top of page
  • Ivar

The Big Daiquiri Challenge - Chapter 5

Last daiquiri challenge was a year and half ago. Time for another fun chapter!


If you've never read any of the big daiquiri challenge articles, I'll paint a picture of what it's like. I gather 6 pairs of rums and a crew of four to five friends to have a tasting. In this case Bev Wooding, Hamish Grant, Matthew Wise (and his partner Vicki), Andrew Toplack, Mariangela and myself. All are experienced rum and cocktail drinkers. Dr Andrew always makes the cocktails following the same recipe: two rum, one lime, half sweet. We then taste them, Rum A vs Rum B, single knockout. Apart from tasting the daiquiris, I also have a notepad on my lap where I'm frantically writing down as many of everyone's comments as I can. I miss out on some of them or course, as I can't always keep up. I publish all the comments as is. Don't expect much from a scientific perspective, but they are usually rather fun to read through.


If you want to check out the previous chapters, here are chapter one, chapter two, chapter three and chapter four.


As a reminder, the winners from chapter 4 were: Appleton 8, Doorly's 12, Clairin Sajous, Longueteau Le 50, Mhoba Strand 101 and Rum Nation Jamaica Pot Still 2015.



The Cast


  • Rum Fire, Hampden, Jamaica, 63%

  • Sample Seventeen Pot Still Jamaica, Hampden, Jamaica, 60.5%

  • Bacardi Superior, Bacardi, Puerto Rico, 40%

  • Rum Bar Overproof, Worthy Park, Jamaica, 63%

  • Rum Bar Silver, Worthy Park, Jamaica, 40%

  • Sugar House White Rum, Sugar House, Scotland, 43%

  • Savanna HERR, Savanna, Reunion, 57%

  • Carroll's RHE, Carroll's Distillery, Canada, 65.1%

  • Clairin Sonson, Distillerie Sonson Pierre Gilles, Haiti, 53.2%

  • Holmes Cay Jamaica C<>H 2007, Hampden, Jamaica, 65.9%

  • Compagnie Des Indes Jamaica 2009, Hampden, Jamaica, 55%

  • Savanna Creol 52, Savanna, Reunion, 52%


The Tasting




















Sugar House White Rum vs Bacardi Superior


Sugar House

Hamish: Love the nose

Beverly: Funky rum

Hamish: Tastes like the rum is beating down the lime

Matt: Some unfortunate notes of bleach

Ivar: Has a little Jamaica on the nose

Hamish: Beach time daiquiri -> sun tan lotion

Ivar: Sweet, red berries

Mariangela: Floral and refreshing


Bacardi

Bev: Smells like lime only

Ma: Like hard lemonade

Matt: If Smirnoff Ice was a rum

Iv: I don’t smell rum

Ha: Balanced, it’s fine

Ma: If I go into a bowling alley and ask for a daiquiri, I’d expect this

Iv: I don’t taste rum

Top: It’s very pleasant

Matt: It’s fine. Mass market


Vote

Bev: Sugar House

Ma: Sugar House

Iv: Sugar House

Ha: Sugar House

Matt: Sugar House

Top: Sugar House


Conclusion

This was an easy one. Sugar house white is very flavourful compared to Bacardi white. It provides much more of an experience without being overpowering in a daiquiri. The Bacardi daiq, which some call a “real” daiquiri, is a refreshing limey alcoholic beverage that doesn’t offer much to explore.

Winner: Sugar House White Rum




















Rum Bar Overproof vs Rum Bar Silver


Rum Bar Overproof

Ma: Band aid flavour. I like this

Bev: That’s got to be Jamaican

Top: Lovely but short

Iv: Bit metallic to me

Top: This has such a punch, you need a band aid after

Bev: Keeps going in my throat

Top: It’s not a slap in the face though. It’s a half slap


Rum Bar Silver

Bev: Chocolate raisins

Ma: White chocolate. I like it

Iv: More flavour, less punch. These two need to be blended

Bev: If beets were rum. It has a dirt taste

Ha: If sporty spice was a rum

Iv: Easier to drink than Overproof

Bev: This one is short. The Overproof moved in as my domestic partner


Vote

Bev: Rum Bar Overproof

Ma: Rum Bar Overproof

Iv: Rum Bar Overproof

Ha: Rum Bar Overproof

Matt: Rum Bar Overproof

Top: Rum Bar Silver


Conclusion

I was personally quite surprised by the outcome of this one. I feel Rum Bar Silver is underrated. I’ve been using it a lot for mixing and blending. Much more than Rum Bar Overproof. I was expecting it to win. This is the first time using it as the sole rum in a daiquiri though and it disappointed a little. It shows the power of alcohol. The lower abv makes it disappear somewhat in the daiquiri, while the Overproof is standing firm. I personally feel a blend of the two is the best option.


Winner: Rum Bar Overproof




















Savanna Creol 52 vs Clairin Sonson


Savanna Creol 52

Ma: Tastes like honey. Nice, but not what I’d want for a daiquiri

Bev: Yeah, very much. A raw honey

Iv: Smells like honey indeed. Tastes like it too

Ha: Grapey. I appreciate it, but not as a daiquiri

Iv: Slightly medicinal. Honey and pine

Bev: It’s green tasting with some herbal flavours

Matt: Welch’s grape juice. I wouldn’t even sip this neat


Clairin SonSon

Bev: Could smell it before lifting the glass

Iv: Ham sandwich with a medicinal twist

Vicki: This one stays with you

Ha: Produces a nice balance between all parts

Bev: I don’t like high ester, but it works in a daiquiri

Iv: I’m finishing this one

Bev: It’s scratching my throat a little

Matt: That’s Covid


Vote

Bev: Clairin SonSon

Ma: Clairin SonSon

Iv: Clairin SonSon

Ha: Clairin SonSon

Matt: Clairin SonSon

Top: Clairin SonSon


Conclusion

I had high hopes for Savanna Creol 52, which I like as a sipper. However, it wasn’t that great as a daiquiri. So much honey! Clairin Sonson on the other hand……it was delicious. So flavourful and refreshing at the same time. Clairin in general remains an all time daiquiri favourite for this group.


Winner: Clairin Sonson




















Savanna HERR vs Carroll's RHE High Ester


Savanna HERR

Ma: Pineapple soda

Bev: Exactly

Ha: Just before the dentist puts me under

Top: Has a rancidy kind of flavour somewhere. It’s rather unpleasant

Bev: It’s weird as a daiquiri, but I might like this rum

Matt: Lots of pineapple. Different from previous HERR

Iv: Medicinal pineapple and strawberry combo

Ha: Give me a shot of the rum instead

Matt: And some penicillin, as it might kill you

Ma: I wouldn’t call this a daiquiri

Iv: It’s so red candy like


Carrol's RHE High Ester

Iv: Has a sick smell to it. Baby vomit

Matt: Unpleasant cheese

Matt: There was a hipster company that blended mint and cheese -> they are out of business

Ha: The crime scene cleaning of cocktails

Matt: It’s like being at a nice tasting but you just brushed your teeth

Iv: Horrible. I’m pulling faces

Iv: Bitter peppery after taste

Ma: Smells like road kill

Bev: No, it smells like farts

Ha: Horrible nose, not so bad on the palate

Iv: Agreed, nose is worse than the palate

Bev: I don’t hate it

Matt: What’s the story?! I paid good money to be here

Top: It smells like something died nearby


Vote

Bev: Savanna Herr

Ma: Savanna Herr

Iv: Savanna Herr

Ha: Savanna Herr

Matt: Savanna Herr

Top: Savanna Herr


Conclusion

Easy win for Savanna, even though neither were favourites on the night. The reason why it won are the sour off notes in Carroll’s RHE. It was hard to get through, especially on the nose. Which is unfortunate, as this is a Canadian product we really wanted to like. Carroll’s has gone the extra mile, took some risk and created the first Canadian high ester rum (567 g/hlaa). Amazing and courageous idea. The flavour profile is clearly in the direction of Savanna Herr, which is why I put the two together. Can’t really compare it to high ester Jamaican. We are all fairly used to the massive variety of rum flavours and smells, we embrace its diversity wholeheartedly and tend to lean towards higher ester expressions when it comes to enjoying daiquiris. But this rum’s off notes were very obvious in this cocktail.


However, let’s see what happens when having it neat. The nose is a lot more pleasant this way. It’s strong in bubble gum and red fruits, with a lot less of the unappealing notes we found in the daiquiri, of sour milk and cheese that’s three years past its date. Sour apples come up strongly. Bird food and some hay. It’s quite metallic. Sipping it is a very peppery and metallic endeavour. Bubble gum and red fruits carry through from the nose, some mint and licorice. It’s interesting. It didn’t work in a daquiri at all. However, it might work in a blended cocktail with multiple rums. Would I grab this instead of Savanna HERR? No, but….Savanna can’t be bought in Canada. So for Canadians who love their HERR, this is a decent alternative.

Winner: Savanna HERR