Comments on: Matusalem Gran Reserva 15

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:50:28 +0000

Hey Juliana -sorry we missed you this weekend, I finally enlisted some friends to help drain the last of my Matusalem bottle. And look at you, blogging on your own now! Very nice.

By: juliana

juliana — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:02:23 +0000

Dude, you get me to try the weirdest stuff – I don’t like gin, I don’t like rum, and yet I’ll look for this rum. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to come up this weekend (sadface), but I did call you out in my blog.

Smooch!

By: Bruce T

Bruce T — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:52:54 +0000

This is the rum I have been looking for off and on for 25 years. My father raved of this rum and said it was the best he had ever had.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:37:19 +0000

Thanks Tiare, I may just have to. I’ll wait for a good excuse to get one, like finishing my thesis. =P

By: Tiare

Tiare — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:54:06 +0000

I wasn`t clear, the wooden Coffey still is the same as the wooden continuous still, the single wooden pot still.

By: Tiare

Tiare — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:41:40 +0000

When it comes to El Dorado rums, the 15 has been my all time fav rum since about 15 years, and Mike M, i think you owe it to yourself to at least try it once, its an incredible rum. And i`m not saying the 12 is bad;-)
The El Dorado rums are so special.They have 2 wooden pot stills – one is a single wooden pot and the other is a double wooden pot and then they have the wooden Coffey still, the only one still operating in the world.

By: Dood

Dood — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:42:13 +0000

Just got back from Vegas so I barely found this. Great rum. The Gran Reserva is one of the rums that I keep stocked on my shelf at all times.

It’s great neat, rocks, in a cocktail, it whitens your teeth while you sleep, and gives your car an additional 6 miles to the gallon!!!

As Scottes said, you should definitely check out their other offerings. The Platino is often the base rum for any infusions I do and is great for having around at parties for punches, daiquiris, or mojitos.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:34:59 +0000

This has to be my absolute favourite rum producer. The only problem is that the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) in Ottawa stopped carrying it.

If you’re interested in a slightly sweeter and more vanilla/caramel flavoured rum, I would recommend their 10 year old bottle. It’s not quite as subtle as the 15 year old, but works well both straight up and in mixed drinks.

As I can no longer get my hands on this, I have moved on to El Dorado Rum, which has 5, 12, and 15 year old bottles. The 12 is incredible, and for the price ($36.00 Canadian if memory serves me correctly) it’s a good buy. I have yet to try the 15 yea old, but at 55+ a bottle, I would recommend the 12 over it.

The best bargain (at least until recently) was probably the 5 year old. The rum was a demerara sugar rum aged in oak for 5 years, and until a few months ago retailed for 10 cents LESS than Bacardi Silver (which is as bottom of the barrel as you can get in my opinion). While not nearly as mellow as the 12 year old, it’s still damn good.

Cheers!
(Now I have to hunt down a bottle of Matusalem again)

By: Kevin Langmack

Kevin Langmack — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:06:52 +0000

Yes, the Matusalem is an awesome rum that i’ve been lucky enough until recently to use a lot. It was used in a few menu cocktails and my fav with the Matusalem was a 12 year lullaby. Rum, Curacao, lemon and port. We can’t get it easily here in Wa. I’ll have to grab a bottle next time I go to Portland.

By: Scottes

Scottes — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:57:35 +0000

Yep, a great rum. Be sure to check out their other products, too. Their Platino is very much a Cuban-style rum, and makes for a great Mojito. It’s a great white – and I don’t say that often.

By: Jeff Frane

Jeff Frane — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:08:54 +0000

And it’s about $41 here in OLCC stores — for us peasants.

By: Jeff Frane

Jeff Frane — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:24:32 +0000

Lance Mayhew beat you to the punch by a couple of days over at his blog. Sounds like the rep knows who to visit to get the word out.

By: Scortch

Scortch — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:41:20 +0000

I was lucky to discover this about 6-7 years ago when a buddy bought a bottle on the whim that he’d simply never heard of the stuff before (it was a whopping $23 a bottle back then!). Tried for the first time straight, it was quickly dubbed “Liquid Gold” and has been a personal fav that has done nothing but won more and more fans in my circle over the years.

By: blair frodelius

blair frodelius — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:39:32 +0000

I have been nothing but pleased with all of the Ron Matusalem products. The only rums that come close in my opinion are the Appleton, Plantation or Barbancourt rums.

Of course,they all mix well, but the aged rums give scotch a run for the money (and in terms of cost, they really do!).

Cheers!

Blair

By: Tiare

Tiare — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:26:27 +0000

Very good review of a very good rum.This rum is always positively spoken about in the Ministry of Rum forum.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:43:07 +0000

I have to agree, this entire article is pretty much what I thought of this rum when I first bought a bottle on a whim. The taste profile came out in pretty much exactly the way you describe, right down to that soft, moreish finish.

I think in terms of value, this is definitely one of the best bottles I’ve found. And you’re right about the versatility from a price point of view too – to me a £50 product could be the most drinkable and mixable spirit ever, but I’m not going to buy bottle after bottle.

£20-25 is about right for a high-quality, almost-every-day bottle, and this is where the Matusalem wins out. My main everyday rum is Havana Club Anejo Especial (£17), but when I want that little something nicer, out comes the Matusalem, with no worries about whether I can afford to buy another bottle after this one.

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:18:50 +0000

We’ll be expecting a full report here in the comments section, Andy.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:12:13 +0000

I think you just sold me on a buying bottle of rum tomorrow.