As you are much more informed to the world of rums, I am asking for your kind help.
Myself, I am new to the world of rum, but experienced in tasting whisky. I like the fruitier ones, but certainly also the heavier and peatier ones (those do not necessarily always go hand in hand).
My encounter with an old Worthy Park for SMWS was mixed, as the funk was quite heavy (maybe I should have given it more time in the glass).
What rums could you advise me if I wanted to get to know some rums that arenāt uber funky, yet with some depth and wood influences, or a bit dirty? No problem if they are bone dry by the way.
Iād say if youāre familiar with (high proof) spirits, you shouldnāt necessarily look for entry level. Thatās probably low price, low risk, but also potentially low quality territory.
Iād rather try to get samples of higher shelf stuff, as you have done with the Caroni but for a wider variety of rum styles. Iād recommend
TDL 2000ā2003 for minty/fruity
New Grove (also fruity)
Demerara/Enmore (dark and leathery, El Dorado 15 is also THE recommend entry rum)
Aged Ageicole, like an older JM (10+ years)
Iād skip Jamaica for now because you didnāt like the Worthy Park.
Yes, thatās a good idea. I must say that the WP wasnāt bad in my opinion, but I might have to wait a bit longer after pouring than I am used to with most whiskies.
Still I am open for a diversity in ordering samples. I will check out that part of the forum too.
Hey,
welcome to these forums. You will find loads of knowledge and good advice here. The travel into your own taste is your own task, though. Nobody likes what you like and even more important dislikes, what you dislike. So dont be afraid to try out stuff and go for new routes.
In the beginning i would always recommend sticking to the historical path of rum to add some knowledge to your drinking habits. So try a decently aged spanish Rum (for example Panama or Venezuela), a heavy british Rum (i dont see a problem in finding these here, e.g. Guyana Enmore 90s vintages), a lighter tropical aged Rhum Agricole from french islands (i would always recommend St. James as a ābeginnersā distillery). From there you should have a basic direction.
For the next step i would go with some all-time classics among advanced Rum-connaisseurs to see where your flavour goes. Try some decent Foursquare (Velier or Originally bottled), try some young clairin, try some middle-ester tropical aged Hampden and Long Pond, go for some cognac-cask influenced Rums or other heavily flavoured rums that have interesting cask choices. Try a Caroni, try some 94 New Yarmouth, try a El Dorado Rare Cask Guyana, go for some Neisson or other High-Class Agricole. See what you feel. Looking at the price tags of some of those remarks, go for samples, since you go broke before you reach the end of this list.
Oh and avoid high class āpremiumā-labeled bottles. Avoid sugared rum in the beginning, you can come back to those if your palate is used to unadultered Rum. Avoid cuban rum and other āprestigeā stuff, that might look interesting in pirate movies.
And if you find a good rum, buy a nice bottle. Stick a bit to it and see how the liquid evolves with the opening of the bottle. With more air the spirit changes. Read up about what you buy, the history is sometimes more interesting than the taste itself.
And dont get upset, when something isnt your taste. Jede Jeck is anders, so enjoy the variety of this spirit!
Thanks Leo for your time in answering me. Rest assured, I know from my whisky experience that not all can be to someoneās liking.
Great that you also advise to have some pretty diverse bottles. Sugared stuff will probably never be my choice.
I will try some white rums though, as there the distillate really shines through. This is hard to achieve with whisky, glad that itās possible with rum.
If you go white Rum i would highly recommend Jamaican, agricole or maybe haitian clairin for that. They have the highest standard in that category (in my opinion) and also work great in some tasteful cocktails. In France they always say, you should start at the bottom, so going from white to aged is probably a good idea
ā¦I ll add to all what was written, that you, as a whisky enthusiast might first like to look for a nice Foursquare , as @Leo mentioned.
Cheers from another whisky geek
