Online Poker Dept: Four Eights

[Capn Jimbo]

Four Eights: Bacardi, Fortuna, Medellin and El Dorado


We love eight year old rums, and for good reason: it has been said that a year in the tropics is the equivalent of two or three years of aging in northern climes. Sue Sea and I feel that sweet spot for Caribbean rums is in the 7 to 12 year range. It's also amazing how many rums one can accumulate on the basis "I'll get to it... real soon now".

Accordingly, I was walking by my handy holding area for such rums and among the pride of bottles were two squat bottles: a Ron Medellin Extra Anejo 8yo from Columbia, and a rum I'd read about and finally copped, a Fortuna Ron Reserva Exclusiva 8 Anos from Nicaragua. Not so long ago we picked up an El Dorado 8 in the ugly new bottle, and long ago the Bacardi 8 Anos.

Stay tuned, review, well, anytime now...

[Capn Jimbo]

The long awaited flight of four eights...


It's not as easy as you think. Doing flighs of four sounds like fun, but in truth that may be all it is. And why is that? Rum reviewing for us is not an easy thing. First we must buy the rum, for we don't accept freebies, and the distributors are well aware that any rum reviewed around here will be reported honestly. Second, we must both - Sue Sea and I - be in the mood and have the time and temperment to proceed. A tasting usually occurs in the early evening, with a clear table, a pitcher of ice water, and proper lighting. No sound, no distractions. The bottle is examined, and sometimes a bit of the history. The color, clarity, legs and edge are examined and noted. The rum is nosed - repeatedly by the both of us for dominant and background aromas and the development of the nose. At some point we'll consider how pleasing and/or enticing it is. Following this is an extended tasting for early, middle and late palate, then the finish and its quality and length, and aftertaste if any. An especially good rum may possess what Sue Sea calls and exhale (which some call a retro-nasal experience).

Tastings can go on for some time, and usually involve several drams as we find most rums cannot be fairly judged until the level is reducede to the shoulers of the bottle. This is followed by discussion, exchanges of ideas and notes, and retastings. A tentative rating is reached, but usually a final comparison to the reference rum for that style is compared. Other ideas may emerge that lead to comparisons with other rums. Sue Sea then positions the rum, and her recommendations for the best use of it. By this time a good, short descriptive and accessible capsule phrase emerges that nails the offering

Whew!

I'm left with two pages of notes, which I then must turn into a review. Those of you who write with any regularity knows both the joys and trials of writing, re-writing and re-writing again. Then comes the bullshit part, multiple edits and re-edits. And then - at long last - the review is posted.

Do you understand that a flight of four might seem challenging? You should.


This flight was easier...

How so? After reviewing well over 150 spirits, mostly rums, our palates are much more developed. We've grown to the point that we have very similar reactions and opinions (with some exceptions) - impressions that we can reach much more quickly. Last, I set up the flight as follows...

1. The four rums were set side by side, left to right: Bacardi - Fortuna - Ron Medellin - El Dorado. Light to heavy, what most professionals consider a proper development.

2. One full ounce of each was poured in our favorite, small apple bowled, short stemmed tasting glasses.

3. First we examined and noted color, clarity, legs and (green) edge if present.

4. Second, we nosed and noted each rum, again from left to right.

5. Last, we tasted and noted the palate, finish and aftertaste, and scored each rum, again from right to left.

6. To conclude we discussed the flight, exchanged our comparisons and revisted the rums a few times. We agree on our comparative conclusions and noted those as well.

Not bad. We'd completed the flight - in jig time for us - and felt quite comfortable with our findings. It's fair to say that a flight of younger rums made this flight easier.

Next...


The Reviews Follow...

[Capn Jimbo]

Bacardi 8 Anos: A Utilitarian Cuban Style


We've reviewed Bacardi 8 Anos Rum before, but never in a flight of four "8's. It is simply amazing what a good comparison reveals, either with a reference rum (preferred) or in this case, four rums.

Sue Sea and I have consolidated our experience:

Our Review: Bacardi 8 Anos is delivered in squat traditional rum style bottle. It presents as a clear light amber, with fast thin legs. The nose exhibits a slight alcohol prickle and features leather over a bit of ginger and spice. Sue Sea found that of the four rums, the Bacardi expressed as slightly more medicinal. The palate opens with a light, honey sweet, followed by a growing leather, and warming clove. A black pepper presence grows into a hot spicy hot mouth finish. There is a hint of a lingering vanilla.

In sum - and in comparison - we found the Bacardi 8 Anos very basic, but not unpleasant. It's not bad, but neither is it interesting or remarkable.
Bacardi 8 Anos is neither fish nor fowl. If you seek a simple mixer, it is probably too expensive, and as a sipper - even a daily sipper - you can do much better for the same or just a few more dollars. In sum...

Meh.



Score (10 is best): solid 6.

[Capn Jimbo]

Fortuna 8 Anos Rum: It's simply ughhhhleee...


Let's hit the deck running. Ugh. Honestly, you can almost predict a rum from it's history (none), bottle (faux modernized squat, phony green), label (concocted) and label marketing copy (drivel about this rum somehow expressing the Roman "goddess of fortune".

Whew!

Let's start with the bottle and labeling which is classic bullshit marketing. The attempt is made to suggest a traditional squat rum bottle with a bulged neck, but then they screw it up. The bottle is unnaturally tapered, and is made of horrid green glass which obscures the rum. Accordingly the too cute by half label which approximates brilliant faux gold leaf, and gold outlined deep red letters in a distinctly untraditional typeface, and four completely phony award-type medallions (which aren't awards at all).

I need not dwell on the bullshit story about this amazing rum being a direct descendant of the Roman Goddess of Fortune. I really need to puke.

This rum presents as a slightly cloudy orange amber with a very slight green edge, and suspicious pearl necklace clingy legs.

As for the nose of good fortune... there is barely a nose at all, but if you go really, really deep you pick up an unusual deep spicy sweetness. It's there, but barely. Friends, this is a tip off. The palate opens sweetly and progresses into a light leather and dark cherry cough syrup, to a mouth singeing syrupy white pepper and ginger mouth finish. The aftertaste is a lip coating sweetness that demands a palate clearing drink of ice water.

Let's call this rum choppy.

Very little nose, then a shift to a wave of syrupy sweetness, then a sharp right into a dark cough syrup, quickly followed by a screeching uphill left into an overly hot white pepper smack in the face. We believe this is an altered column-stilled rum. With what? Lots of sugar, flavoring and lots and lots of pepper spice. Lots.

It has been well said that the nose - aroma - is 70 to 90% of the experience. That rum with such a minimal nose then attacks the drinker with: Sweet! Medicine! Heat!! - simply doesn't cut it. Worst of the four. This marketing attempt will fail.

Score (10 is best): 5.

Next... Ron Medellin, check back...

[Capn Jimbo]

Ron Medellin 8 Anos: Caramel cream


Pleasant. Enticing. Smooth and sippable. At first I though I had five 8-year olds to compare, but after pouring the five drams, to our great surprise we discovered that we'd doubled up on Ron Medellin. It seems like they'd come out with an entirely different bottle and look - from a squat, squarish old flask-like bottle with a low end kind of label featuring a spider and web - to yet another faux traditional squat bottle, with a squashed and unnaturally tapered shape and thankfully, a small and understated label.

Fortuna's marketing department can relax.

Ron Medellin presents as a lovely brilliant orange-amber, a thin green edge, and thick slow pearl necklace legs. The opening nose is enticing, very rumlike, a caramel cream vanillan over leather, sweet and a bit of butterscotch and a background of spice. It is somewhat plain but entirely pleasant, a great daily drinker.

Well done rums exhibit consistency - Medellin's palate properly reflects the enticing nose, then develops some classic orangey leather and moves to a pleasantly astringent clove, to black, and finally to a white pepper hot finish. Ron Medellin is very smooth, entirely pleasant, totally sippable and more than holds it's own. Nice.


Score (ten is best): strong 7.

[Capn Jimbo]

El Dorado 8 Year Rum: Pusser's Extra Lite


First things first. Like Mount Gay Extra Old, the marketing whores have managed to seduce DDL (Demeraran Distillers Ltd.) to toss away hundreds of years of hard earned history, quality and tradition and replace their relatively tradtional squat rum bottle and label with a new "Sham Wow", modernized bottle that would do far better promoting a brand new American bourbon. It is designed to look expensive, for one good reason....

To justfiy raising the price on a younger, less expensive product.

What the marketing mavens have missed is that while Americans are used to decent but mass produced American whiskies and bourbons owned by mega corporations, and actually expect this kind of faux presentation, even house trained American consumers think of the Caribbean as a place of escape, and of small island distillers who still use classic pot stills with double thumpers. Actually El Dorado still does, and many of their products contain a goodly amount of rum made with refurbished wooden single and double pot stills (think Pussers).

ED 8 is not, but is composed of both wooden and metal Coffey still (two column) distillate, and thinned a bit with a four column, French Savalle still output.

Thus we expect the kind of classic Caribbean bottles and labels that denote what for Americans is a spirit reeking of pirates, history and the tropics. Consider the Angostura Bitters bottle and it's slapped on, mis-sized label. It seems much more "real". Why? Because it is. Basta! Back to the review...

El Dorado 8 Year (all the rest use the word "Anos", can you guess why?) presents as a clear dark or mahogany amber, even looks thick, with pearl necklace legs, and an honest green edge. The nose presents a vanillan darkness, with Sue Sea's "orange rind" (my "leather"), deep peach nectar and dark fruits, overripe orange, dried apricot. A touch of deep, dark overripe banana. Some might find cacao, coffee or deep cherry. Modestly deep, rich and enticing. The early palate is smooth, deep and a light honey sweet, with a touch of butter. This moves into a thickening brown sugar, some deep dark fruits (think dark raisin) and finally into leather with emerging clove. The finish is dark, a bit astringent, hot white pepper mouth finish.

As per Sue Sea (and moi) the El Dorado 8 Year is a kind of Pusser's Lite, relatively full bodied, cigar and dessert or special occasion sipper. As Sue Sea put it "thiis rum is like making a pecan pie, and serving it warm right out the oven with a scoop of real French vanilla ice cream".

I agree. An excellent value.

Score (ten is best): 8.

[Capn Jimbo]

A summary: it all works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, you aren't at the end yet...


We rarely do flights for the reasons stated - it's hard enough reviewing a single rum, much less four of different styles. Still, for some reason, this went much more effectively than Sue Sea and I had imagined.

The ratings were...

5 - Fortuna 8 Anos.
6 - Barcardi 8 Anos.
7 - Ron Medellin 8 Anos.
8 - El Dorado 8 Year.


Our impressions were...

Fortuna: don't bother, choppy and likely altered.

Bacardi: plain and unremarkable. Not bad, but not much of anything. At $14 or $15 I'd buy it - but not at what it generally sells for.

Ron Medellin: Still somewhat plain, but enticing and quite pleasant. A fairly good value, and a fine daily, anytime drinker.

El Dorado: A real standout and an excellent value, well worth having for special sipping, cigars and after dinner.

[da'rum]

Thanks for the reviews, but after you mention pricing and marketing you don't mention how much it cost you. It is of interest to me at least.

I'm not surprised that Ed took the prize.


*******
Capn's Log: Bacardi - $24, Fortuna - $21, Ron Medellin - $23, El Dorado - $19