Rum: El Dorado 15-year vs. Appleton 21-year; other rums too

My apologies if this has been brought up before. I was fairly certain a rum tasting (with tasting notes) took place but I could not locate the thread via the 'search' function.

Appleton Estate, 21-year, Jamaica, 96 proof

vs.

El Dorado, 15 year Special Reserve, Guayana, 80 proof, Demerara Rhum

Over the past 8 weeks or so I've been sipping/enjoying both of these fine spirits -- usually with a minor amount of ice -- side by side. I have to say that it's really hard to choose between the 2, as to which I enjoy more. There are 2 very different styles here. The Appleton finishes like no other spirit I've ever tasted . . . but so does the El Dorado.

Appleton: First thought: Whoa

Nutty and sweet. Sugary and vanilla. Buttery. Subtle. Candy. Especially sweet finish. Intensely buttery with an entirely pleasant lingering sweetness. Mellow.

El Dorado: First thought: Wow

Woody and herbacious, especially up front. More complex. Sugary but more so up front than the Appleton. More astingent but also more intense in flavor, especially in the finish. You can really taste the barrel here but in a completely enjoyable way.

They're both undeniably distinctive, so the additional money spent on the Appleton cannot be considered unnecessary, by any means. These are both rip-roaringly fine rums. They're quite different, which in this day and age of generification, is monstrously refreshing. But here's the thing: The Appleton retails for approximately $120, the El Dorado retails for about $35. On that basis, if you had to choose just one, the El Dorado wins out. Appleton is a textbook rendition of 'mild' rum. This would make a great gift to anyone who appreciates fine spirits. The El Dorado is a phenomenal example of what I like to call a 'wild' rum, which ultimately, could be crowned as the better value. Ultimately, it would make a great gift as well, for anyone who understands that price and value are not always syonymous. As for sipping, either would suit me just fine.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:My apologies if this has been brought up before. I was fairly certain a rum tasting (with tasting notes) took place but I could not locate the thread via the 'search' function.

I attended a rum tasting recently with a few LTHers. Do people ever really leave those things with any capacity left to write up notes?

Ronnie,

You should include a Ron Zacapa 17 yr. old Centenario in that comparison.

Tim

Haitian rums are great and a great value. Been drinking Barbancourt for many years.

Tim wrote:You should include a Ron Zacapa 17 yr. old Centenario in that comparison.

I just might do that. Thanks, for the tip. I notice that even the 23-year is only around $40/bottle, which is very nice.

I also have some Macambo 20-year -- also a nice value at around $40/bottle -- which I hope to post about soon.

JeffB wrote:Haitian rums are great and a great value. Been drinking Barbancourt for many years.

Yes, I agree. I have some 4-year, some 8-year and some 15-year, all of which I drink regularly. My favorite home-made daiquiri uses 1 oz of the Barbancourt 4-year and 1 oz of Cruzan Estate (light), along with .75 ounces each of simple syrup and fresh lime juice.

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Tim wrote:Ronnie,

You should include a Ron Zacapa 17 yr. old Centenario in that comparison.

Tim

Picked up a bottle of Ron Zacapa Solera 23-year (Guatemala) today at Binny's in Highland Park at a slightly audacious $50. This is a fantastic rum with simultaneous strength and smoothness that I have never before experieneced in a rum. There is a sugary sweetness that cannot be denied but the complexity and aging temper it magnificently on the palate. It's complex from start to fininsh but with a mellow and completely ethereal aftertaste. Without question, this is one of the finest rums I've tasted and even at this price point (it can be found for around $40 all over the internet), it's an excellent value, too.

Thanks, Tim, for the suggestion.

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an article that may be of interest:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/dinin ... ml?_r=1&em

If you like the Ron Z 23yr, you should also take a look at the Zaya Gran Reserva 12 yr. Another excellent run, locally it can be found under $40 and I put it in the same league as the RZ23. Even though it is labeled as much younger, I have a feeling that the majority to the rum in the ZG is 12yrs old while the RZ23 has the OLDEST at 23yrs old.

SSDD

I first tasted Ron Zacapa's 23 year Centenario at Morseland in Roger's Park 7 years ago; I fell in love immediately. They have a surprisingly large selection of sipping rums (not on the menu) at Morseland and the bartender was excited to talk with me at length about them. At least they did 5+ years ago, haven't been back in a while.

I hope someday to try the Zacapa XO, but I don't think it's available in the US. Either way, at the price it falls into the same category as Sam Adam's Utopias - the "pray that someone else shares some with me" category.

Morseland
http://morseland.com/
1218 W. Morse Ave.
Rogers Park - Chicago
773.764.8900

Thanks, teatpuller, for the link to the NYT piece. There was another rum piece by Eric Asimov in the NYT yesterday, to which a friend sent me the link:

Older Isn’t Always Better

Regarding this particular piece, I thought it was interesting but it still comes down to personal preference and frankly, mood. What interested me was that I agreed with a lot of the panel opinions but disagreed almost entirely with Asimov. The 2 rums he identified as favorites are not rums I particularly care for, whereas the panel chose several rums that are among my favorites.

headcase wrote:If you like the Ron Z 23yr, you should also take a look at the Zaya Gran Reserva 12 yr. Another excellent run, locally it can be found under $40 and I put it in the same league as the RZ23. Even though it is labeled as much younger, I have a feeling that the majority to the rum in the ZG is 12yrs old while the RZ23 has the OLDEST at 23yrs old.

Thanks, for the tip. I agree about the actual age of the 23 being much younger and essentially unknown. The 'solera' system is a bit hard to pin down. I will defintely try the ZGR12 asap.

For any rum fans out there I highly recommend And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis. It was originally recommended to me by Brad and Jason at Bar DeVille. It's a highly entertaining, informative and very well-written book.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:For any rum fans out there I highly recommend And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis. It was originally recommended to me by Brad and Jason at Bar DeVille. It's a highly entertaining, informative and very well-written book.

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I agree totally, and I would be willing to lend my copy to someone if anyone is interested.

SSDD

ronnie_suburban wrote:

headcase wrote:If you like the Ron Z 23yr, you should also take a look at the Zaya Gran Reserva 12 yr. Another excellent run, locally it can be found under $40 and I put it in the same league as the RZ23. Even though it is labeled as much younger, I have a feeling that the majority to the rum in the ZG is 12yrs old while the RZ23 has the OLDEST at 23yrs old.

Thanks, for the tip. I agree about the actual age of the 23 being much younger and essentially unknown. The 'solera' system is a bit hard to pin down. I will defintely try the ZGR12 asap.

I just wanted to amend my earlier post as I just tried the RZ23 and ZGR12 one after each other. While the ZGR12 is a very good rum, very deep, alot of flavor, but it does have some burn to it that isn't present in the RZ23. While it is still very sipable it is not in the same class as the RZ23.

SSDD

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Tim wrote:Ronnie,

You should include a Ron Zacapa 17 yr. old Centenario in that comparison.

Tim

Picked up a bottle of Ron Zacapa Solera 23-year (Guatemala) today at Binny's in Highland Park at a slightly audacious $50. This is a fantastic rum with simultaneous strength and smoothness that I have never before experieneced in a rum. There is a sugary sweetness that cannot be denied but the complexity and aging temper it magnificently on the palate. It's complex from start to fininsh but with a mellow and completely ethereal aftertaste. Without question, this is one of the finest rums I've tasted and even at this price point (it can be found for around $40 all over the internet), it's an excellent value, too.

Thanks, Tim, for the suggestion.

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After a night tasting Ronnie's excellent rums on Saturday, I got to taste the Ron Zacapa 23 on Sunday at a friend's house. They had a nearly full bottle that a friend brought for them from Guatemala (turns out you can buy it at Binny's, ha). I couldn't agree more with Ronnie's description. Very smooth and sweet, with a ton of vanilla on the finish and a thick almost syrupy mouthfeel that coats your mouth with warmth. I was never a rum drinker before (more of a scotch and bourbon guy), but after this weekend, I will definitely be picking up a bottle of rum.

turkob wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Tim wrote:Ronnie,

You should include a Ron Zacapa 17 yr. old Centenario in that comparison.

Tim

Picked up a bottle of Ron Zacapa Solera 23-year (Guatemala) today at Binny's in Highland Park at a slightly audacious $50. This is a fantastic rum with simultaneous strength and smoothness that I have never before experieneced in a rum. There is a sugary sweetness that cannot be denied but the complexity and aging temper it magnificently on the palate. It's complex from start to fininsh but with a mellow and completely ethereal aftertaste. Without question, this is one of the finest rums I've tasted and even at this price point (it can be found for around $40 all over the internet), it's an excellent value, too.

Thanks, Tim, for the suggestion.

=R=

After a night tasting Ronnie's excellent rums on Saturday, I got to taste the Ron Zacapa 23 on Sunday at a friend's house. They had a nearly full bottle that a friend brought for them from Guatemala (turns out you can buy it at Binny's, ha). I couldn't agree more with Ronnie's description. Very smooth and sweet, with a ton of vanilla on the finish and a thick almost syrupy mouthfeel that coats your mouth with warmth. I was never a rum drinker before (more of a scotch and bourbon guy), but after this weekend, I will definitely be picking up a bottle of rum.

I had the pleasure of tasting the Zacapa 23 yr old at Sun Wah the other night and have to agree whole-heartedly..wow! I'm not a huge rum drinker bit have enjoyed a nice glass of rum, neat, in the past. I'm planning to pick up a bottle of the Zacapa 23 yr old next time I'm at Binnys...which will probably be in the next couple of days!

Thanks again Ronnie for the generosity!

With all these new rum (and rhum) converts, maybe we should have a rum-tasting!

Just watching people tasting Ronnie's rums was fun! He offered, but I was more interested in the Cristallino and declined. But the discussions, the fun people were having doing comparisons, how much of a kick Ronnie was getting from being able to share the tastes, it was a beautiful thing

It was at least as much fun to be on the receiving end of the rums Thanks again, Ronnie

I just picked up a bottle of the Zacapa 23 yr old at Binnys at lunchtime today. I can't wait to break into that bottle later this evening! Thanks again Ronnie for introducing it to me!

Llama wrote:With all these new rum (and rhum) converts, maybe we should have a rum-tasting!

I fully agree . . . think I'll start now!

Seriously, though, it sounds like a great idea for sometime right after the holidays.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:

Llama wrote:With all these new rum (and rhum) converts, maybe we should have a rum-tasting!

I fully agree . . . think I'll start now!

Seriously, though, it sounds like a great idea for sometime right after the holidays.

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I'm sure I'll start doing some, uh... "research" during the holiday season.

I'm on tight budget but love my rum ---- i found a 12 year aged El Dorado at Mister Joseph in Highwood.
I took a awhile to find the rum section and work my way around the boxes and mass inventories but it was well worth it for the price - I think it was under $20 like it was priced in 2005 or something. So what if i had to dirty my sleeve when I wiped off the dust - I could afford and it was lot better that the Brugal Anejo that I was buying at Sams before they closed.

So where's the Chicago version of Rum Jungle (Mandalay Bay).

I was making some Hemingway daiquiris for guests last night and needed a bottle of white rum. I had some Bacardi sitting around the house but thought that my cocktails could use more help than that. Besides, I'm saving it for 50 Cent's birthday. At any rate I purchased a bottle of Oronoco. It made some tasty cocktails and just for kicks I poured a bit in a glass for a taste. I was shocked at how flavorful this white rum was. If I had any complaints it would be that the molasses/caramel flavor was a bit too prevalent. And I might complain that it cost $40.

deesher wrote:I was making some Hemingway daiquiris for guests last night and needed a bottle of white rum. I had some Bacardi sitting around the house but thought that my cocktails could use more help than that. Besides, I'm saving it for 50 Cent's birthday. At any rate I purchased a bottle of Oronoco. It made some tasty cocktails and just for kicks I poured a bit in a glass for a taste. I was shocked at how flavorful this white rum was. If I had any complaints it would be that the molasses/caramel flavor was a bit too prevalent. And I might complain that it cost $40.

The Oronoco reminds me a bit of some Agricole Rhums I've tried but minus some of the sharpness. I tried it at Bar DeVille when the folks from Velvet Tango Room in Cleveland were in town visiting. They made a few drinks using the Oronoco and I really enjoyed them. I picked up a bottle for my home bar but have yet to crack it open. I'm post-op and still a couple weeks away from being able to drink alcohol but will definitely be hitting some of my unopened rums once the drinking resumes.

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Hi,

The question about the definition of a aged rum is very complex. Even Ed Hamilton does not take up the aging and/or solera process. The Ron Zacapa story is really interesting and open to negative interpretation.

The rum is produced from cane sugar near the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Production in column stills and aging in charred oak barrels takes place about 1 1/2 miles above sea level, resulting in a lower "angels share". The Centenario, aged 23 years, used to be labeled "genuine aged rum". They now have a new distributor who has changed the label to "System Solera 23". Their claim is that they only replace rum by evaporation with the next vintage with no rum less than 6 years old in the final bottling.

While we might question regulations in different countries and the veracity of labeling, it sure fills my snifter with a glorious aroma and taste.

Tim

The Floating Rum Shack

I just bought 2 bottles pf the 23yr old at the Bogata airport Duty Free for $80 - (it was $50 for one!)
Open it this weekend and I really enjoyed the rich smokey molasses flavor and the buzz helped me forget that my wife had gifted the other bottle to someone she works with - who had given her a bottle of Brugal when returning from the DR.

I did recently buy a bottle of Ron Matusalem 15 yr old at La Unica on Devon which I found while waiting for my Cubano.
It was under $30 and I thought it was really good.

So how do those prices stack up?

PS thanks for the link to The Floating Rum Shack

Hi,

I have paid between $34 and $40 for the Ron Zacapa Centenario. My local wine consultant sells it for $56. I'm not sure how much their 15 year old runs.

Tim

I know this started off as El Dorado vs Appleton 21 year old but it regressed into Ron Zacapa's rums (no disrespect to Zacapa rums).

I want to make a correction to the lead post. El Dorado is NOT a Haitian rum. El Dorado rums are created, bottled and distributed in and out of Guyana, South America.

El Dorado has the 5 year, 10 year, 12 year, 15 and 21 year old rums, some in special reserve (such as the famous 15 year old) editions. These rums have won numerous awards over the years and many folks agree that the 15 year old is arguably the World's best rum. It has won numerous gold medals at the International Wine and Spirit competition and other international competitions year after year since 1994. Quite an accomplishment.

I just wanted to point that out because I think it is important to know exactly where all famous rums are coming from and what goes into making and preserving these special spirits.

GTman wrote:I know this started off as El Dorado vs Appleton 21 year old but it regressed into Ron Zacapa's rums (no disrespect to Zacapa rums).

I want to make a correction to the lead post. El Dorado is NOT a Haitian rum. El Dorado rums are created, bottled and distributed in and out of Guyana, South America.

El Dorado has the 5 year, 10 year, 12 year, 15 and 21 year old rums, some in special reserve (such as the famous 15 year old) editions. These rums have won numerous awards over the years and many folks agree that the 15 year old is arguably the World's best rum. It has won numerous gold medals at the International Wine and Spirit competition and other international competitions year after year since 1994. Quite an accomplishment.

I just wanted to point that out because I think it is important to know exactly where all famous rums are coming from and what goes into making and preserving these special spirits.

Yikes! Sorry for the egregious error. Yes, of course, they are from Guayana. Must have been some rum-induced brainlock. It's the Barbancourt rums -- also quite excellent -- that come out of Haiti. I made the correction above.

Thanks!

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I recently returned from Nicaragua, where I really enjoyed the Flor de Cana 7 year. It also comes in a 12 year, which I've found at Binny's, but I have a strong preference for the 7 year. Has anyone spotted this? It reminds me more of a good scotch than rum, very interesting stuff.

Ursiform wrote:I recently returned from Nicaragua, where I really enjoyed the Flor de Cana 7 year. It also comes in a 12 year, which I've found at Binny's, but I have a strong preference for the 7 year. Has anyone spotted this? It reminds me more of a good scotch than rum, very interesting stuff.

I don't remember seeing it locally but I've ordered it online.

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