Which Rum, What Cocktail, and Why

Which styles of rums go best in which cocktails? What rums were the Gods of Tiki really using when they created landmark drinks like the Mai Tai, the Zombie, the Cobra’s Fang and the Pina Colada? What are the closest equivalents today? And which rum actually tastes the best in which cocktail, regardless of whether it’s historically accurate or not?
Join tiki’s chief historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (author of “Potions of the Caribbean: 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them”), Martin Cate (owner of Smugglers’ Cove, widely seen as America’s best modern tiki bar), Alexandre Gabriel (award-winning distiller and creator of the Plantation Rum range), and moderator Philip Duff (who once had a rum and coke by mistake and hated it) for a rollicking rum-soaked exploration of the real history of rum in cocktails and an extensive comparative tasting of cocktails made with different styles of rum.

[@powermonger9090]

Great panel discussion. I could listen all day about rum and Tiki.

[@govarnie]

Fantastic discussion. Really appreciate what Alexandre has brought to the table in the last decade.

[@michellehansen5930]

After watching a slightly drawn out but somewhat interesting story on rum. The question still remains, Which rum; what cocktail; and why? I would really like to know which is the best rum for a mai tai and why? Mahalo

[@johnolmos8670]

Some say it’s a 70/30 split of an aged Jamaican pot still rum and a VSOP Rhum Agricole. I do Appleton estate 12 rare cask and La Favorite VSOP.
Again it should be a blend that you yourself like. At the end of the day it should have barrel aged and full body and funkiness to stand up to a mix.
People also swear by Denizens Merchants reserve 8 but I find my own custom blend more flavorful. I think Cate wanted to create a more streamlined Mai Tai for Smugglers cove and that is why he commissioned Denizens

[@cynthiastinson7059]

I wish i could have attended.

[@danielsolis6979]

It’s impossible to take a person in a fez seriously.

[@bob___]

I had to fast forward through the inaccurate historical introduction. Then I stopped watching when Beachbum Barry was interrupted