Cruzan Banana Rum

[Troy]

I tried a bottle of Cruzan Banana Rum to compare to my homemade banana spiced rum. I found it to be cloyingly sweet.

There was just no comparison to putting in fresh banana and letting it sit for a day or two.

[angelsword]

I tried a bottle of Cruzan Banana Rum to compare to my homemade banana spiced rum. I found it to be cloyingly sweet.

There was just no comparison to putting in fresh banana and letting it sit for a day or two.
There are ways to use real fruit in a commercial rum. It just takes more time than most are willing to spend.

[Troy]

I will be using only real fruits in my production rums. It's worth it to me. :)

The other issue that I have with many spiced rums is the amount of sweetener that they add.

[Scottes]

The other issue that I have with many spiced rums is the amount of sweetener that they add.
Try the Foursquare Spiced. It's a lot more dry than it is sweet.

[angelsword]

I will be using only real fruits in my production rums. It's worth it to me. :)

Another issue is shelf life. When I spoke to distributors about my flavored rums, using real fruit, the big boys wanted a guarantee and a written report of the testing that showed a shelf life of at least a year.

[Troy]

Try the Foursquare Spiced. It's a lot more dry than it is sweet.

I've been meaning to try this after the recommendations I've read here. I can't get it locally though. I'll have to try an online source.

[Troy]

Another issue is shelf life. When I spoke to distributors about my flavored rums, using real fruit, the big boys wanted a guarantee and a written report of the testing that showed a shelf life of at least a year.

Interesting. Did you give it to them?

I've seen rum on the shelf that had big melon slices in the bottle. They probably ran into the same issue. Or maybe are going through a smaller distributor.

[angelsword]

Interesting. Did you give it to them?

I've seen rum on the shelf that had big melon slices in the bottle. They probably ran into the same issue. Or maybe are going through a smaller distributor.
Still running another series of tests. We are about 18 months into the testing. First group failed. Second group sucessfully passed a year. Already filed one patent on a new technology that I developed and am planning on a couple more. Just found another technique a couple of months ago that hopefully could change the rules of the game.

A smaller distributor can't move the product as fast. And who wants booze that goes bad?

267 uses fruit in the bottle but they are having some serious problems with it. I don't think they did their homework ahead of time.
http://www.chow.com/stories/10110

[Troy]

I'm not really looking to move tons of product. This is a lifestyle biz for me. I'm looking to make the best rum I can and sell it locally. If it makes money that's cool. Not necessary though.

Are you planning on leaving fruit in the bottle? Did you have problems with real fruit flavored rum that had been redistilled?

[angelsword]

I'm looking to make the best rum I can ...
Aren't we all !?!?!

Fruit in the bottle was part of the original plan. But industrial espionage is real and it appears that someone passed our marketing plan to 267 when we moved too slow. Fortunately they missed some important points. But after watching their errors, I decided to back up and re-examine the concept.

But we are working with organic and wild-harvested products to a major extent. Today I am working on organic strawberry vodka. Some of this batch will go to the Beverage Testing Institute. http://www.tastings.com/

Haven't tried redistillation.

[Troy]

Aren't we all !?!?!



Guys like you and I are. I'm not so sure that everyone producing rum is looking to make the best rum though.

[Edward Hamilton]

Fruit in the bottle was part of the original plan. But industrial espionage is real and it appears that someone passed our marketing plan to 267 when we moved too slow. Fortunately they missed some important points. But after watching their errors, I decided to back up and re-examine the concept.



I wouldn't blame espionage since fruit in a bottle is something that has been around for a very long time. Some brandy makers actually grow the fruit in the bottle on the tree and then fill the bottle with their spirit. Imagine the yield when you're hanging bottles from trees and hoping for fruit without any blemishes.

In the islands you can find fruit filled rum bottles in almost every local street market, but the people who put the fresh fruit and rum in the bottle don't have to be concerned with shelf life.

[angelsword]

I wouldn't blame espionage since fruit in a bottle is something that has been around for a very long time.
The fruit in the bottle was only a small part of our marketing program. But that's business!

[primate77]

Fruit in the bottle was part of the original plan. But industrial espionage is real and it appears that someone passed our marketing plan to 267 when we moved too slow. Fortunately they missed some important points. But after watching their errors, I decided to back up and re-examine the concept

I know this thread died back in July 07, but I thought I heard that 267 had some serious problems with their infusions (rum specifically). The vodkas didnt appear to leave the shelves, but the rums did. Now, I am seeing them again here and there. Fruit still in the bottle.

Did they correct their problem?

[primate77]

In the islands you can find fruit filled rum bottles in almost every local street market, but the people who put the fresh fruit and rum in the bottle don't have to be concerned with shelf life.

And, at least as long as it doesn't leave the island, they don't have to worry about the U.S. Food & Drug Administration either, do they?