Hi Steve, I know this comes as a surprise, but I don’t get Cuban rum in the United States. But I do enjoy a glass of Jamaican rum, here or there once in a while. Hope you have a good day, Stevo
One thing I really appreciate about your channel which really comes through in this video is that, while you're clearly quite the rum connoisseur, you don't come off as pretentious or snobbish like so many of those elitist hipsters out there. Thanks for being such a down-to-earth guy and not being so judgemental about how people enjoy their rum. 👍👍
Wow. Thank you my friend. That comment means a lot. Very Humbling. (Although, don’t think any one would ever confuse me with a Hipster… Cos I’m waaaay Cooler! 🤓)
Love this video! Steve might be the smartest guy in rum! So many great points! I started getting into sipping more sophisticated rums by putting it on ice and adding a lime wedge or orange peel with a small amount of syrup. Slowly worked my way off and can appreciate a lot more flavors.
I drank Bacardi and Coke for years until I took a journey on a schooner out of Maine. A fellow crew member turned me on to Demerara rum - 'Don't you dare mix this with coke!' so it was rum and club soda. I loved it. Over the next 10 years, I went from 'never again Bacardi' to rum and soda then on to rum on the rocks. Mount Guay is the daily, Ron Zacapa 23 and Zaya are my top shelf followed by Plantation, Pyrat and Barbancourt then on to Cayman, Mount Guay etc... Thanks for the video.
Love your videos ! Just started on this rum journey and want to be a neat drinker as I feel you’ll have more connection with the rum ! My goal is to drink pussers blue label neat then onto the gunpowder neat !
Fantastic video Steve, I discovered your channel recently and I’m learning a lot about rums. I have always enjoyed rum and coke, Mai tais and rum cocktails. Looking to experiment, learn and enjoy the rum journey !
Very new to sipping rum and I tried making some ice cubes with coconut water. Right now enjoying Appleton 8 and it works so well. All the best, I am enjoying your recommendations and learning so much. Cheers
One minute in and I'm hooked! I tried my first neat rum last week, the Lost Year's Gold Spiced Rum with Queen Pineapple, it was mind blowingly incredible. When I ran out, I thought I'd try my favourite Bumbu on ice and it was unpleasant to say the least. It made me realise that I have a lot to learn. I am so glad to have found your blog, site and videos, you have a follower in me!
I always loved rum and coke but began to appreciate it straight. My journey began with Goslings on ice and loved it. Moved on to Eldorado 12 and Diplomatico on the rocks as my champions so far....still tasting and enjoying!
Just the video i needed. have just been getting into rum and have been expanding my collection to try new brands and types. ive tried sipping the rum, before adding the mixer, but never found one i could really drink straight. definately going to try this method and see how i go. my current go to mixer is actually diet lemonade of all things, adds a little extra sweetness
On board with you since December. Im not a sweets guy. After watching a lot of your vids. I started Flor de cana 12. Switced to Plantation Xo and im 4 bottles in. Thank you for opening my eyes. Thanks Steve.
Just recently started my journey with a bottle of Plantation 5 year. Though, it took a while of drinking Cruzan Blackstrap, Pyrat, Gosling Black Seal, and way more Kraken than I care to admit in order to get here.
I actually only sip neat when I'm with your silly lot on the lives. But I do love it and my palate is really developing because of it! Great tips today! Cheers!
I am starting now! I may have made a mistake and bought a bottle of Appleton 12 but I do have a bottle of Bumbu and will start there. Thank you for the great content!
I think the main point you've made in this video (which I agree with) is that unsweetened or "proper" rum, as you call it, is an acquired taste. Just as you've described, I fell down the rum rabbit hole via sweetened/spiced rum, namely The Kraken. It was, just as you've said: my "gateway" rum. In a matter of months, I was finally ready to try other rums. Dos Maderas Triple Aged, which is still somewhat sweet but less so than The Kraken, was the first rum I began drinking neat (or simply on the rocks) and is still among my favorites. From there I worked my way to even less sweet rums. That said, I still enjoy and appreciate sweetened/spiced rums and I agree with you wholeheartedly that they definitely have their place in the world of rum.
Steve the Barman, I am new to the exciting world of rum. So far El Dorado 15 and Plantation Black Cask from Guatemala and Barbados have been my favorites. Chocolate is my favorite note to experience while drinking rum neat. Can you make a video on premium and budget rums with chocolate tasting notes? It would sure help me, and think it would make for a killer video. Keep the videos coming! Great channel! 🏴☠️🦜🥃🏝️
Anotber banging video Steve! My rum Journey. Captain Morgans >DMF > White rums - Havana Bacardi etc, >Plantations >Aged Rums ED12 & ED15 > XO's Still love a spiced rum time and again but more into Chairmans Reserve, Black Tears etc. Favorite type rums - Cuban and Barbadian at the moment
Hi. I have added you. And subed. 23 Christmas had for the first time had Kraken. OMG WOW. LOVED IT TO BITS. And then my friend gave me another one. Yummy. Will be looking at others of your vids later. Thanks.
Hello mate I commented on one of the older videos you made so not sure if you may see my comments but do you have any recommendations for Rums with no added sugars? I'm a neat drinker like yourself but with all the commercial Rums on the market im worried about all the additives
I saw, but I’ll reply to this one 👍. So. It’s hard cos not all Brands are like Planteray/Plantation who openly disclose additives where necessary. In fact they’re pretty much the only brand to do so. However, we know that Rums that originate from Jamaica don’t have Sugar (Jamaican Rums bottled outside of Jamaica can have sugar - Myers for example). So Hampden, Worthy Park, Appleton, etc will be undosed. We also know that Foursquare Rums (Doorlys & RL Seale) and Mount Gay from Barbados don’t add sugar. Chairmans reserve and Admiral Rodney are no sugar. El dorado used to, but if they do it’s very minimal now and widely accepted by the Rum Community. Outside of these core distilleries…yes some are obviously sweet, others it’s hard to tell if 6g or less has been added.
@@StevetheBarmanUK Cheers for your reply mate! Appreciate the detailed answer. I'm currently on a low-carb and low-sugar diet and the only access to Rum I have is the usual Captain Morgan's and Kraken, dead man's fingers etc you get from Asda but I'm still unaware of how much sugar they add in as they are so commercial. I'll deffo check out Mount Gay though as I've seen that in Asda! Thanks again mate :)
@ngliscsaxon6128 if you’re in the UK, you have really easy access to most Rum. Ignore ASDA… get online. Master of Malt. The Whisky Exchange. Heck even Amazon. Or even Ocado. All of them will have different offers on each week can can be a lot cheaper than the supermarkets depending on what you’re buying. And I say that cos chances are the Mount Gay innthe supermarket with me the Eclipse. And as a whisky fan you don’t want that. You want the Black Barrel at least if not the XO. From a whisky fan POV, any rum under £30 won’t be your best sippers. Not by a long shot.
My journey began with a bottle of Kraken. I thought it wasn't too bad and was curious what "real" rum would be like so I jumped on facebook and after some research I picked up some Eldorado 12 and Flor de Cana 12. I get a lot of flack for it but I do appreciate Don Papa. I know what it is/what it isn't and I still find it a nice after dinner drink.
I'm not a flavored anything drinker I’ll do finished but if any flavoring is added I'm out. I do enjoy everything I drink neat and that goes for rum and tequila and of course the whiskey. Now my wife is all about the Canadian crown flavored bottles. So I do have to supply these but I have never tasted them. Even to mix bourbon or Scotch is just something I don't do. It's unfortunate where I live the selection is lacking but we do have Mount Gay and Appleton to drink. Enjoy!!
Remeber when I used to drink Sailor Jerry some Jamaican friends thought I was mad & they introduces me to Appleton Estates which I did enjoy, but Wray & Nephew neat was too much for me.
Never heard of it. But yeah, that’s what I say in the video, you should be able to drink most/all spiced rums neat cos of the sweetness. They’re not all as sweet as Bumbu, Kraken etc. but all will have sugar added simply cos Spices without sweetness taste awful.
Ha, nah... I was in a few Facebook groups, But I either got kicked out for not being a Foursquare devotee and liking Plantation, or the chat is a tad tedious. To be fair, my community is here. 1000+ Videos, combined getting thousands of views a day. You can imagine the amount of comments i get on my different Channels on a daily basis. I don't actually need another Community. THIS community is great if you engage with others.
I moved to neat rum not by starting with sweeter rums, but by starting with cocktails and then moving back to drinks where more of the total volume is rum (rum fashioned, corn and oil), and then eventually was able to go to neat. But even then it required a bit of adjustment. If you want to go to neat sipping, one thing to bear in mind is you will probably have to work at it a little.
Ha, yeah, i say it all the time. It's one of those Rums that many people start out on, thinking that it's Rum... mainly cos it doesn't say "Spiced Rum"
Especially Plantation Navy Grog. That stuff is a 57% liqueur. Not a fan of sipping it, but I'll upset folks to know that it mixes very well with root beer. I bet it would be amazing with Virgil's.
since i started getting into whiskey in the past months i thought i should give rum a try too. so i ordered a doorly's 12 year old and it wouldn't have even occurred to me to buy anything sweetened or not drink it neat...
Thats cool, but you have to realised, at the very least, 75% of all Rum consumed Worldwide is drunk Mixed or in Cocktails. Neat Rum Drinkers makes up a tiny percentage.
what are any "real" rum or respectable rums that taste the most like kraken or bumbu? Ive heard diplimatico, but cant find it anywhere. can someone tell me a good rum that taste sweet?
A-frigin-men Steve! No one should tell any spirit drinker how they must drink. Try all the ways one can enjoy your spirit and learn which way you like best or which way you like a particular spirit the most. It's about enjoyment, not pretension.
It’s kinda funny. I’ve seen you talk about rum fashioned which I’ve tried and just don’t like. I like old fashioneds made with whiskey and brandy with a single bar spoon of 2:1 but haven’t enjoyed it with rum. But I like rum neat. Or on ice. Don’t care for the extra sugar. But love rum cocktails. Go figure
Rum is my favorite spirit, but definitely have to disagree with it tasting better than whiskey in an old fashioned. Rye whiskey old fashioneds absolutely smash
📔 JOIN MY FREE DISCORD RUM COMMUNITY and DOWNLOAD MY FREEBIES; stevethebarman.com/hello 📔
Hi Steve,
I know this comes as a surprise, but I don’t get Cuban rum in the United States. But I do enjoy a glass of Jamaican rum, here or there once in a while.
Hope you have a good day, Stevo
One thing I really appreciate about your channel which really comes through in this video is that, while you're clearly quite the rum connoisseur, you don't come off as pretentious or snobbish like so many of those elitist hipsters out there. Thanks for being such a down-to-earth guy and not being so judgemental about how people enjoy their rum. 👍👍
Wow. Thank you my friend. That comment means a lot. Very Humbling. (Although, don’t think any one would ever confuse me with a Hipster… Cos I’m waaaay Cooler! 🤓)
So I drink wiskey and cognac neat. What would be a good first rum for me?
This is the video I needed to hear! Thanks Steve!
Love this video! Steve might be the smartest guy in rum! So many great points! I started getting into sipping more sophisticated rums by putting it on ice and adding a lime wedge or orange peel with a small amount of syrup. Slowly worked my way off and can appreciate a lot more flavors.
I drank Bacardi and Coke for years until I took a journey on a schooner out of Maine. A fellow crew member turned me on to Demerara rum - 'Don't you dare mix this with coke!' so it was rum and club soda. I loved it. Over the next 10 years, I went from 'never again Bacardi' to rum and soda then on to rum on the rocks. Mount Guay is the daily, Ron Zacapa 23 and Zaya are my top shelf followed by Plantation, Pyrat and Barbancourt then on to Cayman, Mount Guay etc... Thanks for the video.
This is great! I wasn't sure how to get to be able to enjoy rum neat. This video made me realize that it is possible!
Love your videos ! Just started on this rum journey and want to be a neat drinker as I feel you’ll have more connection with the rum ! My goal is to drink pussers blue label neat then onto the gunpowder neat !
Fantastic video Steve, I discovered your channel recently and I’m learning a lot about rums. I have always enjoyed rum and coke, Mai tais and rum cocktails. Looking to experiment, learn and enjoy the rum journey !
Thanks for watching Angel and taking the time to comment 👊
Very new to sipping rum and I tried making some ice cubes with coconut water. Right now enjoying Appleton 8 and it works so well.
All the best, I am enjoying your recommendations and learning so much.
Cheers
One minute in and I'm hooked! I tried my first neat rum last week, the Lost Year's Gold Spiced Rum with Queen Pineapple, it was mind blowingly incredible. When I ran out, I thought I'd try my favourite Bumbu on ice and it was unpleasant to say the least. It made me realise that I have a lot to learn. I am so glad to have found your blog, site and videos, you have a follower in me!
Cheers for the follow! Yup, there's a good journey in front of you from Flavoured and Sweetened Rums, to proper Rums!
Thank you sir. Ive been told i need to cut down on the coke in my diet. As a rum and coke drinker, im gonna give the rum fashioned a go
I always loved rum and coke but began to appreciate it straight. My journey began with Goslings on ice and loved it. Moved on to Eldorado 12 and Diplomatico on the rocks as my champions so far....still tasting and enjoying!
Cool. What are you eyeing up for your next Rum?!!
Great video Steve!
Cheers Jo 👍
Just the video i needed. have just been getting into rum and have been expanding my collection to try new brands and types. ive tried sipping the rum, before adding the mixer, but never found one i could really drink straight. definately going to try this method and see how i go.
my current go to mixer is actually diet lemonade of all things, adds a little extra sweetness
On board with you since December. Im not a sweets guy. After watching a lot of your vids. I started Flor de cana 12. Switced to Plantation Xo and im 4 bottles in. Thank you for opening my eyes. Thanks Steve.
That is awesome! Thanks for watching 👍
Just recently started my journey with a bottle of Plantation 5 year. Though, it took a while of drinking Cruzan Blackstrap, Pyrat, Gosling Black Seal, and way more Kraken than I care to admit in order to get here.
I actually only sip neat when I'm with your silly lot on the lives. But I do love it and my palate is really developing because of it! Great tips today! Cheers!
I am starting now! I may have made a mistake and bought a bottle of Appleton 12 but I do have a bottle of Bumbu and will start there. Thank you for the great content!
Thanks for watching!
I think the main point you've made in this video (which I agree with) is that unsweetened or "proper" rum, as you call it, is an acquired taste. Just as you've described, I fell down the rum rabbit hole via sweetened/spiced rum, namely The Kraken. It was, just as you've said: my "gateway" rum. In a matter of months, I was finally ready to try other rums. Dos Maderas Triple Aged, which is still somewhat sweet but less so than The Kraken, was the first rum I began drinking neat (or simply on the rocks) and is still among my favorites. From there I worked my way to even less sweet rums. That said, I still enjoy and appreciate sweetened/spiced rums and I agree with you wholeheartedly that they definitely have their place in the world of rum.
Steve the Barman, I am new to the exciting world of rum. So far El Dorado 15 and Plantation Black Cask from Guatemala and Barbados have been my favorites. Chocolate is my favorite note to experience while drinking rum neat. Can you make a video on premium and budget rums with chocolate tasting notes? It would sure help me, and think it would make for a killer video.
Keep the videos coming! Great channel! 🏴☠️🦜🥃🏝️
Look out for the blue label Companero (Panama Extra Anejo). If you love chocolate, that’s the be all and end all.
The rabbit hole rum for me is appleton estates. I love straight up, at room temp.
Definitely something for me to try. I have some angustora 1919 and other rums I can use for this as well as spiced rums I use for coke.
Anotber banging video Steve!
My rum Journey. Captain Morgans >DMF > White rums - Havana Bacardi etc, >Plantations >Aged Rums ED12 & ED15 > XO's
Still love a spiced rum time and again but more into Chairmans Reserve, Black Tears etc.
Favorite type rums - Cuban and Barbadian at the moment
Yes Daz 🙌
Hi. I have added you. And subed.
23 Christmas had for the first time had Kraken. OMG WOW. LOVED IT TO BITS. And then my friend gave me another one. Yummy.
Will be looking at others of your vids later.
Thanks.
Your community gave me the same tip when I started. Think I progressed to drinking neat in a few weeks. I was very determined 🤣
Instead of sugar could i add "ron miel artemi"? you mentioned something about adding honey instead of sugar sometimes.
Of course, or Agave. Both are great alternative sweeteners. Also Demerara.
Any recommendations for a rum for a mild / medium body cigar . (Davidoff signature 6000)
Sorry, I’m not a Smoker. So wouldn’t have the first clue about pairing Cigars.
I want to move from spiced rum to other rums. In the US what would you recommend to start with both budget and range I'll say?
Plenty of videos on my Blue Rum Reviews channel! 👍️Or look at the 5 video series i did here around Crimbo.
How does the Bundy rum stack up
Hello mate I commented on one of the older videos you made so not sure if you may see my comments but do you have any recommendations for Rums with no added sugars? I'm a neat drinker like yourself but with all the commercial Rums on the market im worried about all the additives
I saw, but I’ll reply to this one 👍. So. It’s hard cos not all Brands are like Planteray/Plantation who openly disclose additives where necessary. In fact they’re pretty much the only brand to do so. However, we know that Rums that originate from Jamaica don’t have Sugar (Jamaican Rums bottled outside of Jamaica can have sugar - Myers for example). So Hampden, Worthy Park, Appleton, etc will be undosed. We also know that Foursquare Rums (Doorlys & RL Seale) and Mount Gay from Barbados don’t add sugar. Chairmans reserve and Admiral Rodney are no sugar. El dorado used to, but if they do it’s very minimal now and widely accepted by the Rum Community. Outside of these core distilleries…yes some are obviously sweet, others it’s hard to tell if 6g or less has been added.
@@StevetheBarmanUK Cheers for your reply mate! Appreciate the detailed answer. I'm currently on a low-carb and low-sugar diet and the only access to Rum I have is the usual Captain Morgan's and Kraken, dead man's fingers etc you get from Asda but I'm still unaware of how much sugar they add in as they are so commercial. I'll deffo check out Mount Gay though as I've seen that in Asda! Thanks again mate :)
@ngliscsaxon6128 if you’re in the UK, you have really easy access to most Rum. Ignore ASDA… get online. Master of Malt. The Whisky Exchange. Heck even Amazon. Or even Ocado. All of them will have different offers on each week can can be a lot cheaper than the supermarkets depending on what you’re buying. And I say that cos chances are the Mount Gay innthe supermarket with me the Eclipse. And as a whisky fan you don’t want that. You want the Black Barrel at least if not the XO. From a whisky fan POV, any rum under £30 won’t be your best sippers. Not by a long shot.
My journey began with a bottle of Kraken. I thought it wasn't too bad and was curious what "real" rum would be like so I jumped on facebook and after some research I picked up some Eldorado 12 and Flor de Cana 12. I get a lot of flack for it but I do appreciate Don Papa. I know what it is/what it isn't and I still find it a nice after dinner drink.
Nothing wrong with Donny P! The problem is Donny P doesn’t really know what it is! 😂 But hey, I still have a Tipple of it from time to time.
I'm not a flavored anything drinker I’ll do finished but if any flavoring is added I'm out. I do enjoy everything I drink neat and that goes for rum and tequila and of course the whiskey. Now my wife is all about the Canadian crown flavored bottles. So I do have to supply these but I have never tasted them. Even to mix bourbon or Scotch is just something I don't do. It's unfortunate where I live the selection is lacking but we do have Mount Gay and Appleton to drink. Enjoy!!
Lots of great points made in this video
Remeber when I used to drink Sailor Jerry some Jamaican friends thought I was mad & they introduces me to Appleton Estates which I did enjoy, but Wray & Nephew neat was too much for me.
Have you tried kraken golden spice rum
Never heard of it. But yeah, that’s what I say in the video, you should be able to drink most/all spiced rums neat cos of the sweetness. They’re not all as sweet as Bumbu, Kraken etc. but all will have sugar added simply cos Spices without sweetness taste awful.
Hello Steve, do you join any other Community Forum like rumratings where we can ask you for your opinion to a certain discussion topic?
Ha, nah... I was in a few Facebook groups, But I either got kicked out for not being a Foursquare devotee and liking Plantation, or the chat is a tad tedious. To be fair, my community is here. 1000+ Videos, combined getting thousands of views a day. You can imagine the amount of comments i get on my different Channels on a daily basis. I don't actually need another Community. THIS community is great if you engage with others.
I moved to neat rum not by starting with sweeter rums, but by starting with cocktails and then moving back to drinks where more of the total volume is rum (rum fashioned, corn and oil), and then eventually was able to go to neat. But even then it required a bit of adjustment. If you want to go to neat sipping, one thing to bear in mind is you will probably have to work at it a little.
It’s like you Cut and Paste my script… 😂
@@StevetheBarmanUK That’s what I get for commenting when only halfway through the video 😜
I’ve never heard you say it’s the gateway before? Wow so Bumbu is the pinnacle rum? The gate keeper?
Ha, yeah, i say it all the time. It's one of those Rums that many people start out on, thinking that it's Rum... mainly cos it doesn't say "Spiced Rum"
OK guess I'm gonna fix me a nice Rumfashioned with Plantation OFTD, see where that takes me. 🥂
Hahaha. Now that is an ace drink. Love me some OFTD.
Navy rum is a liquid sugar cookie go for that 🇬🇧
Especially Plantation Navy Grog. That stuff is a 57% liqueur. Not a fan of sipping it, but I'll upset folks to know that it mixes very well with root beer. I bet it would be amazing with Virgil's.
I went backwards, I started with an Appleton Estate and ended on a Kraken XD
since i started getting into whiskey in the past months i thought i should give rum a try too. so i ordered a doorly's 12 year old and it wouldn't have even occurred to me to buy anything sweetened or not drink it neat...
Thats cool, but you have to realised, at the very least, 75% of all Rum consumed Worldwide is drunk Mixed or in Cocktails. Neat Rum Drinkers makes up a tiny percentage.
neat: havana club 7, Flor de Cana 12, appleton 12
Zacapa 23
Sorry for my dump question but where is the link to your Community?
Sorry. It’s not Dumb. I closed it at Easter. It got waaay too Geeky which was putting off the actual audience I wanted to target.
The kraken golden spice rum I can drink neat
what are any "real" rum or respectable rums that taste the most like kraken or bumbu? Ive heard diplimatico, but cant find it anywhere. can someone tell me a good rum that taste sweet?
Zaya 16 is good and reasonably priced.
A-frigin-men Steve! No one should tell any spirit drinker how they must drink. Try all the ways one can enjoy your spirit and learn which way you like best or which way you like a particular spirit the most. It's about enjoyment, not pretension.
It’s kinda funny. I’ve seen you talk about rum fashioned which I’ve tried and just don’t like. I like old fashioneds made with whiskey and brandy with a single bar spoon of 2:1 but haven’t enjoyed it with rum. But I like rum neat. Or on ice. Don’t care for the extra sugar. But love rum cocktails. Go figure
I just turned 21 and went from bacardi gold to plantation 5 year. Am I crazy 😅
I will always buy rum that adds up to $24
Rum is my favorite spirit, but definitely have to disagree with it tasting better than whiskey in an old fashioned. Rye whiskey old fashioneds absolutely smash
Nah. You’ve obvs been using the wrong Rum… 😇😉
I got no problem but I'm not dropping 50$ a bottle every time