Rum Recommendations

Best Rum for a Neighborhood Party

The occasion is having friends over for a party.  You want to have the appropriate rum for the occasion.  These are your neighbors, friends, maybe an office colleague—people whom you want to entertain with rum they will enjoy throughout the evening.  Your budget is modest (meaning you aren't going to set out the $140 bottle of Ron Abuelo Centuria for them to drain at midnight), so this is when the Rum Meter is your best friend.

·       For Mixing: The 3 best values are clearly Ron Bacardi 8 Anos, Ron Barcelo Gran Anejo, and for raising eyebrows and glasses—Pecan Street Rum.  These will cost just under $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

·       For Straight Up: The two best values are Mocambo and Ron Zacapa 23 Anos.  You’ll be spending around $40 for 750 ml, but the upgrade is noticeable. Really? Your friends are drinking rum straight up at a neighborhood party?  Are you having to watch slides of their vacation to Puerto Rico?  

Best Rum to Impress Your Business Clients

The occasion is entertaining your business clients in an atmosphere where you want them to go away saying, “Wow, they really know their rum!”  There are two levels to this challenge.

Corporate Level: El Dorado 21, Ron Zacapa 23 Anos, and Flor de Cana Aged 18 Years will impress anyone.  These are great for mixing or straight up.  The clients will not recognize these from their favorite restaurant bars. 

Premiere Level: Ron Abuelo Centuria, Pyrat Cask 1623*, and El Dorado 25 are all tough to find, but well worth the search.  These cost $140, $240, and $340 respectively, so be sure the clients are worthy.  *Note: I haven’t rated 1623 yet on this blog.

Best Rum for a Mojito

A white rum is traditional.  There are two that rate highly.  10 Cane is my all-time favorite (8, $30), but Oronoco has come along with the same rating (8, $35).  With all the lime, sugar, mint, and club soda that go into the mojito, the rum can get lost.  So there are two philosophies.  One is to go for one of these quality rums to stand up to the other ingredients.  The other is to just settle for a light Bacardi and try not to go home with the mint leaves stuck between your teeth. 

Best Rum for a Cuba Libre

Raise the canopy mid-afternoon at marker 102 on the beach at Port Aransas.  Pull the Turvis Tumbler out of the Igloo.  There should be about 2/3 ice and Caffeine-Free Diet Coke up to about three inches of the top.  Take out the 750 ml bottle of Ron Bacardi 8 Anos purchased from Island Liquors on Cut-Off Road and fill the tumbler up another two inches.  Squeeze in half a keylime from the IGA Grocery.  Snap on the lid.  Unwrap the orange and white What-a-Burger straw you saved from the stop in Cuero on the way down and slide it down into the lid.  Slip the tumbler into the black handle and give it a couple of easy shakes.  Drop yourself into a chaise lounge chair pointed toward the surf.  Sip.