Santa seeks advice from all you rum connoisseurs!

[Gene Neill]

My brother in law is a career Navy man, born in the Dominican Republic, who loves his rum. I (Santa) on the other hand, have always been a bourbon man.

I'm seeking recommendations for something pretty high end. Say, $150 - $200 range, for a 750ml bottle? Something he doesn't ordinarily treat himself to. He and my sister are both officers nearing retirement, so they have some money and some taste.

What rum would YOU ask Santa for??

 

[Kings Gambit]

I don't know about finding a really high-end ($$) rum, but if that doesn't work out you might explore the novelty angle: e.g., Bundaberg of Queensland, Australia. Chances are he has not had it b/c you do not see it in stores. Of course, I don't know what might be in the PXs where military families shop. It's a very good rum but I wouldn't say "fantastic." Limited Editions are now around $140/ bottle. Whenever a friend goes to AU I ask 'em to bring me a bottle or two of Bundy from the duty-free shop at the airport, but I have not had that one (Limited Edition). Another novelty might be SCREECH--a Jamaican rum crafted in Newfoundland and now a native product. They sell it in the bars there, but I haven't drank any since I was last in St. John's 13 yr ago. Good one for a seafarer although not expensive! But me, personally, I like Pussers the best. Now that's the rum for a Navy guy IMHO--but it seems unlikely that he would not have tested it somewhere along the way already.

https://www.bundabergrum.com.au/distillery
http://screechrum.com/

 

[Tony_Furst]

Gene,
I'm a bourbon guy as well and have found that there aren't many rums in that price range however one that I have found that fits your bill is Bundaberg MDC Black Barrel. It can be a bit difficult to find but it is definitely worth the effort. Hope you find something that fits the bill. Also please extend my thanks to your sister and brother-in-law for their service.

 

[shemandr]

As you probably know rum has taken a turn towards the hand crafted artisanal variety, as has bourbon and scotch. I don't usually get to enjoy that end of the spectrum except for gifts and tastings. Someone did give me a bottle of Sag Harbor rum. It wasn't like the garden variety "Premium" brands. Way better and deserves a place next to $50 bourbons or single malts. A true sipping spirit. But that's a long way from $150 a bottle, which has never crossed by lips.

 

[Donnybrook]

I usually drink Mount Gay, but if I want something special, then it is Zaya.

 

[RLP]

Rum rating site.
https://www.rumratings.com/brands/1759-bundaberg-watermark

 

[MitchM]

anything dark, to make a dark and stormy, (which it is right now on lake erie. )

 

[BlowMeAway]

But me, personally, I like Pussers the best.

Totally agree with KG's assessment, however if you want to pursue novelty which approaches lewd, misbehaving, or brother-in-law raunchy then I would suggest any of a number of Rum variety produced by the Callwood Distillery on Cane Garden Bay. These are the flavors selected by my crew after a lengthy tasting at their facility.

http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/tortola/callwood-rum-distillery.php

These were actually excellent rum selections. Not so sure the advertised side effects occurred.

 

[shemandr]

Further investigation is indicated. I'll get back to you. Not likely before Christmas.

 

[jssailem]

DO not think this is in the rare air of the 3 digit bill, but I find this to be a great rum to sip, Martinique Clément.

 

[Kermit]

If it's all about price I'll be happy to send you a bottle of Appleton's we brought back from Jamaica. I'd normally discount it for a fellow Southern sailor but if you insist I'll take your $150-200. (Let's just compromise and make it $175.) Shipping included. And I doubt he normally buys it for himself.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Trader Joes has a dark rum, for all of $9.99. Been that price for decades. Great stuff. Wish I was still in the States for just that!

 

[BayMan]

Diplomatico Reserva. Rated one of ten best rums and under $50 for a bottle. Hard to find but made this scotch drinker a rum drinker.

 

[justsomeguy]

Diplomatico Reserva.

Thought for sure you were gonna say "bay rum".

 

[shemandr]

Hard to find but made this scotch drinker a rum drinker.

A good endorsement.

 

[Gunni]

Short answer first; best rum you can buy in America right now - Ron Zacapa, a Guatemalan aged rum. You will pay north of $50 USD for a 750ml bottle. This is not your 'mix with coca-cola, ginger beer rum, this is straight or on two ice cubes rum. Second runner up if you can find it: Westerhall Estate aged rum, Grenada, W.I.

Long answer; you will struggle to buy a great rum in America because most Americans have no taste for great rum and are completely happy with crappy rum. See Captain Morgan and most everything Bacardi sells). Sadly, this was not always the case and colonial Americans once savored the finest Caribbean rums. The great rums are still made but not traded by the spirit distributors who own the U.S. market. So you could take your money, hop a flight to one of the out islands and buy a great aged cane rum from a small distiller for $10 /bottle and bring it home at an all-up cost of $700! Short of that here are the guidelines: fresh cane juice rum only, aged 5-7 (or more) years in oak. Molasses derived rums (ex: Myers rum) are to great rum what "concentrated" orange juice is to fresh squeezed orange juice. Fresh and pure remain the hallmarks of everything great! Happy shopping, sailor!

 

[centerline]

you can pay a lot for some of the bottles on the very top shelf in the liquor store, but real "top shelf" liquor is NOT that expensive... and I can tell you with first hand knowledge that the "special" top dollar stuff is very seldom any better than the popular brand.... it just tastes different, and its not always what some of us know as a good taste.
a marketing scheme for a bad batch of liquor, wine or beer, is to place the "off" tasting stuff in a "limited edition" bottle, mark it as "special" and put a very high price on it and let the public dispose of it in the same manner they do the common stuff... a bad batch can be caused by the fermenting/distilling process, or more commonly, the blending process. then when it doesn't measure up in the taste test and it cant be sold as one of the well known "flavors" by the manufacture, it gets put into those special bottles.
why do you suppose some of the alcohols one can buy costs so unreasonably much when it doesnt cost any more to make an excellent product than it does to make a good product?.... the taste of anything is always a matter of personal preference, but when a batch goes bad, this is the surest and best way of getting rid of it without taking a loss by dumping it...

when one pays over about $60 for a bottle of liquor, they are beginning to buy status rather than just a good quality drink, and when one pays over about $100 a bottle, it starts becoming a bottle that looks much better than the contents will taste, and so should just set on the shelf to look at.

 

[Kermit]

You just made my point. Thus the offer to sell him my Appleton's. Shipping included.

 

[All U Get]

Can't beat Sailor Jerry's label.

All U Get

 

[Rick Webb]

when it doesn't measure up in the taste test and it cant be sold as one of the well known "flavors" by the manufacture, it gets put into those special bottles.

I guess that is what was in those funny Jim Beam bottles my dad used to buy for my mother or so he said. We always thought my uncle was cool when he gave us those bags from Crown Royal to keep our marbles in. Mostly marketing? I taste a difference between the brands but don't really have a preference. I do sometimes notice a difference in the morning after drinking the cheap stuff.