Is the rum really gone?

Yeah, you'd be lucky to find anything better than Havana Club 7, if even that. Normally when going out I don't even bother ordering rum as I have more and better options at home.

Rum and coffee are two things restaurants have no clue about, regardless of the quality of the food. There was one small bistro here that had Havana Club 7. I let them know my pleasure by ordering it a couple times (I never order alcohol in a restaurant). I think the importer of English Harbour is also trying to get it into restaurants as well. Most people just aren't aware of either of these fine treats.

Sad... I think the best way to get good rum back in mass circulation in the US is through the restaurant industry. I'm working on a local restaurant right now. The owner is my friend. I've been busting his chops to add a couple rums to his "After Dinner Dink" section of his drink menu. I bought him a bottle of K&S 18 for his birthday but he hasn't tried it yet. But, there are many $40 - $50/bottle range aged rums that would fit very well on such a menu with whiskeys and cognacs.

I have a Relais & Chateaux around the corner and the best rums they have on their list is Angostura 1824

It always surprises me how few quality rums bars and restaurants carry. It's hard to believe this is simply a result of there not being a market for customers wanting better rums... maybe it's a distribution problem? I can't believe those 20 premium vodkas have more demand compared to 20 premium rums.

Perhaps it's due to the fact that rum has long been the rogue spirit - with at least half of them made with thin, mass produced industrial column output, then altered and sugared within an inch of its life. Unlike whisky and bourbon which are quite pure and real. In sum, it was Bacardi who's marketing to the masses was superb, but where quality was second, party lifestyle was first. And they succeeded. It did not take long before the Big Three (Diageo, Fortune and Bacardi) - who are VERY powerful - dominated distribution and even retail positioning, and took over 90% of shelves, and 100% of the prime, eye-level shelves with bottle after bottle of "rums" that were either openly or secretly altered and flavored. They also established a college friendly price point. That's why. There is good new though - the rum world has finally woke up to this alteration and are now seeking unaltered, more complex batch rums. A number of smaller distillers have recognized this positive trend and are now labelling more honestly, eg "no additives, no coloring" etc.

My boyfriend isinto craft beer and uses a similar app to this one, he has over 500 different beers rated. I have about 18 rum ratings now I think, only because I have to buy a large and expensive bottle for each different rum, and half of my ratings are from the cheap crap I started with. And from some presents I got, people who think you'll be happy with a €15 bottle.. If I could buy a glass of good rum in a restaurant or pub I'd be so happy!

There is a reason that pubs/restaurants list so few good rums. Firstly, as mentioned, it is possibly the least known spirit by drinkers as well as wholesalers. So for that reason, there is not the demand for expansive and interesting rum listings. Then coupled to that, the wholesalers, maybe due to a lack of demand, but more I suspect from laziness, will go for the easy option and buy in from the big suppliers. Supermarkets are the same. They can't be bothered. My closest supermarket is Sainsbury's and they list a very boring selection. Bacardi, Cpt Morgan, the Kracken, Cockspur (cheap one), Appleton (the Estate Special), Sailor Jerry, Lamb's and Mount Gay (Eclipse), Havana Club. Bacardi - Bacardi Cpt Morgan - Diageo Appleton - Campari Sailor Jerry - William Grant Mount Gay - Remy Cointreau Havana Club - Pernod Ricard etc etc