Hi Jaycee, You should create a new rum, but that's not needed now cause I've created it for you with an image....

Some of it of course is about how the components of the spirit react to environmental changes, especially newly introduced oxygen. Some (may) react for the better, others not so much. Also a matter of "flavor opinion" since palates are all different among individuals. Another part of it, is simply getting to used to it and warming up to the flavors. And I'll mention again the psychological aspec...

The tallest bottle I currently have in my collection is 35cm, and I believe I have seen others taller. Personally wouldn't make the shelf smaller than 38cm just to provide that inch of wiggle room. though 40 and 35 would be fine as not many bottles are that tall.  ...

dos maderas 5+5 has made it to the top of my 30+ bottles of rum collection. So far, I have not had any other rum so smooth and soft than this one. It is not as intense, body-wise, as others but rather a rum where you easily drink one glass after another without noticing it - it just drinks so easily with almost no afterburn. How do the other product from their distillery measure up? What are rums...

@Chamarelo: I just had a nice evening with the Artesano Tasting Set. It is a great start for the many different rums from Artesano. If you can't find it online you can send Sebastian Lauinger a email. He also sells 20cl bottles. I can say that the 15y Priorat Cask was very very good. Also the 8y Ruby Port is a great start into dry rums, because it has some nice fruity notes and is a easy sipper. A...

Andy & Paul, It's probably no chance to change anything around this. There's one thing that confuses me a bit and that's why the producers do like this, cause it's not they who earns the big money instead is it the guys that just buying as an investment and sells it on auctions. Happy New Year to both of you!...

The Bumbu has much more than a hint of banana, the flavor is overpowering and (to me) artificial, it's not really rum but a 70-proof liqueur...it's not inexpensive and sounded appealing in reviews, but I regret my purchase...I don't know where you go to get just a hint of hojo, Denizen's Chairman Reserve has that as does Wray & Nephew overproof but neither are pleasant sippers, to me...they mi...

Rene: That 650 mile one-way rum running trip was in March of 2021.  I had just gotten pandemic freedom via my COVID19 vaccination and I could secure a few bottles of Chairman's Reserve 1931 at three different Total Wine stores. Nothing worse than driving a long distance only to find out that they are sold out of the rum that I want.  It certainly paid to have an account and have my order waiting ...

I drink mainly dark overproofs and my go-to mixer is tonic water and a drop of lime. Or ginger ale and a wedge of lime. With Coke I tend to prefer lighter rums.  I really like dark rum mixed with pineapple juice over ice but rarely do so any longer. Back when I first got into rum, I used to mix rum into combinations of various fruit juices like cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, and pineapple but h...

Through another Rum Rater's recommendation for reading material, I'm now engrossed in Martin Cate's Smuggler's Cove tiki cult book.  SO, I had to order a bottle of Cate's collaboratively-blended Denizen Merchant Reserve 8 Yr, his re-creation of the rum originally used by Trader Vic Bergeron in creating the Mai Tai back in 1944, before the original rum became unavailable.  I haven't tasted a Mai Ta...

Just wanted to tell everyone on this great site to have a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanuakh and let's hope 2023 is better than 2022. I love the website and I really appreciate all the reviews and discussions and comments from all over the world. ...

There are so few $100+ bottle that are worthy of double+ the $$$ a bottle and so many under $50 that I found the sweet spot! Arrrgh! ☠☠☠...

Kevin, I'm sure there's lots of J. Bally's that's extremely good, but I've just tasted their 12 yo Pyramid and their Ambre and didn't like any of them. Just rated them 6 respectively 5....

I've been watching auctions for past 3 months- one thing I still haven't got my head around is that the auction is meant to finish at 7pm or 2 minutes after the last bid but I bid on a bottle and no one outbid me but it still didn't end until 10pm. The bottle I won cost £86 but with all the added costs it went up to £110 (they add VAT on 3 different things which  they don't make clear on their web...

Here is part 2 with the Lady Bligh label.   Let us know what you prefer even if you have not samples either rum.  This is NOT a serious discussion meant to disparage women or anyone else. In fact this compasrion was my wife's idea.   Again, I give the slight all around edge to Calypso. ...

Disclaimer: this is meant to be what it is, a fun look at the lables on bottom shelf spcied rum. So if you are totally in the PC or cancel culture crowd this will not be for you.  Okay, so I wanted to compare the buxom ladies on Calypso and Lady Bligh rums. Not just the lables but the rums themsleves, which as we all figured leave a lot of be desired, at least as far as taste.  I tried both side b...

a) more experience and rums for the price...

Thanks Kudzey, I just ordered the Smuggler's Cove book on Amazon.  I've invested a good deal in my rum selection over the past two months and made a couple of pricy purchases I regret so I hope to improve my knowledge through reading.  In label statements and ratings there's rarely any mention of sugar content...has somebody somewhere has put together a list of that?  Some rums I've tried are so s...

I gauge whites in the Daiquiri, and some of my favs., that are also reasonably easy to get, and not at all expensive - within your price range. El Dorado 3yr., Denizen 3yr., Hamilton White Stache, Don Q Cristal, Cruzan Aged Light, The Real McCoy 3yr., Myers's Platinum White (not quite as easy to find as the dark, but...) - these all differ enough that they provide unique, but good quality experie...

Great list, thanks!...

There are some rare bottlings i like a lot, where i have stored 2 bottles for later. But for daily sipping i also never buy the same rum again. The One Time Limited Trinidad 2009 for 50€. I have three of that one. But mainly i drink new bottles i don't know because as kudzey said,  there is so much to explore and when i found the posibility of using samples, i went for that big  (got over 100Sampl...

I picked up a bottle of Doorly's XO today and it will be my go-to rum, it's not really remarkable but it's quite tasty on rocks and should be a good mixer.  At $26 it's more than fairly priced for very good stuff.  Thanks for the heads-up, it's right in my comfort zone for great taste and great price....

Stefan I have a bottle off woods at 57% but I only have a mouthful to warm me up .when it's very cold ...

Hello Les,   I am sure they know what they can get away with in setting their prices.  Maybe their facilites in Barbados can only produce so much rum per year and they just prefer to be seen as a smaller exclusive distiller offering only top tier rums. Given the reviews of their rums they must do a good job because the ratings are really good for all their oferrings.  Long story short, they are in...

I find that many of the more "frightening" rums lose a bit of their fire if you add a few drops of water. While I do not like Doorly's very much (experience is limited to the XO, which I find boring), I like Doorly's mixed with Pusser's :)...

Hi Jaycee, You should create a new rum, but that's not needed now cause I've created it for you with an image....

Some of it of course is about how the components of the spirit react to environmental changes, especially newly introduced oxygen. Some (may) react for the better, others not so much. Also a matter of "flavor opinion" since palates are all different among individuals. Another part of it, is simply getting to used to it and warming up to the flavors. And I'll mention again the psychological aspec...

The tallest bottle I currently have in my collection is 35cm, and I believe I have seen others taller. Personally wouldn't make the shelf smaller than 38cm just to provide that inch of wiggle room. though 40 and 35 would be fine as not many bottles are that tall.  ...

dos maderas 5+5 has made it to the top of my 30+ bottles of rum collection. So far, I have not had any other rum so smooth and soft than this one. It is not as intense, body-wise, as others but rather a rum where you easily drink one glass after another without noticing it - it just drinks so easily with almost no afterburn. How do the other product from their distillery measure up? What are rums...

@Chamarelo: I just had a nice evening with the Artesano Tasting Set. It is a great start for the many different rums from Artesano. If you can't find it online you can send Sebastian Lauinger a email. He also sells 20cl bottles. I can say that the 15y Priorat Cask was very very good. Also the 8y Ruby Port is a great start into dry rums, because it has some nice fruity notes and is a easy sipper. A...

Andy & Paul, It's probably no chance to change anything around this. There's one thing that confuses me a bit and that's why the producers do like this, cause it's not they who earns the big money instead is it the guys that just buying as an investment and sells it on auctions. Happy New Year to both of you!...

The Bumbu has much more than a hint of banana, the flavor is overpowering and (to me) artificial, it's not really rum but a 70-proof liqueur...it's not inexpensive and sounded appealing in reviews, but I regret my purchase...I don't know where you go to get just a hint of hojo, Denizen's Chairman Reserve has that as does Wray & Nephew overproof but neither are pleasant sippers, to me...they mi...

Rene: That 650 mile one-way rum running trip was in March of 2021.  I had just gotten pandemic freedom via my COVID19 vaccination and I could secure a few bottles of Chairman's Reserve 1931 at three different Total Wine stores. Nothing worse than driving a long distance only to find out that they are sold out of the rum that I want.  It certainly paid to have an account and have my order waiting ...

I drink mainly dark overproofs and my go-to mixer is tonic water and a drop of lime. Or ginger ale and a wedge of lime. With Coke I tend to prefer lighter rums.  I really like dark rum mixed with pineapple juice over ice but rarely do so any longer. Back when I first got into rum, I used to mix rum into combinations of various fruit juices like cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, and pineapple but h...

Through another Rum Rater's recommendation for reading material, I'm now engrossed in Martin Cate's Smuggler's Cove tiki cult book.  SO, I had to order a bottle of Cate's collaboratively-blended Denizen Merchant Reserve 8 Yr, his re-creation of the rum originally used by Trader Vic Bergeron in creating the Mai Tai back in 1944, before the original rum became unavailable.  I haven't tasted a Mai Ta...

Just wanted to tell everyone on this great site to have a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanuakh and let's hope 2023 is better than 2022. I love the website and I really appreciate all the reviews and discussions and comments from all over the world. ...

There are so few $100+ bottle that are worthy of double+ the $$$ a bottle and so many under $50 that I found the sweet spot! Arrrgh! ☠☠☠...

Kevin, I'm sure there's lots of J. Bally's that's extremely good, but I've just tasted their 12 yo Pyramid and their Ambre and didn't like any of them. Just rated them 6 respectively 5....

I've been watching auctions for past 3 months- one thing I still haven't got my head around is that the auction is meant to finish at 7pm or 2 minutes after the last bid but I bid on a bottle and no one outbid me but it still didn't end until 10pm. The bottle I won cost £86 but with all the added costs it went up to £110 (they add VAT on 3 different things which  they don't make clear on their web...

Here is part 2 with the Lady Bligh label.   Let us know what you prefer even if you have not samples either rum.  This is NOT a serious discussion meant to disparage women or anyone else. In fact this compasrion was my wife's idea.   Again, I give the slight all around edge to Calypso. ...

Disclaimer: this is meant to be what it is, a fun look at the lables on bottom shelf spcied rum. So if you are totally in the PC or cancel culture crowd this will not be for you.  Okay, so I wanted to compare the buxom ladies on Calypso and Lady Bligh rums. Not just the lables but the rums themsleves, which as we all figured leave a lot of be desired, at least as far as taste.  I tried both side b...

a) more experience and rums for the price...

Thanks Kudzey, I just ordered the Smuggler's Cove book on Amazon.  I've invested a good deal in my rum selection over the past two months and made a couple of pricy purchases I regret so I hope to improve my knowledge through reading.  In label statements and ratings there's rarely any mention of sugar content...has somebody somewhere has put together a list of that?  Some rums I've tried are so s...

I gauge whites in the Daiquiri, and some of my favs., that are also reasonably easy to get, and not at all expensive - within your price range. El Dorado 3yr., Denizen 3yr., Hamilton White Stache, Don Q Cristal, Cruzan Aged Light, The Real McCoy 3yr., Myers's Platinum White (not quite as easy to find as the dark, but...) - these all differ enough that they provide unique, but good quality experie...

Great list, thanks!...

There are some rare bottlings i like a lot, where i have stored 2 bottles for later. But for daily sipping i also never buy the same rum again. The One Time Limited Trinidad 2009 for 50€. I have three of that one. But mainly i drink new bottles i don't know because as kudzey said,  there is so much to explore and when i found the posibility of using samples, i went for that big  (got over 100Sampl...

I picked up a bottle of Doorly's XO today and it will be my go-to rum, it's not really remarkable but it's quite tasty on rocks and should be a good mixer.  At $26 it's more than fairly priced for very good stuff.  Thanks for the heads-up, it's right in my comfort zone for great taste and great price....

Stefan I have a bottle off woods at 57% but I only have a mouthful to warm me up .when it's very cold ...

Hello Les,   I am sure they know what they can get away with in setting their prices.  Maybe their facilites in Barbados can only produce so much rum per year and they just prefer to be seen as a smaller exclusive distiller offering only top tier rums. Given the reviews of their rums they must do a good job because the ratings are really good for all their oferrings.  Long story short, they are in...

I find that many of the more "frightening" rums lose a bit of their fire if you add a few drops of water. While I do not like Doorly's very much (experience is limited to the XO, which I find boring), I like Doorly's mixed with Pusser's :)...