Blair — I agree on the Bacardi, though I think the Bacardi 8 is their saving grace; actually a pretty decent aged rum.

I’ve also been using a bottle of Jolly Roger every once in awhile, but mostly to get rid of the bottle. This stuff can be rather harsh straight up, but calms down when mixed.

When I’m in a generous mood (to myself and others), I’ll use what’s left of Pyrat Blanco, a very refreshing and flavorful white rum that is no longer being produced. I’m still sad I didn’t grab a whole case, but I’ve still got a few in my back bar.

What I wish I could get my hands on is the Havana Club. I’ve only had the white a few times, but that was some extremely smooth stuff.

I usually just can’t bring myself to use Bacardi, I don’t even have any stocked… well, except for a bottle of Coco, an old bottle of Añejo, and the embarrassing “Big Apple”. There’s a signature flavor to Bacardi that I can distinguish pretty quickly that tends to ruin the drink for me. Must be their flavorings.

I’m going to have to run through one of these again. Last I made a test pilot, I wasn’t pleased with the results, but I have learned quite a bit since then. Damned, I do still have to whip up a batch of Falernum. I bought a case of Velvet Falernum about two years ago that I’m still working my way through. What can I say, I saw Falernum in a store and went ballistic! Earlier home based attempts were lacking… it was pretty much a bottle of cloves, rum, and lime juice, didn’t come out too great.

As to my favourite white rum, it is without question Havana Club Añejo 3 años, whose praises I have been singing on Dave’s Drinks ever since I started it. The real one from Cuba, of course, not the rebranded Bacardi available in the US.

Paul, when you say you use Havana Club, which version are you talking about?

Also, your post has made me curious about Brugal Blanco. I’ve never seen it before, and I usually have no problem finding rums from spanish-speaking countries here in Spain. I’ll keep my eyes peeled…

Brugal is, alas, unavailable in Washington state, and the places I’ve used for mail order only carry the anejo, so I have yet to try the Brugal white rum. I typically use Cruzan light rum, as it has a somewhat richer flavor than does Bacardi, but I mix it up — for Cuban-style cocktails I’ll use Havana Club, Flor de Cana has a bright spark and a little mellowness that perks up drinks calling for white Puerto Rican rum, and the Mount Gay light rum brings the richness of an aged rum to drinks like the El Presidente. Usually though, for price reason as well as because it’s the first rum I see on my rum shelf, Cruzan is my go-to white rum.

On blending, the Bum pointed out one time that a lot of these bars (including Beach’s) were using the old Hamilton Beach blenders, like what you see being used to make milkshakes & blended coffee drinks (and that Stephen Remsburg demonstrated during the tiki session at Tales of the Cocktail), so I use a stick blender instead of the upright canister blender — it seems a bit more similar to what they were using (my rationale goes), plus it’s a hell of a lot easier to clean up afterward — and after putting together one of these major production drinks, I’m definitely in favor of shaving off any additional labor.