Best dark rum for mixing

[Tiare]

In your opinion...which is the most flavorful, strong, punchy, yummy dark rum for mixing?

[Dood]

In your opinion...which is the most flavorful, strong, punchy, yummy dark rum for mixing?

Depends on what you're making.

And what day it is. :)

These days if I want a darker, heavier rum for a cocktail, I'll turn to Zaya. It has a bold flavor that can stand up to just about any other flavor you throw at it - although that also means that it doesn't necessarily blend so subtly into cocktails. I tend to use it with (against) other strong flavors like a good, strong ginger beer.

[JMac]

hmmmm....if it is just rum and coke...I like the following:

Newfoundland Screech
Smuggler's Cove Dark (made in my hometown of Cape Breton Island)
Gosling's Black Seal.

[Edward Hamilton]

If you're looking for a lot of flavor, the El Dorado 5 year old has a lot of flavor. The Appleton Estate VX also has a lot of flavor but is a little lighter.

From New Zealand, Roaring Forties dark rum is similar in style to the Jamaican rums.

[Dood]

My mainstay mixing rum is Appleton Estate V/X.

If I'm making a cocktail and I'm not sure what to use, I use V/X.

If I'm feeling uncreative, I use V/X.

It's a great stand-by...always what you want.

[The Scribe]

See, where Dood uses Appleton V/X, I use Gosling's Black Seal. I love Goslings, though it may have as much to do with it being the first rum I ever drank, and ate (thought the eating was much earlier), and it still being my most regularly drunk rum.
Cheers - S

[Milicent]

El Dorado 5 is my standard dark rum for mixing. The price is great and the flavor is strong and dark. I tried the unaged El Dorado dark for a bit, but I could never handle the rough edges. The five year old is definitely the best bet in my experience.

[RobertBurr]

In your opinion...which is the most flavorful, strong, punchy, yummy dark rum for mixing?

so many good answers...

Coruba is rich and satisfying; Meyer's Legend when I'm in the mood for something serious; Gosling's of course; Khukri is a favorite; Cruzan Black Seal is as rich as you can get. Bacardi Black makes a good floater.

If you're not specifically referring to a very dark, rich rum, the choices widen considerably...

[Hank Koestner]

Goslings Black Seal, Eldorado 5, Abuelo Anejo are rich,
Zaya does taste good in Ginger Beer.
Appleton V/X, Goslings Gold, Doorly's 5, Matusalem Classico on a lighter side.


I mix mostly with Ginger Beer and Ale, and Tonic. So, I can't give you
an idea if these work well in Tiki drinks.

Pyrat Pistol is good in tonic.

[RumBarPhilly]

I will stay true to my favorite dark rum... nice and cheapie, Whaler's Dark. Its so sweet and delicious. It floats amazingly. Perfect for my Mai Tais!

It went out of stock temporarily and we swapped it out with Goslings. We taste tested all our darks for which would replace Whalers, and Goslings had the closest flavor.

We have had maybe 2 Mai Tais returned since its current recipe inception. In the week we used Goslings, ive had 3 returned. My conclusion is while Goslings tastes god on its own or with various sodas, doesnt work with juices... at least my Mai Tai.

[Tiare]

So many rums to try...so many rums to buy...so many rums to test..to find out which is the best...

[Tiare]

I had a Whalers dark but its finished and gone..it was a nice rum, and especially to the nose. i don`t know where to find one again..:(

But there are many others..:)

[stockdoct]

Philly

What's your recipe for your Mai Tai?

[Paulipbartender]

oooo Mai Tai thread

[RumBarPhilly]

Philly

What's your recipe for your Mai Tai?

1 oz Wray & Nephew
1/2 oz Triple Sec (We're using Hiram Walker based on price and availability)
1 oz Orgeat Syrup
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice

Shake ingredients and strain over fresh ice.
Float 1 oz of Whaler's Dark Rum
Garnish with an orchid and (Depending on our mood) a parasol.

:)

[Tiare]

Your recipe i will try it looks tasty! here are 3 more:

Based on Vic`s:

25ml Appleton 12
25ml St James hors d`age
20ml Orange Curacao
20ml Lime juice
20ml Orgeat
10ml Rock Candy Syrup or simple syrup

Shake and strain over crushed ice in a double fashioned glass.
Decorate with a sprig of mint and a Maraschino cherry.
If you have a orchid too, please use it..

Don Beachcombers Mai Tai recipe:

2 ounces of water
1-1/2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
1 ounce of fresh grapefruit juice
1 ounce of sugar syrup
1 ounce of dark rum
1-1/2 ounce of golden rum
1/2 ounce of Cointreau or Triple Sec
1/2 tablespoon of Falernum syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
1 dash of Pernod

Beachcomber Mai Tai Instructions:
Shake all ingredients together with ice and strain into a tall highball glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh fruit and serve with straw.

My "other Mai Tai"

1 part Appleton 12
1 part Havana Club 7
1 floater of Lemon Hart 151 Demerara or Coruba 151
20 ml orgeat
20 ml simple syrup
Glass filled with crushed ice, sprig of mint, Maraschino cherry, piece of pineapple.
Shake and strain in a double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice and and add the float on top. Decorate with the mint, pineapple and cherry.

[RumBarPhilly]

I do like TRader Vics recipe, ours is a variation of it. The Beachcomber recipe was always too long and too intensive to make on a common basis. Plus, a lot of the ingredients are hard to attain.

Your Mai Tai sounds STRONG! I cant comprehend the flavor, as Ive never had 2 of those 3 rums.

[Tiare]

Well, i like strong Mai Tais but when i wrote 1 part of each of Appleton 12 and Havana Club 7, that "part" can be of more or less rums..the 2 rums go well together and makes a great Mai Tai. A little floater on top is something a enjoy a lot..:) but this Mai Tai is fine without that too.

[Goslings]

As you can tell by my user name, my number one pick is Goslings Black Seal. It tops my list of dark rums and I cannot be objective on this. Past this, Flor de Cana 7 yr old makes a nice drink. Many good picks I suppose but most would fall into an amber rum category for me.

[Tiare]

I agree that Black Seal is a nice and tasty rum! its almost like drinking liquid "candy" ..I will soon try to make a homemade Gingerbeer for a killer Dark N Stormy..i believe in homemade stuff!

[bluewave6]

I really like Doorly's 5yr and Cruzan Estate for mixing. The El Dorado 5yr is also good but for the price point the Doorly's and Cruzan or more reasonable. For flaoting on my Mai Tai's I like Gosling Black Seal 151, Coruba or Cruzan Black Strap

[Tiare]

Nice choice for floaters..have never tried GґBlack Seal 151 yet..

[bluewave6]

I find the 151 Black Seal is perfect when you are trying to forget a week of work :) also is my preference when making a dark and stormy...like to use Doorly's 5yr for the main mixing rum and then float the 151 BS on top...looks like a perfect stormy day.....

[rumdog007]

I am glad to see RumBarPhilly's comments about Whalers Dark. For years, I used this rum for any tiki drinks calling for a dark rum when I am serving a large group. It makes a great tasting drink. I swing in and out of different phases with my rum quaffing. There are times when I go for weeks having premium rums neat and play Lord of the Manor, sipping and sniffing in front of a fire. Sometimes, I become the master mixologist and adhere to the vintage recipes, precisely, and build the drinks with the specified middle tier rums. But most of the time, it's a group of us just having fun. Cost becomes a factor and having some good "go-tos" is important. Trader Vic's Dark, as well as their Royal Amber are solid contenders. Lahaina Dark works well, too. All of these go for $15, or less, per liter. I use Black Strap or Black Seal to vary a drink's flavor by substituting them, all or in part, for a standard dark.

[The Scribe]

Ah...Jet fuel! Gosling's 151 is my preference in dark 151's, and oh some of the nights it has led to...

[rumdog007]

Yes! Love this stuff. I even use it as the base for my homemade Pimento Dram. I just started seeing at Hitimes in Costa Mesa, CA a few montha ago. Rich taste of molasses, like the Black Seal on steroids. Also, a wicked-great floater.

[Tiare]

Rich taste of molasses, like the Black Seal on steroids. Also, a wicked-great floater.

Never tried Black Seal 151..

How does this compare to the Lemon Hart demerara 151? i mean as a floater?

The Black Seal and Lemon Hart rums doesn`t exactly taste the same.

And the Lemon Hart 151 is a demerara..

[rumdog007]

Lemon Hart 151 and Goslings 151 are two very different beasts. The LH 151 has the smokey tones, tobacco, and earthy notes. The Goslings 151 is more of a standard dark rum. If you have a drink that called for a Demerara as one of it's main components and , also, a Demerara 151 floater, one can use the Goslings to lighten it up a bit for variation. Sometimes the wood taste of the Demerara can shade the drink a little too much for some palates. I will vary some recipes for some of my friends to please them. The floater is like the culinary use of a gastrique, it can shade the drink's character without completely altering the drink. For me, it's all about having fun and seeing where a good recipe can be taken.