I recently bought Fever Tree's Mojito mixer following your vid and tried it with PS3, CR white and Brugal Blanco and have to say Brugal came up on top. Really tasty 😋
Steve, the Barcelo & Brugal are both labelled Blanco whereas the Matusalem is labelled Platino. Is it aged and then filtered, hence the cream soda/vanilla hints?
Actually, all three of these rums are lightly aged and filtered, as required by the Dominican Republic. I think Steve's calling them unaged was just a slip of the tongue.
Discovered the Barcelo on holiday and even my anti-rum partner loved it neat! Iced on a hot day it’s just so easy. Big fan of Brugal though, had their Anejo and 1888 so sill have to pick up the blanco
Thanks for another nicely done informative vid. I haven't run across Barcelo yet, but I am going to be on the lookout now as the Cuba Libre is my go to when I am not in a sipping mode and lack the energy to mix more complex cocktails. I think the 40% thing with the Brugal may be an expedient nod to the U.S., Market (which you noted price-wise, and it is listed as 37.5% in a lot of other areas, so you were not mistaken.) They have seemed to be focusing on the U.S. of late. By law. IIRC, rum to be labeled as such in the U.S. must be at least 80 proof (40% ABV) Similarly Dominican Republic laws states all sprits to be called rum must be aged at least 12 months (Barcelo claims it goes the extra mile and ages all of theirs for 18 months). Brugal's roots, as with much Spanish style Carribean rum do lie in Cuba as Andres Brugal immigrated there from Spain and started his business there, moving to The Dominican Republic in the late 1800s for better economic stability. Keep the good stuff coming👍
I personaly like the Matusalem just with coke. Not in a Libre. It gives me some Vanilla Coke vibes. I never tried it in a Daiquiri, so I have to do that now. 😁
You called these unaged rums. None of them are unaged. As with most white rums, they are aged 2-3 years (I believe the D.R. requires at least 2 years), and then filtered to remove the color. The exceptions that I know of are the Jamaican overproofs and the unaged rhum agricoles. Most other "white" rums are, in fact, lightly aged in oak.
You might be right with DR Rums being slight aged. In fact if you watch the next video you’ll see why. However, to say most White Rum is Aged is wildly inaccurate. Yea there’s a lot of 3yo White Rum out there that’s been charcoal filtered. But there’s a hell of a lot that’s simply rested for a few weeks, then proofed down. Plus there’s also a lot that have been rested as you say in Oak Barrels…but again only for a few months.
@StevetheBarmanRumReviews I stand corrected. Beyond cane juice rums and Jamaican overproofs, what "white" rums are truly unaged? In the realm of molasses rums, I'm only aware of a very few, but I'm not terribly familiar with molasses rums made outside the Caribbean/Central & South American region. For instance, I know nothing about African rums except that my impression is that they are mostly cane juice distillates.
I recently bought Fever Tree's Mojito mixer following your vid and tried it with PS3, CR white and Brugal Blanco and have to say Brugal came up on top. Really tasty 😋
For quick drinks, those Fever Tree Cocktail Mixers are great.
Steve, the Barcelo & Brugal are both labelled Blanco whereas the Matusalem is labelled Platino. Is it aged and then filtered, hence the cream soda/vanilla hints?
I would suspect so. But wait for Wednesday, the next video. All might be revealed… 😉
Actually, all three of these rums are lightly aged and filtered, as required by the Dominican Republic. I think Steve's calling them unaged was just a slip of the tongue.
Discovered the Barcelo on holiday and even my anti-rum partner loved it neat! Iced on a hot day it’s just so easy. Big fan of Brugal though, had their Anejo and 1888 so sill have to pick up the blanco
You left out Siboney 1920 and Red Label
Thanks for another nicely done informative vid. I haven't run across Barcelo yet, but I am going to be on the lookout now as the Cuba Libre is my go to when I am not in a sipping mode and lack the energy to mix more complex cocktails.
I think the 40% thing with the Brugal may be an expedient nod to the U.S., Market (which you noted price-wise, and it is listed as 37.5% in a lot of other areas, so you were not mistaken.) They have seemed to be focusing on the U.S. of late. By law. IIRC, rum to be labeled as such in the U.S. must be at least 80 proof (40% ABV)
Similarly Dominican Republic laws states all sprits to be called rum must be aged at least 12 months (Barcelo claims it goes the extra mile and ages all of theirs for 18 months).
Brugal's roots, as with much Spanish style Carribean rum do lie in Cuba as Andres Brugal immigrated there from Spain and started his business there, moving to The Dominican Republic in the late 1800s for better economic stability.
Keep the good stuff coming👍
Ah, that makes sense. Especially with the next 2 videos. Hadn’t even thought of the US market! 🫶👍
Just discovered Bacoo and made killer Mojitos a few weekends back. What is your opinion about it?
I personaly like the Matusalem just with coke. Not in a Libre. It gives me some Vanilla Coke vibes.
I never tried it in a Daiquiri, so I have to do that now. 😁
You called these unaged rums. None of them are unaged. As with most white rums, they are aged 2-3 years (I believe the D.R. requires at least 2 years), and then filtered to remove the color. The exceptions that I know of are the Jamaican overproofs and the unaged rhum agricoles. Most other "white" rums are, in fact, lightly aged in oak.
You might be right with DR Rums being slight aged. In fact if you watch the next video you’ll see why. However, to say most White Rum is Aged is wildly inaccurate. Yea there’s a lot of 3yo White Rum out there that’s been charcoal filtered. But there’s a hell of a lot that’s simply rested for a few weeks, then proofed down. Plus there’s also a lot that have been rested as you say in Oak Barrels…but again only for a few months.
@StevetheBarmanRumReviews I stand corrected. Beyond cane juice rums and Jamaican overproofs, what "white" rums are truly unaged? In the realm of molasses rums, I'm only aware of a very few, but I'm not terribly familiar with molasses rums made outside the Caribbean/Central & South American region. For instance, I know nothing about African rums except that my impression is that they are mostly cane juice distillates.
🤝👌🙏🥂
mi shuh neigh ree's downfall.