English Harbour Rum hails from Antigua. It is distilled in copper stills and then aged in small oak barrels – in this rum’s case, for five years, though English Harbour also makes a three-year rum and an Extra Old. English Harbour 5-Year Rum has a light, golden brown appearance and aromas of burnt sugar hiding behind lots of alcohol. Let it sit, and the alcohol subsides a bit, uncovering notes of molasses and vanilla. Take a sip and taste sweet molasses, more vanilla and fruit – banana? – plus some faint chocolate notes. It’s got some heat to it, and after...

Brugal Rum was founded by Don Andres Brugal in the Dominican Republic in 1888. The Brugal Añejo Rum is a blend of rums aged between two and five years in American white oak casks. The deep amber-colored spirit is very woody on the nose, with touches of vanilla and chocolate hiding behind the oak. There’s some alcoholic heat that quickly fades. Take a sip and taste earthy flavors of wood and leather, plus some caramel, brown sugar and dried fruit. It has a very full, grippy mouthfeel full of wood tannins. It finishes moderately long with notes of oak, spice and some...

Ron Jeremy (yes – that Ron Jeremy, the porn star) has introduced a self-titled rum. Ron de Jeremy Rum is distilled in Panama and aged seven years. It’s billed as an “adult rum” with a “long, smooth taste.” Innuendos aside, let’s take it for a spin. The rum circumnavigates total gimmick status by enlisting master distiller Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez to create the spirit. He’s a respected veteran behind such rums as Havana Club and Zafra. The Ron de Jeremy bottle sports a picture of the man himself. Empty the contents into a glass and find an amber-to-copper spirit with aromas of...

The Dark and Stormy cocktail is an easy-to-make, refreshing drink that combines dark rum with ginger beer and lime juice. The preferred rum in a Dark and Stormy, mostly due to heavy marketing, is Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. It makes a fine drink indeed, but play around with other dark rums to see what you prefer. When making a Dark and Stormy, the most important thing is to use actual ginger beer. Ginger ale just won’t do, as it’s not nearly spicy enough to stand up against the rum. Depending on your rum of choice, play with the ratios to...

The Daiquiri is a cocktail I often come back to when I find myself in a cocktail rut. It’s simple, well-balanced and a great representative of how different rums can create many different variations of the same drink. Many drinkers think of Daiquiris as frozen, strawberry cocktails served in giant goblets, but the traditional Daiquiri is a simple combination of white rum, lime and sugar. That makes for a tasty drink indeed, but experimenting with the rum can yield some incredible results. Lately I’ve been enjoying a lot of anejo Daiquiris, which are just Daiquiris made with aged rum. Don Q Anejo...

The Botran family has been making rum in Guatemala for six decades. Their rum lineup includes the notable Botran Solera 1893 and Botran Reserva, which won a gold medal at the Ministry of Rum’s 2010 tasting competition. Botran Solera 1893 Botran Solera 1893 is an amber colored rum aged in American oak barrels that previously stored whiskey, sherry and port. The rum has a pleasant aroma with plenty of oak, plus some sweet caramel, toasted vanilla and fruit. On the palate the rum is rich and lush, with flavors of maple, honey and caramel, plus a slight background of orange and a...

Mount Gay has been distilling rum in Barbados for about three centuries, making it one of the oldest distilleries in the world. The Mount Gay lineup ranges from a standard silver and amber rum to the 1703 Old Cask Selection. Somewhere in the middle lies Mount Gay Extra Old. Mount Gay Extra Old (XO) is a blend of rums aged up to 15 years in Kentucky oak. It has a deep amber color and an aroma of vanilla, banana and toasted bread, plus some fruity spice. Tasting the rum brought flavors of sweet vanilla, peppery spice and lots of oak.  The...

Distileria Serralles, the Puerto Rican company that distills and distributes Don Q Rum, has introduced a new spiced rum to the market. Blackbeard Spiced Rum landed on U.S. shores in August, and like nearly all spiced rums, it maintains a pirate theme from name to label. The golden amber spirit exhibits aromas of oaky vanilla and caramel.  Take a sip and taste plenty more vanilla and caramel, plus a gentle blend of spices, including nutmeg and cinnamon, and some citrus fruit. On the way down, there’s a slight peppery burn; it finishes long and very warm. At 86 proof, there’s plenty of...

I’m a big fan of simple cocktails, in part because they’re easy to make with what’s on hand, but also because they prove that good drinking doesn’t require a handful of fancy syrups, liqueurs and garnishes.  My appreciation for the basic combination of spirit, fortified wine and bitters—seen in classic drinks like the Martini and Manhattan—led me to the Palmetto, a cocktail combining rum and vermouth. Most Palmetto recipes call for equal parts white rum and dry vermouth, plus a couple dashes of aromatic bitters.  So I whipped one up and… didn’t like it.  I crafted the drink two more times...

Dos Maderas PX Rum is produced by Spanish company Williams and Hubert, and rather than using Spanish-style rums, it’s a blend of rums sourced from Barbados and Guyana. Dos Maderas PX Rum is the product of a unique triple aging process. The rum sits in oak for five years in the Caribbean before being shipped to Spain, where it sits for a combined five more years in 20-year-old Dos Cortados and Don Guido sherry casks. Dos Maderas PX Rum is a deep mahogany color with highlights of amber and copper in the glass.  The nose starts with plenty of vanilla and...