We’ll have a gay old time.
Mount Gay Eclipse rum review
If you’re going to get serious about Tiki cocktails you need, in my view anyway, an “anchor” dry gold rum. It doesn’t have to be the fanciest rum in the world but needs to simply act as a base in cocktails that call for multiple rums that the other spirits can lock onto and still fully express themselves. While it doesn’t need to be anything expensive it certainly has to be dry (not sweet), flexible and easily available. A very long time ago I settled on Havana Club Añejo Especial as my anchor gold rum and haven’t had much cause to question that choice until recently. The reasons for re-thinking this being: 1: I’m a big fan of several other Havana Club rums – 3 Años, 7 Años and Seleccion de Maestros – and I’m slightly concerned about coming over as a bit of an HC fanboy. This leads me to 2: If I’m really honest HC Añejo Especial isn’t nearly as good as those others and while I always describe it as a “rock solid mixer” I’d certainly never consider sipping it on it’s own. Which is a pity because, if I had, I might have noticed that: 3. Añejo Especial was re-formulated a few years back and now contains a fair bit more sugar than I’m comfortable with. Time out!
Sugar in rum.
There’s a misconception that rum is inherently sweet. Not so. Just because rum is made with a sweet feedstock (molasses or sugarcane juice) doesn’t mean that the resultant spirit is sweet, as the process of fermentation and distillation turns all that sugar into alcohol. Which is, after all, the whole point of the exercise. However rum is often sweetened post distillation as it makes for an easy and inexpensive way to appeal to a (rather undiscerning) segment of the market, an option which is further facilitated by a general lack of regulation in the rum sector. I don’t sip on sweetened rums (anymore) but if you are aware and careful you can still mix with them as long as you take care to balance that sweetness with the sour component – usually lime juice. Because spirits have no requirement to label sugar or calorie content this makes the whole sugar-in-rum thing a bit of a minefield. Thankfully a motley crew of dedicated rum-heads have gone to some lengths to expose this scandalous state of affairs by using hydrometer readings to detect added ingredients (which are almost always sugar). Capn Jimbo has collated a large (although incomplete) master list of these results if you’re interested. It was from this list than I noticed that the amount of sugar in my Havana Club Añejo Especial appears to have been creeping up over the years and a sip of it au natural quickly confirmed this*. While 22 grams of sugar per litre isn’t on the high end of the scale there are plenty of good rums (including others from Havana Club) that are at, or close to, zero. Now I have to say this all came as a bit of a surprise as I was of the understanding that Cuba is one of the islands that forbid – or at least frown upon – the addition of sugar to their rum. ‘Parently not. However Barbados, the birthplace of rum (according to themselves) takes a very dim view of such shenanigans (although there is a bit of barney going on there on the subject which I’m not dragging you into right now) and looks like a good place to start. Thus we finally get to have a look at a widely available, affordable dry Barbados gold rum with a view to it becoming an “anchor” rum in cocktails especially of the Tiki persuasion.
Mount Gay Eclipse gold Barbados rum.
Coming in simple but flattened screwtop bottle Mount Gay Eclipse comes over as somewhat unpretentious as indeed it should at a lower mid-shelf price of just €16 for 700ml which is roughly the same ballpark as HC Añejo Especial. We can’t be too surprised that it’s a bog-standard 40%ABV but what is quite impressive is that, even at this low price, we’re getting a rum with some pot-still content. And that is seldom a bad thing as pot-stilled spirit always has more character than column distillate. This type of rum for this use needs to be pretty straightforward and at first sniff Eclipse smells reassuringly “rummy”. It has a nice light copper hue – a fair bit paler than HC Especial which probably just shows a less aggressive use of caramel colouring. Since we’re on the subject of added sugar it’s worth saying that, counter-intuitively, caramel colourant does not add any significant sweetness when used in spirits so this needn’t necessarily be of any concern. We know that Eclipse juice sees the inside of some charred ex-bourbon barrels for up to two years which, while that might not seem that long, is reasonable enough in a tropical climate. Sipped we get a nice “orangey” tang, a hint of spice and a pleasant smoothness that while all unspectacular are above my expectation at the price point. While not exactly smooth it is noticeably less harsh than the Havana Club and also has a nice long finish. If you forced me to sip this with just an ice cube to temper it I wouldn’t be furious. By comparison the Añejo Especial is more aggressive; punchier, oilier and with a harshness that was clearly trying to be tempered with the added sugar. While Especial is certainly no sipper it does have a remarkable ability to mix well with other rums that should not be taken for granted. And this brings me to my only concern about Mount Gay Eclipse – is it just a little too mild-mannered for our intended use? Time to make some cocktails to find out! First stop in any rum test is to make a Daiquiri and Eclipse cleared this first hurdle effortlessly. It was nice and crisp with just enough presence to show some character. Check. Another essential use for an “anchor” gold rum is in a Navy Grog or Zombie but in those triple rum drinks it’s much harder at ascertain the effect of the anchor gold rum. However I found that subbing in the Mount Gay resulted in a satisfying drink each and every time – and those are two of my very favourite cocktails so I’m very familiar with their nuances. Well played Mount Gay! While I’m certainly not ready to de-recommend Havana Club Añejo Especial I think I’m ready to let Mount Gay take its place on my rum shelf. If that should change be assured that I’ll be letting you know. When it comes to marks I feel I have to be clear again that the following is entirely based on use as a mixing rum in the context outlined above and heavily based on value for money. With that considered I give Mount Gay Eclipse an:
A-
*It was necessary for me to ping myself on the ear for forgetting my own advice to periodically taste your ingredients on their own to spot any unannounced and unwelcome changes. I should have done this when the label design changed a few years back as that can sometimes be accompanied by a change in the recipe.
By Quiddity 3rd June 2020 - 4:56 pm
I ought to comment here more often, I read all the damn posts.
I particularly like this review because a couple of the places I worked were imbued with this kind of reflexive snobbishness about anything reasonably priced and readily available. I knew that was nonsense, but it’s hard not to unconsciously take on a bit of that attitude anyway. So it’s really good to read an authoritative review that says, you know, this here affordable rum (or whatever) is perfectly good for our purposes. Thanks!
(my own contribution in this genre is insisting that Gordons is a superior gin to many that go for 150–200% of its price)
By the way, I was futzing round Diffords the other day and I stumbled on an ingredient I’ve never used: Swedish punsch. I live in Sweden. I should investigate. Got any thoughts on good drinks?
By Quiddity 5th June 2020 - 1:07 pm
I’m sure I typed out a comment here but it seems to have gone astray . . . I should comment more really, I read all the posts.
Anyways, I really liked this review. The boss in one of the places I worked in had this sort of reflexive snobbishness about anything relatively affordable and readily available—if you can get it in Tesco it can’t be good, that sort of attitude. Nonsense of course, but hard not to take some of it on board unconsciously. So I really appreciate knowledgable people saying positive things about perfectly good booze that happens to be on the cheaper side. (my own contribution to this sort of chat is insisting that Gordon’s is a better gin than many retailing for twice its price)
By the way, I was futzing around on Difford’s the other day and found a bunch of drinks using Swedish punsch as an ingredient, which I’ve never used. I live in Sweden. I should investigate. You used it? Got a favourite drink?
By Andy 5th June 2020 - 4:12 pm
Hi Quiddity. Thanks for your kind words. Comments need to be approved (by me) before they appear. Because: spam. Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to get to them. Since you are now approved your comments should appear immediately from now on. Totally agree with you on the Gordon’s. Another under-rated cheap-but-good gin is Bombay dry gin (slightly cheaper version of Sapphire in a clear bottle). In the rum department Coruba NPU, which should be available in Sweden is a funky rum that punches waaaay above its price. Swedish punsch is, I am slightly ashamed to admit, an ingredient that has been hovering on my “must find and try” list for far too long. Indeed it appears in a fair number of early 20th century cocktails and thanks to you is now in my shopping basket for my next order. Expect to read something on it here later this year. Meanwhile, yes, you should definitely give it a try. If I remember correctly Ted Haigh’s Forgotten Cocktails book has quite a few recipes that use it and is in any case a must-have cocktail book. Thanks again for your comments – there’s not nearly as much discussion going on in the comments area as I’d like.
By Quiddity 8th June 2020 - 2:21 pm
That figures RE comments!
Interesting about the Bombay dry. I’ve always steered clear because I’m not keen on Sapphire (not punchy enough for me).
Regarding rum, Coruba NPU is sadly not available in Sweden. It’s easy for me to be sure: if it ain’t on the state monopoly’s website, it ain’t available, at least not without investigating some dubious grey areas and loopholes. Still! You have some good rum recommendations elsewhere on here, and this is all very timely, as one of my summer projects is to get expand my rum repertoire, which is currently stuck very much in a daiquri/mojito rut, which is not a bad place to be, but all the same some variety wouldn’t hurt.
As for Swedish punsch, I saw your reply just before my weekend trip to the booze shop, and was suitably inspired to buy not one but two bottles. It turns out brands vary considerably in sweetness (the SysBol is very good at telling you sugar contents where available), so I got the sweetest and driest they had. First sips: it’s a heavyish liqueur, more complex than I was expecting, spiced and scented but not aggressively so. So that was a pleasant surprise. First experiment: a Roulette, straight out of the Savoy book (I would guess this is in the Haigh book, which I haven’t got but will be getting. Thanks!). 2:1:1 calvados, punsch, light rum (I used Havana 3), shake and strain. Wow! That is a drink. It’s one of those funny ones where it feels like you can taste the ingredients individually and in harmony at the same time. Each augments the other very nicely. As per type, the lab assistant (wife) preferred the one with the sweeter punsch and I preferred the drier. I’m wondering now if a dash of apple bitters might round the whole thing off perfectly. A thing to tinker with.
Speaking of, I read an intriguing suggestion of making a Corpse Reviver #2 using punsch instead of the Lillet, which prompts a question that I will raise in the appropriate place . . .
By Andy 8th June 2020 - 3:34 pm
Thanks for the report! I’ll definitely be trying a Roulette when my Punsch arrives. Carlshamns Flaggpunsch seems to be the only one I can order here so it’ll have to do. Since you don’t have the Haight book (yet!) here’s a couple from there: Doctor Cocktail: 2:1:1 Jamaica rum, Swedish Punsch, lime juice. Up, lime twist. Have a Heart: 1.5oz gin, 0.75oz Sw Punsch, 0.75oz lime juice, 0.25oz “real” grenadine. Up, lime wedge. Those seem to be the two with the biggest punsch components. If you can’t get NPU I’d suggest looking for Smith & Cross which is quite similar but stronger, more complex and more expensive – but still outstanding value. Bombay Dry is solid but nothing special – I tend to use it in drinks where the gin gets overpowered anyway (eg. Singapore Sling, Saturn) and for turning into orange gin (more on than soon perhaps…) If you’re going to try a Corpse Reviver with the punsch it would be wise to cut back on the Cointreau but then I’m pretty certain you know that already. Skål!
By Quiddity 12th June 2020 - 7:40 pm
The Carlshamns (as per the System Bolaget’s figures) is one of the sweeter punsches: 282 g/l of sugar, they say. That was the sweet one I bought. The driest (!) available was 202 g/l. Available in store, anyway. There’s a bunch more available to order, but it’s not *quite* such a special ingredient that I feel the need to buy the entire range. Anyway! Be very interested to hear how you get on with it.
Thanks for the drinks. The Haight book is in the post, somewhere. I was banjaxed by some dental work earlier this week but I’m back on it now. Will report back on the Corpse Reviver (thanks for Cointreau tip). Do you think the Doctor bears any relation to the Doctor Funk, or are the coincidences of name and ingredients mere coincidences?
Thanks also for the further rum thoughts. I think I will have to do some careful cross-referencing of what’s available at the SysBol with something like the sugar-content guide above before I embark on my summer of tiki…
By Andy 15th June 2020 - 2:01 pm
So I’ve now finally got my hands on some Carlshamns punsch and I’m really enjoying it in the Doctor (2oz Myers’s, 1 punsch, 1 lime juice). As you’ll see in Haigh’s book that spec is a Trader Vic version of an older recipe and seems to be unrelated to the Dr Funk – although there might well be some long lost connection. I’ve since noticed a couple more recipes with Swedish Punsch content in there so you’ll have plenty to work on. The sugar content of those punschs are typical for liqueurs but often that sweetness is masked by other bitter ingredients. Certainly my Carlshamns doesn’t taste as sweet as those numbers suggest. I do wish sugar content was printed on all spirits. Having looked at System Bogalet’s website may I offer my sympathy for the prices and selection (although they seem to do a decent job of listing sugar content). I paid significantly less for the same punsch here in NL! Good luck with the Tiki – it’s the genre I keep coming back to – so much fun. I won’t be rushing into an article on punsch as I like to kick things around for a while first but something will appear at some point. Thanks for giving me the nudge I needed on that though 🙂
By Quiddity 17th June 2020 - 9:10 pm
Hej! No worries at all about the nudge, and naturally no hurry on the article.
Don’t start me on the SysBol. Those prices. Jeeez. I was living in Belgium before this. Can you imagine? Well, I’m sure you can.
Doctor on the menu this weekend, I think. We tried out the Corpse Reviver #2 variant I mentioned weekend past. I thought it was decent, but the punsch was maybe too dominant as a straight swap, and I’m not sure it was quite wonderful enough to conduct lots of experiments to get the balance right (given those SysBol prices . . . )
The process did however raise an equipment question which I will raise on the appropriate page (if you don’t mind me popping up all over the site—do say if you’d prefer to just have one big comment in one place . . .)
By Andy 17th June 2020 - 10:40 pm
Ouch. I can imagine how much that must hurt after Belgian prices! Indeed, Swedish punsch is much more punchy than Lillet so I’m not toooooo surprised. And the Corpse Reviver #2 is tough to improve on. But, hey, you’ve got to experiment or you never discover anything interesting, right? Right now, you’ve got more experience with da punsch than I have so I can’t offer much in the way of suggestions yet. Feel free to pop up wherever you like as it can only encourage others to speak up. Discussion good. Silence bad.