The Kraken Black Spiced Rum

Don’t be dragged to the bottom by the Kraken! A decorative bottle to be sure. But there is that “black” rum versus dark rum confusion. Whatever the case, it is not a bad spiced rum. I like it better than Captain Morgan Original, but not as good as the Bacardi Oakheart, which is also much easier on the wallet. I bought a miniature (50ml) bottle just to try it.

Mixed with Rum and Coke, the spices come through, along with some sweetness. It has a little alcohol burn, but it doesn’t hit too hard.

Proof: 94 (47% ABV)

Paid: $1.50 for 50ml

Buy again: Probably not

Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

Well this is the original spiced rum, or so they say, whoever they are. I actually bought a miniature (50ml) bottle just to try it. Straight sip equals alcohol burn. I didn’t get a lot of aroma from it. Mixed in Coke, it was underwhelming to me. The alcohol burn was still present, and the flavor was a much muted version of the flavors I have come to expect from other spiced rums.

Proof: 70 (35% ABV)

Paid: $1 for 50ml

Buy again: No

Bacardi Superior White Rum

A far as white rums go, the expectations can be pretty low. Most aren’t aged and some are filtered to remove any color and most of the flavor. I think the Fat Rum Pirate described it (or quoted someone else) as “sweet vodka”. I think that is a pretty good description and I can’t top that. And to me, the Bacardi Superior is nothing more. There is some sweetness, and I get a hint of something tropical in the aroma, but nothing comes through.

In a cocktail, it adds the alcohol kick. I remember getting more of a subtle fruitiness from the Cruzan Light Rum.

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Paid: $7 for 375ml

Buy again: No

 

Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum

Apparently, spiced rum enthusiasts who spend time online really like Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum. I’ll spare you the oft repeated stories about the artwork and the guy behind Sailor Jerry’s. It is a spiced rum with a slightly higher proof than others in the category. Oddly, I get a cherry candy flavor from it. And it is fairly pronounced even in Rum and Coke, as well as other cocktails I’ve tried. On review, I also get a cherry medicine aroma.

46% ABV (92 Proof)

Paid: $10 for a 375ml

Buy again: No

Cruzan Black Strap Rum

Do not gaze into the inky darkness!

I wasn’t prepared for this. After a series of exciting discoveries about rum being the right spirit for me, I decided to go all in. I saw the bottle on the shelf, and the liquid inside looked dark and mysterious. As with most Cruzan bottles, it wasn’t expensive. Reviewers warned me that it was an “acquired taste”.

I finally succumbed to curiosity and took the bottle home. Removing the cork (synthetic maybe, but my first bottle with a cork) yielded the aroma or molases, maple syrup, and a sharper alcohol hit. Not stronger, sharper.

A sip. Very sweet, very… musty? Molasses. A challenge!

I tried it in a Rum and Coke. It didn’t work for me. I have used it in a couple of cocktails that were assertive and it definitely holds its own. It will get used, but “acquired taste” was right!

Distiller: Cruzan Rum Distillery/Beam-Suntory

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Paid: $17 for 750ml

Buy again: Probably not.

Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum

My Second Bottle

Spiced Rum. Who hasn’t heard of Captain Morgan? Even to someone who hadn’t had a drink in 30 years, the name and commercial image of Captain Morgan was burned into my brain. I was intrigued. Here was a category of rum that was, by its definition, loaded with spicy flavor.

Off to the web! The Rum Howler Blog gave Bacardi Oakheart a score well above the other spiced rums that were reviewed (at least among the ones in my local ABC stores). Another factor was the Common Man Cocktails Spiced Rum Blind Tasting linked on the Resources page. As much as people (and Derrick in this case) don’t want to like the Bacardi brand, sometimes it is exactly what you end up liking (look at around 21:00 into the video).

I’m not saying this is the best spiced rum. While quite a few brands are represented at the new (and second largest in the adjacent county) ABC store, many are not. Bacardi Oakheart apparently has a wide distribution, as one would expect for a Bacardi brand.

So, with a bottle in hand, I removed the screw top and was greeted with the smell of maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and some other sweet and pleasant aromas. A slight sip, well, there is the alcohol again. I can taste the aforementioned flavors, but I wouldn’t try to drink it straight, as is my lot in life when it comes to alcohol. The burn I get when tasting it in a cocktail is more peppery than alcohol.

I tried and enjoyed it first in a Cruzan Car. Then, after remembering one of the reviews, made my first (spiced) Rum and Coke! This hit my taste buds in all of the right places. In time I learned that there are sweeter spiced rums, although this is plenty sweet, but Oakheart is my go to if I want a little less sweetness.

This experience only cemented my interest in rum in general.

Proof: 70 (35% ABV)

Paid: $13

Buy again: Yes

Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum

Here we get into the gray area of alcohol. Is this a liquor? Or is it a liqueur? Unlike a rum or vodka bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV), this is at 53 proof (26.5% ABV). The lower numbers of the latter case is common in liqueurs.

Regardless, this is a rum with coconut flavor. It smells like coconut, and it doesn’t hit you with the smell of alcohol. It tastes like coconut. It is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. It tastes more natural to me than Malibu.

In a mixed drink, it adds a nice tropical note.

Proof: 53 (26.5% ABV)

Paid: $16 (on sale) for 750ml

Buy again: Yes

DeKuyper Peachtree Peach Schnapps

Sometimes a product name says it all. Such is the case for DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps.

When you open the bottle, you are hit by the scent of fresh, very sweet peaches. A sip yields the same taste as the aroma suggests. Like many liqueurs, the lower ABV and the higher sugar content lessens the alcohol burn. It’s too sweet for me to sip much of it straight, and for me, that’s saying something.

Of course, with a component like this that has such a potent flavor, a cocktail can be overwhelmed and taste like nothing but peaches. Occasionally, it is necessary to reduce the amount in the mix to end up with a more balanced cocktail that lets the other flavors come through.

And let’s face it. You can’t have a fuzzy navel without it!

Proof: 60 (30% ABV)

Paid: $11 for 750ml

Buy again: Yes

DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker

Okay, I’m not proud of this. I saw ‘apple’ and thought, “that could be good”. I had heard of apple schnapps and was intrigued. I saw this and thought maybe this would do.

Nope. This was not a good idea. The taste is very tart and very artificial. I have tried to use it in a couple of cocktails and I’ve been disappointed each time. It is in another cabinet now, waiting for a purge, or for someone to come along and ask for something that uses it, and then we can both be disappointed.

I’m still searching for that real apple schnapps.

Proof: 30 (15% ABV)

Paid: $11 for 750ml

Buy again: No

Mocha Cola

Sometimes a cocktail is a very simple concoction. A Rum and Coke fits the bill. Or this one, the Mocha Cola.

I heard about a Japanese release called Coke and Coffee Plus. I figured it had already been done as a cocktail. Of  course it had! As a 1:1 mix, it is very sweet. Strangely enough, adding more cola improved it. A different coffee liqueur may also be less sweet.

1 oz Coffee Liqueur
1 1/2 oz Coke (2 oz works well, too)
Ice

Add the ice to a glass, and pour in the coffee liqueur. Add the Coke and stir.