Denizen Merchants Reserve 8-Year

Mr Cate did a good job with this one.
Makes a great mai tai (and any number of other classics) and is easier (for me) to track down a bottle of than some it’s would-be competitors.

Works great as a single rum Mai Tai, looking forward to trying it in other cocktails & on its own in a rum old fashioned.

Just got a bottle, it makes a super Mai Tai. I liked it as a sipper as well. love the funk, it is super!!

Quintessential mai tai blend from the 3rd adjusted formula.

I believe Martin Cate after reading everything he knows about the Mai Tai rum, and keep this rum tucked away with my curacao and orgeat to pull out and make a mai tai with! It's beautiful, tastes lovely and a good price point! Wish more stores carried this!

This rum was literally made for a mai tai. Also good in other cocktails but wouldnt drink it neat.

Aged funky Jamaican rums are my favorite type of rum and this bottle certainly delivers that. Bottled at 43%, it is similar to Smith & Cross and Plantation Xaymaca, and arguably better than the latter. Costs Slightly more than I’d like to pay for a rum so similar to S&C but it’s rare enough around me that I felt that I had to snag a bottle while I had the chance. If you’re a hogoholic like me, try this rum at least once.

Got this as my catch-all Mai Tai rum and have been very pleased, as have all of my friends who have tried it. A few of us know what a real Mai Tai is and with the proper technique and proportions (homemade orgeat helps too) I have developed what we consider the best Mai Tai we've had with it. There is some real funk and depth to this rum that comes through just the right amount in a Mai Tai without challenging the pleasant nuttiness and dry orange flavor.

Like a lot of rum drinkers, I got my start in Mai Tais and have been chasing the perfect wave ever since. Denizen was blended specifically with the Mai Tai in mind, and it works. Other comments cover that topic plenty well... Following Cate's own advice to follow styles rather than particular rums, I have to say other lightly aged pot still rums also stand up well- my previous go-to is Appleton, but I've also done Barbancourt 8 with good results. Denizen offers a solid alternative at an ok price point. Revising my review because I just tried it straight for the first time. It's... ok. Not as good as the old Appleton V/X, maybe better than the newer Appleton Signature. Probably best left to mixing. 6.5 if I could.

Bought this because I heard it was created by Martin Cate to resemble the blend Trader Vic used upon running out of Wray and Nephew 17 and 15 for his Mai Tai’s. The Jamaican funk mixed with Martinique molasses ( not agricole) was something that I never tried. It is similar to Plantation OD but a bit more molasses with the banana funk. I am super impressed by this, definitely works as a funky Jamaican for an authentic Mai Tai, or any other tiki cocktail calling for dark Jamaican rum. I have tried the fabled Wray and Nephew Dagger rum and Appleton Rum Punch rums at the Mai Kai and Hukilau. Denizen is closer to the Appleton Punch but with a Smith and Cross hint of funk.