Let's talk rum, which are your favourites?

Has anyone tried the 'Discarded Banana Peel' rum that seems to be new on the market? I'm intrigued, but just wondering how good the base rum is and how strong the banana flavour is.
 
I went to The Whisky Exchange shop in Covent Garden and they let me and my friend taste quite a few bottles before buying. Or you can buy rum samples from them (and probably from Master of Malt, too).
 
Just wondered if anyone knows if there is a grey-market in the UK for bottles of rum / whisk(e)y imported to the UK from the USA? Has anyone ever seen a 750ml bottle of spirits for sale in the UK? Wondering about logistics as some spirits are very scarce and expensive in the UK / Europe but readily available in the States...
 
Graeme, you could try here, although if they are readily available in the US I’d be surprised if anybody will pay lots for it in the UK (although I could be wrong). It’s not a grey market though, it’s legitimate:

Whisky Auctioneer | Online Scotch & Rare Whisky Auction

Online scotch whisky auction providing a personal service to buy and sell whisky at auction to a global audience. Free expert valuations and collections.
whiskyauctioneer.com whiskyauctioneer.com
 
Rum Auctioneer (run by the same company) indeed often have US rum’s available for purchase from UK based sellers, although interestingly it is mostly for rarer bottlings that are already available in the UK in limited numbers (Foursquare, Hampden, some Caroni) and not yet an easy source of buying well regarded US IB releases such as Holmes Cay. Privateer is probably the only exception but that is increasingly available in the UK. Also in my experience there is near enough no price difference between 75cl and 70cl examples, so you can pick up a few more ml for the same price if you bid accordingly
 
Took part in a very interesting online tasting on Thurs. There was a lemon grass white rum from Thailand to kick off, which was pretty awful, followed by

2006 Transcontinental Rum Line(TCRL) Trinidad 12 Year Old, 56.5%, 4 Casks
2003 TCRL Guyana 16 Year Old Cask Strength 60,4%
2001 Bielle Guadeloupe 14 year old. 45%, 659 Bottles 5*
2004 EMB & Vellier Jamaican 14 Year Old, Cask Strength 69.7%, Continental Aging
2004 EMB & Vellier Jamaican 14 Year Old, Cask Strength 64.8%, Tropical Aging

Great, great tasting. The highlight was the 01 Bielle (5*). Its a shame that there was none of it around to buy, as it was one of the most complex drinks I have come across. The nose changes with every sniff, the palate was salty and dry, with Islay like peat and cigarette ash, orange, coffee. Wow. It was difficult and challenging to drink. In some sense it was a bit like an extreme Sherry or Vin Jaune, in that 1 glass was enough. Still kept going back to it and even when mixed with coke, it had an incredible finish.

The 2 EMB rums showed well the effects of the location on aging. The Continental Aged (2.5*) was white and had a lot in common with Polish White Spirit, while the Tropical Aged (4*)was much darker, had some of the peat and smoke that the Bielle showed and, once diluted with Coke, ended up being a rather nice drink. The Angels Share was obviously a lot higher in the Tropical as there were only 14 Barrels worth as opposed to 16 for the Continental. Still preferred my control sample of 8 year old Hampden(4*), but it was a close thing.

The TCRL Guyana 16 year old (3*) was very whisky like in colour and taste. This time from the Highlands. No sweetness and quite a light colour. Again, it needed to be diluted, and I really did wonder if this is what whiskey and coke tastes like.

The 06 Trinadad (3*) was the most "normal" of the 5, with a sweetness and colour I would expect of a dark rum. Coffee and orange on the nose, with a lot of tangerine in the mouth, as well as some caramel. The one you would drink in a bar.
 
Andrew Jordan said:
Thumbs up for Foursquare, I currently have 2007, 2008, Nobiliary, Detente and Hereditas on the go. I prefer the higher proof of these compared to some of the other Foursquare products.

Doorlys XO, 12 and 14 are also good value Foursquare products and more widely available.

I have enjoyed some the That Boutique-y Rum single cask releases from Diamond Distillery in Guyana.
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Delighted to see that Doorly's is now back on the shelves after a painful nationwide drought lasting many months. I usually buy the 12 as I find the XO a bit hardcore. Must check out the 14 at some point.
 
As a scotch drinker I did not think that I liked rum, having only had the sweet, commercial ones. Lately I have come across some of the drier styles and have become rather enamoured of them. The first one that turned my head was a Rum Nation 10 year old Barbados that was distilled in 2001. That one got me to explore others and soon I was trying a Jamaican rum from Worthy Park, an over-proof rum at 63% alcohol. It was so individual, unique, and characterful that I was hooked. Currently I am drinking a Rum Nation 'Ilha de Madeira' (50%) and the Wray & Nephew Over-proof (63%).
 
Mahmoud Ali said:
As a scotch drinker I did not think that I liked rum, having only had the sweet, commercial ones. Lately I have come across some of the drier styles and have become rather enamoured of them. The first one that turned my head was a Rum Nation 10 year old Barbados that was distilled in 2001. That one got me to explore others and soon I was trying a Jamaican rum from Worthy Park, an over-proof rum at 63% alcohol. It was so individual, unique, and characterful that I was hooked. Currently I am drinking a Rum Nation 'Ilha de Madeira' (50%) and the Wray & Nephew Over-proof (63%).
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Great to hear and based on your preferences you would almost certainly enjoy any Hampden examples or indeed Foursquare / Doorly’s releases. Rum Fire is an even more funky Wray & Nephew’s and well worth trying and I personally also enjoy Madieran rum, in particular William Hinton single casks. While the value is not quite what it once was it’s a great respite from Scotch!
 
TWE quite often ballot in demand releases like the Foursquare ECS now. They did that with the Foursquare Shibboleth 16yo.

I managed to get a 2009 from N&P as I missed out at MoM. You seem to get a 15 minute window from a retailer when it goes online until it is sold out.
 
Does anyone have an insight into how TWE sold / are selling their allocation of Foursquare 2009? Maybe past customers were directly emailed and either invited into the ballot or given their allocations? Nothing seems to be on their website except for the spiced rum!
 
I think the Foursquare Shibboleth ballot just appeared on the website, other ballots like the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection one was via e-mail as it was only available to Bourbon purchasing customers.

I would expect the 2009 ballot to just appear on the website.

Funnily enough TWE sent an e-mail last year when they got the 2008 in stock and said that it was a good idea to compare it to the 2007 that they also still had in stock at the time. What a difference a year makes.

The Government didn't need to say there was plenty of Foursquare around and nobody needed to panic buy.
 
2009 was ballot only to previous rum purchasers. I wasn't successful. I enjoy foursquare very much but I've got several open bottles of it so I'm not going to go mad chasing them down. I guess it was only a matter of time before other people caught on how good quality and value rum was, time to stock up on your favourites before they go the same way
 
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Any thoughts on Eminente? This is a Cuban rum, I had the 7yo in a Mojito, and the bar tender was raving about the rum. I looked it up via their website and looks intriguing... I can't vouch for the rum yet until I've had it straight.
 
Henry Davies said:
Great to hear and based on your preferences you would almost certainly enjoy any Hampden examples or indeed Foursquare / Doorly’s releases. Rum Fire is an even more funky Wray & Nephew’s and well worth trying and I personally also enjoy Madieran rum, in particular William Hinton single casks. While the value is not quite what it once was it’s a great respite from Scotch!
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A local store that specializes in rum received 4 cases of Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum (57%) and I've secured two bottles. According to the retailer it was distilled at Hampden. I've yet to pick it up but am looking forward to opening a bottle.
 
Mahmoud Ali said:
A local store that specializes in rum received 4 cases of Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum (57%) and I've secured two bottles. According to the retailer it was distilled at Hampden. I've yet to pick it up but am looking forward to opening a bottle.
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Great example of real Jamaican full-proof kick you in the mouth 'funk' so I am sure you will enjoy - it is a Hampden as you say. It has a great following over in the US (and has done for a while now) so good to see it increasingly available in the UK.

Regarding Eminete I have yet to try so similar to Graeme will withhold judgement until tasted, however given the LVMH ownership and no clarity on dosage fear it may be an effort to capitalise on the premium rum trend. Will certainly be interesting to compare with HC Selección de Maestros which I rate very highly (above the 15 year old).
 
Henry Davies said:
Great example of real Jamaican full-proof kick you in the mouth 'funk' so I am sure you will enjoy - it is a Hampden as you say. It has a great following over in the US (and has done for a while now) so good to see it increasingly available in the UK.

Regarding Eminete I have yet to try so similar to Graeme will withhold judgement until tasted, however given the LVMH ownership and no clarity on dosage fear it may be an effort to capitalise on the premium rum trend. Will certainly be interesting to compare with HC Selección de Maestros which I rate very highly (above the 15 year old).
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Just in case you didn't notice I'm in Canada not the UK. As for the Eminete that is something I haven't as yet seen in my neck of the woods
 
Henry Davies said:
Great example of real Jamaican full-proof kick you in the mouth 'funk' so I am sure you will enjoy - it is a Hampden as you say.
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Henry, you were right, I thoroughly enjoyed the Smith & Cross. It was so uniquely characterful, and so full of funk, that I went back for more. It was around Black Friday and they had a 15% promotion. There were only 8 left so I bought a half dozen. I am already regretting not having bought them all.

Next up I might try the Rum Nation's Jamaican Pot Still Overproof Rum. Any idea whether this might have come from, or is it a blend?

Cheers ................................. Mahmoud.
 
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