This was GREAT. Loved getting to hear your bio via rum. (Your rumography?) I was at Hobson's Choice, a little dive rum bar in SF, and asked the bartender to help me out. I don't remember what he poured me, probably something along the lines of a Doorly's, but that's when I started to realize the RANGE rum had. And that came in really handy when during the pandemic I got bored of whiskey ;-) I've gravitated towards tiki because I like to make a lot of my own ingredients. Big bold bottles like Smith & Cross, Hamilton 151, and Hamilton Pot Still Jamaican Black are important for me to have around. When I see you picking apart a rum like a clockmaker wearing a loupe I think I'll probably never have a palate that sensitive, but I gotta say, the bottle of le Rocher I have sitting out in my kitchen right now may be the game changer. Both my spouse and I walk around that bottle with a kind of reverence (and dread as it gets emptier and emptier). I'm still more into a ti' punch than straight, but I see where this is headed! Thanks for all the great content and for opening up some new horizons for us.
I would love to have a revelatory moment in a dive bar. It’s usually just been a bunch of regret lol A Ti punch with le Rocher is SO good! I think I might even prefer that than le Rocher neat. Great to see people are into it. Thanks so much for sharing!
"...and on my rum journey, I then faced the final boss." (chains pull back, giant rusty lock bursts off, ground shakes, caged doors swing open and from a huge cloud of smoke. Rum Fire emerges)
my rum journey progression has been relatively quick thanks to the rum community and content creators like you. i probably would have taken years and years to get into cane juice rum if not for your videos and buzz online. there are countless rums to try, and i honestly love that i will never try every last one. the journey is about the rums that find you. cheers to exploration and spreading the good word about rum, and to you for sharing this with us.
Wow, I'm happy to hear that I've been a part of your journey! And I love the idea that we'll never try every single one out there and the journey is about the rums that find you. Well put!!
This was wonderful. Love the reactions to the Past Arminder’s early rums. Also, hang on to the St. George Agricole, since it, per their website, appears they don’t make it any more.😢. And “me too” on the Sajous. That was my first agricole, and I still come back to it. Though after a trip to Grenada with a brief visit to the distillery and it’s 18th century cane mill run by a water wheel, and a surprise ‘tit Punch made Jeremy at Root and Flower in Vail made for me, my cane juice go to (only at home, when I won’t be behind the wheel for 12 hours) is Rivers. Now there is a “story” and a distinct sense of terroir.
Thank you! I actually read that they might be releasing an aged expression of the St George rum. I'm intrigued. And great pick of Rivers! Love everything about it. It's just so singular. I'm very jealous of your trip out there.
Ok, so my Rum/Rhum journey is unusual. My mother's family is from Martinique, and my father was firmly in the Navy Rum fan club. So I started with Clement Blanc and my French grandfather making me a Ti Punch (with extra sugar and lime) when I was probably about 12. From my Dad, we then jump to Pussers Gunpowder Strength (his drink of choice) and also a taste for hot buttered rum. Fast forward to more recent times, and I would point to the following as rums, which have really stayed with me, and illustrated my journey. Ron Cubay 1870, just the best Cuba has to offer (I feel sorry for my US pals who can not get their hands on this). SBS Single Orgin WPH Jamican Cane Juice. The perfect marriage of Jamican Funk and Agricole. Savanna HERR St Aubin Sauternes Finish SBS 1998 Guyana Skeldon SWR a trip down memory lane to the old heavy Demerara Rums so loved by my father. HSE's new Foret bottles
I think it went something like this, but there was a lot of other stuff in there and I absolutely cannot say I have a definitive favourite - it changes as I learn and experience new spirits...and that's why I love the category so much. 1. Sailor Jerrys / Capt. Morgan's 2. Diplomatico / Zacapa 23 3. Havana Club 7 / Mount Gay XO (Allen Smith) 4. Foursquare Criterion (huge leap here at UK Rum Fest 2017 or 2018) 5. Colors of Rum, Guadeloupe 1998 (My pick at this years UK Rum Show)
Thanks for sharing your list! I had Havana Club 7 late in my journey (since it's not available here in the states), but I think if I had it earlier it would have left quite the impact. Also, I've heard some other folks fave about the Colors of Rum offerings at this year's Rum Show. Will have to find and give them a try.
Thank you for sharing your journey. Mine started with Mojito (the good and often the bad ones) and then a trip to Scotland, the master distiller was having a drink with us at night, and he ordered a glass of Bacardi white over ice. He told us he needed to reset his palate after a day or try different whiskies. In a twisted way, it taught me to appreciate tasting rum neat and then Bacardi 8, etc. I really appreciate your highlights and your experiences. Thanks
My own Rum Journey takes me from: 1. Drinking Malibu with Jolly Ranchers in the basement of my Mom's house when my buddy smuggled a bottle in one night 2. Bringing back a bottle of Pampero Aniversario when I visited Venezuela the first time. It's where my wife is from. Libre Venezuela 3. Santa Teresa Solera 1796 - Had this in an "Old Fashioned" at a Christmas Party a few years back and realized that not every Rum drink had to be a fruit and sugar bomb concoction 4. Hamilton 86/151 - Just about any tiki/tropical cocktail I mix these days has either a split base with Hamilton's Demerara 86 or a float of the 151 5. Rhum J.M. - Terrior Volcanique. Finally was able to grab a bottle of this from a local liquor store. Here I am gladly sipping aged Cane Juice Rum in a way I usually reserved for Bourbons
Malibu and jolly ranchers? Love that! Lol And a Santa Teresa old fashioned is delicious. So happy to see other people into Terrior Volcanique, fun sipper, great in an OF. Thanks so much for sharing
So this is gonna sound like a lie or a stretch of the imagination but I was thinking about your channel while driving this morning and thought to myself "I I meet him again I gotta ask what his first rum was?" Then I look, and here we are. Awesome content, good sir. This channel is gonna grow and stir up the rum revolution.
I think Angostura 5- and 7-year are the best "bang for your buck" sipping rums out there. You've got me interested in trying their pricier stuff too. Great stuff as usual, cheers
love the journey! I would say I start with either Woods Rum or Pussers Rum because my dad was in the navy, i probably thought Woods was too strong for me at 1st and only drink it sparingly now but i do own a bottle gifted to me very recently and am known by friends to be a woods drinker if i'm on a messy night out. Then I would get a little blurry, maybe a Bumbu or a Dead Man's Fingers just because they both have significance for me buying multiple with Bumbu and trying a range with DMF. I think for the last two i would pick Ron Abuelo 7yr old as that really confirmed that I liked to have some sipping rums in my collection and finally I think Barti was the rum that made me realise I like strange rums, something different because theirs has seaweed and just was like nothing I had tasted. I definitely feel I'm leaving some out and was recently gifted what i believe to be the most expensive rum I own at around £80, a barbados kill the devil rum and one i hope will grow on me like some of your gifts did!
Thanks for sharing your journey. We don’t get woods out here and have never had the opportunity to try it when I’ve been in London. Hope to fix that next time I’m there. Also, very intrigued by that Bart! Seafood? Wow
This is a spectacular video, well worth the wait. I never tried malibu and thought it was a cream liqueur because of coconut milk. The comment section sharing their rum journey is also a fun read. I started my rum journey mixing wray and nephew with sorrel during christmas in jamaica. Then mixing pepsi or coke with appleton signature.
Your enthusiasm led me to start collecting clairins last year. I have 4 which are all great, but the Sajous remains my true love. And tasting it in a Caipirinha was a quasi religious experience for me. Only the Rumfirewalker comes close to that, kinda. Thank you so much for this journey and for your dedication to the spirit
This is a fun episode. My first bottles were Doorleys 12, Appleton Signature, Mt Gay Eclipse, Rhum Barbancourt and I think some Sailor Jerry's. The Doorleys was the first spirit that I actually enjoyed on its own and got me down the rum rabbit hole.
Loved this concept and this video! It made me think of my own Rum Journey and I hope that we can share a Rum some day that can add to your Rum Journey. I share the same sentiment starting off with Malibu but with Sprite as the gateway. Then being from Trinidad myself, the first Rum that I felt connected to (Still mixing) was Angostura Single Barrel which I have lots of great party memories with. As I started to want to experience my Rum unadulterated I ventured into Ron Zacapa 23 which is still something I love on ice. Taking my first steps into Cane Juice, Rhum Clement Canne Blue was introduced to me, which i quickly made a sour face to, until I started delving heavily into Tiki which left me wanting to try more Agricoles! And then finally, Foursquare. My love for Foursuare and Cask Strength Rums knows no bounds now. I would say that it actually ruined Rum for me, tasting it in such a pure form where I can sit and disect every note. Again, Grear Video! Cheers 🥃
Thanks for watching and sharing your journey! I hadn't heard of the Single Barrel, looks like we don't get it here in the states. Great to see FOursquare here! Such great sipping rums. And just like you, I enjoy sitting and dissecting all the various flavors and aromas.
I so enjoyed hearing your journey. I, too, backed into sipping rums from tiki mixology. I, too, hated cane juice rums when I started exploring. Now, I love the clairins, unaged Jamaican overproofs, cachaça, charanda, etc. Knowing where you started makes me feel a little less like a poser. Maybe I actually do have a little rum expertise after all.
I'm not as far along on my rum journey as you are but mine started off similar to yours. First: Malibu First Real Rum: Brugal 1888 Hated: Diplomatico Rererva First Sipping: El Dorado 15 Favorite: Bira South Pacific 12 year
@@therumrevival hate is too strong a word for how I feel. It doesn’t suit my palate but I have a bottle on my shelf for friends who do like it. The selection de familia is better in my opinion.
Much love Harminder! Thanks for sharing your journey….even the parts involving Malibu. 😂 My journey started as a scotch enthusiast that wanted to branch out so I started researching where to start and tried Appleton 12 and hated it…..went back to researching and tried Hampden 8 and loved it!! Studied more and next up was Doorly’s 14…..loved it!! Hampden and Foursquare are still my two favorite rum distilleries and I do think my journey has been helped greatly by watching your content. Keep up the great work my friend!!
Really appreciate your journey. It’s helpful to know that people aren’t necessarily born with a palate! Hard to remember my first rum, but I have hazy memories of Parrot Bay and Sailor Jerry. I haven’t been drinking rum for long, but I remember having a Mai Tai at the Bali Hai a decade ago and that experience has stuck with me. It recently resurfaced and I’ve been enjoying making tiki drinks at home leading to a bottle of Smith and Cross, probably my first non-Bacardi rum. Your videos on different rums have been very helpful, and have helped me branch out to things like Rum Fire, volcanique, and clairin. A recent trip to St. Lucia made me appreciate the locality of different rum producers and their rums. My palate isn’t quite there yet, but I’ve started to try to taste rums neat and have been enjoying Ti punches a lot.
That Mai Tai at the Bali Hai is a whopper! lol Smith and Cross was definitely one of my first serious cocktail making rums that I purchased. Perhaps for a lot of others too. Glad you've found my videos helpful. Thanks so much for sharing your journey.
There's a great book on rum, entitled "... And a Bottle of Rum" by Wayne Curtis. Turns out, historically, even more than bourbon, rum is the American drink (at least until Prohibition).
Wow this is so interesting! Watching and listening to someone who's clearly found his calling, going about it both knowledgeably (which should be a word if it isn't) and enthusiastically is one thing; learning how that person got to that point is, at least to me, on a whole different level. I'm actually interrupting the video to type this comment, and the main point I can't stress enough is this: **NEVER** be ashamed for realizing aspects of your primal being. It is completely healthy to want to be seen and admired -- to **some** extent which, from where I'm standing, you're far from exceeding. What's more, it obviously sent you on a trajectory where you truly became an authority, a refined, sophisticated connoisseur on the subject. And now the whole (online) world has a chance to learn about a fascinating subject, share your enthusiasm, and become knowledgeable enthusiasts as well. Had you repressed that "narcissist" urge, none of all that would have happened, and the world would be a less interesting place for it. The fact that you can also put your storytelling chops to good use doesn't hurt, either. Also, being that self-aware is a blessing all by itself. Most people just act blindly on their urges or are so completely walled-up in their self-devaluating conditioning as to continually repress themselves on a reflex, never amounting to anything beyond average, making themselves and the people around them miserable. Which is what it is, I guess, nothing against worker bees, but average doesn't move humanity forward. You don't light a lamp and put it beneath a bowl. Instead, you put it on a stand so you see where you're pouring the good stuff. 😎🥂
Wow, thanks for the kind words. I don't think I could have made this video a couple of years back with the same POV or understanding of myself. I definitely aim to create videos here where I am honest and sincere about the rums but also inject my personality in the mix.
My rum journey, such as it is, began in the early '90s on a trip to Jamaica. Visiting the Appleton distillery really lit my fire, but it wasn't until the pandemic that I took the next obvious step. You see, craft distilling is a cottage industry. That is, you can create spirits on a very modest scale while achieving some fabulous results. Just like preparing perfect examples of the 5 mother sauces or baking a baguette, it takes considerable practice and attention to detail to make a great result. But that result is attainable. The equipment is widely available, even from that place that delivers next day, legalities seem to be in flux but casually enforced at best, and there is a large support community right here on this platform. A home without a muck pit is a dark and lonely place.
Great content. I got lucky in my rum journey because a great friend started me off right with a few tastes of cocktailing bottles. Here are my key 5: 1. Plantation OFTD - The first rum I had that made me rethink the category in college after my friend passed me a pour. (Hate the company now) 2. Rum Fire - My friend got into cocktailing, and this was the most jarring flavor experience I'd had in my entire life up until that point. 3. Clairin Casimir Ansyen - 36mo sherry cask - The first rum that made me realize there was better value in rum than in Scotch after going heavily into Scotch for a year and ignoring the category. 4. Hampden Great House 2021 - Taught me rum can best all other spirits categories outright in quality. 5. Blackadder 1998 Bellevue at 3 Dots and a Dash - Rum is best when shared and discussed with friends.
Now that’s a line up… your friend put you on the right path. I think I had the same jarring experience with rumfire . Not sure if I’ve had the same aged casimir but the one I have had was soo good! Have yet to have anything from Bellevue, hopefully one day! Thanks so much for sharing
Shew, I haven't thought about my first rum journey in a very long time. Here we go! So like you and others it started with a "coconut rum" when me and my friends were 16. Parrot Bay to be specific. I grew up, albeit just a little, but started drinking Sailor Jerry for a few years but then jumped on the whisky and bourbon train for a few years that then oddly morphed into craft beer. Ok so now we're going to fast forward to 2020 when I went to my first tiki bar (Tern Club) and had a Hotel Nacional that absolutely blew me away. I stopped at a liquor store on my way home and grabbed a bottle of aged Campesino rum and cranked out Hotel Nacionals for the remainder of that summer using the Campesino rum. Winter rolls around and I'm looking for a change up to that drink so started experimenting with other rums, Barbancourt 4 year, Appleton Signature and then Tiki Lovers aged rum. All of those bottles lasted a bit and I was happy with the mixup in my Hotel Nacionale cocktail. Shortly after that I had my first work trip to the Dominican Republic where I ordered a glass of Brugal 1888 and really enjoyed it. I brought a bottle home and once it was done that led to searching for another rum to try, and then another which then led to another Tiki Bar and the cycle continues to this day, ha!
I don't think I've ever had a Hotel Nacional. Looks delicious though. I'll order one at Smugglers this weekend. Do you currently have a go to rum for the drink? Thanks for sharing your journey. Shout out to the Brugal!
Did you end up getting one at Smugglers? I typically make it with Planteray Stiggins or Privateer New England Reserve if I’m going aged, but Real Mcoy and El Dorado 3 year are also nice if I want something a little lighter. I’ll also do a 1/2 ounce apricot liquor instead of 1/4.
Should I display my vintage bottle of Bacardi 151 where it's like a reminder of a different time full of mistakes and regrets? I hope someone finds this funny. The context of sarcasm is often lost through voiceless communication. I've had an interesting journey as well. With different spirits, beer, and wine. Thanks for sharing your journey, it was fun.
Great video, thanks for sharing. That drink was a revelation for me as well. I had been into the Clairins for maybe a year after friends introduced me to it, but I only had one or maybe two cocktails with them until finding Shannon’s, fairly recently. Now I crave more. Try a cobra’s fang with a full pour of the Communal. The Clairin drop at SHC is also excellent. Need a recipe for that!
Thanks Jarrod! Absolutely going to make a cobra fang with communal Also here’s the specs that Garret sent me for the Clairin Drop: CLAIRIN DROP 5 drops saline 1 dash orange bitters 1 tsp lime cordial ⅝ oz lemon ¾ oz Cointreau 1 ½ oz Clairin Communal -Shake with 2 small cubes and 1 shaker cube -Prepare a half sugar rim on a coupe -Strain into the coupe
Never related to something so much as “I loved the way it looked on that bar cart” 😂 My rum journey started with a Hurricane in New Orleans on a work trip - immediately tried to recreate it at home with Bayou Rum and loads of fruit juice before eventually learning the OG hurricane was NOTHING like it. The Smugglers Cove book took me down the rabbit hole, but my next 3 in order of significance were probably Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, and Plantation XO. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your journey! I gotta say, a great well made Hurricane can be amazing. Signature and S&C were definitely fairly significant rums in my tiki cocktail making at home.
I purchased the Clairin Sajous a while ago based on one of your videos, it really is such a funky rum. As a whiskey/wine drinker myself, I didn't really know what to make of the sajous. It's funky, complex. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. But as you mentioned, it's really good in a cocktail. Would love to try the one you talked about. Think you can share that recipe? Would love to try it.
My rum story in bottles would have to be 1. Bacardi: 17yr old me trying to be different than everyone drinking whiskey and getting blackout drunk on a bottle for New Years 2. Kraken: Was somewhat into whiskey and beer at this point and thought this was what Rum was 3. Bayou Rum: Local rum, finally learning what a rum is 4. Appleton 12: Getting more into rum with this easy to find Jamaican 5. Rum Fire: And now we've made it here thanks to this channel Cheers
Thank you for sharing your key rums and journey! I've had my share of "memorable" New Years lol Love that Rum Fire is on the list. I still need to try some Bayou rums.
I have been a whisky drinker for almost 6 years but discovered rum 2 years ago thanks to Ralfy video, where he suggested Mount Gay XO. Since then I’m increasingly enjoying rum and I think that if I had discovered it early, it could have become my favorite distilled spirit. Here are the ones I had so far: Mount Gay XO, Appleton 12, Flor de Caña 12, Rum 970 15 Madeira rum cask strength, Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros and I’m now waiting for a bottle of Hampden Pagos ex-sherry cask. Everything so delicious! One thing I’m trying to do is to purchase sugar free rums or with a very small amount of it and over 40% ABV. Real sipping rums.
That's great to hear! I really like the Hampden Pagos. It's definitely on the funkier side of things compared to the other rums you listed, but I think you're in for a treat.
Great video, I really enjoyed this one. Angostura, in my case the 1919, was the first rum I bought when I realised there must be more to rum than Bundy, would have been around 2016. It was a great entry level sipper, all vanilla and caramel. Several years past before I bought it again but it had changed, it was now vegetal, grassy, stalky. Not sure how/why that happened.
This might explain it:"In December 2016, questions arose regarding the integrity of Angostura rum, with CEO Robert Wong sent on administrative leave for two months. Reports say Angostura breached EU rules of origin laws by purchasing bulk rum and repackaging it, without making any substantial changes." That's from Wikipedia. I asked a few rum people about this online at the time but no one could confirm it. Pity because it has put me off buying Angostura rums.
Coming from the whiskey world the rum that got me into sipping was the brugal 1888! Thought it was so good and got it cause it was on sale! The rum thay blew me away and completely got me hooked was Appleton Estate 12! To this day its my comfort rum. Always available and always affordable!
Nice concept piece and a nice bit of insight into who you are. I actually came to rum as a complement/substitute to whiskies, when the bourbon boom happened and a bunch of my longtime go to labels suddenly because unobtanium. BTW, the Angostura is a 12 year product. Cheers.
Mostly I sip aged rum, but the journey for me was through white rums for cocktails and a wonderful liquor store called Starmore Boss. Like many, the only rum I knew was drinking Bacardi (1.) and coke as a kid. Then, after loving caiprinhas on holiday, I went to the store and asked what cachaca was and took away a bottle of Caetano's Germana (2.). I then later asked for a tasty white rum, and the second one they suggested, I smelled and went wow for the first time - Veritas (3.) - and knew I had to buy an aged rum for the first time from these guys. In hunting out a bottle of Rum Fire, I came across clairins, and instinct made me buy Le Rocher (4.). It still makes me smile, and the cocktails are incredible. And finally, I bought an aged rum with 'that smell', my fist aged rum, and fell in love - Hampden 8yo (5.).
What a great line up. Thanks for sharing the journey. Le Rocher cocktails are absolutely fire! I've known a few people in my life who also went holidaying and discovered and fell in love with Caiprhinhas. They came back and bought a bottle of cachaca. But then when you mention that you love rum, they say they hate rum since they had a bad experience with it in college or something lol
absolutely! While not a spirit, I remember a particularly busy bartending shift, followed by having to clean up some vomit, and man that first post-shift beer was absolutely transcendent.
My rum history is as follows: 1989 - 2021: Bacardi & Coke. Nothing else, ever. You could say I've had a few bottles of Bacardi Carta Blanca. 2021: Found Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour on RUclips and fell in love with Tiki drinks and got interested in the rums as well. 2021 - Now: Lots of favorites in the Jamaican funky rums. I hate Bacardi Carta Blanca in anything. Learning a lot from your channel.
Good stretch of time with Bacardi and coke. Is there a rum that you now prefer in a rum and Coke? Shout out to Spike for getting folks into tiki. Thanks for sharing!
Aside from Cruzan and such, my first big rum experience was running a big tasting of "premium" rums for a bunch of friends circa 2010 or so. Which, in practice, ended up a battle between Neisson Reserve and Appleton 12 versus a bunch of sugar-bombs. It was kind of a rough night, to be honest... 😂
@@therumrevival i've watched many of your videos and your passion for clairins and other great whites (which you transmitted to me) is so obvious that my first reflex was to look at the background 😅 surprised that Rum Fire didn't make the cut but i guess choosing is losing !
My rhum journey would be, Rhum Agricole ( because I live in France) then appleton 12 and dos maderas when a I tarted sipping rums then cask strenght rums and now I love all the rums in the world 😀 well almost..
Thanks for sharing! I'm curious for those who live in France, is it typical that Rhum Agricole would be the rhums that they start with and/or drink the most of? Or are there other styles/countries that are more consumed there?
@@therumrevival white rhum agricole is very cheap here, so for cocktails yes most of people use that. But I'm almost sure people who starts drinking rum prefere to use havana club or bacardi... And diplomático, dictador for aged rums :/
I did a little Malibu, it was kinda of fun to throw in a soda or whatever (though barely alcoholic) can't say it was ever one of my "go-tos" though. I think the first rum that really got my attention as something tasty and interesting, when I was probably 22 or so was... Kraken, lol. I haven't had it in a _long_ time, I have no idea what I'd think about it now, but I it's the first liquor that I remember really enjoying without mixing. maybe I should track down another bottle, see how it holds up. I doubt it would be offensive, just maybe not as exciting these days. I actually quite enjoyed my first taste of agricole. while not the same, it really reminds me of tequila. I'm not a big tequila drinker or anything, but I made peace with the agave musk a while ago (there were some highly regrettable college experiences, but I got past it), so it didn't really phase me. now I get excited every time I see a drink recipe calling for agricole. I need to find more places I can use it.
Also, I just got that book last week and now I'm seeing it mentioned everywhere. it's such a cool book! I really need to start working my way through it.
Thanks for sharing! Like you, it's been ages since I've had Kraken. Like you said, it's probably not offensive. Like the Malibu, it's designed to be perfectly fine. So cool to hear that you enjoyed your first taste of agricole. I think folks that like blanco tequilas can understand and appreciate the flavors of unaged cane juice rums. Both have much more of an agricultural flavor profile.
I was hoping Old Monk would have made an appearance 😂 It’s the rum responsible for enabling poor decisions, lifelong friendships and formative experiences for many growing up in India.
lol - Bottles of Old Monk had been around in my family but I never tried it until much later in my journey. I think I associated it way too much with my uncles lol
Thought this was funny. Arminder talking about how he had this feeling to show off all his cool rums on his barcart and saying he hopes he isn't like that anymore. Yet he's just constantly showing off all his cool rums to all of us here 😂
"...and some of the things you're going to find out about me you're going to wish you hadn't." "...and this was the style of rum I made the most in my prison toilet."
Hey all- so this is a long one. To help it go by faster, here’s a fun drinking game: take a shot every time I say “honestly” or “if I’m being real”
nice try, arminder. no alcohol poisoning for me today.
I wonder if that last one needed to be exposed to air a little bit to allow the flavors to develop.
@@unansweredprayer1122 LOL - yeah probably kind of dangerous
@@christophershreiner5114 I'm sure that had something to do with it
Or looks to the right like there's something interesting over there! 😊
It doesn't seem like a fair representation here. I think you should have used fresh pineapple juice with the Malibu.
Great video! Many people don't discuss the journey of exploring a drink and it's good reminder of where we all started!
Thank you! I appreciate that!
This was GREAT. Loved getting to hear your bio via rum. (Your rumography?)
I was at Hobson's Choice, a little dive rum bar in SF, and asked the bartender to help me out. I don't remember what he poured me, probably something along the lines of a Doorly's, but that's when I started to realize the RANGE rum had. And that came in really handy when during the pandemic I got bored of whiskey ;-)
I've gravitated towards tiki because I like to make a lot of my own ingredients. Big bold bottles like Smith & Cross, Hamilton 151, and Hamilton Pot Still Jamaican Black are important for me to have around. When I see you picking apart a rum like a clockmaker wearing a loupe I think I'll probably never have a palate that sensitive, but I gotta say, the bottle of le Rocher I have sitting out in my kitchen right now may be the game changer. Both my spouse and I walk around that bottle with a kind of reverence (and dread as it gets emptier and emptier). I'm still more into a ti' punch than straight, but I see where this is headed!
Thanks for all the great content and for opening up some new horizons for us.
I would love to have a revelatory moment in a dive bar. It’s usually just been a bunch of regret lol A Ti punch with le Rocher is SO good! I think I might even prefer that than le Rocher neat. Great to see people are into it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Also I can’t believe I didn’t think of rumography! That’s brilliant!
"...and on my rum journey, I then faced the final boss." (chains pull back, giant rusty lock bursts off, ground shakes, caged doors swing open and from a huge cloud of smoke. Rum Fire emerges)
love this.... of course it had to be Rum Fire.
Rumfire is this channel meme content at this point.
@@deepflavor5906 love that
This video was fantastic. Love you and loved hearing your honest journey into rum. Made me nostalgic for my own journey into spirits. Well done 👍
aww thank you! you two are the best! hope our paths cross one of these days
my rum journey progression has been relatively quick thanks to the rum community and content creators like you. i probably would have taken years and years to get into cane juice rum if not for your videos and buzz online. there are countless rums to try, and i honestly love that i will never try every last one. the journey is about the rums that find you. cheers to exploration and spreading the good word about rum, and to you for sharing this with us.
Wow, I'm happy to hear that I've been a part of your journey! And I love the idea that we'll never try every single one out there and the journey is about the rums that find you. Well put!!
This was wonderful. Love the reactions to the Past Arminder’s early rums. Also, hang on to the St. George Agricole, since it, per their website, appears they don’t make it any more.😢. And “me too” on the Sajous. That was my first agricole, and I still come back to it. Though after a trip to Grenada with a brief visit to the distillery and it’s 18th century cane mill run by a water wheel, and a surprise ‘tit Punch made Jeremy at Root and Flower in Vail made for me, my cane juice go to (only at home, when I won’t be behind the wheel for 12 hours) is Rivers.
Now there is a “story” and a distinct sense of terroir.
Thank you! I actually read that they might be releasing an aged expression of the St George rum. I'm intrigued. And great pick of Rivers! Love everything about it. It's just so singular. I'm very jealous of your trip out there.
Ok, so my Rum/Rhum journey is unusual. My mother's family is from Martinique, and my father was firmly in the Navy Rum fan club.
So I started with Clement Blanc and my French grandfather making me a Ti Punch (with extra sugar and lime) when I was probably about 12.
From my Dad, we then jump to Pussers Gunpowder Strength (his drink of choice) and also a taste for hot buttered rum.
Fast forward to more recent times, and I would point to the following as rums, which have really stayed with me, and illustrated my journey.
Ron Cubay 1870, just the best Cuba has to offer (I feel sorry for my US pals who can not get their hands on this).
SBS Single Orgin WPH Jamican Cane Juice. The perfect marriage of Jamican Funk and Agricole.
Savanna HERR
St Aubin Sauternes Finish
SBS 1998 Guyana Skeldon SWR a trip down memory lane to the old heavy Demerara Rums so loved by my father.
HSE's new Foret bottles
I think it went something like this, but there was a lot of other stuff in there and I absolutely cannot say I have a definitive favourite - it changes as I learn and experience new spirits...and that's why I love the category so much.
1. Sailor Jerrys / Capt. Morgan's
2. Diplomatico / Zacapa 23
3. Havana Club 7 / Mount Gay XO (Allen Smith)
4. Foursquare Criterion (huge leap here at UK Rum Fest 2017 or 2018)
5. Colors of Rum, Guadeloupe 1998 (My pick at this years UK Rum Show)
Thanks for sharing your list! I had Havana Club 7 late in my journey (since it's not available here in the states), but I think if I had it earlier it would have left quite the impact. Also, I've heard some other folks fave about the Colors of Rum offerings at this year's Rum Show. Will have to find and give them a try.
Thank you for sharing your journey. Mine started with Mojito (the good and often the bad ones) and then a trip to Scotland, the master distiller was having a drink with us at night, and he ordered a glass of Bacardi white over ice. He told us he needed to reset his palate after a day or try different whiskies. In a twisted way, it taught me to appreciate tasting rum neat and then Bacardi 8, etc. I really appreciate your highlights and your experiences. Thanks
What a cool story! Who would have thought Scotland would have helped unlock someone’s rum journey. Cheers!
I love hearing your rum story. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Glad you enjoyed it!
My own Rum Journey takes me from:
1. Drinking Malibu with Jolly Ranchers in the basement of my Mom's house when my buddy smuggled a bottle in one night
2. Bringing back a bottle of Pampero Aniversario when I visited Venezuela the first time. It's where my wife is from. Libre Venezuela
3. Santa Teresa Solera 1796 - Had this in an "Old Fashioned" at a Christmas Party a few years back and realized that not every Rum drink had to be a fruit and sugar bomb concoction
4. Hamilton 86/151 - Just about any tiki/tropical cocktail I mix these days has either a split base with Hamilton's Demerara 86 or a float of the 151
5. Rhum J.M. - Terrior Volcanique. Finally was able to grab a bottle of this from a local liquor store. Here I am gladly sipping aged Cane Juice Rum in a way I usually reserved for Bourbons
Malibu and jolly ranchers? Love that! Lol And a Santa Teresa old fashioned is delicious. So happy to see other people into Terrior Volcanique, fun sipper, great in an OF. Thanks so much for sharing
So this is gonna sound like a lie or a stretch of the imagination but I was thinking about your channel while driving this morning and thought to myself "I I meet him again I gotta ask what his first rum was?" Then I look, and here we are. Awesome content, good sir. This channel is gonna grow and stir up the rum revolution.
Well there you go. I hope that answer to your question wasn't too disappointing lol. Cheers to you. I appreciate the continued support
Great video! Learning the history of each spirit is half the fun, cheers!
Thanks!!
I think Angostura 5- and 7-year are the best "bang for your buck" sipping rums out there. You've got me interested in trying their pricier stuff too. Great stuff as usual, cheers
Thanks! The 1824 might not be a bang for your buck kind of rums, but definitely worth checking out if you like the 5 and 7 year.
Gosling's Black Seal in iced tea was my first intro to rum and I still, unashamedly, love it to this day.
whoa, rum and ice tea kinda sounds amazing.
I love Clairin!
love the journey! I would say I start with either Woods Rum or Pussers Rum because my dad was in the navy, i probably thought Woods was too strong for me at 1st and only drink it sparingly now but i do own a bottle gifted to me very recently and am known by friends to be a woods drinker if i'm on a messy night out. Then I would get a little blurry, maybe a Bumbu or a Dead Man's Fingers just because they both have significance for me buying multiple with Bumbu and trying a range with DMF. I think for the last two i would pick Ron Abuelo 7yr old as that really confirmed that I liked to have some sipping rums in my collection and finally I think Barti was the rum that made me realise I like strange rums, something different because theirs has seaweed and just was like nothing I had tasted. I definitely feel I'm leaving some out and was recently gifted what i believe to be the most expensive rum I own at around £80, a barbados kill the devil rum and one i hope will grow on me like some of your gifts did!
Thanks for sharing your journey. We don’t get woods out here and have never had the opportunity to try it when I’ve been in London. Hope to fix that next time I’m there. Also, very intrigued by that Bart! Seafood? Wow
This is a spectacular video, well worth the wait. I never tried malibu and thought it was a cream liqueur because of coconut milk. The comment section sharing their rum journey is also a fun read.
I started my rum journey mixing wray and nephew with sorrel during christmas in jamaica. Then mixing pepsi or coke with appleton signature.
Thank you! Well you’re not missing much on the Malibu front. I have to confess that I’ve never tried sorel before. I’ve seen bottles here and there
Your enthusiasm led me to start collecting clairins last year. I have 4 which are all great, but the Sajous remains my true love. And tasting it in a Caipirinha was a quasi religious experience for me. Only the Rumfirewalker comes close to that, kinda. Thank you so much for this journey and for your dedication to the spirit
Thanks so much for watching! Appreciate it! And yeah Sajous caipirinha is soooooo good. Love it on hot day
Fantastic story and video!
Thank you!
This is a fun episode. My first bottles were Doorleys 12, Appleton Signature, Mt Gay Eclipse, Rhum Barbancourt and I think some Sailor Jerry's. The Doorleys was the first spirit that I actually enjoyed on its own and got me down the rum rabbit hole.
Thanks for sharing! I think if I had tried Doorlys XO and 12 earlier they might have got me into sipping rums earlier than I did.
Loved this concept and this video!
It made me think of my own Rum Journey and I hope that we can share a Rum some day that can add to your Rum Journey.
I share the same sentiment starting off with Malibu but with Sprite as the gateway.
Then being from Trinidad myself, the first Rum that I felt connected to (Still mixing) was Angostura Single Barrel which I have lots of great party memories with.
As I started to want to experience my Rum unadulterated I ventured into Ron Zacapa 23 which is still something I love on ice.
Taking my first steps into Cane Juice, Rhum Clement Canne Blue was introduced to me, which i quickly made a sour face to, until I started delving heavily into Tiki which left me wanting to try more Agricoles!
And then finally, Foursquare. My love for Foursuare and Cask Strength Rums knows no bounds now. I would say that it actually ruined Rum for me, tasting it in such a pure form where I can sit and disect every note.
Again, Grear Video!
Cheers 🥃
Thanks for watching and sharing your journey! I hadn't heard of the Single Barrel, looks like we don't get it here in the states. Great to see FOursquare here! Such great sipping rums. And just like you, I enjoy sitting and dissecting all the various flavors and aromas.
I so enjoyed hearing your journey. I, too, backed into sipping rums from tiki mixology. I, too, hated cane juice rums when I started exploring. Now, I love the clairins, unaged Jamaican overproofs, cachaça, charanda, etc. Knowing where you started makes me feel a little less like a poser. Maybe I actually do have a little rum expertise after all.
You've got great taste, friend! And I have to imagine you know a good amount about rum if you're into all of that.
Nice video! very interesting, good story telling 😁
Thank you! 😃
I'm not as far along on my rum journey as you are but mine started off similar to yours.
First: Malibu
First Real Rum: Brugal 1888
Hated: Diplomatico Rererva
First Sipping: El Dorado 15
Favorite: Bira South Pacific 12 year
High five for sharing those first two rums!! Has your opinion of Diplo changed or do you still hate it? Also, that BIRA is amazing!!
@@therumrevival hate is too strong a word for how I feel. It doesn’t suit my palate but I have a bottle on my shelf for friends who do like it. The selection de familia is better in my opinion.
For anyone wondering that last one is called Clairin Sajous. In case you didn't hear or understand the pronunciation.
Much love Harminder! Thanks for sharing your journey….even the parts involving Malibu. 😂
My journey started as a scotch enthusiast that wanted to branch out so I started researching where to start and tried Appleton 12 and hated it…..went back to researching and tried Hampden 8 and loved it!! Studied more and next up was Doorly’s 14…..loved it!!
Hampden and Foursquare are still my two favorite rum distilleries and I do think my journey has been helped greatly by watching your content. Keep up the great work my friend!!
Hampden 8 and Doorlys 14 are such great rums. What a pair to start your rum journey on! Thanks so much for sharing and for watching. Much appreciated!
Really appreciate your journey. It’s helpful to know that people aren’t necessarily born with a palate! Hard to remember my first rum, but I have hazy memories of Parrot Bay and Sailor Jerry. I haven’t been drinking rum for long, but I remember having a Mai Tai at the Bali Hai a decade ago and that experience has stuck with me. It recently resurfaced and I’ve been enjoying making tiki drinks at home leading to a bottle of Smith and Cross, probably my first non-Bacardi rum. Your videos on different rums have been very helpful, and have helped me branch out to things like Rum Fire, volcanique, and clairin. A recent trip to St. Lucia made me appreciate the locality of different rum producers and their rums. My palate isn’t quite there yet, but I’ve started to try to taste rums neat and have been enjoying Ti punches a lot.
That Mai Tai at the Bali Hai is a whopper! lol Smith and Cross was definitely one of my first serious cocktail making rums that I purchased. Perhaps for a lot of others too. Glad you've found my videos helpful. Thanks so much for sharing your journey.
There's a great book on rum, entitled "... And a Bottle of Rum" by Wayne Curtis. Turns out, historically, even more than bourbon, rum is the American drink (at least until Prohibition).
That book is soo good and highly recommended! Maybe we need to have a revival of rum as the most consumed American spirit
I loved that book. It really opened my eyes to the rich history and wild variety of rum.
@@bobbarron1920 Its such an easy read too
Wow this is so interesting! Watching and listening to someone who's clearly found his calling, going about it both knowledgeably (which should be a word if it isn't) and enthusiastically is one thing; learning how that person got to that point is, at least to me, on a whole different level. I'm actually interrupting the video to type this comment, and the main point I can't stress enough is this: **NEVER** be ashamed for realizing aspects of your primal being. It is completely healthy to want to be seen and admired -- to **some** extent which, from where I'm standing, you're far from exceeding. What's more, it obviously sent you on a trajectory where you truly became an authority, a refined, sophisticated connoisseur on the subject. And now the whole (online) world has a chance to learn about a fascinating subject, share your enthusiasm, and become knowledgeable enthusiasts as well. Had you repressed that "narcissist" urge, none of all that would have happened, and the world would be a less interesting place for it. The fact that you can also put your storytelling chops to good use doesn't hurt, either.
Also, being that self-aware is a blessing all by itself. Most people just act blindly on their urges or are so completely walled-up in their self-devaluating conditioning as to continually repress themselves on a reflex, never amounting to anything beyond average, making themselves and the people around them miserable. Which is what it is, I guess, nothing against worker bees, but average doesn't move humanity forward.
You don't light a lamp and put it beneath a bowl. Instead, you put it on a stand so you see where you're pouring the good stuff. 😎🥂
Wow, thanks for the kind words. I don't think I could have made this video a couple of years back with the same POV or understanding of myself. I definitely aim to create videos here where I am honest and sincere about the rums but also inject my personality in the mix.
I really enjoyed this one!
Glad you enjoyed it!
My rum journey, such as it is, began in the early '90s on a trip to Jamaica. Visiting the Appleton distillery really lit my fire, but it wasn't until the pandemic that I took the next obvious step. You see, craft distilling is a cottage industry. That is, you can create spirits on a very modest scale while achieving some fabulous results. Just like preparing perfect examples of the 5 mother sauces or baking a baguette, it takes considerable practice and attention to detail to make a great result. But that result is attainable. The equipment is widely available, even from that place that delivers next day, legalities seem to be in flux but casually enforced at best, and there is a large support community right here on this platform. A home without a muck pit is a dark and lonely place.
Thank you for sharing your journey! I’m looking forward to visiting Appleton one day. I’d love to learn more about distilling. Also, killer last line!
Great content. I got lucky in my rum journey because a great friend started me off right with a few tastes of cocktailing bottles.
Here are my key 5:
1. Plantation OFTD - The first rum I had that made me rethink the category in college after my friend passed me a pour. (Hate the company now)
2. Rum Fire - My friend got into cocktailing, and this was the most jarring flavor experience I'd had in my entire life up until that point.
3. Clairin Casimir Ansyen - 36mo sherry cask - The first rum that made me realize there was better value in rum than in Scotch after going heavily into Scotch for a year and ignoring the category.
4. Hampden Great House 2021 - Taught me rum can best all other spirits categories outright in quality.
5. Blackadder 1998 Bellevue at 3 Dots and a Dash - Rum is best when shared and discussed with friends.
why do you hate the company?
Now that’s a line up… your friend put you on the right path. I think I had the same jarring experience with rumfire . Not sure if I’ve had the same aged casimir but the one I have had was soo good! Have yet to have anything from Bellevue, hopefully one day! Thanks so much for sharing
Awesome getting to see others rum journey and how they got to where they are. I definitely need to make that port au prince.
the PaP is really something else. Let me know what you think if you make it.
Shew, I haven't thought about my first rum journey in a very long time. Here we go!
So like you and others it started with a "coconut rum" when me and my friends were 16. Parrot Bay to be specific. I grew up, albeit just a little, but started drinking Sailor Jerry for a few years but then jumped on the whisky and bourbon train for a few years that then oddly morphed into craft beer.
Ok so now we're going to fast forward to 2020 when I went to my first tiki bar (Tern Club) and had a Hotel Nacional that absolutely blew me away. I stopped at a liquor store on my way home and grabbed a bottle of aged Campesino rum and cranked out Hotel Nacionals for the remainder of that summer using the Campesino rum. Winter rolls around and I'm looking for a change up to that drink so started experimenting with other rums, Barbancourt 4 year, Appleton Signature and then Tiki Lovers aged rum. All of those bottles lasted a bit and I was happy with the mixup in my Hotel Nacionale cocktail. Shortly after that I had my first work trip to the Dominican Republic where I ordered a glass of Brugal 1888 and really enjoyed it. I brought a bottle home and once it was done that led to searching for another rum to try, and then another which then led to another Tiki Bar and the cycle continues to this day, ha!
I don't think I've ever had a Hotel Nacional. Looks delicious though. I'll order one at Smugglers this weekend. Do you currently have a go to rum for the drink? Thanks for sharing your journey. Shout out to the Brugal!
Did you end up getting one at Smugglers? I typically make it with Planteray Stiggins or Privateer New England Reserve if I’m going aged, but Real Mcoy and El Dorado 3 year are also nice if I want something a little lighter. I’ll also do a 1/2 ounce apricot liquor instead of 1/4.
@@jeremypresnell unforunately our plans changed and we ended up not going to SC. Thanks for sharing those rums
Should I display my vintage bottle of Bacardi 151 where it's like a reminder of a different time full of mistakes and regrets?
I hope someone finds this funny. The context of sarcasm is often lost through voiceless communication.
I've had an interesting journey as well. With different spirits, beer, and wine. Thanks for sharing your journey, it was fun.
Wear that 151 like a badge of honor! lol Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@therumrevival Thanks, Arminder.
Great video, thanks for sharing. That drink was a revelation for me as well. I had been into the Clairins for maybe a year after friends introduced me to it, but I only had one or maybe two cocktails with them until finding Shannon’s, fairly recently. Now I crave more. Try a cobra’s fang with a full pour of the Communal. The Clairin drop at SHC is also excellent. Need a recipe for that!
Thanks Jarrod! Absolutely going to make a cobra fang with communal
Also here’s the specs that Garret sent me for the Clairin Drop:
CLAIRIN DROP
5 drops saline
1 dash orange bitters
1 tsp lime cordial
⅝ oz lemon
¾ oz Cointreau
1 ½ oz Clairin Communal
-Shake with 2 small cubes and 1 shaker cube
-Prepare a half sugar rim on a coupe
-Strain into the coupe
@@therumrevival Yessss! Thanks!!
@@jarrod-smith Enjoy!
Never related to something so much as “I loved the way it looked on that bar cart” 😂 My rum journey started with a Hurricane in New Orleans on a work trip - immediately tried to recreate it at home with Bayou Rum and loads of fruit juice before eventually learning the OG hurricane was NOTHING like it. The Smugglers Cove book took me down the rabbit hole, but my next 3 in order of significance were probably Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, and Plantation XO. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your journey! I gotta say, a great well made Hurricane can be amazing. Signature and S&C were definitely fairly significant rums in my tiki cocktail making at home.
I purchased the Clairin Sajous a while ago based on one of your videos, it really is such a funky rum. As a whiskey/wine drinker myself, I didn't really know what to make of the sajous. It's funky, complex. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. But as you mentioned, it's really good in a cocktail. Would love to try the one you talked about.
Think you can share that recipe? Would love to try it.
Here's the specs.. Hope you liked it!
2oz Clairin Sajous
1/4oz Hamilton 151 Overproof Demerara Rum
3/4oz Falernum
1/2oz Pineapple Juice
1/4oz Grenadine
3/4oz Lime Juice
6 drops Bittermens ‘Elemakule’ Tiki Bitters
@@therumrevival You are amazing, thank you so much! And love seeing your rum journey, I feel like mine is just starting out.
Any specific grenadine? Some people use a pomegranate syrup instead.
@@jansgpost I use Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe: jeffreymorgenthaler.com/how-to-make-your-own-grenadine/
My rum story in bottles would have to be
1. Bacardi: 17yr old me trying to be different than everyone drinking whiskey and getting blackout drunk on a bottle for New Years
2. Kraken: Was somewhat into whiskey and beer at this point and thought this was what Rum was
3. Bayou Rum: Local rum, finally learning what a rum is
4. Appleton 12: Getting more into rum with this easy to find Jamaican
5. Rum Fire: And now we've made it here thanks to this channel
Cheers
Thank you for sharing your key rums and journey! I've had my share of "memorable" New Years lol Love that Rum Fire is on the list. I still need to try some Bayou rums.
I have been a whisky drinker for almost 6 years but discovered rum 2 years ago thanks to Ralfy video, where he suggested Mount Gay XO. Since then I’m increasingly enjoying rum and I think that if I had discovered it early, it could have become my favorite distilled spirit. Here are the ones I had so far: Mount Gay XO, Appleton 12, Flor de Caña 12, Rum 970 15 Madeira rum cask strength, Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros and I’m now waiting for a bottle of Hampden Pagos ex-sherry cask. Everything so delicious! One thing I’m trying to do is to purchase sugar free rums or with a very small amount of it and over 40% ABV. Real sipping rums.
That's great to hear! I really like the Hampden Pagos. It's definitely on the funkier side of things compared to the other rums you listed, but I think you're in for a treat.
@@therumrevival do you have experience with Madeira rum?
@@ADSCP A little bit. Mostly recently with the Raising Glasses Ethereal release from O Reizheno and then the unaged high proof William Hinton rum
Great video, I really enjoyed this one. Angostura, in my case the 1919, was the first rum I bought when I realised there must be more to rum than Bundy, would have been around 2016. It was a great entry level sipper, all vanilla and caramel. Several years past before I bought it again but it had changed, it was now vegetal, grassy, stalky. Not sure how/why that happened.
Interesting! That’s close to the same experience I had with the 1824. Could be that our palettes changed or maybe they did change the rums.
This might explain it:"In December 2016, questions arose regarding the integrity of Angostura rum, with CEO Robert Wong sent on administrative leave for two months. Reports say Angostura breached EU rules of origin laws by purchasing bulk rum and repackaging it, without making any substantial changes." That's from Wikipedia. I asked a few rum people about this online at the time but no one could confirm it. Pity because it has put me off buying Angostura rums.
@@simoncolwell8692 Oh interesting! Thanks for sharing... yeah could have something to do with that.
Coming from the whiskey world the rum that got me into sipping was the brugal 1888! Thought it was so good and got it cause it was on sale! The rum thay blew me away and completely got me hooked was Appleton Estate 12! To this day its my comfort rum. Always available and always affordable!
Thanks for sharing!! And I’m with you on AE12. Such a dependable and comfy rum. Truly a classic
Nice concept piece and a nice bit of insight into who you are. I actually came to rum as a complement/substitute to whiskies, when the bourbon boom happened and a bunch of my longtime go to labels suddenly because unobtanium. BTW, the Angostura is a 12 year product. Cheers.
Thanks for watching! The good thing that came out of the bourbon boom is that it brought people into rum. Still wish the prices weren't so crazy.
Mostly I sip aged rum, but the journey for me was through white rums for cocktails and a wonderful liquor store called Starmore Boss.
Like many, the only rum I knew was drinking Bacardi (1.) and coke as a kid. Then, after loving caiprinhas on holiday, I went to the store and asked what cachaca was and took away a bottle of Caetano's Germana (2.). I then later asked for a tasty white rum, and the second one they suggested, I smelled and went wow for the first time - Veritas (3.) - and knew I had to buy an aged rum for the first time from these guys.
In hunting out a bottle of Rum Fire, I came across clairins, and instinct made me buy Le Rocher (4.). It still makes me smile, and the cocktails are incredible.
And finally, I bought an aged rum with 'that smell', my fist aged rum, and fell in love - Hampden 8yo (5.).
What a great line up. Thanks for sharing the journey. Le Rocher cocktails are absolutely fire! I've known a few people in my life who also went holidaying and discovered and fell in love with Caiprhinhas. They came back and bought a bottle of cachaca. But then when you mention that you love rum, they say they hate rum since they had a bad experience with it in college or something lol
Foursquare 2004 sparked my conversion from bourbon only guy to the delicious world of rum…still to this day it’s the greatest rum I’ve ever tasted
What a great rum! Thanks for sharing!
It’s amazing how certain spirits can really transport you and change everything you’d been feeling before that moment
absolutely! While not a spirit, I remember a particularly busy bartending shift, followed by having to clean up some vomit, and man that first post-shift beer was absolutely transcendent.
My rum history is as follows:
1989 - 2021: Bacardi & Coke. Nothing else, ever. You could say I've had a few bottles of Bacardi Carta Blanca.
2021: Found Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour on RUclips and fell in love with Tiki drinks and got interested in the rums as well.
2021 - Now: Lots of favorites in the Jamaican funky rums. I hate Bacardi Carta Blanca in anything. Learning a lot from your channel.
Good stretch of time with Bacardi and coke. Is there a rum that you now prefer in a rum and Coke? Shout out to Spike for getting folks into tiki. Thanks for sharing!
I actually don't drink rum and Cokes anymore. Been there, done that 😀
@@miksologia I recently had one at a bar that was Santa Teresa 1796, cola syrup and seltzer and it was very taste. And not too sweet.
@@therumrevival I actually have a cola syrup. Maybe I should give it a try.
Aside from Cruzan and such, my first big rum experience was running a big tasting of "premium" rums for a bunch of friends circa 2010 or so. Which, in practice, ended up a battle between Neisson Reserve and Appleton 12 versus a bunch of sugar-bombs. It was kind of a rough night, to be honest... 😂
lol - I know where I land in that battle now, but back then I might have been Team Sugar Bomb
That St. George rhum is a trip. Hoping they make it again sometime (though they say they never will)
I thought I read that an aged version was coming out
The absence of the Sajous in the background was a clear clue of what would be the "favorite rum"
Haha yeah I thought about that before shooting. Was hoping no one would notice lol
@@therumrevival i've watched many of your videos and your passion for clairins and other great whites (which you transmitted to me) is so obvious that my first reflex was to look at the background 😅 surprised that Rum Fire didn't make the cut but i guess choosing is losing !
@@remidejaeghere5042 It was tough not including rum fire. Ultimately, I felt I just had better stories for the others.
My rhum journey would be, Rhum Agricole ( because I live in France) then appleton 12 and dos maderas when a I tarted sipping rums then cask strenght rums and now I love all the rums in the world 😀 well almost..
Thanks for sharing! I'm curious for those who live in France, is it typical that Rhum Agricole would be the rhums that they start with and/or drink the most of? Or are there other styles/countries that are more consumed there?
@@therumrevival white rhum agricole is very cheap here, so for cocktails yes most of people use that. But I'm almost sure people who starts drinking rum prefere to use havana club or bacardi... And diplomático, dictador for aged rums :/
@@alecfautsch ah bummer lol
I did a little Malibu, it was kinda of fun to throw in a soda or whatever (though barely alcoholic) can't say it was ever one of my "go-tos" though.
I think the first rum that really got my attention as something tasty and interesting, when I was probably 22 or so was... Kraken, lol. I haven't had it in a _long_ time, I have no idea what I'd think about it now, but I it's the first liquor that I remember really enjoying without mixing. maybe I should track down another bottle, see how it holds up. I doubt it would be offensive, just maybe not as exciting these days.
I actually quite enjoyed my first taste of agricole. while not the same, it really reminds me of tequila. I'm not a big tequila drinker or anything, but I made peace with the agave musk a while ago (there were some highly regrettable college experiences, but I got past it), so it didn't really phase me. now I get excited every time I see a drink recipe calling for agricole. I need to find more places I can use it.
Also, I just got that book last week and now I'm seeing it mentioned everywhere. it's such a cool book! I really need to start working my way through it.
Thanks for sharing! Like you, it's been ages since I've had Kraken. Like you said, it's probably not offensive. Like the Malibu, it's designed to be perfectly fine. So cool to hear that you enjoyed your first taste of agricole. I think folks that like blanco tequilas can understand and appreciate the flavors of unaged cane juice rums. Both have much more of an agricultural flavor profile.
Yeah, such a great book and a number of drinks I make all of the time, like the Rum Firewalker.
I was hoping Old Monk would have made an appearance 😂 It’s the rum responsible for enabling poor decisions, lifelong friendships and formative experiences for many growing up in India.
lol - Bottles of Old Monk had been around in my family but I never tried it until much later in my journey. I think I associated it way too much with my uncles lol
My first time “drinking” was sharing a bottle of Malibu!
Another Malibu drinker! cheers!
Mai tai at Kapu Bar in Petaluma. I did not know a domestic Mai tai could be great, and not overly sweet.
I haven't had one there..I'll have to try it next time I'm in the area.
Hmm, I'd be a bit skeptical at anything coming from Haiti right now. Not sure their quality control or transparency would be up to snuff.
I'm not well versed with the current situation over there so can't really speak to any of that. Hoping things get better soon.
I feel like your journey skipped the cheap but real rum phase my friends and I drank a ton of bacardi gold back in college
You're right...i definitely missed out on that phase.
No video for Black Tot Day ? I'm tellin Mum !!!
If we got the Black Tot 2024 master blenders reserve here in the states I would have done a video on it. But looks like we’re a few months out
Lol
Do you have a list of Bay Area bottle shops that are good for rum newbs?
Not a bottle shop, but make a trip to Smugglers Cove and taste a few rums
Check out Bitters & Bottles in South SF or Prizefighter in Emeryville. Or any of the Cask stores.
Thought this was funny. Arminder talking about how he had this feeling to show off all his cool rums on his barcart and saying he hopes he isn't like that anymore. Yet he's just constantly showing off all his cool rums to all of us here 😂
LOL oh god is my RUclips channel just a very large bar cart?!?!!
@@therumrevival definitely 😂
It's verey hard to understand what is being said, cajun juices, is that the last one?
Clairin Sajous
"...and some of the things you're going to find out about me you're going to wish you hadn't."
"...and this was the style of rum I made the most in my prison toilet."
hahah