The Local Alcohol

[THEDON]

Are the local beers & spirits any good or do they taste cheap & nasty?

[Hlywud]

Some of the finest rums in the world. Brugal and Barcelo are top notch rums. And from a beer drinker you have to go a long ways to beat Presidente. And for those who like those exotic drinks, the pink ones and blue ones etc. it really doesnt matter you could not tell the difference between the Normandy bar stock vodka in them over Smirnoff or Finlandia.
Go and enjoy the Local Alcohol and don't worry, the will get you as high as any international name brand.

[Hillbilly]

As my collegue has said we are pleased to have the #1 rum in the world: Barceló Imperial-You can buy it in large supermarkets for about $10.00US a bottle-if you can find it.

Presidente beer is served ice, and I mean ice cold. Usually, if it is a decent bar, with frost on it....

HB

[Tony C]

Sorry guys!
Dominican Rum is adequate at best. Barcelo(Imperial& Anejo) and Macorix are the only ones of any quality. Neither of these are in the same league of a Appeltons or Mount Gay. Stay away from Brugal unless you want to strip paint from a car. For truly great Rum you have to go to the other side of the Island for Barbancourt. If you are just looking for rum to mix in your rum & Cokes stick to Barcelo.

Tony C.

[Jane J.]

Hey, Tony, is Barbancourt good, really?

[Larry]

I have never tried any of the rum but I think the presidente is the best beer in the world---and they serve it coooold!
"my advice to you is to start drinking heavily"--Bluto (John Belushi from Animal house)

ILoveDR

[Hillbilly]

They have rated Barceló Imperial #1 in the World.

Appleton Estates is too molass flavored....ugh.

Barbancourt is an excellent rum and very popular here.
They have three levels: 1 Star- pretty harsh; 3 Star-excellent and mixes well and 5 Star almost like a liguor...

NEVER, EVER mix Barceló Imperial with coke or 7 Up..ugh!

Come on Tony, brush up on you rum knowledge...next, you'll be talking about Havana House??

HB

[richard]

Originally posted by THEDON
Are the local beers & spirits any good or do they taste cheap & nasty?

To me they are all good however if you are into blended drinks such as piñacoladas ask the bartender to use regular proof white rum, not 151. 151 is a killer and could shorten your drinking experience very quickly.
Presidente is excellent, far superior to American beer which Oscar Wilde wrote "They should have left it in the camel or was it the donkey? People from Santiago seem to love Quisqueya, another beer although that must be an aquired taste.

Ask for your beer "muy fria", icy cold. It will come direct from the freezer daintily wrapped in a serviette.

Enjoy.

[Andy B]

As usual HB is right on the money,...or should I say on top of the rum barrel. Barcelo Imperial is the best rum I'd ever tasted before I gave up the demon some 5 years ago. It should only be consumed neat as a fine Cognac should be. It won the last Caribbean Rums' competition hands down with 96 out of 100 possible points. Mount Gay is a fine rum (I drank it before I discovered Barcelo), but only the green Eclipse label begins to compare to Imperial. Jamican rums are next in line. Cruzan rum from St. Croix is also a fine everday rum for mixing. Brugal as paint stripper? I compare it more to kerosene.

Same goes for Presidente: it is one of the smoothest Pilsner beers I'd ever had. I used to work as a yacht captain for a beer distributor in North Central Florida who handled 58 labels, so I've had a pretty good basis for making the comparison. And yes, I-C-E cold with the frost still on it is the best way to enjoy this island suprise!

[Hillbilly]

Thanks andy, I knew you were a judge of fine things...

HB