Barrel Aging: Bourbon or Rum?

I've loved bourbon barrel aged stouts...I had a chance to taste the regular gbs, the Bourbon GBS, and Rum barreled gbs this past Christmas-time and I think the rum one worked the best for the beer. Enjoy them both though!

 

I still haven't tried it yet, but I have a bottle of Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite from Jackie O's in the cellar ready to drink. I'm afraid to drink it and love it, then not being able to find anymore of it.

 

I'm still hit and miss on the rum barrels. I have a Pirate Bomb! I mean to open soon/eventually, the Rum Barrel 4 Elf is good, but I've also encountered a few local rum barrel efforts that I felt tasted a bit watered-down, like the rum barrel didn't give the beer a preferrable mouthfeel that I believe would have been achieved with a bourbon barrel. So I guess I'll keep trying them on a case-by-case basis. The sacrifices I'm willing to make for beer research.

 

I had Rum King at Great Taste and loved it. Fortunately I was able to score a bottle on my trip to Darkness Day. I've had Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite and wasn't blown away although it is very solid. Probably just like anything else it can be done amazingly well, very well, or half ass.

 

Rare Dos vs. Rarer Dos. Haven't had either but I've heard they are a great example of what Bourbon vs. Rum offers.

 

i havent had too many Rum barrel aged stouts besides Pirate bomb and Rum oil, i have had some Brown ales that were insane with rum barrel treatments, as of now id like to get more stouts in ruim barrels, as of now i like bourbon barreled stouts and Rum barrel brown ales. this could change with all the rum barrel treatments coming out

 

Had a small handful of rum barrel aged brews, found that many just didn't bring a lot of rum like character to the brew, or found it a bit clashing. There were some exceptions, but it seems we have of late got the science and art down with a few breweries who age their beers in whiskey barrels... so I stick with those. All up for more people trying though.

 

I love bourbon barrel aged beers, with that said I have had a few Rum barrel beers and I loved everything about them. I want more rum barrel beers now.

 

The only one I've had was called "Rum Pirate Stout" or something (?) on tap so I can't say for sure. It was pretty good, didn't taste a lot like rum but had a different sort of a barrel taste to it. I'm also on the lookout for new rum barrel things. How "rare" or hard to get is Rum King?

 

I've only had a few Rum BA beers and I've liked a few and found the other few a bit hot. I think that it's still a style people are experimenting with and hasn't been as refined as Bourbon Barrels. I do hope they perfect it because the few i have enjoyed were freakin stellar.

 

I enjoy bourbon-barrel aged stouts; would love to try rum-barrel aged variants, because it seems to me that the character of spiced rum would work well with a lot of the flavor profiles of some of the big imperial stouts that I like. However, they seem to be even harder to come by, as if finding the bourbon-barrel aged variants isn't enough of a challenge.

 

Both are outstanding and two excellent examples of barrel aging but, and this is just my preference, I liked RareR best. That being said, I wouldn't ever turn down a Rare!

 

OP, have you tried Rumpkin from Avery yet? Rum barrel-aged pumpkin ale. Out of this world.

 

RareR Dos was the best rum BA beer that I ever had.

Until I had Nooner 8.

 

My standouts last year were Prairie Pirate Bomb! (Rum Barrel) and Magic Rock's Bourbon Barrel Bearded Lady (Better that GI's BCS in my opinion ) So I'm a bit stuck in the middle

 

Why not both?

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1471/149448/

 

I preferred bourbon to rum (by a pretty big margin) in the only direct comparison I have tried: Avery Pumpkyn (Bourbon) v. Avery Rumpkin (Rum).

That being said, I can see how rum would work well with many stout flavor profiles.

 

Double barrel that sh**

 

I've never had the same beer in each barrel for comparison, and I have had way more whiskey beers. However, the few rum aged ones I have tried were outstanding. Also, I am much more willing to just have a separate whiskey with my stout than a side of rum.