I have tried different rum here in hong kong, since there are lots of bar and restaurant in hk that served varieties. But what got me most is bacardi. I love this especially in a mixed drink like mojito =)

I'll bet Bacardi has more varieties than any other rum distiller. Which is it?

I don't know. How many does Bacardi have? I know plenty of producers that have 4 or 5 varieties and some with more.

The real interesting thing will be Cuba. Bacardi always proudly says they were founded in Cuba, but of course they moved to Puerto Rico about 50 years ago. Will they return? Or will Cuba produce a much better rum and compete in the US market?

Today's Bacardi is the opposite of fine quality rum IMHO. It's a massive industry geared mainly to the US market. Plus it's made with molasses rather than pure sugar cane. And they use a fast acting yeast which doesn't yield much taste. Give me the smaller batch pure cane rum made with more attention to detail, slower, and with much better character and taste.

What - like Havana Club?

No, I was thinking of something less industrial. And they still can't sell Havana Club in the US, right? Plus it's half owned by the French.

Ron Cubay is great - might be what you're looking for on that front.

I counted 12 with the Bacardi label plus 15 flavored rums.

Does U.S. Havana Club count? Bacardi managed to acquire ownership of that label.

Here's the list:
http://www.bacardilimited.com/Home/OtherBrands

I don't think anyone would pour Havana Club and refer to it as Bacardi, so no. That does make 27 rums produced by the company though.

I had no idea they owned all those labels.

Yes the owners of Havana Club pretty much had no choice as Bacardi has a stranglehold on rum distribution in the US and has locked out all the smaller competition. Its amazing when you go to a grocery store in the US versus one overseas. In Europe we have such a huge variety of amazingly good and very different rums.

As for the Bacardi brands, yes I forgot about the flavored rums.

I thought you just meant something much better than Bacardi

And my wife is French so I see nothing wrong with being half owned by the French...

There's nothing wrong with a French company owning French products, like Pernod owns Ricard, which I also like on a summers day. But I wish Cuba had the wherewithal to outright own their own locally made products and be able to sell them worldwide like they do their cigars. Except the USA. For now.

Well, there are two Havana Clubs. The one and original is made in Cuba and is sold worldwide except in the U.S.

Bacardi managed to get its grubby paws on the Havana Club label for the U.S. by lobbying the U.S. Congress to enact a law forbidding Cuba to renew its Havana Club trademark in the U.S.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...ba-puerto-rico

And neither did I.

This brings back memories. Growing up our neighbors were a Venezuelan and Cuban couple. The husband would go back to Venezuela every year and bring that rum back as gifts for my parents. My brother and I used the leather sacks as marble bags.

My favorite rum is usually the one in my glass.
Some particularly enjoyable ones have been:
* Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva
* Mount Gay XO
* Havana Club A�ejo 7 a�os

By far the worst rum I have ever had was a brand called Sea Wynde. Man that stuff is awful! I couldn't figure out a way to make it enjoyable. I ended up making rum and cokes with almost of the drink being coke and I would still wince with each sip. The only saving grace was I didn't buy it. I googled to see if I had a bad bottle, but it appears I wasn't the only one who thought this.
http://rumdood.com/2008/01/05/rum-review-sea-wynde/

If you see this rum, do NOT drink it.

I found this Guadeloupe rum for about 75% off in my local market. Very nice.