Booze Reviews - #2
OK, not a lot of time for this one tonight. RoadRunner and Time Warner Cable finally got their act together and our service is back up after being down all day. Unfortunately, it's now 11:30p., and I'm not in the mood to sip slowly on a beverage and pontificate on the particulars of a potable potion.
Still, I did commit to this, and I won't let you down. All three of you that drop in on any given day.
Anyway...
Tonight's candidate for El Capitan's Booze Reviews comes all the way from Guyana. OK, no Kool-Ade jokes!
We have a rum, specifically El Dorado Demerera Dark Rum. It's a standard 80 proof offering, but it differs from most dark rums in terms of taste.
Demerara sugar is a raw product of sugarcane. It's not like brown sugar, which has a higher level of molasses, but it's a little darker than turbinado sugar, the kind you see in those "Sugar in the Raw' packets at restaurants.
Dark rum is distilled from molasses, and retains that dark and heavy flavor. White rums generally come out of sugar cane juice, and have much less taste, which is why they are ideal for mixing in tropical fruity umbrella-in-a-coconut drinks.
Demerara rums are somewhere in the middle. I first sampled a Demerara rum simply because the bottle was in the sale bin at my usual licka sto'. I liked it so much, I went back for the other three bottles because I didn't know if I would ever see that brand again. Fortunately, I now live in a city that values fine spirits, and it's easy to find.
OK, on to the taste test.
The first aroma that hits your nose is a powerful combination of brown sugar and alcohol fumes. Not sharp or too unpleasant, but it takes a bit of nosing to uncover the underlying scents. There's a hint of coffee, a touch of leather, and maybe a bit of nutmeg around the edges.
Taking a sip, the first thing you notice is how easily the liquid glides over your taste buds. There's no sharp rasp like a whiskey, and not the icy sweep of a vodka or white rum. There's a bit of an alcohol burn, but I'd rather have that than a sweet sugary coating of a thicker liqueur like SoCo or Jaegermeister. There's a nice toasty aftertaste, and it goes down easily, no chest pounding or table-thumping required.
There is a bit of a lingering taste that's almost medicinal. Not quite in the Formula 44D category, but still, not as smooth as other rums can be.
Not everyone's going to like the stronger character of this rum. If you usually do Stoli shooters, or drink Bacardi Limon in your 7Up, you'd best try a light Demerara first before venturing towards the Dark side. There's some life in this rum, and it really needs to be sipped over ice to uncover it. Using this as a mxer would be a waste.
So, I'm giving it a rating of 7 out of 10 pulltabs. An above average liquor, marred only by a bit of roughness and an unbalanced aroma.
Check it out, and don't be afraid of the Dark!
Still, I did commit to this, and I won't let you down. All three of you that drop in on any given day.
Anyway...
Tonight's candidate for El Capitan's Booze Reviews comes all the way from Guyana. OK, no Kool-Ade jokes!
We have a rum, specifically El Dorado Demerera Dark Rum. It's a standard 80 proof offering, but it differs from most dark rums in terms of taste.
Demerara sugar is a raw product of sugarcane. It's not like brown sugar, which has a higher level of molasses, but it's a little darker than turbinado sugar, the kind you see in those "Sugar in the Raw' packets at restaurants.
Dark rum is distilled from molasses, and retains that dark and heavy flavor. White rums generally come out of sugar cane juice, and have much less taste, which is why they are ideal for mixing in tropical fruity umbrella-in-a-coconut drinks.
Demerara rums are somewhere in the middle. I first sampled a Demerara rum simply because the bottle was in the sale bin at my usual licka sto'. I liked it so much, I went back for the other three bottles because I didn't know if I would ever see that brand again. Fortunately, I now live in a city that values fine spirits, and it's easy to find.
OK, on to the taste test.
The first aroma that hits your nose is a powerful combination of brown sugar and alcohol fumes. Not sharp or too unpleasant, but it takes a bit of nosing to uncover the underlying scents. There's a hint of coffee, a touch of leather, and maybe a bit of nutmeg around the edges.
Taking a sip, the first thing you notice is how easily the liquid glides over your taste buds. There's no sharp rasp like a whiskey, and not the icy sweep of a vodka or white rum. There's a bit of an alcohol burn, but I'd rather have that than a sweet sugary coating of a thicker liqueur like SoCo or Jaegermeister. There's a nice toasty aftertaste, and it goes down easily, no chest pounding or table-thumping required.
There is a bit of a lingering taste that's almost medicinal. Not quite in the Formula 44D category, but still, not as smooth as other rums can be.
Not everyone's going to like the stronger character of this rum. If you usually do Stoli shooters, or drink Bacardi Limon in your 7Up, you'd best try a light Demerara first before venturing towards the Dark side. There's some life in this rum, and it really needs to be sipped over ice to uncover it. Using this as a mxer would be a waste.
So, I'm giving it a rating of 7 out of 10 pulltabs. An above average liquor, marred only by a bit of roughness and an unbalanced aroma.
Check it out, and don't be afraid of the Dark!
posted by El Capitan | 11:24 PM
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