Request from Dai: A list of unaltered rums...

[Count Silvio]

The reality is this. I think, lol....


1. There is no need for coloring. The single malts and bourbon are good examples.

3. I don't believe "uniformity" in color was ever really the objective. It's all about marketing and a darker color implies richness and age. Exhibit A: the Preacher's "Jamaican Black" rum, made so with double-strength soft drink coloring (not E-150a), otherwise light in color and in flavor.

I agree, there is no need apart from a marketing point of view to add coloring and while I think you have a point about richness and age I think the uniformity is also important; if you see a lineup of brand X bottles on the shelf and they all look different then it would make you question whats going on wouldn't it? Obviously we would think that it probably just doesn't have colouring in it but certainly Joe Average would not think of this immediately.

I remember owning several bottles of El Dorado Dark Rum and all of them had quite severe colour variations even though they have been coloured with caramel so I guess the quality control for this line of products is not as high as it is for the premium range.

[sailor22]

If I saw different darkness in a line up of bottles with the same label I would simply think they were from different batches. Small batch and single barrel offerings from Bourbon producers are typically different shades of color.. It is considered a sign of honesty and quality by sophisticated buyers.

I'm hoping that Rum producers will eventually discover that not all consumers are buying components for concoctions that include little paper umbrellas. Perhaps a double tracking will begin to emerge where the heavily manipulated product can continue to be the cash cow while independent bottlers offer quality juice that is unfooked with. Or some major producers will actually want to produce something they are proud of.

[Capn Jimbo]

As da'rum, among others, has pointed out...


The world of spirits is being taken over - and rapidly - by the mega-conglomerates. This trend is true everywhere, from Walmart to BP, GE to Google. A few super companies emerge and the small and even midsized businesses are either acquired or fail.

The name of the game then becomes profit, of which lowering expectations is the name of the game. In rum this is obvious by the unlabeled alteration of lesser rums to meet ever declining profiles. It may start with some prune juice and real vanilla, but quickly devolves to lots of sugar, glycerol and vanillan flavoring.

People forget what the real thing ever tasted like, or never experienced any real and pure rums. They develop a taste for sweet and vanilla bombs so it goes, down and down. All under the control and marketing by the mega's who make far more profit with cheaper altered concoctions.

This trend is not limited to rum, but we've all been Googleized to death. When the public is found to prefer grey, you can be sure less black and white will be produced and real choice suffers. And when only a handful of companies control what is produced, how it is marketed and promoted, where and how it is sold, and who control the marketplace from production to distribution to sales, well...

We're facked. The offerings and our tastes are being ever reoriented and guided toward what makes the most profit, the fastest and quality be damned.


Some examples:

1. The Ron Matusalem Fiasco
2. Alteration of the El Dorados
3. Diminution of MGXO and new crappy releases (Black Barrel)

And on we go...

[rockinrum]

Is there any update on this list? Going to try and locate some of these unaltered rums!

[Dai]

http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtopic.php?t=1193

Check this thread out there is more of a list there