Blind Tasting the most affordable Sipping Rums - my favourite will surprise you

[@MrHavy09]

Nice, I think in this lineup it would be: (1) App 12 (2) EL Dor 12, (3) Flor De Cana ... Curios to see how the RL Seal 12 & the Admiral Rodney would perform here

[@hakupaku42]

The big problem with Dictador is that they do not distill their own rum. The producer is called "Destilería Colombiana", but there is no such distillery as far as anyone can tell. Instead, they are buying bulk rum from Panamá, maybe aging it in Colombia, potentially putting in some additives, bottling it as their own, and selling it as a premium product.

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

Ah yeah, thats it! Thank you. So basically the same as 75% - 85% of the Rum on the global market. The vast majority comes out of E&A Scheer in the Netherlands (or Main in the UK, part of E&A). Smith & Cross, Ten to One, Goslings, Pussers, Myers, Pyrat, Denizen, Hamilton, Matusalem, Dram Mor, SBS, Plantation (Except Barbados Rum), Travelers, Black Tot, Banks, Kill Devil, etc etc etc etc. So not really a massive problem in the grand scheme of things.

[@hakupaku42]

@@StevetheBarmanRumReviews yeah I've got no issue with sourcing rum! I've got issues with sourcing it and then saying you distilled and aged it - so I would not compare Dictador to Hamilton, Ten to One, Black Tot, and others in your list.

[@numanuma20]

Does anyone actually distill rum? It seem most brands just source rum and label under their brand.

[@hakupaku42]

@@numanuma20 Many! Even the ones in this video. Flor de Caña, Havana Club, Appleton Estate, El Dorado, Doorly's, all are distillery-owned brands. Bacardí, Don Q, Hampden Estate, Chairman's Reserve, Rhum J.M... In short, many brands are owned by distilleries and use their own products. But true, just as many if not more, are sourced

[@ericschmidt6]

@@StevetheBarmanRumReviewshow many of the brands that you listed claim they distilled their own rum? You’re missing the point.

[@philgringo2438]

Hello Steve. I really like El Dorado 12, I prefer it to the 15 and 21. I've never tested Dictator but plan to do so soon👍

[@pan_alkoholowy]

Dictador 12 for me all the way at the moment from those you have tested, but... when you compare it to other colombian Rum - La Hechicera Banana Experimental ❤ it suddenly drops a few points down for me 😅 La Hecicera actually delivers this small fruit vibe that you are missing with D12. Must try for everyone!❤

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

I don’t rate Hechicera at all. BUT. It is coming out to play really soon in yet another blind tasting.

[@NickVolk]

Hi Stevy, I seem to be having a whole lotta trouble with the rums you've just reviewed, cuz i love all of 'em in different times and seasons of the year but Abuelo 12- not! (too much sugary for me) That was the fantastic and great video!🥂🙏👍

[@TimBaker]

I'd be interested in seeing the expanded blind tasting with the three bottles you added at the end.

[@Fedorevsky]

Dictador 12 has only under 3 g/l of sugar. I don't know about the Abuelo but it's definitely quite sweet. El Dorado's rums to me are quite good after they got rid of all the sugar on the new releases. I did not like them before. People keep complaining about the partial or full aging of Colombian rum in ex-coffee bean casks. I quite like Colombian rum.

[@Fedorevsky]

I picked up some cheaper rum today, Chairman's Reserve Original, Matusalem Gran Reserva 15, Doorly's 5 YO and R.L Seale's 10 YO 46% export. I also picked up the St. Remy's XO Brandy and a more expensive and stronger 18 year old Armagnac at nearly 50%. I already have the Flor De Cana 12 and also the 18. I love the Dictador rums. I'm all out now but I had the 20 recently.

[@alho9231]

You're gonna need a bigger house.... 😜

[@miramerlin9608]

what du you think about the Dictador 16 ?

[@Raptor0256]

both the el dorado and dictador are available here in australia, so might have to put them on my wish list now

[@ILuvRum]

Definitely agree with you on the El Dorado. Never had the Dictador, but am going to be looking for it. What about R.L. Searles? I find it very tasty as a sipper, both the 10 (adequate) and the 12 (much better than adequate).

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

The RL Seale 12 isn’t a thing in the UK. We do have the 10 though. And it may come out in another Blind Tasting.

[@WhiskyMechanic]

Thanks for this. I'm a seasoned malt whisky drinker but looking to dip my toes into the world of rum and looking for a good starting point. I was going to buy a bottle of Kraken to begin with but think I'll pick up a bottle of El Dorado instead.

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

For a Whisky drinker, DO NOT start with Kraken/Bumbu/Diplomatico/Ron Zacapa. They are sweet. If you’re a proper whisky fan, as I say a lot, Doorlys/Foursquare rums maybe closer to your palate. As they are the Rums when you pick up a lot more of that Wood from barrel aging. They’re not for me…but I don’t drink whisk(e)y.

[@drewreed8154]

Hi Steve! Great video but re: Flor De Cana (which I love)…I have heard that the number is not an age. A bit of research suggests the number is the age of the barrels that it’s aged in. I don’t think Flor 12 is twelve years old

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

Ha, no its deffo not the amount of barrels. It is to do with Age. In fact some of the newer labels even have Years Old on them now. But there is still loads of mystery. For example, some Spanish Colony brands use it as an "Avergae Age", while others use it as a "Majority Age of the Blend". FDC themselves do claim it is the Age, but for some reason, many doubt them.

[@nateross14]

You said you're a Rum lover your entire life but I find it hard to believe you were sipping Rum as a Baby

[@Fedorevsky]

I've been meaning to pick up the HC Maestro. Ron Santiago is not available here.

[@paulmeahan3667]

The problem for me quite honestly with the Dictador is the price point. Where I live in Canada it’s $30-35 more per bottle than ED12, FDC12, and A12. That’s £17.50-20 more. I just can’t find the reason to buy it at that point. If I want to spend $85 (£50) on a bottle of rum, there are just some I’d rather spring for imho.

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

Yeah. That makes sense. While in the UK we do pay a lot more than the US, at least they’re all relatively level. So ED12 is the same as D12 as Dictador and Appleton. Maybe literally a few ££ but nothing dramatically more. So it’s a straight choice of which you prefer as opposed to I’m buying this cos is £30 cheaper.

[@jaypenha5352]

I am wondering if siesta key rum would have any “sipping” rums. They do both flavored and Gold and silver. A lot of Golds are sippers right? (Plantation 5 year and XO for example). Do you review craft distilleries from the U.S.? I am curious about siesta key rums.

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

If I could get US rums I would. But if I could, I’d also start of with Hamilton, Denizen, Holmes Cay, Cruzan etc 😂

[@kemposun]

I bought the El Dorado 12 yesterday and must say, I did not like the taste. It has a lot of heat like the Doorly's 12. Both my wife and I tasted the ED12 and Zacapa 23 side by side, and both of us felt the Zacapa is more smooth and more depth more enjoyable drinking neat. Kind of bummed out, because I bought a True - Snifter glass yesterday with my rum and I ran out of the Zacapa 23 :(. I also enjoyed the FDC 12 over the EL 12. Question: I'm considering just using the ED12 as an Old Fashioned and/or with Ginger Beer. Is it possible to maybe add a tiny bit of Simple Syrup or Crown Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup to my ED 12 in my snifter glass, so I can still use my new glass and drink it neat? I'm sure you are cringing at the question and thinking to yourself to just drink it as an Old Fashioned, but I want to use my snifter glass lol. I'm going to ask the wife if I can purchase another Zacapa 23 to drink it neat.

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

So the answer to your question is YES. Of course you can add sugar. And to put that into context, your El Dorado has little to no sugar added to the bottle, but the Zacapa has roughly 40g of sugar per litre added to the bottle. Thats why you find Zacapa “Smooth”. It’s nothing to do with the Rum, it’s simply because the Sugar masks the Heat of the Rum. So…if you wanted a like for like comparison… bearing in mind Zacapa has 40g Sugar per litre…pour a 50ml shot of El Dorado (50ml is easy to do the conversion), but then add 2g (2ml ish) of Sugar….that’ll be half a Teaspoon give to take. That will give you the exact like for like of Sugar levels. I will also add that while this is not official, there may be other “flavours” at play with the Zacapa. For example there maybe added Vanilla and Vanilla makes you think things taste sweeter. Now look. There is nothing wrong with not being able to handle proper unsweetened Rum. You just have to know what you like. For example, for you Stay away from most Pot Still Rums like Jamaican Rums, Guyanese, Barbados. They’ll be straight up Rum. Either stick to sweeter Rums like Diplomatico, Zacapa, Abuelo. And Flavoured/Spiced Rums like Bumbu & Don Papa. OR…go down the Column Still route like your Flor De Cana, Don Q, Bacardi 8yo etc. you’ll find those more forgiving…BUT no where near as sweet as Zacapa.

[@NickVolk]

Stevo, if you would ever review The Doorlys 14 , I'd be very very grateful to you-never tried and unlikely to try one cuz we ain't got it here in Moscow as well as in Russia and never had before(((😭

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

It was done recently just before Christmas in the Barbados month. 👍 Maybe the last video. Cant remember….probs a good 35+ videos ago now.

[@NickVolk]

👌@@StevetheBarmanRumReviews

[@justinozdych3391]

What does stone fruit smell an taste like, I’m an American and we don’t use that word here

[@StevetheBarmanRumReviews]

Stone Fruit…yeah you do. It’s a worldwide phrase. Basically stone fruit is anything that has a Stone in the middle. We’d generically mean probably closer to Peach or Apricot. But could crossover to Plums, Cherries. Gives off a very different taste to Other kinds of Fruit without Stones.

[@RumCzar]

Yes we do.

[@justinozdych3391]

@@StevetheBarmanRumReviews ahh I see maybe it’s not common in the part of America I’m from because I’ve never heard it used besides here on the channel. The more you know

[@jaypenha5352]

Steve, I actually didnt know what stone fruit was either. What you call a “stone” we call “Pitts” Alot of your pitted orchard fruits would be peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums, etc. it was just lost in translation for us Americans. Thank you for clearing that up for us. I was always very confused when you say “stone fruit” never knew what that was until now. It is just different English lingo for the same thing. 👍🏼

[@NickVolk]

😱👍💯👌🙏🥂