I did it for you! And honestly, I'm glad I did, this was surprising and wonderful! Curiada: bit.ly/spicedrumandothergoodstuff Smuggler's Cove: amzn.to/3yym24E Large Sling Top Mason Jars: amzn.to/3y3HEnL Twitch: bit.ly/2VsOi3d H2D2: bit.ly/YTH2D2 twitter: bit.ly/H2DTwit instagram: bit.ly/H2dIG Blog: bit.ly/H2DBlog Patreon: bit.ly/H2DPatreon Gear: amzn.to/2LeQCbW What is rum: th-cam.com/video/v4BLIoXoEgg/w-d-xo.html Best rum drinks: th-cam.com/video/_O_TCeL_gV0/w-d-xo.html Top 5 tiki drinks: th-cam.com/video/yrVcfEpoEkU/w-d-xo.html They thought this was medicine: th-cam.com/video/XAVI6rtOe8s/w-d-xo.html
@@LiquidLanyard If you pick one Jamaican = Appleton Estate 12 year, one Demerara = El Dorado 12 year and one Cuban or Overproof = Havana Club 3 year or Lemon Hart 151/Wray and Nephew Overproof you are set. Maybe throw a second Jamaican in there and buy the Smith & Cross. Those also happen to be the ones Greg reaches for on the shelf.
100% agree w/you on the Kraken, it is GREAT branding and AWFUL rum. I keep a bottle of Captain's on hand for friends who just want a quick drink; Captain and Coke (or Captain and Diet, or Zero) has been a staple in my friends group since we started drinking (ahem, over 20 years ago now). I wonder how a Captain and pineapple juice would be? Hmm....
Here's an idea I had just now: Maybe have a series of "So you just turned 21..." Where you break down the easiest, most ubiquitous cocktails, whether it be at home or in a bar, that the average person would be able to both remember and enjoy.
I remember the first time I moved out on my own and wanted a small bar at home and had no idea where to start. I can see your suggested video as a kind of "beginners bar". If you didn't have a ton of money and wanted a good, but affordable bottle of gin, vodka, tequila, and rum, what would you recommend. And then of course an easy cocktail or two from each. Up the anty with a simple set of bar tools and the #1 glassware (because who can afford three+ shapes of glasses when you've just turned 21) and viola, a beginners bar!
@@TheAmateurListener honestly, I got a pretty good Boston Shaker with strainer, bar spoon, jigger, and pouring spouts off of Amazon for like $20, got some olive oil bottles from my local department store for like two bucks each to store simple syrup, and a plastic stemless wine glass that I put basically all of my drinks in because I won't break it if I get drunk but it's slightly classier than a red solo cup. Including stuff like my juice press, it was all in all about $40. Now the alcohol was the expensive part. I basically used the method Greg described in his one bottle bar video and only bought the stuff I knew I was going to drink. That meant tequila and some sort of orange liqueur for margaritas and rum for Cuba libres. I actually find that those little sampler bottles of alcohol that you find at wine and spirits are a good way of figuring out what you like, though they unfortunately don't have a super wide selection of them depending on the store.
You just turned 21 = Long Island ice tea haha. The goal was to get as much alcohol in you for the least amount of $$. Cool thing is if you buy stuff for a LI ice tea...you basically have a full bar. Can't remember the last time I made one though.
The greatest gift this channel has given me is the awareness that rum does not taste like spiced rum nor Captain Morgan specifically, and is actually very tasty. Thanks, Greg, truly.
Check out Ralfy's reviews too. He sometimes reviews rum and there's some outstanding spirits he's found. Most recent one that comes to mind is the Mount Gay Andean Oak.
@@NinthSettler I've liked Ralfy when I've seen him with Big Clive and the cursed carbonation and distillation experiments, I'll have to check that out!
My go-to's have become Plantation, Doorly (aka FourSquare), and ElDorado. So many great option. I did a similar 'rum and coke' (not cuba libre) taste test last month, and the Doorley tasted most like a 'spiced rum and coke' because it had the most vanilla, but was MARKEDLY BETTER than any spiced rum and coke I've ever had.
So I tried your spiced rum recipe using two bottles of La Caña Grande Gold, a real cheap rum, as the base. OH. MY. GOD. It is DELICIOUS! I took it to a tiki-themed party last weekend and it was a HUGE hit! Not a drop was spared. The only thing I did differently is I added a little bit of brown sugar, just a 1/2 teaspoon. I've got my second batch infusing right now, and this time I used a little less orange peel. The orange was heavy in the first batch, but not overpowering, but I still wanted to dial it back just so the other flavors could pull forward.
Yeah I've also discovered that you do need some sugar with the spices to offset the dry sharpness they add. Plus I go clove-heavy and Greg would hate it 😆
@@devinphillips9704 Hell, I'm not even sure that just peels of some of the fruits I was considering would be enough. I was specifically wondering about Cherries and other kinds of berries if it makes a difference.
Once again, you go the extra mile to make some really handy episodes. Not just a "I'll take a sip from each of these" but also a "Let's make our own" AND ALSO a "Let's try these in a practical rum & Coke application" Great stuff, thanks Greg!
When I was in university I had a job with a branding company who had a contract with Diageo. The Captain Morgan notes were - Silver: made for tonic and lime - target people who like spritzers. - Original spiced: vanilla aftertaste to pair with coke - Black Spiced: Vanilla aftertaste to pair with coke. Also works great in pineapple juice but don't have that available because it looks unappealing when mixed. Point out that it's stronger than competitor's BSR (it's 47.3% ABV) and the inner label reveals the story of Captain Morgan. My grandma bought this one and made icing and rum cake using it. Best use of BSR I've tried. - Captain's private reserve: highest quality sipping spiced rum. Evoke images of quiet/intimate moments with close friends. If you'd believe it, men aged 18-35 were the demographic for most of these.
Having been a significant consumer of the Captain and drank every one of those I basically agree with the break down. I love the Private Reserve and yes most of that consumption took place between 18 and 35 so they are spot on.
Gives lie to the "18-35" too as a useful demographic, cos no one from the 18 end is gonna afford or want the last, and few from the 35 end will countenance drinking the first. The middle two is the in-between phase where you enjoy rum and coke as a staple at parties, and you can be a bopper or a _sophisticated_ bopper ("I'm classy so I like my rum _dark_ "). And when you realise how they're all just variations of vanilla essence and cheap rum with varying levels of caramel colouring, just goes to show the pervasive effects of marketing.
I don't understand mixing spiced rum with Coke. Most are already incredibly sweet on their own. Mixing it with what is effectively liquid sugar is bonkers to me. When I drink spiced rum it's usually just with a squeeze of lime.
The reason I "love" Kraken is 1000% just because of their branding. I love their bottles and the art they put on them. The ones they did for each US state were beautiful
@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick compared to the rest of those options? It still is pretty decent. But compared to actually decent rums even in similar price ranges it is just over-sweetened weird thing.
@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick i have watched enough Howtodrink episodes to know that greg doesnt like vanilla. Also gregs tasting palette is far from perfect, for example the episode where he misindentified the fruit used to make southern comfort as peach when it is actually apricot brandy 😛
The one time I've purchased a bottle of Kraken, I finished it off by pouring it into batches of apricot jam and peach jam as they cooked, where it works *wonderfully*.
I fully admit, I do love Kraken, but I also harbor no illusions that it is "good" rum. I also don't drink it straight, nor in coke. It goes in Dr. pepper, or it goes into a dark & stormy, and it does in fact make my most favoritest dark & stormy.
I also love kraken. I picked it up initially because of the bottle/the general presentation. The kraken, the black water, 94 proof. Its intense. Over the years its gained infamy in my friend group primarily because I keep getting the stuff. These days I really like subbing out half the vodka in a white russians for kraken. Fully subbing seems to intensify the kalua in a way I don't enjoy strangely enough.
I'm told that about ten years ago Sailor Jerry's changed their recipe (presumably to reduce costs) and all the people who liked it were furious. I have a friend who bought so many bottles of the old stuff that he probably still has some left. I wonder if all these drinks are the victims of cost reductions over time. Like maybe some of them used to be more like the Martin Kate recipe but have been pared down to just vanilla and cherry over time because it's cheap and people still buy them.
Sailor Jerry's is almost always worth it because they have cool stickers on the bottle. I kid, but I definitely had a couple box TVS and longboards with many of the stickers on them heh
That... might explain something. When I started at uni I enjoyed Sailor Jerry, but by the time I finished my degree it didn't seem to be as good. I thought it was just me, but maybe it wasn't; I was in the middle of my degree a decade ago.
They did change it. I'm still sitting on a couple of bottles of the original flavor, but my tastes have evolved since then, and I'm not a particularly big fan of it any more. :\
If I'm not wrong they have sold their old recipe. It is now bottled as Admiral Vernon's Old J Spiced Rum ( but they also have more flavours). I know that you can buy it in the UK and I swear that it is the most delicious rum you can imagine. Bit sweet with a hint of lime on the tongue. + the label looks awesome :)
First thing I thought of when you said “I don’t know what to do with this (the homemade spiced rum)” was rum punch. Those spice flavors would really add a whole other layer to the normally just fruity citrus ones there. Gonna try it myself.
My fav winter drink is captain mixed with the standard spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg) with a little brown sugar and hot water. I was going for hot buttered rum and decided I didn't like the butter so I fiddled with it until I liked it. Your homemade version just sounds like my concoction (with orange but sans sugar and water) pre-bottled. I'm sure it's amazing. I'll have to add an orange twist to my drink next winter. Cheers!
You're kinda like the guy who doesn't drink and yet works at a liquor shop. Yes that actually happens sometimes. If you like this channel I highly recommend Robert Hess's cocktail vids and another great one is "Steve the barman".
Most people assume a bartender is a drinker or an "alcoholic" you do have the drinkers but ive met quite a few that dont drink at all (good for them) but are great at customer service.
I personally do love The Kraken. I can drink it straight as a sipper with a cigar, but..... my go to is a dark and stormy. Kraken, Ginger beer, and Lime. I suppose the ginger beer adds the spice to the equation but that is how I love it. A Kraken dark and stormy is my go to drink.
I think it depends on the flavor profiles that people like. Kraken is my favorite cheap Rum. But I also love everything dark, such as molasses, dark beers (I love stouts), I love black coffee with a dark roast, I love 80% chocolate. But I have seen that people can't have any dark flavor at all. I think he is one of them. He always compliments when things have bright flavors such as citric and fruity notes. And he puts an orange twist in almost every single cocktail.
Hard agree! Fever tree ginger beer, Kraken, squeeze of lime and you have something that tastes like a fancy coke! Never been a big fan of coke on its own, but Kraken Dark and Stormy is my favorite!!
@@farrex0 I agree with your point, but Greg also loves bitters which also tie together a lot of the "dark" flavors you mentioned. Still, no accounting for taste!
I've been watching this channel for a few years now and I love every episode. The constant takeaway I see is just that adding anything fresh to a drink makes it better. Fresh citrus? Better. Real spices? Better. Fresh egg? Better!
Ceylon cinnamon is floral and delicate and not "cinnamony", so you'll smell it more than taste it. It's wonderful, but easily overpowered in a spicier dish. If you need/want a more "cinnamon roll" kind of flavor profile use a Saigon cassia, although for something in between Indonesian might work (Saigon and Indonesian are both of the cassia variety).
Ceylon is the healthier type of cinnamon, though. Regular cheap cinnamon is not recommended to consume often or in large quantities. It's bad for the liver.
@@Stegostomatidae perhaps... But then, you can either go cheap or fancy. I just tried making the homemade recipe (3 days have elapsed) and I can say that the orange peel really takes over. Maybe it's just because of the orange I chose (yes, I chose it well. The most fragrant I could find rapidly at the store)... Though I do also get a slight orange underpeel flavour, even if the peels didn't really contain much of it.
Just finally saw this episode, and I have to say... my jaw dropped when you said you don't like Kraken. I love it and consider it to be delicious. I'm definitely going to try one that you recommend to see how different it is, but I do love me some Kraken rum.
Kraken is... polarizing. I actually really like it with ginger beer for an extra strong vanilla note in a Dark 'n Stormy. You can make a really interesting Dark 'n Stormy with Kraken, a lime, and either Bundaberg or Cock 'n Bull ginger beer.
From a chemists PoV, the amount of ethanol in the rum will affect the flavour of the end product if you make your own. More alcohol will dissolve more 'greasey', hydrophobic compounds out of the spices, less alcohol will dissolve more of the hydrophilic compounds. Either of these might affect the flavour of your own spiced rum.
Have you ever considered doing a video dedicated to Amaretto cocktails? I think it's unfortunately really overlooked and it would be awesome to see your takes on drinks like the Godfather, the French Connection, or my personal favorite dessert cocktail the Toasted Almond! I've been watching your videos for years now and I still love your content! Keep up the good work man.
I like making my own spiced rum specifically for use in eggnog because I like spiced in eggnog. I find it easier to infuse multiple spices into rum than into a syrup and I’ll typically have a couple bottles of it used up by the time the holiday season ends. Other than that it can just be a nice change up while I have it available for all those Christmasy flavours just in a glass with ice.
Greg, I adore you, so I want you to know: the reason you hate Kraken so much is that one of its biggest spice flavors is cloves. Tons of cloves for all us people who love cloves. That's why you hate it when other people love it. One time I made my own clove rum and it was so strong it made my tongue numb. I love infusing alcohol, so I'm definitely going to try making my own spiced rum, but for me, the cloves are a bonus, and that's why I enjoy Kraken. Serving tip: spiced rums are also great to add to a root beer float!
He's used clove before in several videos, and talks about the clove flavor of his spiced rum in this video lol. He can obviously tell the difference between clove and whatever they put in kraken.
That is what it is! I could never figure it out what it tasted like. I can't really taste the vanilla in the Kraken (no sense of smell leading to poor taste) but there was always something very strong that I couldn't put my finger on. By itself it is way too overpowering, but Kraken is one of the few spirits I can tolerate -- I put 1 ounce of it in an 8 ounce rum punch and it is easily my favorite drink. I've showed 2 groups of people it using half a bottle each and they both bought me full bottles and now I have rum for the next year. lol
Hey man, been watching you for a while never left a comment sorry, I'm from Canada and after watching this I've had alot of the same thoughts. Have no bar tending experience just home made drinks. You've taught the community so much just being you and being real super authentic and appreciated. You really should think about comimg out with a brand of your favorite spirit it would like you said knock the socks off alot of these super commercial spirits. If you ever wanted to take the plung and invest I'd buy it and I think I speak for your viewers that I would be excited to enjoy it just like I enjoy all of your material. Flow on m8 you really are a light making the world more bright. Take care.
Kraken was my "college rum" even more so that Morgan, and looking back on it... it sort of fit the garbage pit that was the palate of a 19-year-old future art school dropout. It fits very nicely with Djarum Blacks, cheap scallion pancakes, and midterms anxiety nightmares. I haven't had it since, and honestly it might give me flashbacks if I had it now.
I drank a lot of Cptn. in the day & found Kraken to be a good alternative. Didn't like Sailor Jerry but didn't dislike it either. As i've gotten older though, i find many things i once liked cloyingly sweet. Appleton Estates reminded me of what Captn would taste like without the spices. I found Myers rum good to cook with (Diplimatico dessert) Back in the day i didn't really do the mixers but just shots that i'd chase with some coke or cherry coke. Now being much older i've cut back a LOT on my spirit intake so it's a rarity that i get to try anything new (or new to me) Bumbu seems interesting. Mostly i stick to the beer and hard ciders that i make myself but even then i tend not to drink a lot for somebody with access to such large amounts of alcohol. (which is probably a good thing)
See, I guess I'm weird, because I like Zacapa 18 (not actually aged 18 years) and Diplomatico Reserva because they're sweet. What I should probably do, is watch this video and maybe find a dark and sweet cocktail to make and use my own spices on a low proof rum.
@@rogercameron6912 Oh I ADORE Diplomatico, and their Gran Reserva is in constant rotation in my home bar! If you like sweeter rums, give their Mantuano expression a try, it has this lovely brown sugar core to it that works exceptionally well in rum + coffee cocktails.
The branding of the Kraken drew me in, but I do actually like it.... It's a special kind of mood. Totally going to try making a spiced rum myself, I've got some vanilla extract that might work instead of a pod taking ages.
See I'm the exact opposite; I see a weird bottle with a convoluted logo that appears out of nowhere and all of a sudden is everywhere and I immediately think "marketing blitz". If anything it puts me right off buying it. I waited for someone to bring it to a party and, to me, it was horridly mediocre. When you're here in Australia (though I suppose you can have this realisation anywhere), you have this red-pill moment where you suddenly realise how much the liquor world is just aggressive marketing to facilitate cheap teen drinking, as the easiest way to shovel terrible-ass drinks out in industrial quantities. Box wine, alcopop coolers, "cider" which is just apple cordial mixed with ethanol and flavorings, spiced rum which is just cheap rum mixed with caramel colouring and vanilla essence, Jaeger-bombs which were actually more pushed by Red Bull than Jaegermeister, and horrible domestic rum which is better off as engine cleaner. It's fine in the way that not all drinking has to be controlled or sophisticated, but when you start to realise that if you're going to be funnelling poison into your system you should at least have standards, you very quickly grow out of it. By the time Kraken exploded, I was of the age where I just couldn't see past it, which meant I could never enjoy it. My opinion is it should just die; anyone can make a decent spiced rum at home and it will be _infinitely_ better.
@@Zzyzzyzzs oh no, those evil marketeers are making drinks fun. Quick, take the red pill, get away from the fun. Drinking is serious business for serious people, fun has no place here.
Speaking as a man that once drank a full bottle of Kraken with 3 friends while high out of my mind at a houseparty listening to sea shanties, you’re wrong, you’re incorrect and you’re simply not right.
Kraken is very good, I do agree with the "odd" taste but to me the vanilla adds to it, it gives hints of star anise. If I have the money and don't want absinth it's kinda my substitute "absinth"
Ooh I bid farewell to the port and the land, and I traveled a-way from brave England's white sands. To search for my long ago for-gotten friends, to search for the place I hear all sailors end.
Speaking as a man who had one shot of kraken with my best friend while stoned out of our minds for his 21st and he threw up and I pissed my pants and we spent the rest of the night on the floor and the whole next day in bed and in the bathroom, kraken is ridiculous and unnecessary
@@BlueJayPaints It's strong as hell, you gotta take it slow. I usually sip at it over the course of a few hours, and never when high, that's a recipe for disaster
when the kraken first launched they had a gigantic stall at a beer and spirits tasting event i went to and they were doing rum and cokes so you got a lot of drink for your ticket so i got one and at the time i rather enjoyed the heavier vanilla taste over the captain. but i do see your point as i have downed over half a bottle of the captain in an evening but more than one rum and coke from the kraken and the clawing nature of it gets to you. i will say my father also found the kraken to be just god awful but his friends enjoyed and finished his bottle. spiced rum is great since it tastes of something, isn't offensively bad and is dirt cheap. it is meant to be apart of the cheap drunk while tasting okay.
Lol you're absolutely correct about infusing vanilla. It's a pain, it takes forever, but it's so good. I've done vanilla sugar cubes (amazing in coffee with vanilla honey notes), and from scratch vanilla extract, using vodka.
I'm a huge vanilla fan (and also a recent college graduate lmao), so spiced rum, especially morgan, has been my go-to for a while, but i love seeing a expert perspective on the commons of the genre
In Germany post WW2 flavoured rum was en vouge, ppl did their own versions on "Rumtopf" - pot of rum. The spices where similar to the mix you use but added fuits instead of sugar. Idea was to get a spiced sweet fuity rum and use the fruits for desserts or bakeing like flambéed icecream.
@@irian42 yeah, I think up to 80% apv / 160 proof. My parents still have a bottle of that stuff from the early 80s.... hmmm maybe I should give it a taste...
It might mix well with ginger beer, spiced rum mixes fine with ginger beer, but that is NOT a Dark n Stormy. A Dark n Stormy should be made with Goslings or similar aged dark rum.
@@XenFPV I mean at that rate just limit it to Gosling's. It doesn't taste at all the same with Myers's (even though that's kinda my favorite), or Old Brigand, or Pusser's if that even counts... don't forget that if you're being a stickler you have to use Barritt's ginger beer. Which at that point it makes sense because any other combo doesn't taste right - a "true" Dark & Stormy almost tastes like a Coke.
@@JackPorterLight rum mixes fine with OJ, it's just not a screwdriver. Likewise spiced rum is fine with ginger beer, it's just not a dark n stormy. Drink what you have with whatever mixer you want, but names mean something. Otherwise we'll be mixing tequila and jager and calling it a martini.
I actually made a drink with the Captain Morgan Golden Spiced Rum that my friends really enjoyed! It ended up sort of tasting like honey melon. I used orange soda, rum, lemon juice, homemade grapefruit syrup, homemade mango or pineapple syrup (I don't remember) and a dash of salt. I was just experimenting with the spirits I had and I had just made my syrups :) I shook everything (but the soda) and put the soda over in a glass.
I can see your spiced rum (and I agree with you that cloves really can overpower things) working in flips, eggnogs, and similar drinks since those spices are often used. I may have to try that.
I added about a tablespoon of organic vanilla extract to some silver rum, along with the peels of 2 oranges, cinnamon, and nutmeg(I didn't have clove) and it turned out amazing and plenty dark in just a few hours. Completely different taste than what I was expecting. I'll be doing this every single time now for rum and cokes(the orange peels added a sweet, almost creamsicle quality to rum and cokes). I made a 1750 ml bottle.
I love spiced rum, spesifically Ron Miel, spanish honey rum. It's nostalgic to me since my mom used to bring it home from Canary Islands every year. It's like drinking candy.
I don't know if you knew it, but it was actually a way to reuse and preserve nearly wasted rum. The honey preserves the rum, and the different spices (mainly black pepper, but also cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and many others, even some dried herbs) masked the taste. Each shop (rum was sold from barrels here) and distillery had its own recipe. Nowadays they are specifically created, and some brands use honey in the distilling process itself to power up the sweetness. It's a very, very sweet alcohol, but one that definitely worth trying here in the Canary Islands for its uniqueness.
I'm not a spiced rum gal but I do really like Horizon, it's a bottle I picked up from an artisan alcohol shop near me. It's got cardamom, vanilla, orange and cinnamon, and it's surprisingly good even on its own. I like it in a dark and stormy, I think it works.
As weird as it is, I've been able to do amazing things with Kraken by infusing it with more cherries and vanilla beans over a month and then further aging it in a barrel like what you have on your counter for a few more months. Is it a rum at that point? No idea, comes out with a weird hybridization of Whiskey and Rum that is amazing to drink neat
Greg: A lot of classic Tiki drinks have an element of spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, falernum, allspice dram, etc). I love using my version of Martin Cate's recipe in a number of cocktails. My most recent creation, the Easy Does It: 3 oz Guava juice, 2 oz of spiced rum, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/4 oz orgeat and lots of pebble ice. Cheers!
@@MrJACarroll Bottle of Mount Gay, Peel from 1/2 orange, 5 cloves, 7 allspice berries, 6 inch stick of cinnamon, one vanilla bean, 3 peppercorns, 1/2 star anise. Age for 5 days and decant. I also enjoy it straight on the rocks.
I'd highly recommend Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum from St. Lucia. It has cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cassia bark, and allspice. It's also got some dried fruit in it, apparently. Anyway, it's by far my favorite spiced rum because it does taste of spices.
When he tasted Kraken and labeled it "kill it with coke" and "Its not meant to be drank alone" i felt a bit... sad ngl since kraken is one of my favourite spirits out there. Sweet, a little bit greasy, branding is on whole another level and just gives a really cool vibe to it. I absolutely love it. And dark and stormy made with it instead of normal dark rum? No questiones asked, my favourite drink out there. Add kraken, some lime, angostura bitter, top with ginger ale or ginger beer and you got yourself an evening. Dont mix this rum with coke. It will make the coke way to sweet.
It's my favourite rum too. Honestly though, I always mix rum with coke because I'm not a big drinker at all but out of all the ones I've tried I like Kraken the best
I love kraken I drink it straight when I want a break from whisky(I like the funky Islay scotches and things that are vastly polarizing) and want something sweet and vanilla. Also I have used this in pancakes subbing it in instead of vanilla extract and it's great there too
Well, @Joestar, if you enjoy it with coke then go and do just that. As long as we are having fun and enjoy the things we do, right? I like it with Ginger, you like it with Coke. My point is, Kraken is NOT a bad rum. It tastes really nice, and calling it "awful" just isn't exactly objective. It got the nice burn, it got the sweet, it got the spicy. Lets all enjoy what we enjoy best, preferebly while dancing or singing while at it :V
@@MrAcheivable never used it in cooking, but to be completly honest, it does sound like a nice idea. Must try it at some point. Any recipes you could share?
Three things; 1) Rumbullion. Has cloves, cinnamon, orange peel and vanilla. But it also has cardamom and star anise. And I've personally found that these flavours do come through. Definitely worth a try. 2) Kraken is rather nice in a grog. Glass of water, bit of brown sugar and some lime with a shot of the rum. Funny enough though, I'm also one of the few people who can drink it neat, so I may be biased. 3) Didn't know Angostura did rum. Might have to check them out sometime.
@@itsainsley1072 neat is nice. Never tried it with coke, but I don't think the cardamom and star anise would work well with it. Perhaps a bit of water or some ice, like you would a whiskey, to bring out the more subtle flavours. Or a slice of lime.
Kraken is the only handle of anything I’ve polished solo in a night. Not a recreation I recommend for anyone nor will I try again for health reasons, but it was fun and enjoyable for the bits I remember, and good for a laugh with my drinking buddy who remembers the parts I don’t.
After drinking rums from $5-$250 I’ve actually learned to appreciate blackheart as a mixer for coke. It’s easy to drink when mixed and is pretty good with a squeeze of lime!
When I was in college, I loved Kraken. And then I didnt drink it again for 10 years and tried it last year, and I absolutely hated it. My tastes have drastically changed since college apparently.
You need to try Siesta Key spiced rum. Very delicious rum that actually tastes like spices. I also want to thank you for introducing me to Plantation rum. The dark is my absolute favorite and the only rum I drink now.
I've seen several cocktails that call for "vanilla rum" which is a thing I've never seen on a store shelf (though I'm sure someone's making it out there just to prove me wrong now that I've asserted it), but I've always put spiced rum in for that (since one of the spices is invariably vanilla, which Captain Morgan has a significant taste of).
Might need to be looking in a different section of the store. Flavored rums aren't usually stored in the same place as the normal rums. Every liquor store I've been to has had a wall of flavored rum (most of them made by Malibu and Cruzan).
What comes to mind is a popular Indian rum (available scantly in the US, but one of the best selling in the world otherwise) called Old Monk, which is a dark rum that tastes heavily of artificial vanilla. While I can't say I'm a huge fan of it, it is undeniably a vanilla rum without being spiced.
I do like the Kraken, but I can see why others wouldn't. Also I get a chocolate hint from it, but no one else I've asked agrees. So thats just me. I like the branding too, eye-catching bottle. I will be trying making my own spiced rum, so thanks for the recipe and the reviews.
Great stuff, Greg. I've used the Kraken for dark and stormies. Tough to evaluate since there's such a variance in ginger beers, as well. I think it was Bundy and Kraken. Might be another interesting taste test since you've now done rum and Coke.
Great episode Greg! Back when I was just out of college, and had less of a palette than I do now, I used to add a shot of The Kraken into hot apple cider in the winter. I bet Martin Cate’s spiced rum would be Phenomenal in a mug of hot cider.
Couple years late to this spiced rum show (came here thanks to the Malort video!).. but if you can get your hands on a bottle of Siesta Key Spiced Rum from Florida, it might give you a sense of hope for the spiced rum world. Absolutely amazing, small batch rum made with real spices and honey. Award winning. Cheers!!
I geniunely enjoy Kraken, even compared to other spiced rums and especially when paired with coke. To me, it has a very distinct kola nut and vanilla flavour with a nice rummy undercurrent. When you mix it with coke it just gives the drink a new layer of complexity and a bit more of a kick. It's honestly lovely stuff, I'd buy it more often if it were cheaper here.
i honestly just think greg's being a big baby. i can't imagine what he's tasting in there that can be described as hooka tar. he must have some weird connections in his brain. edit: i think i get it now! somebody else mentioned "black licorice" and americans have this weird thing, like 80% of them HATE just the inkling of licorice, it's so weird to me, but hey, people have different taste buds. some just have baby buds :P
@@JackPorter I noticed the flavor in a spice blend I cooked with for the first time since it was gifted to me. It was a garlic pepper grill blend. I cooked pork steaks in a pan and I noticed there was a bit of unpleasant after taste. After a bit I was able to finally pin point it, there must have been some fennel seeds in the blend because all I could taste was black licorice. I must have burnt some of the fennel seeds. I don't mind black licorice but its an intense, dominant flavor. If you get it and you're not ready for it, it can be unpleasant. It's a different kind of bitter.
about halfway through the video, this reminds me a bit of my mom telling me how some of the sailors she worked with would drink straight vanilla extract for the alcohol (with limited options out at sea, of course)
I honestly love this channel so much and a big part of that has to do with the fact that the crew is clearly really passionate about the show and it's great to see them have fun with it this video is not only greatly informational but creative I would even say almost experimental at times and it's refreshing to see unique content and people staying true to themselves
One of my favourite spiced rums is Portsmouth Distillery Cinnabar. It's tastes of spice, rather than just vanilla. I've also made my own spiced rum, using Captain Morgan Dark as a base, using a very similar recipe to the one in this video. That turned out pretty good.
Spiced rum and ginger beer works pretty well. I have also enjoyed subbing aged rum for spiced rum in a cocktail. Here’s one I’ve enjoyed: 1.5 oz spiced rum (I used St Pete Distillery, definitely more spice than vanilla/cherry) 3/4 oz light rum 1/2 oz toasted coconut rum 1/4 oz Cruz an blackstrap 1 oz pineapple juice Shake and pour over ice. Optional - top with a splash of ginger beer
Really enjoyed this episode, especially the part where you made your own spiced rum. It made me think a whole lot like the "rhum arrangé" that we usually make here in Mauritius but we do much crazier variations like vanilla cinnamon in rum, litchi in rum, dried plums, coconut, etc.
My first experience of rum was a rum punch my mum's friend brought from St. Martin where she lives and that was incredible. It was sweet and vanilla-y and spices - yeah maybe it was cinnamon actually... It was so good almost syrupy. Not something you'd drink to get drunk though
Yeah flavored rhum can get so crazy if you have spices on hand. But I would say those are definitly bottle made to be tasted alone unless you know exactly what kind of flavor you want.
I used a combo of an ex-whiskey barrel aged, pot still distilled Jamaican Rum with El Dorado 8 Year to make my spiced rum. Infuse the vanilla bean a week or more into the batch before adding everything else. Add the orange peel a day to 2 days before infusing all the other spices and I followed the recipe the same the rest of the way. That worked pretty well actually.
I've had friends swear by Kraken for YEARS, and when I finally bought a (small) bottle, the only way I could make it palatable was in a Cuba Libre at 3:1 on the Coke and Kraken, and nearly 1:1 on the lime juice and Kraken. Basically just have the Coke and lime jump the Kraken in back alley like vodka in a Moscow Mule. Captain Morgan, in my experience, is best when used in a Barbados Punch.
Captain Morgan has a 'private stock' version that you can tell is actually aged a bit at least that definitely tastes different. It's been ages since I've tried it, but it was way better and stronger. I love Captain. I love Captain Morgan Black but it is even MORE vanilla-y. I also really like Kraken...but I can understand how it isn't for everyone. It does have a very tobacco-y tone to its vanilla flavor that some people hate. I really like it.
I made took the basics of a Dark and Stormy and fiddled around with some spiced rums, what I ended up with was a what I call: "Five Hundred Storms" Highball glass Ice 2-4 cl of Brewdog Five Hundred Cuts spiced rum Top of with a good Ginger beer Thin slice of lime It is spicy and delicious.
Really excited to try the homemade spiced rum! Ah, my excuse is that I had the Kraken like... 10 years ago? The branding IS amazing - like, I still have one of the smaller bottles. It's great as a prop and right now it's full of spiced syrup. 😅 Have you ever tried Pumpkin Face rum? Gorgeous bottles! 😍 Hideous spirits! 🤢
An idea for the spice infused rum specifically: maybe do a side-by-side of classic tiki cocktails were one is the off-the-shelf rum and the other is the exact same rum, but spice infused.
I think I've currently found my favourite is Dead Man's Fingers. Saffron Cake flavour comes through and quite pleasant even on it's own. And it's 43% so even over proofed slightly for a rum
Stupid college student here so I'm like 40% spiced rum at this point. Dead man's fingers is by far the best I've tasted and it works incredibly well with lemonade
I've never done rum and coke, I usually just drink them straight and I liked the kraken I had before but it wasn't the standard one. It was in a grab bag of different mini bottle and I think it had magic in the name.
I haven't had Kraken in a few years now, but my go to drink with it was always Pineapple Fanta. For some reason that with their rum hit right for college me. I agree that they have by far the best branding on all rums I've seen so far. But my most HATED RUM has always been Captain Morgan. This episode has gotten me excited to try making a small batch of my own spiced rum this weekend though!
Actually I love the Kraken for my Rum&Coke or a Dark n' Stormy kind of thingy, but not to drink it neat. But here in Europe the Kraken has a lower proof with 40%/80proof, so it may taste different to the version you got. Over all aged Rums are doing sometimes better Rum & Coke (to be fair, sometimes also worse), but the Kraken is like an cheap alternative for sipping some Rum & Cokes in the summertime, which for me actually tastes great.
Agreed! The states had a 72 proof kraken when it first came out that was MUCH better than the 94 proof. I'm not sure why it went away, but the 94 proof was always worse. And neither of them are something I'd like to drink neat
I like Kraken for my rum and cokes, but I always get the Kraken Dark Label which is the 70 proof so that might be why. I've never tried the higher proof on Greg has.
@@barklordofthesith2997 I don't know what those replies were, but I see a fuck ton of spam comments in other threads. The "ghosted" replies might be more spam.
@@LaceNWhisky Well, we will never know unless they who posted reply again. Another thread on this video, that exactly happened. AKA not all ghosted comments are spam.
I just happened to rewatch your rum tasting episode yesterday, since I've read through Smuggler's Cove and thought I could understand what you said a bit more, what timing! I would love to see an updated, maybe similar type video with rums from all of the SC categories - and perhaps recipes with various substitutions based on the rum category numbers. I really hope videos like this, as well as the spread of information from the Smuggler's Cove book can help make rum popular again, and hopefully encourage more diversity than just vodka-adjacent spirits.
Kraken mostly has me on nostalgia--one of my first Spots in college was a dessert bar that made boozy desserts and dessert-inspired drinks, and their winter menu always heavily features Kraken. They put it in coffee, they make rum cake with it, and I know there were others I'm not remembering. At home, honestly, I've used it for dark & stomies, mostly. I still like em! But I really don't like most other common mixing rums, so I think that also plays a part.
Greg talking about Kraken+coke sounds like anyone talking about my preferred flavour of vape juice. I no longer mind when people react negatively to flavours I enjoy; for one it means more for me and for another it means I do understand my own preferences. Thanks for the spectacle!
Personally I absolutely adore Kraken, but I wouldn’t dream of drinking it straight. Always as a mix with something like mango juice or something tropical like that, honestly it makes for just a wonderfully relaxing tropical drink ^-^
I really like using a splash in my Dark and Stormy's when I make them, as a bolster to whatever other spiced rum I'm using. Kraken by itself is too rich on its own but its got flavors I like in it.
my issue with kraken was that if i breathed at any time near the alcohol i got NOTHING but acetone. i loved the taste, because my pallette needs a lot of flavor; but the moment i breathed in after taking a drink the taste was gone and replaced with alcohol fumes.
Greg, if you happen to have a Costco near you, I got a bottle (1.75L) of their Kirkland brand spiced rum and I actually really like it. Tried it as a shot and with some coke and at least to me I was getting much more spice notes than sweet. I mean it was definitely also a little sweet but the spice was delightful, especially with the coke. Just seemed to jive really well with the acidic bite of the cola. Maybe worth a try if you ever feel like trying another lol. Was pretty cheap too because Costco.
Amazing show, as usual ! Here’s an idea. Try the kraken as a replacement for the gosling for a dark n stormy. It really does the trick when gosling is not available and you want a dark n stormy
I know availability varies in different areas, but I wish you had been able to get a hold of a couple of other spiced rums. One is Bacardi Oakheart which I have unashamedly enjoyed from time to time with Coke or in tiki drinks, and is better than one would think being a Bacardi product. The other is Don Q Oak Barrel Spiced Rum which is 90 proof, claims to use natural flavors, and has a 3-year age statement.
A friend of mine highly recommended Kraken, so I tried it. I didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. But when I tasted it, it tasted like Coke to me, so I used it in place of Coke.. specifically in a rum and Coke and a Long Island iced tea. Because to me, those are drinks for getting drunk, not for enjoying the quality of the spirit, so why not make them even stronger?
I always liked Sailor Jerry back in my spiced rum drinking days. I made hot buttered rum with allspice, nutmeg, pepper, and clove with it a lot of times, which was pretty good. I rarely drink rum anymore, but when I do it's never spiced rum, usually Oronoco, generally with lime and soda. In fact, I very rarely drink any liquor these days aside from single malt Islay whisky neat or with a splash of water or blended Scotch whisky with lime and soda.
The realization that spiced rum + coke will create vanilla coke has inspired me to buy some Morgan's Spiced Rum next time i hit up the liquour store. Vanilla Coke was discontinued in my country years ago, and i still miss it - so maybe i can recreate a little bit of the magic. And if i can't, i'll be too drunk to be disappointed!
@@JackPorter I usually start the night with a shot and beer chaser xd. Been a long time since last time I got piss drunk, now I'll just drink a beer or some homemade spirit/drink, it seems there's nothing left to celebrate for
I’ve bought just about every tiki book out there and the only one I’ve seen call for spiced rum in their recipes has been Liquid Vacation, which is the book Frankie’s Tiki Room put out of all of their recipes. They call for Sailor Jerry’s in a few recipes. I’ve made the drinks and they’re pretty good.
I've been to Frankie's, they're definitely a unique, kind of gen-x lowbrow take on tiki. Not to badmouth them, some of their drinks are pretty good and they're all strong for the price.
Nice episode ^^ ! Captain Morgan is one of the good and cheap spice rum in France I use it for rum and coca cola but I love it in a rum sour ^^ yes it taste like sour caramel vanilla candy but it's good xD ! (and spice rum are very good in crêpe when you don't have Grand Marnier :p )
I love kraken. I get the “greasy” feeling but I never felt it had an “artificial vanilla” taste. To me it always tasted kinda like black licorice which I love a lot.
Very informative stuff. I was drinking Captain and Coke for years, eventually switched to Ginger Ale...and than realized I was drinking nothing but sugar. Now it's Capt and club soda with a lemon. It's a much more refreshing drink, and never gives me that fuzzy feeling in the morning. Also, Bacardi Oakheart is pretty good as well. They brew it in old Jack Daniels barrels, and has a darker, spicier flavor. 1st time here...already a fan, and subscribed.
One of my favorite cocktails has spiced rums. I originally had it at a restaurant call Aroma in LA. It’s called a Smooth Sailor; Sailor Jerry’s (or other spiced rum), coffee liquor, Irish cream, and a shot of espresso over ice. But the spiced rum is probably just there for the pun in the name
I too do not like the term "mixology". I whenever someone brings the word up I always just say "man, I just make drinks". Side note, found someone at a Pride Day event that watches your shows as well. I made a pitcher of mojtos and they called it the "true drink of summer" and asked if I knew of HTD.
To me "mixology" always described the science behind it. The people who do serious experimentation, trying dozens or even hundreds of variations of recipes, developing techniques and then writing articles and books about it deserve to call themselves by such a fancy title (if they so wish). The rest of us who then follow in their footsteps however? We just make drinks.
One of my favorites is Koloa spiced rum, it's a Hawaiian rum distilled on Kaua'i. I got to visit their main store and do a tasting, they have a great selection of other rums too for an affordable price
Kracken was one of my go to liquors when I was in college and I think what I liked about it was the higher proof, cool branding and how it wasn't Captain Morgan so I could be hipster about the booze I picked. If I remember we would mix it with Dr. Pepper or just do shots but no one really drank it to enjoy its flavor. Edit: if you are looking for the ceylon cinnamon mentioned for the homemade spice rum, I have been able to find it at the Mexican groceries near me.
i never heard of the kraken rum and last week i saw the 750ml on sale for $12 and i gotta say the marketing worked on me. after trying it, i did like it but i felt dirty lol. i could tell it was over sweetened and very artificial... but i did like it. i got about 1/4 left and was looking for things to do with it outside of rum and cokes but it seems thats about all its good for.
Captain Morgan spiced and dark rum were my entry into the world of rum. Then a coworker of mine recommended plantation grande reserve Barbados rum,I picked up a bottle and fell in love with the complex flavors and since then I have never touched any Captain Morgan or Bacardi again, except for that one time my friend had a bottle Captain Morgan spiced in the open bar when he celebrated his birthday.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but you’ll have to take my kraken and cokes from my cold dead hands lmao This show did actually get me into appleton estate rum, which i have since used (along with gregs fav the kraken) to make a Bellfield Sunrise (terrible name i know) which is a measure rum, measure honey syrup and a half of lime juice, shake with ice and top with a bundaberg ginger beer. Might have to give the homemade gear a try too, never knew that was an option!
I did it for you! And honestly, I'm glad I did, this was surprising and wonderful!
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Great episode, Greg! Would you be interested in doing a deep dive on cognac?
Those are all mulling spices. you made mulled rum.
@@LiquidLanyard If you pick one Jamaican = Appleton Estate 12 year, one Demerara = El Dorado 12 year and one Cuban or Overproof = Havana Club 3 year or Lemon Hart 151/Wray and Nephew Overproof you are set. Maybe throw a second Jamaican in there and buy the Smith & Cross. Those also happen to be the ones Greg reaches for on the shelf.
100% agree w/you on the Kraken, it is GREAT branding and AWFUL rum. I keep a bottle of Captain's on hand for friends who just want a quick drink; Captain and Coke (or Captain and Diet, or Zero) has been a staple in my friends group since we started drinking (ahem, over 20 years ago now). I wonder how a Captain and pineapple juice would be? Hmm....
You missed out on Captain Morgan's Private Stock. I haven't had it in many years but from what I remember it tasted like it had some spices in it.
Here's an idea I had just now: Maybe have a series of "So you just turned 21..." Where you break down the easiest, most ubiquitous cocktails, whether it be at home or in a bar, that the average person would be able to both remember and enjoy.
I remember the first time I moved out on my own and wanted a small bar at home and had no idea where to start. I can see your suggested video as a kind of "beginners bar". If you didn't have a ton of money and wanted a good, but affordable bottle of gin, vodka, tequila, and rum, what would you recommend. And then of course an easy cocktail or two from each. Up the anty with a simple set of bar tools and the #1 glassware (because who can afford three+ shapes of glasses when you've just turned 21) and viola, a beginners bar!
@@TheAmateurListener honestly, I got a pretty good Boston Shaker with strainer, bar spoon, jigger, and pouring spouts off of Amazon for like $20, got some olive oil bottles from my local department store for like two bucks each to store simple syrup, and a plastic stemless wine glass that I put basically all of my drinks in because I won't break it if I get drunk but it's slightly classier than a red solo cup. Including stuff like my juice press, it was all in all about $40.
Now the alcohol was the expensive part. I basically used the method Greg described in his one bottle bar video and only bought the stuff I knew I was going to drink. That meant tequila and some sort of orange liqueur for margaritas and rum for Cuba libres.
I actually find that those little sampler bottles of alcohol that you find at wine and spirits are a good way of figuring out what you like, though they unfortunately don't have a super wide selection of them depending on the store.
You just turned 21 = Long Island ice tea haha. The goal was to get as much alcohol in you for the least amount of $$. Cool thing is if you buy stuff for a LI ice tea...you basically have a full bar. Can't remember the last time I made one though.
He has already made videos for the easiest, most ubiquitous cocktails.
Bumping. Would love a series like thsi
The greatest gift this channel has given me is the awareness that rum does not taste like spiced rum nor Captain Morgan specifically, and is actually very tasty. Thanks, Greg, truly.
Check out Ralfy's reviews too. He sometimes reviews rum and there's some outstanding spirits he's found. Most recent one that comes to mind is the Mount Gay Andean Oak.
I like rum, and I like spiced rum. Clear mojito, funky daiquiri, aged rum old-fashioned, Cap & Coke... it's all good.
Also, Smith & Cross.
@@NinthSettler I've liked Ralfy when I've seen him with Big Clive and the cursed carbonation and distillation experiments, I'll have to check that out!
My go-to's have become Plantation, Doorly (aka FourSquare), and ElDorado. So many great option. I did a similar 'rum and coke' (not cuba libre) taste test last month, and the Doorley tasted most like a 'spiced rum and coke' because it had the most vanilla, but was MARKEDLY BETTER than any spiced rum and coke I've ever had.
So I tried your spiced rum recipe using two bottles of La Caña Grande Gold, a real cheap rum, as the base. OH. MY. GOD. It is DELICIOUS! I took it to a tiki-themed party last weekend and it was a HUGE hit! Not a drop was spared. The only thing I did differently is I added a little bit of brown sugar, just a 1/2 teaspoon. I've got my second batch infusing right now, and this time I used a little less orange peel. The orange was heavy in the first batch, but not overpowering, but I still wanted to dial it back just so the other flavors could pull forward.
Yeah I've also discovered that you do need some sugar with the spices to offset the dry sharpness they add. Plus I go clove-heavy and Greg would hate it 😆
Can you use fruits other than citrus?
@@Drunken_Hamster I honestly don't know, friend. I've never tried any other fruit peels in this recipe other than orange. So I couldn't say.
@@devinphillips9704 Hell, I'm not even sure that just peels of some of the fruits I was considering would be enough. I was specifically wondering about Cherries and other kinds of berries if it makes a difference.
Spiced rum and raspberry soda is a popular mix in South Africa. Called a R and R. We use either Captain, Tipo Tinto from Mozambique or Bacardi.
Need to change the name to RRR based on the movie
not a spiced rum fan but i will be trying this, it sounds fantastic.
Oh wow, thats a thing?! I love splashing some spiced rum in raspberry lime spindrift, so that sounds amazing!
Sounds like a pretty interesting drink
That sounds... weirdly delicious
Once again, you go the extra mile to make some really handy episodes. Not just a "I'll take a sip from each of these" but also a "Let's make our own" AND ALSO a "Let's try these in a practical rum & Coke application"
Great stuff, thanks Greg!
When I was in university I had a job with a branding company who had a contract with Diageo. The Captain Morgan notes were
- Silver: made for tonic and lime - target people who like spritzers.
- Original spiced: vanilla aftertaste to pair with coke
- Black Spiced: Vanilla aftertaste to pair with coke. Also works great in pineapple juice but don't have that available because it looks unappealing when mixed. Point out that it's stronger than competitor's BSR (it's 47.3% ABV) and the inner label reveals the story of Captain Morgan. My grandma bought this one and made icing and rum cake using it. Best use of BSR I've tried.
- Captain's private reserve: highest quality sipping spiced rum. Evoke images of quiet/intimate moments with close friends.
If you'd believe it, men aged 18-35 were the demographic for most of these.
Having been a significant consumer of the Captain and drank every one of those I basically agree with the break down. I love the Private Reserve and yes most of that consumption took place between 18 and 35 so they are spot on.
Gives lie to the "18-35" too as a useful demographic, cos no one from the 18 end is gonna afford or want the last, and few from the 35 end will countenance drinking the first. The middle two is the in-between phase where you enjoy rum and coke as a staple at parties, and you can be a bopper or a _sophisticated_ bopper ("I'm classy so I like my rum _dark_ "). And when you realise how they're all just variations of vanilla essence and cheap rum with varying levels of caramel colouring, just goes to show the pervasive effects of marketing.
I don't understand mixing spiced rum with Coke. Most are already incredibly sweet on their own. Mixing it with what is effectively liquid sugar is bonkers to me.
When I drink spiced rum it's usually just with a squeeze of lime.
@@MillerHigh1ife you're drinking this shit to get drunk
Oh yea original is sooooo bad but the private stock to me is fantastic
The reason I "love" Kraken is 1000% just because of their branding. I love their bottles and the art they put on them. The ones they did for each US state were beautiful
The rum is great tasting imo. There is a reason it is the market leader.
@@fordcapri6288 it's because of branding, heavy mixing, and availability.
I might just be a moron/college student, but I also enjoyed its taste. Maybe it wouldn’t fair as well if I had it in a lineup, who knows?
@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick compared to the rest of those options? It still is pretty decent. But compared to actually decent rums even in similar price ranges it is just over-sweetened weird thing.
@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick i have watched enough Howtodrink episodes to know that greg doesnt like vanilla. Also gregs tasting palette is far from perfect, for example the episode where he misindentified the fruit used to make southern comfort as peach when it is actually apricot brandy 😛
Oh I am so excited to see Greg slowly devolve into rum induced madness. I don't even drink but this guy makes too good a show not to watch!
Especially all the extra sugar and "spices" in all that hooch. He's gonna be a mess without a spit bucket.
i had some 150 proof puerto rican rum once. it evaporated in my mouth. not pleasant.
12:00 **ding**
The one time I've purchased a bottle of Kraken, I finished it off by pouring it into batches of apricot jam and peach jam as they cooked, where it works *wonderfully*.
I use it in cooking quite a lot. Honestly, my favorite spiced rum for cooking.
I fully admit, I do love Kraken, but I also harbor no illusions that it is "good" rum. I also don't drink it straight, nor in coke. It goes in Dr. pepper, or it goes into a dark & stormy, and it does in fact make my most favoritest dark & stormy.
I also love kraken. I picked it up initially because of the bottle/the general presentation. The kraken, the black water, 94 proof. Its intense. Over the years its gained infamy in my friend group primarily because I keep getting the stuff. These days I really like subbing out half the vodka in a white russians for kraken. Fully subbing seems to intensify the kalua in a way I don't enjoy strangely enough.
Really? My dad is a big dark and stormy guy and he does gosling. I LOVE kraken, in the fall please spike your apple cider with it its heaven!
Mmmm, love drinking it that way too.
I have a similar relationship with Monkey Shoulder, it simply goes into tonic, and it's the best with it.
It has a time and place. It’s like one level above well-drink
I'm told that about ten years ago Sailor Jerry's changed their recipe (presumably to reduce costs) and all the people who liked it were furious. I have a friend who bought so many bottles of the old stuff that he probably still has some left.
I wonder if all these drinks are the victims of cost reductions over time. Like maybe some of them used to be more like the Martin Kate recipe but have been pared down to just vanilla and cherry over time because it's cheap and people still buy them.
I too swear by the "they changed it" line. I now just take Admiral Nelson and make buttered rum out of it.
Sailor Jerry's is almost always worth it because they have cool stickers on the bottle.
I kid, but I definitely had a couple box TVS and longboards with many of the stickers on them heh
That... might explain something. When I started at uni I enjoyed Sailor Jerry, but by the time I finished my degree it didn't seem to be as good. I thought it was just me, but maybe it wasn't; I was in the middle of my degree a decade ago.
They did change it. I'm still sitting on a couple of bottles of the original flavor, but my tastes have evolved since then, and I'm not a particularly big fan of it any more. :\
If I'm not wrong they have sold their old recipe. It is now bottled as Admiral Vernon's Old J Spiced Rum ( but they also have more flavours). I know that you can buy it in the UK and I swear that it is the most delicious rum you can imagine. Bit sweet with a hint of lime on the tongue. + the label looks awesome :)
A very nautical episode- a Captain, a Kraken, a Shipwreck, Blackheart (arr), and a Sailor. Thanks for the video!
I didn’t even realize that
To be fair, rums are specifically associated with the sea and pirates, mostly made on islands. Krakens don't really match though, being Norse.
@@Lowlandlordpirates of the Caribbean?
First thing I thought of when you said “I don’t know what to do with this (the homemade spiced rum)” was rum punch. Those spice flavors would really add a whole other layer to the normally just fruity citrus ones there. Gonna try it myself.
I wonder if a lapsang souchong tea would go well with a spiced rum?
Mix it with apple warm apple cider. Mix egg nog. Or even hot coco.
@@VanNessy97 rum toddy?
Absolutely seconding the punch, Rum Toddy and the Rum and apple cider.
My fav winter drink is captain mixed with the standard spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg) with a little brown sugar and hot water. I was going for hot buttered rum and decided I didn't like the butter so I fiddled with it until I liked it. Your homemade version just sounds like my concoction (with orange but sans sugar and water) pre-bottled. I'm sure it's amazing. I'll have to add an orange twist to my drink next winter. Cheers!
As a person who absolutely hates alcohol, I have an inexplicably wonderful time watching all of your content.
You're kinda like the guy who doesn't drink and yet works at a liquor shop. Yes that actually happens sometimes.
If you like this channel I highly recommend Robert Hess's cocktail vids and another great one is "Steve the barman".
@@abbysimmons3258 lmao i never drink but I'm a bartender
Most people assume a bartender is a drinker or an "alcoholic" you do have the drinkers but ive met quite a few that dont drink at all (good for them) but are great at customer service.
I personally do love The Kraken. I can drink it straight as a sipper with a cigar, but..... my go to is a dark and stormy. Kraken, Ginger beer, and Lime. I suppose the ginger beer adds the spice to the equation but that is how I love it. A Kraken dark and stormy is my go to drink.
Absolutely agree
I think it depends on the flavor profiles that people like. Kraken is my favorite cheap Rum. But I also love everything dark, such as molasses, dark beers (I love stouts), I love black coffee with a dark roast, I love 80% chocolate.
But I have seen that people can't have any dark flavor at all. I think he is one of them. He always compliments when things have bright flavors such as citric and fruity notes. And he puts an orange twist in almost every single cocktail.
I'm right there with you! Kraken and a cigar is how I spend most my summer nights. Unfortunately I gotta wait a few more months for that..
Hard agree! Fever tree ginger beer, Kraken, squeeze of lime and you have something that tastes like a fancy coke! Never been a big fan of coke on its own, but Kraken Dark and Stormy is my favorite!!
@@farrex0 I agree with your point, but Greg also loves bitters which also tie together a lot of the "dark" flavors you mentioned. Still, no accounting for taste!
I've been watching this channel for a few years now and I love every episode. The constant takeaway I see is just that adding anything fresh to a drink makes it better. Fresh citrus? Better. Real spices? Better. Fresh egg? Better!
Instructions unclear, mixed up a chili egg lemonade and now I am in the hospital
@@phorcep add some tequila or something and that could be drinkable. Spicy whiskey sour?
Ceylon cinnamon is floral and delicate and not "cinnamony", so you'll smell it more than taste it. It's wonderful, but easily overpowered in a spicier dish. If you need/want a more "cinnamon roll" kind of flavor profile use a Saigon cassia, although for something in between Indonesian might work (Saigon and Indonesian are both of the cassia variety).
I guess would be that the receipe call of Ceylon because that is the cinnamon generally grown in the Caribbean.
Ceylon is the healthier type of cinnamon, though.
Regular cheap cinnamon is not recommended to consume often or in large quantities. It's bad for the liver.
@@Stegostomatidae perhaps... But then, you can either go cheap or fancy.
I just tried making the homemade recipe (3 days have elapsed) and I can say that the orange peel really takes over. Maybe it's just because of the orange I chose (yes, I chose it well. The most fragrant I could find rapidly at the store)... Though I do also get a slight orange underpeel flavour, even if the peels didn't really contain much of it.
Just finally saw this episode, and I have to say... my jaw dropped when you said you don't like Kraken. I love it and consider it to be delicious. I'm definitely going to try one that you recommend to see how different it is, but I do love me some Kraken rum.
Same. To me, Kraken is delicious. It is one of my favorites!
Kraken is... polarizing.
I actually really like it with ginger beer for an extra strong vanilla note in a Dark 'n Stormy. You can make a really interesting Dark 'n Stormy with Kraken, a lime, and either Bundaberg or Cock 'n Bull ginger beer.
Also decent if you need a dark rum floater.
Bundaberg is soooo good.
I'm also a Kraken and Ginger Beer fan, not tried it with coke though.
I think some of it's popularity is due to the branding, and also because it gets you fcking shitfaced.
@@TheDeepPix3l W.. what is a dark rum floater? TELL ME!
From a chemists PoV, the amount of ethanol in the rum will affect the flavour of the end product if you make your own. More alcohol will dissolve more 'greasey', hydrophobic compounds out of the spices, less alcohol will dissolve more of the hydrophilic compounds. Either of these might affect the flavour of your own spiced rum.
Have you ever considered doing a video dedicated to Amaretto cocktails? I think it's unfortunately really overlooked and it would be awesome to see your takes on drinks like the Godfather, the French Connection, or my personal favorite dessert cocktail the Toasted Almond!
I've been watching your videos for years now and I still love your content! Keep up the good work man.
I like making my own spiced rum specifically for use in eggnog because I like spiced in eggnog. I find it easier to infuse multiple spices into rum than into a syrup and I’ll typically have a couple bottles of it used up by the time the holiday season ends. Other than that it can just be a nice change up while I have it available for all those Christmasy flavours just in a glass with ice.
Which spices do you use
@@fluidthought42 I pretty much go with the recipe from smugglers cove, but upped the cinnamon and ginger then dialed back the cloves a pinch.
@@zacharyeltom8483
Have you ever thought of incorporating cardamom or replacing the black pepper with long black pepper?
Greg, I adore you, so I want you to know: the reason you hate Kraken so much is that one of its biggest spice flavors is cloves. Tons of cloves for all us people who love cloves. That's why you hate it when other people love it. One time I made my own clove rum and it was so strong it made my tongue numb. I love infusing alcohol, so I'm definitely going to try making my own spiced rum, but for me, the cloves are a bonus, and that's why I enjoy Kraken. Serving tip: spiced rums are also great to add to a root beer float!
The ironic thing is that he says "none of these taste like spices" when he just finished the kraken lol
He's used clove before in several videos, and talks about the clove flavor of his spiced rum in this video lol. He can obviously tell the difference between clove and whatever they put in kraken.
That is what it is! I could never figure it out what it tasted like. I can't really taste the vanilla in the Kraken (no sense of smell leading to poor taste) but there was always something very strong that I couldn't put my finger on. By itself it is way too overpowering, but Kraken is one of the few spirits I can tolerate -- I put 1 ounce of it in an 8 ounce rum punch and it is easily my favorite drink. I've showed 2 groups of people it using half a bottle each and they both bought me full bottles and now I have rum for the next year. lol
Hey man, been watching you for a while never left a comment sorry, I'm from Canada and after watching this I've had alot of the same thoughts. Have no bar tending experience just home made drinks. You've taught the community so much just being you and being real super authentic and appreciated. You really should think about comimg out with a brand of your favorite spirit it would like you said knock the socks off alot of these super commercial spirits. If you ever wanted to take the plung and invest I'd buy it and I think I speak for your viewers that I would be excited to enjoy it just like I enjoy all of your material. Flow on m8 you really are a light making the world more bright. Take care.
Kraken was my "college rum" even more so that Morgan, and looking back on it... it sort of fit the garbage pit that was the palate of a 19-year-old future art school dropout. It fits very nicely with Djarum Blacks, cheap scallion pancakes, and midterms anxiety nightmares. I haven't had it since, and honestly it might give me flashbacks if I had it now.
I drank a lot of Cptn. in the day & found Kraken to be a good alternative. Didn't like Sailor Jerry but didn't dislike it either. As i've gotten older though, i find many things i once liked cloyingly sweet. Appleton Estates reminded me of what Captn would taste like without the spices. I found Myers rum good to cook with (Diplimatico dessert) Back in the day i didn't really do the mixers but just shots that i'd chase with some coke or cherry coke. Now being much older i've cut back a LOT on my spirit intake so it's a rarity that i get to try anything new (or new to me) Bumbu seems interesting. Mostly i stick to the beer and hard ciders that i make myself but even then i tend not to drink a lot for somebody with access to such large amounts of alcohol. (which is probably a good thing)
See, I guess I'm weird, because I like Zacapa 18 (not actually aged 18 years) and Diplomatico Reserva because they're sweet.
What I should probably do, is watch this video and maybe find a dark and sweet cocktail to make and use my own spices on a low proof rum.
You're an art school dropout? Would you be interested in getting into politics?
@@rogercameron6912 Oh I ADORE Diplomatico, and their Gran Reserva is in constant rotation in my home bar! If you like sweeter rums, give their Mantuano expression a try, it has this lovely brown sugar core to it that works exceptionally well in rum + coffee cocktails.
@@russhackleford4912 ha haaa, wrong tree there, bud
The branding of the Kraken drew me in, but I do actually like it.... It's a special kind of mood. Totally going to try making a spiced rum myself, I've got some vanilla extract that might work instead of a pod taking ages.
See I'm the exact opposite; I see a weird bottle with a convoluted logo that appears out of nowhere and all of a sudden is everywhere and I immediately think "marketing blitz". If anything it puts me right off buying it. I waited for someone to bring it to a party and, to me, it was horridly mediocre.
When you're here in Australia (though I suppose you can have this realisation anywhere), you have this red-pill moment where you suddenly realise how much the liquor world is just aggressive marketing to facilitate cheap teen drinking, as the easiest way to shovel terrible-ass drinks out in industrial quantities. Box wine, alcopop coolers, "cider" which is just apple cordial mixed with ethanol and flavorings, spiced rum which is just cheap rum mixed with caramel colouring and vanilla essence, Jaeger-bombs which were actually more pushed by Red Bull than Jaegermeister, and horrible domestic rum which is better off as engine cleaner.
It's fine in the way that not all drinking has to be controlled or sophisticated, but when you start to realise that if you're going to be funnelling poison into your system you should at least have standards, you very quickly grow out of it. By the time Kraken exploded, I was of the age where I just couldn't see past it, which meant I could never enjoy it. My opinion is it should just die; anyone can make a decent spiced rum at home and it will be _infinitely_ better.
@@Zzyzzyzzs oh no, those evil marketeers are making drinks fun. Quick, take the red pill, get away from the fun. Drinking is serious business for serious people, fun has no place here.
@@Zzyzzyzzsahh yes, every sailor hates pirate lore and old sea legends being used to sell strong fiery affordable rum.
I find I like Kraken a lot more out of hte freezer
Speaking as a man that once drank a full bottle of Kraken with 3 friends while high out of my mind at a houseparty listening to sea shanties, you’re wrong, you’re incorrect and you’re simply not right.
Me hearty I had a very similar experience
Kraken is very good, I do agree with the "odd" taste but to me the vanilla adds to it, it gives hints of star anise. If I have the money and don't want absinth it's kinda my substitute "absinth"
Ooh I bid farewell to the port and the land, and I traveled a-way from brave England's white sands. To search for my long ago for-gotten friends, to search for the place I hear all sailors end.
Speaking as a man who had one shot of kraken with my best friend while stoned out of our minds for his 21st and he threw up and I pissed my pants and we spent the rest of the night on the floor and the whole next day in bed and in the bathroom, kraken is ridiculous and unnecessary
@@BlueJayPaints It's strong as hell, you gotta take it slow. I usually sip at it over the course of a few hours, and never when high, that's a recipe for disaster
when the kraken first launched they had a gigantic stall at a beer and spirits tasting event i went to and they were doing rum and cokes so you got a lot of drink for your ticket so i got one and at the time i rather enjoyed the heavier vanilla taste over the captain. but i do see your point as i have downed over half a bottle of the captain in an evening but more than one rum and coke from the kraken and the clawing nature of it gets to you. i will say my father also found the kraken to be just god awful but his friends enjoyed and finished his bottle.
spiced rum is great since it tastes of something, isn't offensively bad and is dirt cheap. it is meant to be apart of the cheap drunk while tasting okay.
Lol you're absolutely correct about infusing vanilla. It's a pain, it takes forever, but it's so good. I've done vanilla sugar cubes (amazing in coffee with vanilla honey notes), and from scratch vanilla extract, using vodka.
I'm a huge vanilla fan (and also a recent college graduate lmao), so spiced rum, especially morgan, has been my go-to for a while, but i love seeing a expert perspective on the commons of the genre
In Germany post WW2 flavoured rum was en vouge, ppl did their own versions on "Rumtopf" - pot of rum. The spices where similar to the mix you use but added fuits instead of sugar.
Idea was to get a spiced sweet fuity rum and use the fruits for desserts or bakeing like flambéed icecream.
Stroh "Rum" being the main culprit here...
@@irian42 yeah, I think up to 80% apv / 160 proof. My parents still have a bottle of that stuff from the early 80s.... hmmm maybe I should give it a taste...
Kraken was the first hard alcohol that I bought once I turned 21. It was an experience, but I found it mixes well to my taste as a Dark n Stormy.
It might mix well with ginger beer, spiced rum mixes fine with ginger beer, but that is NOT a Dark n Stormy. A Dark n Stormy should be made with Goslings or similar aged dark rum.
@@XenFPV like you've never substituted with what you've had on hand :P
feck it, screwdriver but with light rum!
Right i dont always have ginger beer so half the time if im casual drinking ill use canada dry ginger ale
@@XenFPV I mean at that rate just limit it to Gosling's. It doesn't taste at all the same with Myers's (even though that's kinda my favorite), or Old Brigand, or Pusser's if that even counts... don't forget that if you're being a stickler you have to use Barritt's ginger beer. Which at that point it makes sense because any other combo doesn't taste right - a "true" Dark & Stormy almost tastes like a Coke.
@@JackPorterLight rum mixes fine with OJ, it's just not a screwdriver. Likewise spiced rum is fine with ginger beer, it's just not a dark n stormy.
Drink what you have with whatever mixer you want, but names mean something. Otherwise we'll be mixing tequila and jager and calling it a martini.
I actually made a drink with the Captain Morgan Golden Spiced Rum that my friends really enjoyed! It ended up sort of tasting like honey melon. I used orange soda, rum, lemon juice, homemade grapefruit syrup, homemade mango or pineapple syrup (I don't remember) and a dash of salt. I was just experimenting with the spirits I had and I had just made my syrups :) I shook everything (but the soda) and put the soda over in a glass.
I can see your spiced rum (and I agree with you that cloves really can overpower things) working in flips, eggnogs, and similar drinks since those spices are often used. I may have to try that.
I added about a tablespoon of organic vanilla extract to some silver rum, along with the peels of 2 oranges, cinnamon, and nutmeg(I didn't have clove) and it turned out amazing and plenty dark in just a few hours. Completely different taste than what I was expecting. I'll be doing this every single time now for rum and cokes(the orange peels added a sweet, almost creamsicle quality to rum and cokes). I made a 1750 ml bottle.
I love spiced rum, spesifically Ron Miel, spanish honey rum. It's nostalgic to me since my mom used to bring it home from Canary Islands every year. It's like drinking candy.
I don't know if you knew it, but it was actually a way to reuse and preserve nearly wasted rum. The honey preserves the rum, and the different spices (mainly black pepper, but also cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and many others, even some dried herbs) masked the taste. Each shop (rum was sold from barrels here) and distillery had its own recipe.
Nowadays they are specifically created, and some brands use honey in the distilling process itself to power up the sweetness.
It's a very, very sweet alcohol, but one that definitely worth trying here in the Canary Islands for its uniqueness.
That sounds like an amazing rum! Thank you for sharing
I love Kraken, and I've chosen Kraken in a blind taste test. My last bottle of Kraken also came with a tiki mug so that's a point in its favor IMO.
I'm not a spiced rum gal but I do really like Horizon, it's a bottle I picked up from an artisan alcohol shop near me. It's got cardamom, vanilla, orange and cinnamon, and it's surprisingly good even on its own. I like it in a dark and stormy, I think it works.
As weird as it is, I've been able to do amazing things with Kraken by infusing it with more cherries and vanilla beans over a month and then further aging it in a barrel like what you have on your counter for a few more months. Is it a rum at that point? No idea, comes out with a weird hybridization of Whiskey and Rum that is amazing to drink neat
Greg: A lot of classic Tiki drinks have an element of spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, falernum, allspice dram, etc). I love using my version of Martin Cate's recipe in a number of cocktails. My most recent creation, the Easy Does It: 3 oz Guava juice, 2 oz of spiced rum, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/4 oz orgeat and lots of pebble ice. Cheers!
What's in your version of Martin Cate's rum?
@@MrJACarroll Bottle of Mount Gay, Peel from 1/2 orange, 5 cloves, 7 allspice berries, 6 inch stick of cinnamon, one vanilla bean, 3 peppercorns, 1/2 star anise. Age for 5 days and decant. I also enjoy it straight on the rocks.
I'd highly recommend Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum from St. Lucia. It has cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cassia bark, and allspice. It's also got some dried fruit in it, apparently. Anyway, it's by far my favorite spiced rum because it does taste of spices.
Strongly agreed. Chairman's Reserve is one of the few spiced rums that is fantastic. My other suggestion would be Don Q Spiced.
When he tasted Kraken and labeled it "kill it with coke" and "Its not meant to be drank alone" i felt a bit... sad ngl since kraken is one of my favourite spirits out there. Sweet, a little bit greasy, branding is on whole another level and just gives a really cool vibe to it. I absolutely love it. And dark and stormy made with it instead of normal dark rum? No questiones asked, my favourite drink out there. Add kraken, some lime, angostura bitter, top with ginger ale or ginger beer and you got yourself an evening. Dont mix this rum with coke. It will make the coke way to sweet.
It's my favourite rum too. Honestly though, I always mix rum with coke because I'm not a big drinker at all but out of all the ones I've tried I like Kraken the best
I love kraken I drink it straight when I want a break from whisky(I like the funky Islay scotches and things that are vastly polarizing) and want something sweet and vanilla. Also I have used this in pancakes subbing it in instead of vanilla extract and it's great there too
Well, @Joestar, if you enjoy it with coke then go and do just that. As long as we are having fun and enjoy the things we do, right? I like it with Ginger, you like it with Coke. My point is, Kraken is NOT a bad rum. It tastes really nice, and calling it "awful" just isn't exactly objective. It got the nice burn, it got the sweet, it got the spicy. Lets all enjoy what we enjoy best, preferebly while dancing or singing while at it :V
@@MrAcheivable never used it in cooking, but to be completly honest, it does sound like a nice idea. Must try it at some point. Any recipes you could share?
ive found if you want a really good quick mixed drink with kraken, it goes great in an Arnold Palmer.
Three things;
1) Rumbullion. Has cloves, cinnamon, orange peel and vanilla. But it also has cardamom and star anise. And I've personally found that these flavours do come through. Definitely worth a try.
2) Kraken is rather nice in a grog. Glass of water, bit of brown sugar and some lime with a shot of the rum. Funny enough though, I'm also one of the few people who can drink it neat, so I may be biased.
3) Didn't know Angostura did rum. Might have to check them out sometime.
Why would you add sugar to kraken? It's not sweet enough?
Do you have rumbullion neat or with coke?
@@ponymaster2939 when mixed with water and lime it's not very sweet. The sugar also helps to reduce the acidity.
@@itsainsley1072 neat is nice. Never tried it with coke, but I don't think the cardamom and star anise would work well with it. Perhaps a bit of water or some ice, like you would a whiskey, to bring out the more subtle flavours. Or a slice of lime.
Kraken is the only handle of anything I’ve polished solo in a night. Not a recreation I recommend for anyone nor will I try again for health reasons, but it was fun and enjoyable for the bits I remember, and good for a laugh with my drinking buddy who remembers the parts I don’t.
This channel inspired me to make my own spiced rum a few months back and I really like it in pineapple juice.
After drinking rums from $5-$250 I’ve actually learned to appreciate blackheart as a mixer for coke. It’s easy to drink when mixed and is pretty good with a squeeze of lime!
When I was in college, I loved Kraken. And then I didnt drink it again for 10 years and tried it last year, and I absolutely hated it. My tastes have drastically changed since college apparently.
Maybe Kraken is magic. Maybe it hypnotizes college students.
You need to try Siesta Key spiced rum. Very delicious rum that actually tastes like spices. I also want to thank you for introducing me to Plantation rum. The dark is my absolute favorite and the only rum I drink now.
So true. Only at total wine n more. Worth the trip.
I've seen several cocktails that call for "vanilla rum" which is a thing I've never seen on a store shelf (though I'm sure someone's making it out there just to prove me wrong now that I've asserted it), but I've always put spiced rum in for that (since one of the spices is invariably vanilla, which Captain Morgan has a significant taste of).
theres a really good vanilla rum called brinleys shipwreck rum but its hard to find
Might need to be looking in a different section of the store. Flavored rums aren't usually stored in the same place as the normal rums. Every liquor store I've been to has had a wall of flavored rum (most of them made by Malibu and Cruzan).
What comes to mind is a popular Indian rum (available scantly in the US, but one of the best selling in the world otherwise) called Old Monk, which is a dark rum that tastes heavily of artificial vanilla. While I can't say I'm a huge fan of it, it is undeniably a vanilla rum without being spiced.
I don't think I've ever seen a liquor store that didn't have Malibu which is vanilla rum. The white bottle with coconut trees on it etc.
Also i find the baccardi spiced rum has a stronger vanilla flavour. Turns coke into coke vanilla 😅
I do like the Kraken, but I can see why others wouldn't. Also I get a chocolate hint from it, but no one else I've asked agrees. So thats just me. I like the branding too, eye-catching bottle. I will be trying making my own spiced rum, so thanks for the recipe and the reviews.
oh most definitely i get a lot of chocolate from it
It tastes like a less sweet high alcohol Kahlua. And that's a good thing.
No I've tasted chocolate in it too.
I appreciate that you build the add breaks in. It's so much nicer when there a verbal transition instead of the add starting mid sentence.
Great stuff, Greg. I've used the Kraken for dark and stormies. Tough to evaluate since there's such a variance in ginger beers, as well. I think it was Bundy and Kraken. Might be another interesting taste test since you've now done rum and Coke.
Great episode Greg! Back when I was just out of college, and had less of a palette than I do now, I used to add a shot of The Kraken into hot apple cider in the winter. I bet Martin Cate’s spiced rum would be Phenomenal in a mug of hot cider.
Yesss me too man, kraken and hot cider🍻
Couple years late to this spiced rum show (came here thanks to the Malort video!).. but if you can get your hands on a bottle of Siesta Key Spiced Rum from Florida, it might give you a sense of hope for the spiced rum world. Absolutely amazing, small batch rum made with real spices and honey. Award winning. Cheers!!
I geniunely enjoy Kraken, even compared to other spiced rums and especially when paired with coke. To me, it has a very distinct kola nut and vanilla flavour with a nice rummy undercurrent. When you mix it with coke it just gives the drink a new layer of complexity and a bit more of a kick. It's honestly lovely stuff, I'd buy it more often if it were cheaper here.
Kraken is also my spiced rum of choice. Kraken and Mtn Dew is also worth a try.
I like my Kraken with Cock and Bull ginger beer as a Dark and Stormy.
I had a bottle of it that I drank just with root beers. It was delicious
i honestly just think greg's being a big baby. i can't imagine what he's tasting in there that can be described as hooka tar. he must have some weird connections in his brain.
edit: i think i get it now! somebody else mentioned "black licorice" and americans have this weird thing, like 80% of them HATE just the inkling of licorice, it's so weird to me, but hey, people have different taste buds. some just have baby buds :P
@@JackPorter I noticed the flavor in a spice blend I cooked with for the first time since it was gifted to me. It was a garlic pepper grill blend. I cooked pork steaks in a pan and I noticed there was a bit of unpleasant after taste. After a bit I was able to finally pin point it, there must have been some fennel seeds in the blend because all I could taste was black licorice. I must have burnt some of the fennel seeds. I don't mind black licorice but its an intense, dominant flavor. If you get it and you're not ready for it, it can be unpleasant. It's a different kind of bitter.
Can I just say, I love you having someone like Meredith to banter with. Her absence only makes more clear how much I enjoy her being there.
about halfway through the video, this reminds me a bit of my mom telling me how some of the sailors she worked with would drink straight vanilla extract for the alcohol (with limited options out at sea, of course)
I honestly love this channel so much and a big part of that has to do with the fact that the crew is clearly really passionate about the show and it's great to see them have fun with it this video is not only greatly informational but creative I would even say almost experimental at times and it's refreshing to see unique content and people staying true to themselves
One of my favourite spiced rums is Portsmouth Distillery Cinnabar. It's tastes of spice, rather than just vanilla. I've also made my own spiced rum, using Captain Morgan Dark as a base, using a very similar recipe to the one in this video. That turned out pretty good.
Spiced rum and ginger beer works pretty well. I have also enjoyed subbing aged rum for spiced rum in a cocktail. Here’s one I’ve enjoyed:
1.5 oz spiced rum (I used St Pete Distillery, definitely more spice than vanilla/cherry)
3/4 oz light rum
1/2 oz toasted coconut rum
1/4 oz Cruz an blackstrap
1 oz pineapple juice
Shake and pour over ice. Optional - top with a splash of ginger beer
Really enjoyed this episode, especially the part where you made your own spiced rum. It made me think a whole lot like the "rhum arrangé" that we usually make here in Mauritius but we do much crazier variations like vanilla cinnamon in rum, litchi in rum, dried plums, coconut, etc.
My first experience of rum was a rum punch my mum's friend brought from St. Martin where she lives and that was incredible. It was sweet and vanilla-y and spices - yeah maybe it was cinnamon actually... It was so good almost syrupy. Not something you'd drink to get drunk though
Yeah flavored rhum can get so crazy if you have spices on hand. But I would say those are definitly bottle made to be tasted alone unless you know exactly what kind of flavor you want.
Your TH-cam titles are fantastic. Every time. Love the show!
Now there's an interesting combination. Adult only, drunken nerf war. LOL! Now I need a tiki themed proton pack...
Also.. Captain Xavier + Captain Morgan... 🤔
Take a shot every time you’re tagged out.
I used a combo of an ex-whiskey barrel aged, pot still distilled Jamaican Rum with El Dorado 8 Year to make my spiced rum.
Infuse the vanilla bean a week or more into the batch before adding everything else.
Add the orange peel a day to 2 days before infusing all the other spices and I followed the recipe the same the rest of the way.
That worked pretty well actually.
I've had friends swear by Kraken for YEARS, and when I finally bought a (small) bottle, the only way I could make it palatable was in a Cuba Libre at 3:1 on the Coke and Kraken, and nearly 1:1 on the lime juice and Kraken.
Basically just have the Coke and lime jump the Kraken in back alley like vodka in a Moscow Mule.
Captain Morgan, in my experience, is best when used in a Barbados Punch.
Captain Morgan has a 'private stock' version that you can tell is actually aged a bit at least that definitely tastes different. It's been ages since I've tried it, but it was way better and stronger. I love Captain. I love Captain Morgan Black but it is even MORE vanilla-y. I also really like Kraken...but I can understand how it isn't for everyone. It does have a very tobacco-y tone to its vanilla flavor that some people hate. I really like it.
Private stock is great and definitely tastes more like normal rums like plantation 5 year
Private Stock was what got me into drinking rum, beforehand the only rum I ever had was Bacardi and I hated it
I made took the basics of a Dark and Stormy and fiddled around with some spiced rums, what I ended up with was a what I call:
"Five Hundred Storms"
Highball glass
Ice
2-4 cl of Brewdog Five Hundred Cuts spiced rum
Top of with a good Ginger beer
Thin slice of lime
It is spicy and delicious.
Really excited to try the homemade spiced rum!
Ah, my excuse is that I had the Kraken like... 10 years ago? The branding IS amazing - like, I still have one of the smaller bottles. It's great as a prop and right now it's full of spiced syrup. 😅
Have you ever tried Pumpkin Face rum? Gorgeous bottles! 😍 Hideous spirits! 🤢
My brother bought kraken just for the bottle. I hope that whoever came up with that bottle got a huge payrise 😅
I legitimately like the kraken lmao. It’s tastier than hell
An idea for the spice infused rum specifically: maybe do a side-by-side of classic tiki cocktails were one is the off-the-shelf rum and the other is the exact same rum, but spice infused.
I actually love making dark n stormies with kraken and goslings ginger beer. bit of lime in there too and you're set.
I think I've currently found my favourite is Dead Man's Fingers.
Saffron Cake flavour comes through and quite pleasant even on it's own. And it's 43% so even over proofed slightly for a rum
Stupid college student here so I'm like 40% spiced rum at this point. Dead man's fingers is by far the best I've tasted and it works incredibly well with lemonade
@@nenocen4109 I haven't tried the coffee version yet, but I intend to
I've never done rum and coke, I usually just drink them straight and I liked the kraken I had before but it wasn't the standard one. It was in a grab bag of different mini bottle and I think it had magic in the name.
I haven't had Kraken in a few years now, but my go to drink with it was always Pineapple Fanta. For some reason that with their rum hit right for college me. I agree that they have by far the best branding on all rums I've seen so far. But my most HATED RUM has always been Captain Morgan. This episode has gotten me excited to try making a small batch of my own spiced rum this weekend though!
Actually I love the Kraken for my Rum&Coke or a Dark n' Stormy kind of thingy, but not to drink it neat. But here in Europe the Kraken has a lower proof with 40%/80proof, so it may taste different to the version you got. Over all aged Rums are doing sometimes better Rum & Coke (to be fair, sometimes also worse), but the Kraken is like an cheap alternative for sipping some Rum & Cokes in the summertime, which for me actually tastes great.
Agreed! The states had a 72 proof kraken when it first came out that was MUCH better than the 94 proof. I'm not sure why it went away, but the 94 proof was always worse. And neither of them are something I'd like to drink neat
I like Kraken for my rum and cokes, but I always get the Kraken Dark Label which is the 70 proof so that might be why. I've never tried the higher proof on Greg has.
YT ghosted the 2 replies before mine.......
The censorship has gotten out of hand.
@@barklordofthesith2997 I don't know what those replies were, but I see a fuck ton of spam comments in other threads. The "ghosted" replies might be more spam.
@@LaceNWhisky Well, we will never know unless they who posted reply again. Another thread on this video, that exactly happened. AKA not all ghosted comments are spam.
Would have loved to see your thoughts on Maggie’s Farm spiced rum. It’s a smaller company but has won tons of awards for its spiced rum
Sailor Jerry and Coke with a squeeze of lime is my personal favorite simple cocktail, when I wanna make something easy or am indecisive at the bar
I just happened to rewatch your rum tasting episode yesterday, since I've read through Smuggler's Cove and thought I could understand what you said a bit more, what timing!
I would love to see an updated, maybe similar type video with rums from all of the SC categories - and perhaps recipes with various substitutions based on the rum category numbers.
I really hope videos like this, as well as the spread of information from the Smuggler's Cove book can help make rum popular again, and hopefully encourage more diversity than just vodka-adjacent spirits.
Kraken mostly has me on nostalgia--one of my first Spots in college was a dessert bar that made boozy desserts and dessert-inspired drinks, and their winter menu always heavily features Kraken. They put it in coffee, they make rum cake with it, and I know there were others I'm not remembering. At home, honestly, I've used it for dark & stomies, mostly. I still like em! But I really don't like most other common mixing rums, so I think that also plays a part.
Greg talking about Kraken+coke sounds like anyone talking about my preferred flavour of vape juice. I no longer mind when people react negatively to flavours I enjoy; for one it means more for me and for another it means I do understand my own preferences. Thanks for the spectacle!
Personally I absolutely adore Kraken, but I wouldn’t dream of drinking it straight. Always as a mix with something like mango juice or something tropical like that, honestly it makes for just a wonderfully relaxing tropical drink ^-^
I really like using a splash in my Dark and Stormy's when I make them, as a bolster to whatever other spiced rum I'm using. Kraken by itself is too rich on its own but its got flavors I like in it.
my issue with kraken was that if i breathed at any time near the alcohol i got NOTHING but acetone. i loved the taste, because my pallette needs a lot of flavor; but the moment i breathed in after taking a drink the taste was gone and replaced with alcohol fumes.
But the question is.. would you enjoy a better rum more? Is it because you only know Kraken?
@@Witcher21 Price and accessibility is a factor, but it does taste good. I'm not calling it high class or anything though.
Greg, if you happen to have a Costco near you, I got a bottle (1.75L) of their Kirkland brand spiced rum and I actually really like it. Tried it as a shot and with some coke and at least to me I was getting much more spice notes than sweet. I mean it was definitely also a little sweet but the spice was delightful, especially with the coke. Just seemed to jive really well with the acidic bite of the cola. Maybe worth a try if you ever feel like trying another lol. Was pretty cheap too because Costco.
Amazing show, as usual ! Here’s an idea. Try the kraken as a replacement for the gosling for a dark n stormy. It really does the trick when gosling is not available and you want a dark n stormy
I know availability varies in different areas, but I wish you had been able to get a hold of a couple of other spiced rums. One is Bacardi Oakheart which I have unashamedly enjoyed from time to time with Coke or in tiki drinks, and is better than one would think being a Bacardi product. The other is Don Q Oak Barrel Spiced Rum which is 90 proof, claims to use natural flavors, and has a 3-year age statement.
The Don Q is pretty good
Yes! Oakheart is slept on. My wife's fav. Very drinkable. Great aftertaste. So much more flavor than Jerry's.
A friend of mine highly recommended Kraken, so I tried it. I didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. But when I tasted it, it tasted like Coke to me, so I used it in place of Coke.. specifically in a rum and Coke and a Long Island iced tea. Because to me, those are drinks for getting drunk, not for enjoying the quality of the spirit, so why not make them even stronger?
That's nasty AND I'm gonna try that!
@@l.e.b.3541 I would love to hear your opinion if/when you do. I got a good laugh out of your comment! Thank you.
I always liked Sailor Jerry back in my spiced rum drinking days. I made hot buttered rum with allspice, nutmeg, pepper, and clove with it a lot of times, which was pretty good. I rarely drink rum anymore, but when I do it's never spiced rum, usually Oronoco, generally with lime and soda. In fact, I very rarely drink any liquor these days aside from single malt Islay whisky neat or with a splash of water or blended Scotch whisky with lime and soda.
The realization that spiced rum + coke will create vanilla coke has inspired me to buy some Morgan's Spiced Rum next time i hit up the liquour store. Vanilla Coke was discontinued in my country years ago, and i still miss it - so maybe i can recreate a little bit of the magic. And if i can't, i'll be too drunk to be disappointed!
I used to just spice coke with Morgan. It literally needs a dash of spirit in the glass to make it taste like vanilla coke
@@skyper8934 you always start the night with a 5/95 split, and work your way up to 50/50. it's inevitable.
@@JackPorter I usually start the night with a shot and beer chaser xd. Been a long time since last time I got piss drunk, now I'll just drink a beer or some homemade spirit/drink, it seems there's nothing left to celebrate for
I’ve bought just about every tiki book out there and the only one I’ve seen call for spiced rum in their recipes has been Liquid Vacation, which is the book Frankie’s Tiki Room put out of all of their recipes. They call for Sailor Jerry’s in a few recipes. I’ve made the drinks and they’re pretty good.
I've been to Frankie's, they're definitely a unique, kind of gen-x lowbrow take on tiki. Not to badmouth them, some of their drinks are pretty good and they're all strong for the price.
Beachbum Berry Remixed has a few also.
Captain morgan private stock has always been my go to. I havent had it in years, but its heaven in a bottle for me.
Nice episode ^^ ! Captain Morgan is one of the good and cheap spice rum in France
I use it for rum and coca cola but I love it in a rum sour ^^
yes it taste like sour caramel vanilla candy but it's good xD !
(and spice rum are very good in crêpe when you don't have Grand Marnier :p )
I love kraken.
I get the “greasy” feeling but I never felt it had an “artificial vanilla” taste. To me it always tasted kinda like black licorice which I love a lot.
Krakens great, its the market leader. Taste is subject
Yea I dunno where the hell he's getting vanilla lol, I drink that stuff straight and don't taste it
@@negative6442 i get lots of vanilla from it, not a problem. I have watched enough howtodrink episodes to notice greg doesnt like vanilla much 😂
I find Kraken tolerable, and I hate black licorice bitterly. Haven't been into rum since the life choice of staying away from Bacardi 151, lol.
Kraken is My favorite of the spiced rums It mixs exceptionally well with coffee
Very informative stuff. I was drinking Captain and Coke for years, eventually switched to Ginger Ale...and than realized I was drinking nothing but sugar. Now it's Capt and club soda with a lemon. It's a much more refreshing drink, and never gives me that fuzzy feeling in the morning. Also, Bacardi Oakheart is pretty good as well. They brew it in old Jack Daniels barrels, and has a darker, spicier flavor.
1st time here...already a fan, and subscribed.
One of my favorite cocktails has spiced rums. I originally had it at a restaurant call Aroma in LA. It’s called a Smooth Sailor;
Sailor Jerry’s (or other spiced rum), coffee liquor, Irish cream, and a shot of espresso over ice.
But the spiced rum is probably just there for the pun in the name
Oooh nice
I too do not like the term "mixology". I whenever someone brings the word up I always just say "man, I just make drinks".
Side note, found someone at a Pride Day event that watches your shows as well. I made a pitcher of mojtos and they called it the "true drink of summer" and asked if I knew of HTD.
To me "mixology" always described the science behind it. The people who do serious experimentation, trying dozens or even hundreds of variations of recipes, developing techniques and then writing articles and books about it deserve to call themselves by such a fancy title (if they so wish).
The rest of us who then follow in their footsteps however? We just make drinks.
One of my favorites is Koloa spiced rum, it's a Hawaiian rum distilled on Kaua'i. I got to visit their main store and do a tasting, they have a great selection of other rums too for an affordable price
Kracken was one of my go to liquors when I was in college and I think what I liked about it was the higher proof, cool branding and how it wasn't Captain Morgan so I could be hipster about the booze I picked. If I remember we would mix it with Dr. Pepper or just do shots but no one really drank it to enjoy its flavor.
Edit: if you are looking for the ceylon cinnamon mentioned for the homemade spice rum, I have been able to find it at the Mexican groceries near me.
Both Kraken and Sailor Jerry's make for a great rum and Coke. I'm not ashamed.
Or the fabled "Rum, Coke and coke"
I usually go Kraken for a Dark'n'Stormy.
Might want to look into Shipwrecked if it's heavy on the caramel.
I love both
@@littlegiantj8761 This is the best answer. I much prefer a Dark and Stormy to a Moscow Mule and Kraken is my Go-to for that application.
i never heard of the kraken rum and last week i saw the 750ml on sale for $12 and i gotta say the marketing worked on me. after trying it, i did like it but i felt dirty lol. i could tell it was over sweetened and very artificial... but i did like it. i got about 1/4 left and was looking for things to do with it outside of rum and cokes but it seems thats about all its good for.
It’s also really good for dark and stormies, when paired with a spicy ginger beer
Captain Morgan spiced and dark rum were my entry into the world of rum.
Then a coworker of mine recommended plantation grande reserve Barbados rum,I picked up a bottle and fell in love with the complex flavors and since then I have never touched any Captain Morgan or Bacardi again, except for that one time my friend had a bottle Captain Morgan spiced in the open bar when he celebrated his birthday.
Have you ever had Zacapa. It's not a spiced rum it's just a regular rum from Guatemala. I'm not a huge rum guy but that stuff is delicious!
As a college kid, kraken had a cool looking bottle and it’s high proof so it did the job. It tastes fine for what I used it for.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but you’ll have to take my kraken and cokes from my cold dead hands lmao
This show did actually get me into appleton estate rum, which i have since used (along with gregs fav the kraken) to make a Bellfield Sunrise (terrible name i know) which is a measure rum, measure honey syrup and a half of lime juice, shake with ice and top with a bundaberg ginger beer.
Might have to give the homemade gear a try too, never knew that was an option!
Good God that drink sounds like come here you porcelain throne
@@redmist6131 hey don’t knock till you try it lol