Sailor Jerry Navy Spiced Rum...

[starsglowin]

has anyone had this? is it any good, or just some marketing ploy?

a friend of mine said it was decent, but i take that w/ a grain of salt, since he doesnt really like rum to begin w/.

[junkhauler]

The bottle artwork is great, the rum is not. Finishes pretty harsh. I did not take written notes when tasting this one, but i seem to recall a cherry medicine flavor that was a bit offputting. I will have to try it again, with my notebook in hand.
In general I am not a spiced rum fan, but i would take Captain Morgan's Private Stock over the Jerry.

[Edward Hamilton]

I like Sailor Jerry Spiced Navy Rum, despite it's name. The Navy never made a spiced rum. The base spirit is distilled in St Croix by the people who make Cruzan, a pretty decent light rum.

Sailor Jerry is bottled at 92 proof compared to the meager 70 proof of the best-selling spiced rum. I would suggest tasting two rums side by side with your notebook handy. It is also important to realize that distillers change the flavor of their rums from time to time in order to meet their perception of market demand. Have you tasted your rum straight lately?

[Scottes]

I was surprised by Sailor Jerry, expecting it to be as bad as Captain Morgan. It wasn't great, but it was far from bad.

Has anyone tried a *good* commercial spiced rum that might be available in the states? I keep seeing Foursquare mentioned, but haven't run into it in my travels.

[Scottes]

I managed to find a bottle of Foursquare Spiced Rum and cracked it with a few rum drinkers in work. Everyone liked it quite a bit, even the fanatical Captain Morgan drinker.

This is a good rum. The spice is very light, much much lighter than Captain Morgan, and extremely natural. The rum itself was quite tasty, and smooth, and the spices are not heavy enough to detract from the taste of it. The spices do leave a light tingle in the mouth after the finish.

All in all, I could easily recommend this rum - and that's not something I could say about Captain Morgan or Sailor Jerry. Tasty, relatively smooth, and light in the natural tastes of the spices. Give it a try.

[Edward Hamilton]

Foursquare Spiced Rum doesn't contain added sugar which is a common ingredient in spiced rums. In the islands this is a called a dry spice rum.

[Aaron Wolin]

I was surprised by Sailor Jerry, expecting it to be as bad as Captain Morgan. It wasn't great, but it was far from bad.

Completely agree with Scottes here. It's not a fantastic rum but it's damn good when you compare it to the dominant spiced rum on the market. I've found the 750ml for a dollar more than Captain Morgan's and I consider Sailor Jerry's to be much better drink.

I'm not a big fan of rum and cokes either, but the small cherry flavor in Sailor Jerry's makes for a good Cuba Libre.

[Berbician]

Foursquare is the best spiced rum that I've tasted, but there isn't much competition - it's very good for making rum punch.:)

[Scottes]

Are there any other notable spiced rums out there? I just finished reading an article at Wine Enthusiast Online - Spice It Up! by Gary Regan (http://www.winemag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=3EE03360E9FD46668A611D200F122637) - and it mentions a few that I'd never heard about. Like Bacardi Spiced, which I'd never heard about or noticed in a store. I've seen VooDoo, which I had ignored, but Gary's mention of vanilla has me intrigued since I love vanilla. Papagayo Organic Spiced Rum also has vanilla along with ginger - could be interesting.

If you've tasted any of these (or other spiced rums), where would you say they land, quality-wise, between Captain Morgan and Foursquare? Foursquare's quality and taste has made me realize that is possible for a spiced rum to be good - which probably indicates that I've been around Captain Morgan too long.

[angelsword]

I have to give Sailor Jerry 3.5 stars. Natural flavors and not too sweet!

[The Rum Ambassador]

[QUOTE=Scottes;639]Are there any other notable spiced rums out there?

Here in the UK we're fortunate to be able to buy Green Islands Spice Rum http://www.bienmanger.com/2F1603_Rhum_Green_Island.html. I'm not a great spice rum fan (prefer to make my own) but all my spice rum girls and spice rum boys that drink in my bar seem to think that it's definately the best out there. It has a hint of vanilla on the taste with lots of orange and lime peel. Great with spicy Jamaican ginger beer.

[Scottes]

I'll keep my eyes open for it. Thanks!

[angelsword]

I'll keep my eyes open for it. Thanks!

Not available in the U.S.

[Scottes]

Well that just breaks my heart...

Canada?

And where does one find out what's available in the states, and where?

[angelsword]

Well that just breaks my heart...

Canada?

And where does one find out what's available in the states, and where?

While I do have a wee dram of said beverage in my personal cellar from having spent time in Mauritius...

[Hank Koestner]

I enjoy a taste of the spiced from time to time myself. I have a bottle of Atocha Gold Spiced Rum from the Conch Republic Rum Company in the Florida Keys. It is a nice light spiced rum with good flavor. I believe they procure the rum from the Virgin Islands ( Cruzan?) and then blend the spice in the keys.
Also, on my list of rum that I am curious about, I have Eldorado Spiced rum from Guyana, and Kwejol Spiced rum from St Lucia. Has anyone tried these?
Cheers!!

[Edward Hamilton]

You're right that Atocha gold comes from Cruzan on St Croix, I believe that one is blended in Florida, but not the keys, though it's a good story. I have a bottle of Eldorado Spiced rum from Guyana waiting for me when I have some time to taste some new rums. Kwejol Spiced rum from St Lucia is what is called a dry spice rum, spiced without additional sugar. Bois bande is one of the ingredients in this rum, reputed to be an aphrodisiac in the islands. Without added sugar, spiced rums are much drier than their sweeter counterparts.

[Hank Koestner]

Thanks, Ed. I really like the idea of a dry spiced rum. It would be interesting to taste one not as sweet. Are there any of this type in the US?

[Berbician]

The El Dorado spiced is reasonable but not as good as the Foursquare spiced. This is probably because the El Dorado is sweetened whereas the Foursquare isn't. However, it's a long time since I've tried either of them so I'll need to do some more research to refresh my memory.

I tried the Green Island spiced (from Mauritius) on Saturday and it was absolutely amazing - I think this one IS sweetened, but the sugar seems to be balanced (I'm probably using the wrong term) by the citrus flavour. Anyway, this is the first time I've tried non-Caribbean rum and it was a lot better than I expected.

[The Rum Ambassador]

Kwejol Spiced rum from St Lucia is what is called a dry spice rum, spiced without additional sugar. Bois bande is one of the ingredients in this rum, reputed to be an aphrodisiac in the islands. Without added sugar, spiced rums are much drier than their sweeter counterparts.

Yep Ed's right. The Bois Bande is an added ingredient to the Kwejol Spiced Rum. It's more like liquid Viagra said to "keep you up all night" :) I gave a bottle to my grand dad recently when I came back form the ST. Lucian Rumfest. I Still haven't tasted it yet. What about you ED ?

[angelsword]

Yep Ed's right. The Bois Bande is an added ingredient to the Kwejol Spiced Rum. It's more like liquid Viagra said to "keep you up all night" :) I gave a bottle to my grand dad recently when I came back form the ST. Lucian Rumfest. I Still haven't tasted it yet. What about you ED ?
I need to try out the bois bande in rum! For research purposes only of course...

[Edward Hamilton]

I've got a bottle of Kwejol Spiced Rum on my boat, but didn't bring it to the states with me since I could only carry so much rum. I find it to be interesting, but not something that I want to drink every day. As for the power of bois bande, that depends on who you ask. Most of the women I've asked don't believe in it, though you'll find women selling bois bande spiced rums in most West Indian markets.

I would definitely suggest trying it for yourself.

[angelsword]

What are some of the principal ingredients of DRY spiced rums?

[Edward Hamilton]

Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are some of the most common spices used with rum.

[lofat]

I recently had a chance to get some Sailor Jerry spiced rum and was actually pretty blown away. I didn't expect a lot initially but after looking over the bottle and seeing the proof I decided to go for it.

I never cared all that much for Capt'n M - so that might account for having lower expectations but as soon as I opened up the bottle and got a nostril full I started to smile and it just got better. I am on my third bottle now and couldn't be happier with finding this economically sound rum for home sipping.

4 cubes of ice, 1.25 oz or Sailor Jerry, and fill the hi-ball glass up with some decent mineral water like San Pellegrino or Gerolsteiner Sprudel and I am set.

Cheers,
Scott

[jeretn]

Sailor Jerry is my favorite spiced Rum. Much better than Captain Morgans

[gatomalo]

I got hold of a bottle of the Foursquare last weekend and had high expectations of it based on the opinions given on these forums.

I opened it that evening and I was suprised to say that it actually exceeded my expectations. It was very smooth and had a sweet but natural finish. There were a lot of flavours going on there and it was obvious from the first sip that this was an excellent rum.

I usually only have one glass of rum at the end of an evening, but I ended up drinking four glasses of the stuff!

There may be even better spiced rums out there, but this is the best one I've had so far! It could easily work as a gateway rum to get none-rum drinkers interested in rum.

[RobertBurr]

It's the season for spiced rum. One of my all-time favorites has been Montecristo Spiced Rum, with a blend that really suggests a holiday celebration. Foursquare stands alone in its flavor profile and can be purchased here for as little as $10. The old home-made mamajuana blend of roots, barks, seed and leaves from the Dominican Republic is also available to add your own rum to create a complex blend of spiced spirit with a side effect of curing "weakness in men." A little goes a long way.