Rum Bars

Here in South Carolina, the closest thing to a RUM bar that we've got would be Voodoo Tiki Bar in Charleston, SC. However, more and more RUM bars seem to be popping up around the rest of the country. I thought I would take a second to mention some of the great RUM bars out there.

I have been to Pat Croce's RUM Barrel, in Key West, FL. With Johnny Depp proportedly being a part-owner, this RUM bar is themed completely in Pirate's of the Caribbean. Ask to see the 120+ RUM book to choose your spirit or flight. Lastly, checkout the Pirate Soul Museum next door.

Cuba Libre is about to open their fourth RUM bar, this one in Washington, DC. You can also find them in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and Orlando. Themed like Old Havana throughout, this RUM bar is a cultural party every day. Be sure to try their own "Cuba Libre" brand RUMs, distilled by Demerara Distillers.

Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grill on Sanibel Island, FL is another fun RUM bar that I've visited. Owned by author Randy Wayne White, the place is named after MARION "DOC" FORD, who is the hero and main character in several of White's best-selling novels. Huh, it looks like they've also opened a new location on Ft. Myer's Beach, FL too.

RUM Bar in Philadelphia looks to be a great spot to bring out the pirate in you. Their RUM list is extensive (200+) and they run nightly specials.

Other RUM bars I found:

Smuggler's Cove (San Francisco, CA)
Woody's Rum Bar and Island Grill (Baltimore, MD)
Mojitos Restaurant and Rum Bar (Los Angeles, CA)
The Volcano Room & Rum Bar at Bottom Lounge (Chicago, IL)
Rum Bar at Panama Hattie's (North Palm Beach, FL)
Cruzan RUM bar (North Palm Beach, FL)

Ron Cubaney Anejo Reserva 5yr.

I actually bought this RUM a couple of years ago while in Key West, FL. I've held onto the last two drinks of this one longer than I should have, much to the shagrin of Mrs. The Rum Trader.

There are a number of things I love about this RUM: The bottle is tall and thin, they've included a "bottled" date, the RUM has a nice amber color and the label shows a turn-of-the-century photo of Cuba.

Like I mentioned above, this RUM has a nice shaded, amber tone with fairly nice legs. Pouring into my glass I notice the RUM has a nice smokey, slightly sugary aroma with no noticable alcohol smell; which is nice for a relatively young, five-year-old RUM. I also detected notes of toffee, orange cream and a light vanilla.

Without ice: This was a nice sipper. With a slight burn, you'll immediately notice the smokey, oakey, peppery notes. Yum! The finish is uniquely good with a slight citrus taste mixed with a mossy burberry hint. With ice: The burn disappears and the smokey, peppery flavor takes over nearly completely. Good!

With Coke Zero: I really enjoyed this RUM with Coke. I wrote down "silky smooth" and that about captures it. I taste the smoked barrel, the pepper, the carmel, the spice, etc. The linger here is most enjoyable with a mixture of carmel, toffee and herbal spice. Delectable: 8.5 of 10

Margaritaville RUMs coming soon! Finally!?!?

The Margaritaville RUM site has added additional details and descriptions concerning their RUM line to their website. Originally they had announced a launch date of Summer 2009 but until now we've heard nothing. I look forward to trying their four types: Dark, Silver, Spiced and Coconut. My expectations are very low based on the abhorent taste of the Margaritaville Tequila so I hope to find myself at least some what surprised by one of the flavors.

Bermudez Don Armando (Ron Anejo 10 Anos)

This is a fun RUM that my bestest friend Dee Sanders brought back from Dominican Republic for me about a year ago. I'm not sure if you can get any of the Bermudez RUM line in the USA; if you cannot then that is a real shame. The only information online I found for its distribution in the USA was over a year old and the distributor listed has closed its website.

This Bermudez Don Armando RUM was good but not great. I'll admit to having higher expectations for a 10-year-old RUM. It has a slightly spicey and smokey aroma but it also holds a fairly strong alcohol smell that came with those first sniffs; surprising for an aged RUM. I also noticed hints of carmel apple and a near Scotch smell.

My 2nd surprise from this aged RUM was that its not very good at room temerature. It only improved once I put it over ice and then again over Coke Zero.

At room temerature, Don Armando has a nice iced-tea color and has no noticable legs. The first sip starts with a light alcohol burn which is followed by an even strong burn. I was glad to taste that subsequent sips found the burn to be less noticable and the carmel, cinnemon and citrus flavor to be more noticeble. With a couple of ice cubes mixed in the true flavor of this RUM was finally unearthed. Here's where the Scotch flavor returned again with a stronger carmel but true Autumn leaf flavor on show. While of much lesser notes, I also caught waves of a spicy orange flavor which made for a very nice finish.

My last tasting found me pouring a couple of ounces of Don Armando over about four ounces of Coke Zero on ice. While I found this mixture appealing from its balanced sweetness and slightly dry flavor, I now could no long distiguish the RUM from the mixture and was only able to slightly detect the aromatic remnants of light moss. A middle of the road RUM; I give it 6 of 10.

Seven Tiki Spiced RUM

Here's another RUM that caught my eye. I am big into all things TIKI so a RUM with tiki in it's name is a must try. This is a 70 proof Spiced RUM but from what I've read there is a Dark and Silver RUM available too. Their literature says that it's made in Fiki but there seems to be some doubt to that claim. According to Edward Hamilton at Ministry Of RUM, it "is produced at the South Pacific Distillery in Fiji, a small distillery adjacent to the major Fiji Sugar Corp. sugar mill, which is near Lautoka city on the North West Coast of the main Fijian island of Viti Levu." It's raw material is "Sugar cane molasses from high-quality Fijian sugar cane, which has been growing in Fiji for thousands of years. It is produced on a continuous still. The continuous still gets its steam from a wood fired boiler." Yes, it actually is blended and ages in Fiji but bottled in France (for Europe) and the United States. It's primary uniqueness is that they use pure water from Fiji and sun-baked Indonesian nutmeg and Madagascar vanilla beans. It is certainly the only South Pacific RUM I've ever heard about. Seven Tiki Spiced RUM is part of the Bacardi Globe Brand line-up and is currently only available in California and Florida. I think I can order it online. Huh, maybe I am do another Christmas gift!

Horne Rum

I haven't tried Horne RUM yet but the website caught my eye enough to write the address down. It's an 88 proof Spiced RUM. I like it's dark color and it's Hurrican flag label. It says its a US Virgin Island blend of RUMs. I'll be on the lookout for a sampling.

Bacardi Select RUM Tasting

Bacardi Select RUM is 80 proof (40% alcohol). It has a dark carmel appearance with medium legs. In the bottle, this RUM has a pleasant, mossy, carmel, smokey aroma. The smell has a light detection of alcohol and is a bit fruity (hints of orange).

Over Ice: Bacardi Select blends in a smokey, mossy, almost burnt aroma. Unfortunetly the alcohol smell increases dramatically. Taste straight over ice produces a great deal of alcohol burn which is quite harsh. However, I did notice a mix of carmel and fruit after taste once the burn subsided. But let me be clear, the burn is hot and thus not good.

With Coke Zero: Sweet and tasty. This is how to drink Bacardi Select RUM! This mix definetly enhances the carmel flavor and adds to the sweetness of the Coke Zero. Really, it is almost like they distilled this RUM specifically to make Cuba Libre with it. I like this much more than over ice.

Final score: 6.5 out of 10