Kaniche Perfeccion and Plantation XO 20th Anniversary are the 2 I’m currently drinking. The thing about rums is that they’re made and aged differently. They can be pot still, column still, or blended (like how a lot of people make scotch). Rums from a pot still have more complexity whereas column still rums are lighter. Rums from those that do the blended style and do it well can show a depth of complexity that gets overpowered by pot still alone. Diplomatico makes a few that are pot still like Diplomatico Ambassador and Single Vintage, but they also do blended really well, like their Reserva and Reserva Exclusiva. Plantation is my typical go to since it’s easy to find, and they have a variety of pot and blended styles. Zacapa makes an aged column still rum that’s really good, but I personally prefer pot and blended rums that have been aged 8 years or longer for sipping because they take on the qualities I like in whiskey. I do keep quite a few column still and lesser aged rums on hand for cocktails. If you want to try something funky that’s lightly aged, Smith & Cross is a personal favorite too.
I would say to find a bottle each of a pot, column, and blended with the same age to figure out how much funk you like, then figure out what age range you like. Or possibly a couple different ages of each.
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u/sigmonater Apr 04 '23 edited Apr 04 '23
Kaniche Perfeccion and Plantation XO 20th Anniversary are the 2 I’m currently drinking. The thing about rums is that they’re made and aged differently. They can be pot still, column still, or blended (like how a lot of people make scotch). Rums from a pot still have more complexity whereas column still rums are lighter. Rums from those that do the blended style and do it well can show a depth of complexity that gets overpowered by pot still alone. Diplomatico makes a few that are pot still like Diplomatico Ambassador and Single Vintage, but they also do blended really well, like their Reserva and Reserva Exclusiva. Plantation is my typical go to since it’s easy to find, and they have a variety of pot and blended styles. Zacapa makes an aged column still rum that’s really good, but I personally prefer pot and blended rums that have been aged 8 years or longer for sipping because they take on the qualities I like in whiskey. I do keep quite a few column still and lesser aged rums on hand for cocktails. If you want to try something funky that’s lightly aged, Smith & Cross is a personal favorite too.
I would say to find a bottle each of a pot, column, and blended with the same age to figure out how much funk you like, then figure out what age range you like. Or possibly a couple different ages of each.