A few of you may be aware of the now infamous "Experts Corner". Unlike say, single malts, there are really just a few true experts (think Ralfy or Dave Broom) in rum. What "rum" does have is a crew of commercial or commercially driven websites like the Shillery or the Wolfboy who are too closely tied, or too inexperienced to offer little more than unqualified and unreliable "guidance".
What happens is that these self-proclaimed wonders gain an undeserved reputation, and thus end up painting themselves into the "experts corner". Once the misinformed party drinking public decides your advice is valuable, you have been annointed and feel obligated to hold forth, now as an "expert"
This weeks victim: Taboulie at the Shillery...
Taboulie is one of the very few regular posters/"experts" and alpha monkeys over at the Shillery. He is known to spend major dinero on all manner of expensive condiments, mixers, bitters and rum. He fancies himself an authority on these. Here is he advising one of the wide-eyed true believers on his view on the "Perfect Manhattan" using rum, for which he prefers obtuse bitters and El Dorado rums.Taboulie:"He made a Perfect Manhattan. He used 1/2 oz of dry vermouth and 1/2 oz of sweet (actually bitter sweet with the Imbue). This is the way I approach a Manhattan if I have to use bourbon. Bourbon is too mild and sweet a flavor to mix with just sweet vermouth, IMHO.
And I think the ED 8, 12, 15, 21, etc. are similar in character. If you like Manhattans made with bourbon, you might just be happy doing staright Manhattans with the ED blends."
Any of them actually. Why?
Because Taboulie actually believes "... the ED 8, 12, 15, 21, etc. are similar in character"?! Really? Now if there ever was a line of rums that were absolutely different from one another, it's the El Dorados - each of which is composed of different rums, in different proportions, and made with different combinations of entirely different stills and processes. These - the 8, 12, 15, and 21 - might as well been made by four different distillers in four different countries. Compare to say the Barbancourts, which are all the same rum of different ages (4, 8 and 15 years).
Taboulie is nuts. Anyone who knows anything about blending or mixed drinks knows that using any of these four El Dorado rums would result in a markedly different drink, not even remotely resembling one another. It's the blind leading the blind, with the only difference being that Taboulie is standing in the corner wearing his bright red, banana stained "Me Expert" T-shirt...
