais and Mojitos, rum has always been a product of the current culture, and methods of its consumption changed accordingly. Continue reading →

Review: Pusser’s Blue Label

Posted on by
5

Rating: ★★★★☆
Pusser’s Blue Label Rum
www.pussers.com

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

After a long day of harassing portuguese lepers, you’re likely to want a healthy reminder that you’re still alive – and nothing does so quite like Pussers. Tasting of pepper and spice, each sip is rich and brutal. It burns the tongue in the very best way possible, and each swallow feels like ingesting raw warmth.

Perhaps no other rum in existence is more closely connected with its British Navy roots. Not only does Pusser’s boast sole ownership of the actual formula used by the limey fleet (before the shortsighted navy opted to forgo grog rations in favor of sobriety, that is,) but they also donate a portion of all proceeds to programs that benefit Brit swabs to this very day. This is all admirable, but not nearly so noteworthy as the simple fact that this is an affordable rum that kicks you in the jaw with the same gusto as other rums four times the price.

Review: Pusser’s Battle of Trafalgar Commemorative 15

Posted on by
Reply

Rating: ★★★★½
Pusser’s Battle of Trafalgar Commemorative 15 Year Aged Rum
www.pussers.com

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

Each sip a battle, each taste a conquest.

Pusser’s Battle of Trafalgar rum is a rare treat. Getting a bottle now would surely be costly, as I believe it was a limited rum. But if you somehow manage to score one it would be well worth the effort. Not only is the bottle sublime (a porcelain decantar featuring paintings of Nelson’s career, and even a rope around the base spun by the exact machines that made the ropes for Nelson’s own ship), but the rum inside is remarkable. To the nose it is deep, peppery, and cool. To the palate it is similar, but with an extra emphasis on the peppery. Continue reading →

Review: Ron Pampero Anniversario

Posted on by
2

Rating: ★★★★☆
Ron Pampero Anniversario

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

Anniversario is everything a rum should be. In the bottle it’s dark and inviting. To the nose it’s warm, smooth, and gently spicy. And to the tongue it’s deep and tingly. This rum isn’t so much distinctive as it is classic. From its presentation in a uniquely squat, individually numbered bottle wrapped in a leather bag, through its first, second, and umpteenth sip – this is a rum to be enjoyed time and again.

Review: Rum

Posted on by
Reply

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776
by Ian Williams

“The fulcrum of most European imperial ventures during the formative years of the thirteen colonies was not the North American mainland but the Caribbean. From the Spanish Main that hems it to its polyglot islands, the one universal uniting factor for the Caribbean is rum – lots of it, as a living liquid memorial to the time when the lands bedecked around that perfect blue sea were not the tourist playground of North America and Europe but the cockpit of all their rivalries.”

Perhaps no single paragraph throughout Ian Williams’ Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776 more concisely summarizes this work’s content and tone than this, the opening segment of its tenth chapter. It introduces the idea that pre-revolutionary American history wasn’t centralized in Boston or Philadelphia, but actually the Caribbean – and that the one material that truly greased the wheels of rebellion wasn’t tea, but rum. Rum: A Social and Sociable History focuses largely on rum’s role in the colonies, and how its trade, regulation, and consumption ushered the founding fathers towards revolution. Continue reading →

Review: Myers’s Legend

Posted on by
3

Rating: ★★★★☆
Myers’s Legend Rum

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

Myer’s Original Rum is a grocery store staple – I can’t imagine it not being available most anywhere. Myer’s Legend, on the other hand, is a rare prize. Compared to its more common cousin, Myer’s Legend is less bitter and less coppery. It’s warmer, smoother, and in a nicer bottle.

That last comment about the bottle isn’t meant to be snide. Drinking rum is about the entire experience – and that experience begins with the bottle. Short and wide like its seagoing ancestors, the Myer’s Legend bottle is wrapped in cord which contrasts beautifully with the dark brown glass. The rum that pours forth has a gravity, but not too much so. It smells faintly of molasses, but mostly this is rum – plain and true. Continue reading →

Review: Myers’s Original Dark

Posted on by
3

Rating: ★★½☆☆
Myers’s Original Dark Rum

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

There’s nothing subtle about Myer’s Dark Jamaican Rum – the name says it all. A quick whiff of the bottle will tell you that it’s heavy, cool, and smells of copper and oak. This is rum, and it tastes like it. The grocery store is full of rums I’d never drink straight, not even in cases of direst adversity. But then, most grocery store rums are white. Or spiced. Or flavored. Myer’s, however, is rum. Uncomplicated and unapologetic.

Fine for mixing, superb for cooking, and, in a pinch, decent in the mug.

Review: Gosling’s Black Seal

Posted on by
10

Rating: ★★★★☆
Gosling’s Black Seal
www.goslings.com

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

I’ve been avoiding this rum for years. You see, my first experience drinking rum “neat” was with a bottle of Black Seal, and to be honest, I don’t think I was ready for it. It struck me as rather foul, and I moved on to other, more lightweight and approachable rums. Continue reading →

Review: Cruzan Black Strap

Posted on by
4

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Cruzan Black Strap Rum
www.cruzanrum.com

I’ve been told Cruzan Blackstrap is one of the rums that most closely resembles that of the British Royale Navy, which may explain why so many of them defected and went pirate. They should have called this “Mike’s Spiked Molasses”, as I can sum it up in just a few lines:

Smells like molasses.

Tastes like molasses.

Leaves a distinctive, molasses-like aftertaste.

But all is not lost – it might be tough to drink without a grimace, but I can’t think of a better way to start your morning than pouring a few ounces of this 80 proof stuff on your pancakes. Yarrr!!! Continue reading →

Review: Blackbeard’s Reserve

Posted on by
Reply

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Blackbeard’s Reserve

Click to buy!
from Internet Wines and Spirits

The best of rums, the worst of rums. Ah, Blackbeard, how you’ve teased me. My brother brought up a bottle of Blackbeard’s Reserve 25 Year Aged Rum once when he came for a visit. Glorious bottle with a gloriously dark rum inside. And the taste? I don’t know that words can describe it. Let’s just say, some people look for smoothness in their drinks, others look for sugary flavors – me, I want to feel like I’ve been smacked in the teeth with a strap of leather wrapped around a gold-plated peg leg – and Blackbeard delivered like none other. I was in love. Continue reading →