THE GREAT RUM TASTING

            Drinking rum and sailing seem to go hand in hand.  Rum has been central to sailing since Admiral Edward Vernon, Ole Grog himself portioned out the daily allotment to his crew.  Rum is produced in nearly every country of the world and there are probably more examples of this heavenly spirit than any other.  So, which does do you sip and which do you swill?

            A small group of sailors at Bimini Blue Water Marina decided to seek an answer to those questions.  Twelve bottles of rum appeared from the holds of boats hailing from all points of the compass—Ole Nassau Dark, Pusser’s, Cruzan Gold, Flor de Caña, Bacardi Select, Zacapa, Goslings Black Seal, Zaya, Ricardo Gold, Ole Nassau Gold, 3 bottles of flavored rum and a really mean bottle of 151 proof.

            We decided to use the Ole Nassau Dark as a benchmark.  All the other rums would be rated up or down according to whether they were better or worse than that one.  It was not a highly regimented process and voting often got lost in the festivities.  At any rate, here they are:

1.       Everyone liked the Ole Nassau Dark (Surprisingly good for a $10/litre bottle)

2.      8 of 13 people thought the Pusser’s was better than the Ole Nassau

3.      Only 3 of 12 thought the Cruzan better

4.      6 of 8 liked the Flor de Caña better

5.      5 of 8 liked the Bacardi

6.      9 of 12 liked the Zacapa

7.      14 of 14 liked the Gosling

8.      14 of 14 liked the Zaya

9.      No one liked the Ricardo (Another Bahamian rum even cheaper than Ole Nassau)

10.  4 of 12 liked the Ole Nassau Gold.

We decided to treat the flavored rums and the 151 as separate classes.

            We then “recalibrated” and tasted the Ole Nassau again and compared the 3 most well liked rums to it.  The clear winner?  Zaya.  Gosling was the runner up and Zacapa next.

            The Zaya, which began as a full bottle was resampled to validate its victory and soon was empty.  The Gosling likewise disappeared in the national drink of the Bermudas, The Dark and Stormy.  We never got around to the flavored rums and a few daring souls tried the 151 (real firewater that begins its burn as soon as you raise the glass to your lips) and some actually liked it.