I love that rum has the variety from each island or place where it is made. I try to get people to try better rum all the time and so many don't want to even try because they have only Captain Morgan or Malibu. My wife loves Papa Pillar's Dark Rum. My favorite at the moment is Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
I've actually done that spiced rum recipe many times (I usually use Flor de Caña 4 Year). AMAZING! My guests love it! The only thing I do differently from the recipe is I add just a little bit of brown sugar to it, just a quarter teaspoon.
I used to drink Captain Morgan with Coke when I was in college, but I got tired of it. And these days I don’t drink soda at all, so rum & cola is a thing of the past for me. So I recently decided to try Plantation Original Dark for sipping on ice. It was smooth and very pleasant and had some good natural flavors. But in my opinion it tasted a little too much like cognac, because it’s aged in both ex-bourbon and ex-cognac barrels. I still am new to rum and I’m going to try some of these other brands later, but you gotta start somewhere. I would say another bad brand of Rum is Bacardi, that stuff always tasted like acetone with brown sugar to me.
I had a similar experience with getting turned off on "rum" when i was younger. Just recently tried plantation and now I'm so excited to explore this whole genre of alcohol ive ignored lol
In my country those are not alternatives for Captain Morgan. Morgan is about 17 $ here. Appleton and Mount Gay is around 35 $. Privateer is a whopping 92 $ and Hamilton is not even available. I would suggest a Plantation or a Diplomatico. Those are about 25 $.
Great video! And I love Privateer. It can be challenging to get out there in Los Angeles, but I've ordered online a few times. Always loved each expression of theirs. So good. I am going to use some of the rums on this list to have my partner drink more elevated rum & cokes...which she calls Bacardi & coke. I can help her do better. 😃
Very cool video Lui. Favorite budget Barbados Rum is RL Sale 10 & Demerara/Guyanese Rum is El Dorado 5. You should check Minimalist Tiki & Tropical Standard, one of my favorite books. Chairman Reserved Spiced is a great additive free rum as well
I don't know much about rum. But a bit ago in Jersey, cause PA liquor laws sucks, I found bottles of Worthy Park 109, Plantation Fiji, and even El Dorado Demerara. Very good flavors and I cant wait to try out these options!
I love mixing a split base of Hamilton 86 (or 151 if feeling something punchier) with Plantation OD and a barspoon of Rum Fire. It makes really good Mai Tais and Shrunken Skulls without needing 4 or 5 bottles that cost $30-40 each.
Speaking of Captain Morgan, I have an old anecdote I think you'll find funny from someone's blog I read years back when talking about the only product from the brand he liked, I think it was Captain Morgan Cola: (going off of memory here, so no claims of perfect accuracy here) "I liked it. I could drink it and be like, 'Yarr! I have a bit o' the Captain in me!' as opposed to drinking ACTUAL Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, which would have me kneeling before the porcelain gods and shiverin' me timbers." 😂
I love the Apples to oranges comparison here. Compares Spiced rum to regular rum. If you going to do this, it should be spiced rum to spiced rum. You might as well be comparing vodka to rum. They are two different things
I disagree. It's not an apples to oranges comparison. It's an apples to caramel or candied apples comparison. But hey believe what you want! And you saying might as well be comparing vodka to rum.... Yeah If you believe that then you should watch another channel mate.
Spiced rum is just flavored rum, and as such it's better to make it yourself at home. If you really want to go with a commercial spiced rum, then Foursquare Spiced Rum or Chairman's Reserve Spiced is what I recommend. Jamaican rum's characteristic hogo flavors won't be for everyone but those who develop a taste for it really love it. Appleton Estate is also known for being rather light on the funk. The Signature Blend is great for mixing while the 8 year or 12 year is really good for sipping and not that expensive for what you're getting. If you're new to rum, my recommended styles are either Barbados rum (one of Foursquare's brands or Mount Gay XO/Black Barrel) for its more whiskey-like qualities (familiar territory for many) or a rich Demerara rum like El Dorado 12 year. If you want something lighter, there are decent Spanish-style rums like Flor de Caña. Don Q is alright for the price and Ron del Barrilito is pretty solid. Column still rums are not going to be as rich or flavorful as pot still rums but they can still be good in the right application. Cane spirits is a fun rabbit hole to explore; there's so much variety to be found. You could go into things like blends, aguardiente de caña, rhum agricole, Clairin, arrack, cachaça, etc.
Wray and Nephew, all-spice berries, some black peppercorn and 2:1 ratio of French and American Oak woodchips is a great, pseudo-aged rum expression I adore in my Mai Tais. Edit: Additionally, if you want a sweet rum right out of the bottle but a good rum alongside, Zaya's new NAS label and Dos Maderas 5+5 are phenomenal takes on a dessert-y rum
What are your thoughts on Cruzan Rum? I picked up a bunch of different kinds a many years back (maybe a decade ago) in the US virgin islands. light aged, a handle of spiced, black strap, and a tall large format of their single barrel. never opened the single barrel bottle.
I am not a huge fan of rum because it gives me migraines after drinking it. But Flor De Cana is absolutely amazing no migraines and is a all natural no additives of sugar.
@@aaronbenjamin7362 thank you for that helpful tip now I need to start just staying with premium rums I believe I found a premium rum with Flor De Cana
Looking forward for some tiki recipes with spiced rum! Unfortunately here in europe I don’t think we can get hold of the Hamilton rums, but won’t be hard to replace them with a similar one.
El Dorado is the big brand in Guayanese Demerara Rums. They have 5 yr and 8 yr that are solid mixers. I believe Lemon Hart 151 is available on that side of the pond too for something punchier.
A general rule for rum is don't drink spiced rum. Very few are done properly, and if anything they've been created for a consumer who loves a cocktail or vanilla heavy mixer. That's fine but I agree that it's not the best of what rum has to offer. Aged rums are a great place to start, and in general starting in the Caribbean is best. Not sure if it is the case in the USA, but Captain Morgan is often not even a rum any more in many markets. It's proof is lower than the threshold that most markets consider a rum to be rum. Probably driven by the boom in rums over the past 10years and not sitting on enough stock.
Unfortunately all of these are incredibly hard to find in small cities and even at places like Total Wine in some big cities. Even at Total Wine in Indy all they have of these brands is Appleton and Mount Gay
You should be able to find El Dorado 5 or 8, Pussers, and Platation OD. All of those are fine rums for under $25 - especially for mixing drinks with aged rums.
Came across your videos after looking up planters lunch recipes. You should look into rums from Trinidad and Tobago. Home of the popular Angostura aromatic bitters.
I like Venezuelan Rums - it's where my wife is from. But Diplomatico is more like a liqueur with how much the dose it. Santa Teresa makes a fine Rum Old Fashioned. That said I just recently tried Carupano 21 year and it's by far the best I've had as a sipper out of that country.
@@ericepperson8409 nice choice. Tho the other two i had said where based more on price ($30-40). I do like the sweetness of Diplomatico but I see what you mean by the "dose".
Tristeza não encontrar rum no brasil! O Appleton state que ai custa 17 dólares aqui custa quase 300 reais e é difícil encontrar. Quem sabe um dia o mercado muda, por enquanto é Bacardi e Havana club, o resto depende de sorte.
Infelizmente o brasil e foda nas questoes de marcas do resto do mundo. Eu vi recentemente que tem algumas marcas de rum sendo criados no brasil mas tambem nao sei da qualidade.
I agree 100%. But, i gotta say I've heard Private Stock actually aint bad (as a spiced rum). I was snobbish about it at first, but then i realized my snovvery as such. At this pont i plan on giving it a shot at some point. Hamilton rum should be used instead of holy water in churches (more sanitary, at least). Its divine. I'd also say Wray & Nephew is a steal!
I have 4 actually haha. Privateer Silver (for daiquiris and mojitos) Appleton estate for some original cocktails and Mai Tais. Hamilton 86 and 151 for some original cocktails and nice classic rum drinks.
Well, what passes for what a lot of brands call "spiced rum," like Kraken and Sailor Jerry and Capt. Morgan, is garbage. It's mostly just cheap rum with... vanilla, maybe a little pepper note, that's all. But I WOULD recommend the spiced rum recipe that Lui does in the video. For me, it was a game-changer. You might like it too! :)
Very popular as a category in some places, like the UK as I understand it. Also can be fun to use in cocktails as others have noted. Don't judge by the cheap ones; it's a whole category of its own. But might not be for everyone. I don't get much mileage, but I have a few different ones on hand at any time
I agree that Captain Morgan is awful. But you didn't mention any of the best rum brands like Ron Barcelo, Mocambo, Plantation, Dos Maderas, Ron Abuelo, R.L. Seale's, Pussers, Gosling's, etc. Sorry but I can't subscribe.
Other than the more expensive single origin Plantation Rums, I've never seen anyone say anything on that list is "best" when Four Square, Hampden, Diamond Distillers, and Rhum JM are out there.
@@Lui_FernI just told you what are the best rums. You know what you should do? Learn the difference between "your" and "you're" and more importantly, learn how to take criticism with grace and style. I don't need to make a channel just to talk about rums because Steve the Barman already has the best, most comprehensive, and most informative channel about rums, while Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour has the most entertaining. I recommend watching them, maybe you'll learn a thing or two.
I love that rum has the variety from each island or place where it is made. I try to get people to try better rum all the time and so many don't want to even try because they have only Captain Morgan or Malibu. My wife loves Papa Pillar's Dark Rum. My favorite at the moment is Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
I've actually done that spiced rum recipe many times (I usually use Flor de Caña 4 Year). AMAZING! My guests love it! The only thing I do differently from the recipe is I add just a little bit of brown sugar to it, just a quarter teaspoon.
Thanks for this
I used to drink Captain Morgan with Coke when I was in college, but I got tired of it. And these days I don’t drink soda at all, so rum & cola is a thing of the past for me. So I recently decided to try Plantation Original Dark for sipping on ice. It was smooth and very pleasant and had some good natural flavors. But in my opinion it tasted a little too much like cognac, because it’s aged in both ex-bourbon and ex-cognac barrels. I still am new to rum and I’m going to try some of these other brands later, but you gotta start somewhere.
I would say another bad brand of Rum is Bacardi, that stuff always tasted like acetone with brown sugar to me.
I had a similar experience with getting turned off on "rum" when i was younger. Just recently tried plantation and now I'm so excited to explore this whole genre of alcohol ive ignored lol
I don't know much about rum but I like my two main sipper brands: Doorly's and Plantation. Great $20-30 bottles.
Which Plantation?
@@logicalparadox2897 5 Years and Xaymaca
The white version is the business.
Sip plantations white? That’s pretty wild. Try foursquare if you like to sip, it’ll blow your mind. Hamilton rums are fantastic also.
I love this, I had a friend Johnny who swore by Captain Morgans, I came to see the different varieties of rum for cooking a dessert, Tiramisu
In my country those are not alternatives for Captain Morgan.
Morgan is about 17 $ here. Appleton and Mount Gay is around 35 $.
Privateer is a whopping 92 $ and Hamilton is not even available.
I would suggest a Plantation or a Diplomatico. Those are about 25 $.
Thank you for showing love for Jamaica 🇯🇲 Appleton and Wray & Nephew are my favs
Crucian single barrel premium extra,one of the best rums out there
Great video! And I love Privateer. It can be challenging to get out there in Los Angeles, but I've ordered online a few times. Always loved each expression of theirs. So good. I am going to use some of the rums on this list to have my partner drink more elevated rum & cokes...which she calls Bacardi & coke. I can help her do better. 😃
Thanks friend! Happy you also enjoy privateer 😁🙏🏼
@Lui another banger.
Thank you for talking about the Guyanese rum!! People need to know
Thanks friend! Happy you enjoyed it
Which one was from guyana? Now I got to watch again. My favorite rum is from guyana. El Dorado
Very cool video Lui. Favorite budget Barbados Rum is RL Sale 10 & Demerara/Guyanese Rum is El Dorado 5. You should check Minimalist Tiki & Tropical Standard, one of my favorite books. Chairman Reserved Spiced is a great additive free rum as well
Thanks for the tips! Ill have to check those books out. I have been meaning to buy Tropical Standard tbh with you
I agree with everything you said. RL Seal 10 year is beyond a g great bargain. Super quality rum at a very affordable price.
I don't know much about rum. But a bit ago in Jersey, cause PA liquor laws sucks, I found bottles of Worthy Park 109, Plantation Fiji, and even El Dorado Demerara. Very good flavors and I cant wait to try out these options!
I love mixing a split base of Hamilton 86 (or 151 if feeling something punchier) with Plantation OD and a barspoon of Rum Fire. It makes really good Mai Tais and Shrunken Skulls without needing 4 or 5 bottles that cost $30-40 each.
Speaking of Captain Morgan, I have an old anecdote I think you'll find funny from someone's blog I read years back when talking about the only product from the brand he liked, I think it was Captain Morgan Cola: (going off of memory here, so no claims of perfect accuracy here) "I liked it. I could drink it and be like, 'Yarr! I have a bit o' the Captain in me!' as opposed to drinking ACTUAL Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, which would have me kneeling before the porcelain gods and shiverin' me timbers." 😂
I love the Apples to oranges comparison here. Compares Spiced rum to regular rum. If you going to do this, it should be spiced rum to spiced rum. You might as well be comparing vodka to rum. They are two different things
I disagree. It's not an apples to oranges comparison. It's an apples to caramel or candied apples comparison. But hey believe what you want! And you saying might as well be comparing vodka to rum.... Yeah If you believe that then you should watch another channel mate.
@@Lui_Fern I agree to your disagree. It's still 2 different products.
@@johndrews206 ok lol.
Flor de caña is my go to.
I bought some captain Morgan. I was disappointed it has no taste at all. Thanks for the suggestions
As someone just getting into rum I loved this video and will definitely need to try that recipe
Happy you found value and enjoyed this video friend 😁🙏🏼
Spiced rum is just flavored rum, and as such it's better to make it yourself at home. If you really want to go with a commercial spiced rum, then Foursquare Spiced Rum or Chairman's Reserve Spiced is what I recommend.
Jamaican rum's characteristic hogo flavors won't be for everyone but those who develop a taste for it really love it. Appleton Estate is also known for being rather light on the funk. The Signature Blend is great for mixing while the 8 year or 12 year is really good for sipping and not that expensive for what you're getting.
If you're new to rum, my recommended styles are either Barbados rum (one of Foursquare's brands or Mount Gay XO/Black Barrel) for its more whiskey-like qualities (familiar territory for many) or a rich Demerara rum like El Dorado 12 year. If you want something lighter, there are decent Spanish-style rums like Flor de Caña. Don Q is alright for the price and Ron del Barrilito is pretty solid. Column still rums are not going to be as rich or flavorful as pot still rums but they can still be good in the right application.
Cane spirits is a fun rabbit hole to explore; there's so much variety to be found. You could go into things like blends, aguardiente de caña, rhum agricole, Clairin, arrack, cachaça, etc.
Wray and Nephew, all-spice berries, some black peppercorn and 2:1 ratio of French and American Oak woodchips is a great, pseudo-aged rum expression I adore in my Mai Tais. Edit: Additionally, if you want a sweet rum right out of the bottle but a good rum alongside, Zaya's new NAS label and Dos Maderas 5+5 are phenomenal takes on a dessert-y rum
What are your thoughts on Cruzan Rum? I picked up a bunch of different kinds a many years back (maybe a decade ago) in the US virgin islands. light aged, a handle of spiced, black strap, and a tall large format of their single barrel. never opened the single barrel bottle.
I’m from the us virgin island 🏝️ that’s all I drink in rum or Don Q when Cruzan is not available 😊
I am not a huge fan of rum because it gives me migraines after drinking it. But Flor De Cana is absolutely amazing no migraines and is a all natural no additives of sugar.
You won’t get the side effects if you try a premium rum.
@@aaronbenjamin7362 thank you for that helpful tip now I need to start just staying with premium rums I believe I found a premium rum with Flor De Cana
Looking forward for some tiki recipes with spiced rum! Unfortunately here in europe I don’t think we can get hold of the Hamilton rums, but won’t be hard to replace them with a similar one.
El Dorado is the big brand in Guayanese Demerara Rums. They have 5 yr and 8 yr that are solid mixers. I believe Lemon Hart 151 is available on that side of the pond too for something punchier.
A general rule for rum is don't drink spiced rum. Very few are done properly, and if anything they've been created for a consumer who loves a cocktail or vanilla heavy mixer. That's fine but I agree that it's not the best of what rum has to offer. Aged rums are a great place to start, and in general starting in the Caribbean is best.
Not sure if it is the case in the USA, but Captain Morgan is often not even a rum any more in many markets. It's proof is lower than the threshold that most markets consider a rum to be rum. Probably driven by the boom in rums over the past 10years and not sitting on enough stock.
That looks SO delicious omg
Oak House Distillery in Athens Georgia makes my favorite rum. It isn't distributed... have to get it at the distillery. It's awesome!
Goslings > Kraken > busch beer > fireball > sober > captain
Unfortunately all of these are incredibly hard to find in small cities and even at places like Total Wine in some big cities. Even at Total Wine in Indy all they have of these brands is Appleton and Mount Gay
You should be able to find El Dorado 5 or 8, Pussers, and Platation OD. All of those are fine rums for under $25 - especially for mixing drinks with aged rums.
You should do limited time cocktails with stuff you make in the bar, so guests can come by and try new stuff.
Ehhh you're from Boston?? Ok now I gotta do some googling and go to your bar.
I wish I could get Appleton Estate for $17. It runs about $23 where I live.
Came across your videos after looking up planters lunch recipes. You should look into rums from Trinidad and Tobago. Home of the popular Angostura aromatic bitters.
What's funny is that the lady who was the master distiller for privateer rum (Maggie Smith) left privateer to go work at mount gay. 2:32
Make some cable cars! The one drink I keep some homemade spiced rum around for.
I think I will have to make a video on Spiced Rum cocktails soon to try and move through some of this Spiced Rum i made hahaha
Nobody can make me drink Mount Gay over Captain morgan for sure
Hey Lui! Have you tried any of the rums or rum cooperatives from Bully Boy Distillers? They're local in Mass as well
I Love Bully Boy! Their stuff is awesome. Big fan of them Rum Collective line!
Always adding to my next sampler list 😂
I own quite a bit of rum and the only spiced rum I own is a bottle of foursquare spiced.
Tô be fair, that is probably THE bottle of spiced rum to own if you own any
Try Tanduay 1854 or Ron Zacapa 23 ,good stuff .
Diplomatico and Santa Teresa both FAARRR better and at a fair price point.
I like Venezuelan Rums - it's where my wife is from. But Diplomatico is more like a liqueur with how much the dose it. Santa Teresa makes a fine Rum Old Fashioned. That said I just recently tried Carupano 21 year and it's by far the best I've had as a sipper out of that country.
@@ericepperson8409 nice choice. Tho the other two i had said where based more on price ($30-40). I do like the sweetness of Diplomatico but I see what you mean by the "dose".
Is there a rum that’s like Ricardo coconut rum available in the US?
Did you try the Don Papa Rum already, there are a few different ones and they are all pretty damn good!
Appleton Estate enough said
Tristeza não encontrar rum no brasil! O Appleton state que ai custa 17 dólares aqui custa quase 300 reais e é difícil encontrar. Quem sabe um dia o mercado muda, por enquanto é Bacardi e Havana club, o resto depende de sorte.
Infelizmente o brasil e foda nas questoes de marcas do resto do mundo. Eu vi recentemente que tem algumas marcas de rum sendo criados no brasil mas tambem nao sei da qualidade.
I agree 100%. But, i gotta say I've heard Private Stock actually aint bad (as a spiced rum). I was snobbish about it at first, but then i realized my snovvery as such. At this pont i plan on giving it a shot at some point.
Hamilton rum should be used instead of holy water in churches (more sanitary, at least). Its divine.
I'd also say Wray & Nephew is a steal!
Different price point than Capt Morgan but have you tried the rums from Ten to One yet?
Honestley captin morgan migh be the only rum i drink just because it basically has my initials lol
I’ve learned that Lui has approximately 18 well rums
I have 4 actually haha. Privateer Silver (for daiquiris and mojitos) Appleton estate for some original cocktails and Mai Tais. Hamilton 86 and 151 for some original cocktails and nice classic rum drinks.
Where can I get the glass from
Total Wine or online.
How sacrilegious would it be to make a spiced tequila? I am thinking a reposado like Cimarron would be interesting
Give it a go! Might be cool.
What if I never started to drink it? 😂
Unpopular opinion captain Morgan rum and coke over Jack Daniel Jack and coke any day
I don't get why anyone would need spiced rum.
I use it to make a cocktail called a "cable car."
Well, what passes for what a lot of brands call "spiced rum," like Kraken and Sailor Jerry and Capt. Morgan, is garbage. It's mostly just cheap rum with... vanilla, maybe a little pepper note, that's all. But I WOULD recommend the spiced rum recipe that Lui does in the video. For me, it was a game-changer. You might like it too! :)
For cocktails?
Very popular as a category in some places, like the UK as I understand it. Also can be fun to use in cocktails as others have noted. Don't judge by the cheap ones; it's a whole category of its own. But might not be for everyone.
I don't get much mileage, but I have a few different ones on hand at any time
Because people don’t know what good rum is.
I've been trying to tell a buddy of mine this for a while thanks for putting it in video form
No problem 👍
How about saint James?
dont drink captain morgan, drink this expensive rums instead xDDDDD
Captain Morgan is a Jamaican rum
It’s made in St.Croix U.S. Virgin Islands 🇻🇮 not in Jamaica 🇯🇲
Brugal.....
Captain Morgan has its place... as a mixer with Coke. IMO it makes the best Cuba Libre, and you won't feel bad ruining a good rum with coke.
The problem is that the best spirit to mix with coke is tequila.
The only gay I like is Mount gay
Cable Car?
Captain Morgan and Bacardi are crap. Appleton and Don Q for me.
Jamaican rums are nasty. Rums from virtually any other Caribbean island are better.
I agree that Captain Morgan is awful. But you didn't mention any of the best rum brands like Ron Barcelo, Mocambo, Plantation, Dos Maderas, Ron Abuelo, R.L. Seale's, Pussers, Gosling's, etc. Sorry but I can't subscribe.
Okay. you know what you should do? Make youre own channel and talk about what you feel are the best rums
Other than the more expensive single origin Plantation Rums, I've never seen anyone say anything on that list is "best" when Four Square, Hampden, Diamond Distillers, and Rhum JM are out there.
@@ericepperson8409 RL Seale is Foursquare
@@Default78334 I forget that since it’s in a trick bottle. Honestly plenty of other rums out there I would rather grab than Seale.
@@Lui_FernI just told you what are the best rums. You know what you should do? Learn the difference between "your" and "you're" and more importantly, learn how to take criticism with grace and style. I don't need to make a channel just to talk about rums because Steve the Barman already has the best, most comprehensive, and most informative channel about rums, while Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour has the most entertaining. I recommend watching them, maybe you'll learn a thing or two.