Looking for good Vanilla Rum

[RumBarPhilly]

Available in my state are Brinley Gold, Mount Gay, and Cruzan. Cruzan Vanilla is garbage to me. Are either of the others worth getting, or am I better off infusing vanilla beans in a clean white rum myself?

[Scottes]

Adam, I've got the Brinley, and I *think* that I have another vanilla. I'll try to give it a quick tasting and get back to you. PM me if I forget...

I love vanilla. If I only have the Brinley I really should pick up some minis of some others....

[Edward Hamilton]

Brinley Gold Rums are some of the best on the US market. Angostura 1919 also has a lot of vanilla flavor but it's not called a vanilla rum. Mount Gay is discontinuing their vanilla rum so if you like that one stock up as it will be gone.

[angelsword]

RND recently did a review of this one that is not yet available. http://www.rndrumreviews.com/reviews.html#Temptryst_Vanilla_Bean_Flavored_Rum

[RumBarPhilly]

Brinley Gold Rums are some of the best on the US market. Angostura 1919 also has a lot of vanilla flavor but it's not called a vanilla rum. Mount Gay is discontinuing their vanilla rum so if you like that one stock up as it will be gone.

But is the Mt Gay worth it? Maybe ordering one bottle wont hurt, its only $16ish Are they also getting rid of their mango rum?

[RumBarPhilly]

RND recently did a review of this one that is not yet available. http://www.rndrumreviews.com/reviews.html#Temptryst_Vanilla_Bean_Flavored_Rum

Sounds great!!

[Edward Hamilton]

Are they also getting rid of their mango rum?

I hope they are going to concentrate on what Mount Gay does best, making classic West Indian rum. I wasn't impressed with either the mango or vanilla rums.

[Tiare]

I think its better to use real fruit and real rum and make a good drink out of that rather than buying flavored rums, unless you make your own infusions.
And concerning vanilla rum, i haven`t tried Brinley Gold so I don`t know how good it is..
But using your own vanilla beans make a real nice flavor, especially with Tahitian vanilla in my opinion..

[Dood]

There are good flavored rums out there. Since this is about vanilla, I can say that my wife and I brought back a bottle of Avatea Vanilla rum from Tahiti last year and it is a great vanilla rum for cocktails. It's sweet, and the vanilla flavor is strong without wiping out the rum flavor of the rum.

[Edward Hamilton]

But is the Mt Gay worth it? Maybe ordering one bottle wont hurt, its only $16ish Are they also getting rid of their mango rum?

I've been told that Mount Gay is also discontinuing their Vanilla rum as well.

[Tiare]

There are good flavored rums out there. Since this is about vanilla, I can say that my wife and I brought back a bottle of Avatea Vanilla rum from Tahiti last year and it is a great vanilla rum for cocktails. It's sweet, and the vanilla flavor is strong without wiping out the rum flavor of the rum.

Dood, I have wanted to find and try Avatea for years, do you per adventure know about any online source?

[Dood]

Dood, I have wanted to find and try Avatea for years, do you per adventure know about any online source?

My understanding from the people I talked to in Tahiti is that they do not export at all, but it's entirely possible that they were only speaking of the US.

[Goslings]

Available in my state are Brinley Gold, Mount Gay, and Cruzan. Cruzan Vanilla is garbage to me. Are either of the others worth getting, or am I better off infusing vanilla beans in a clean white rum myself?

I would recommend infusing. Took the idea from a Simon Difford cocktail book and did it myself. I used a bottle of Cruzan Estate Diamond (5yr old) and put in two split Madagascar vanilla beans and left them for two weeks. Strained out the rum into a carafe and then back into the bottle once I rinsed it out. Very nice results. My guess is better than store bought. My fear is the rum in flavored offerings is not that great.

[RumBarPhilly]

I think its better to use real fruit and real rum and make a good drink out of that rather than buying flavored rums, unless you make your own infusions.
And concerning vanilla rum, i haven`t tried Brinley Gold so I don`t know how good it is..
But using your own vanilla beans make a real nice flavor, especially with Tahitian vanilla in my opinion..

Tahitian vanilla, Im unfamiliar with that. All ive had is madagascar vanilla beans. Any spice shop i ever go to has the Madagascar. Have you tried both? And if so, whats the tasting difference?

[Tiare]

The difference is that the Tahitian bean is more fat, more oily and more floral. Its a very different taste than the Madagascar. I would recommed the US Ebay where there are EBay sellers that has very good prices on Tahitian beans. I have bought for many years and never been dissapointed.
Both beans are good but I prefer the Tahitian.

[Paulipbartender]

Have any of you tried the St Aubin Vanille - agricole from Mauritius? http://www.greenislandrum.com/products.html#MR That's an amazing vanilla agricole experience unlike anything else I've tasted. It's got a very engaging custardy vanilla flavour with the most vegetal agricole notes.

Alternatively Cubero from the Dom Rep is an ok vanilla rum. I'd have to say though, you're usually better off adding the vanilla flavour yourself to whatever drink you're making.

[Tiare]

That is a rum I want to try..and if its uk based then I think I can get it..
It sounds very interesting with the blend of vanilla and agricole. Haven`t tried any rum from Mauritius yet.

The infusion I made with the Depaz blanc agricole and vanilla, banana and clove was very tasty and the agricole notes are present.But only vanilla and agricole must be nice..there I can imagine the agricole flavor to come through more.

[RobertBurr]

I tried that St Aubin Vanille agricole from Mauritius at the RumFest UK back in October and found it quite interesting, although I've never found a great use for vanilla rum. I tried making a key lime based drink hoping the vanilla would give it a creamy component but I could not get it right.

Green Island also makes an interesting organic cachaзa.

[RumBarPhilly]

Im thinking, if you try to infuse One Barrel with vanilla beans, you might get a good ingredient to go with your key lime cocktail. I havent tried it, but with One Barrel's profile, I dont see why not!

[angelsword]

Have any of you tried the St Aubin Vanille - agricole from Mauritius? http://www.greenislandrum.com/products.html#MR That's an amazing vanilla agricole experience unlike anything else I've tasted.

The Vanille is the only Mauritius rum on that website that I do NOT have. My bottle of St. Aubin Agricole is from when they first started and is undoubtedly the WORST rum in my collection.

[Paulipbartender]

I can see why you think that, it's aroma and taste are crazy horses! Not sure I'd ever choose to drink it, but it's a fascinating product

[RumBarPhilly]

Wow, thanks for thant post! I think theyve got Whalers Vanilla in my NJ store, ill pick up a bottle when they get it back in stock!

[mac]

Frankly I don't believe in flavored rums/flavored coffees/flavored anything. Whats so bad about hand crafted aged rhums that you need to infuse a flavor?? BAD IDEA !!!

[Dood]

Frankly I don't believe in flavored rums/flavored coffees/flavored anything. Whats so bad about hand crafted aged rhums that you need to infuse a flavor?? BAD IDEA !!!

It depends on what you're doing. If you're making cocktails, having a good infused spirit can be the perfect thing to make that cocktail better.

Plus, it's fun to do when you're doing it yourself. ;)

[Rumpelteazer]

Frankly I don't believe in flavored rums/flavored coffees/flavored anything. Whats so bad about hand crafted aged rhums that you need to infuse a flavor?? BAD IDEA !!!

Mac, I'm inclined to agree with you up to a point. A distinction should be made between many commercial flavored rums, which have as their base a harsh alcohol mostly devoid of traditional rum flavors, blended with some kind of overpowering artificial flavoring.

On the other hand are the medium-to-fine quality rums that happen to have some subtle additional flavorings or spices. Some common examples of these are Captain Morgan's vanilla flavoring and Pyrat XO's orange flavoring.

Nearly all rums have some level of added flavoring, otherwise they would all taste about the same.

High quality flavored rums are few and far between, and that is one reason why some of us choose to experiment with infusions and blends.

[RumBarPhilly]

Nearly all rums have some level of added flavoring, otherwise they would all taste about the same.


You mean SOME rums have some level of added flavoring, right? There are hundreds of rums that partake their flavors from the barrels that they age in, the degree of fermentation, the natural ingredient, and the method of distillation. It is these that would make nearly all rums taste different.

[Tiare]

It depends on what you're doing. If you're making cocktails, having a good infused spirit can be the perfect thing to make that cocktail better.

Plus, it's fun to do when you're doing it yourself. ;)

Luckily there are so many different rums that there`s something for every palate..
I like most rums :D except for those of bad quality and those that tastes artificial.

And IMHP it IS fun to experiment with infusions! :)

[Capn Jimbo]

On the other hand are the medium-to-fine quality rums that happen to have some subtle additional flavorings or spices. Some common examples of these are Captain Morgan's vanilla flavoring and Pyrat XO's orange flavoring.

I can't speak to the Captain Morgan, but it's hard for me describe Pyrat XO additional flavorings as "subtle". Mac's point ("Whats so bad about hand crafted aged rhums that you need to infuse a flavor?) does have merit, with which Richard Seale would heartily agree.

There's another issue: on one hand you have a great number of small distillers who manage to survive, compared with those that have made arrangements with large corporations. The smaller companies are concerned with tradition and quality and will tolerate some variation in their product. The larger are concerned with sales and consistency, and it's fair to say that this "modern" marketing trend is toward lighter, very smooth, easy to drink sweet rums. Toward rum as liqueur.

Distillers like Seale stand against this, are willing to take the time, spend the money, maintain honesty and integrity. I must admit that when I taste a rum like Pyrat I am forced to wonder - do I love the rum - or the taste engineer?

[Rumpelteazer]

In my post above, I was considering added flavorings in a very broad sense, i.e., anything done to the rum after distilling. Flavors imparted from the barrel aging would fall into that category. In this context, nearly all fine rums have added flavoring. For many traditional style fine rums, the barrel may be the only added flavoring.

The Pyrat XO, I would agree is not at all subtle with its added flavors, and could be considered more a liqueur than a rum. But many people like it and it seems to do well in the marketplace. Interesting that its' hang tag lists vanilla, caramel, honey, and cinammon flavors, but not orange.

[primate77]

If one decides to infuse the rum themselves, and you use a vanilla bean, how much would you use? I've seen the internet recipes for making homemade Kahlua, and most call out for cutting a vanilla bean in half (length-wise) and dropping one half in a bottle.

If I chose to infuse at home, what would be proper to use regarding a bean, and also, would the opinion be the rum to be used should be a white, or is using a gold mixing rum (like Mount Gay Eclipse) ok?

[primate77]

well... regarding flavored rums and whether they are good or bad... consider the audience one is mixing concoctions for! If you are trying to create the "Ultimate Panty Dropper", then a flavored rum certainly stands a better chance of getting you there!

If your goal is a sophisticated and clean rum concoction, then probably an infused variety is not the trick!

[Charles]

Try the Madras Vanilla Rum..It's a flavored Agricole.Excellent i must say...I'll send you a bottle if you can't find it..

[RumBarPhilly]

My search for a good vanilla rum is drawing to a close.

As the saying goes, "If you can't find one, Make one!"

Im in talks with a local distiller to create a line of rums, included is a Vanilla Rum. More details on this to follow in the coming months.

[RobertBurr]

Try the Madras Vanilla Rum..It's a flavored Agricole.Excellent i must say...I'll send you a bottle if you can't find it..

Where is this Madras Vanilla Rhum available? I'd like to try it. I'm in Miami.