No your eyes do not deceive you. Along with the outdated Caribbean stereotype so loved by my European cousins we have here a Room rather than a Rum. From Maraska.
When many folk consider a cruise no doubt they look forward to seeing numerous Caribbean Islands and outposts. Happy in the knowledge that they will be able to try a smorgasbord of fine high quality rums. It is a rum lover’s dream indeed.
However a cruise which comprises of the likes of Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro does not dream up the same visions. Nevertheless, I thought I would have a little peruse around the worldwide web and see what the Eastern Europeans do when they fancy a rum and cola.
Well firstly the search was pretty interesting. Up until recent times Croatia, especially had a thriving “rum” market with brands such as Maraska and Badel. I use the term “rum” in exclamation marks because strictly speaking it isn’t/wasn’t rum.
The spirits produced by Badel and Maraska (amongst others) are little more than white spirit flavoured with rum essence. Upon Croatia joining the EU Maraska were warned to change the name of their rum and brandy http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/croatian-rum-becomes-room-due-to-eu-regulations
It wasn’t until I got to Montenegro that I was able to pick up a bottle of Maraska Room. I had seen a bottle of Badel in Dubrovnik but at 30 euros I felt this was a bit much for something which I knew wasn’t a quality spirit. I bought my bottle of Maraska Room for a princely 5 euros. The Bottle is 50cl size (half a litre). I felt this was a reasonable enough price to pay.
So on returning home I felt it time to try, what is effect vodka/neutral spirit with rum essence in it! The taste I got wasn’t hugely surprising. It was very sweet. Like Maple Syrup. It was reminiscent of cheap Spiced Rum. Very sweet and after a few quite cloying. I did foolishly try sipping the “rum” but it was just far too rough to get past one sip. It was like necking methylated spirits. Not something to repeat.
The more I drank the rum the more I could taste something familiar. Something I had experienced before with real rum. Along with the Maple syrup tones was a sweet vanilla/chocolate and cocoa like flavour. Similar in some ways to the Old Monk from India. However I must say at this point Old Monk is a very nice rum. This has a note of that rum but is nowhere near in terms of overall profile. One rum it is closer to in profile is Traveller’s One Barrel Rum. That is one radically altered rum to the point where it should be labelled as a flavoured rum. Or have its production ceased. What the two drinks have in common is an overwhelmingly synthetic and artificial profile.
I gave that horrendous concoction short shrift and I’m afraid I’ll do the same with this effort. But at the end of the day I paid £30 for One Barrel I paid a fraction of the price to try this Room.
At the end of the day this is cheap liquor. It isn’t rum. I’ve reviewed it really only as a curiosity. I’ll award it a mark, but it is what it is. It’s pretend rum. It’s cheap and it gets you drunk!
Having said that even this small 50cl bottle which I had in two visits gave me the most unpleasant headache the next day. Urgh cheap spirits
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Badel Domaci Croatian “Rum” – Review – The Lone Caner
December 23, 2019 at 4:46 am
[…] impact on the greater rum drinking public in the West. Wes briefly touched on it with a review of another Croatian product, the Maraska “Room” (similar issues with naming — the EU declined to allow it to be called “rum”), but both […]
victor B.A.
August 25, 2019 at 10:19 pm
Half a star is way too much. This is by far the worst spirit I have ever or hopefully will ever try. I wish I never laid my eyes upon it.
They should rename it to Satan’s piss.
May God have mercy on the soul of the guy who conceived this abhorrent shitfest of a”rum” recipe.
Stroh 80 Austria Inlander Rum - thefatrumpirate.com
July 19, 2019 at 5:55 pm
[…] Rum, as can be found here with Maraska Room is essentially “fake” rum. As you can see from the review and the pictures of the […]
Black Out
December 16, 2017 at 10:42 pm
Hi. I’m from Croatia, and quite familiar with this concoction. It’s the sort of “rum” you buy to mix with 2l of Cola and get shitfaced in a parking lot. People also buy it to flavour cakes. I can’t believe they charge 30 euros for it in Dubrovnik 😀 That place is one of the most heinous tourist traps IN THE WORLD and I suggest everyone except Russian oligarchs to steer well clear of it.
Vjestica
July 30, 2020 at 2:19 pm
Well that is not a very nice thing to say about Dubrovnik, one of the most beautiful cities in the world !
Black Out
July 30, 2020 at 3:12 pm
It may be beautiful, but the negative effects of exclusive focus on mass tourism plus high cost of living overshadow the beauty of the buildings. Where are the people who used to live in the Old Town? It’s an empty theater for tourist happenings, not a living city. Same has happened to Venice. Unfortunately, neither Italy, nor Croatia care about it, as long as it brings in money.
thefatrumpirate
July 30, 2020 at 4:05 pm
This is a Rum Blog lets stick to that
Yugoslovenka
September 9, 2016 at 5:45 pm
I am not a rum drinker however, whenever I travel to any of Former Yugoslavian states I buy a bottle of Maraska Rum (or Room as Brussels tyrants demanded to be called now); its taste is associated with my childhood when most of my mum’s favourite cake recipes contained a few Tbsps of Maraska Rum. To be honest, I do not know anybody who actually drinks it.
Black Out
December 17, 2017 at 12:43 am
the tryrants were right in this case, it just simply isn’t rum. the same fate has befallen Badel’s “Brandy”, which has been renamed to “Brand” xD
Andrijana Bončić
March 3, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Lol love your post and review– yup no one drinks that stuff in Croatia perhaps mixed with coke when young — but they do use it in cakes and it does give it great aroma
thefatrumpirate
March 3, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Good to know! Thanks!
Ruminsky
January 9, 2015 at 4:54 am
Any idea if it was made from sugar beets or sugar cane? I saw this one gathering dust in Calgary once years ago and passed on it, but after reviewing the Czech Tuzemak and Austrian Stroh, and now reading your review, I wonder what the source was.
thefatrumpirate
January 9, 2015 at 9:19 am
It’s definitely not made from sugar cane (and probably not beets either). The EU forced them to change the name because it isn’t derived from Sugar Cane. Information is hard to find as its quite a localised issue. Much of the information isn’t in English and doesn’t translate all that well. From what I can gather it is basically a clear spirit which is flavoured to taste like “real rum” (whatever that may be in this day and age!)
I got another couple of bottles of “Domaci Rum” (Simek and Takova) but they are all pretty much identical. They all give you a very nasty hangover the next day. I suspect there are a lot of nasty chemicals in the mix!
Matthew Rapaport`
January 8, 2015 at 4:56 pm
I have to say you are very dedicated to this process to even try taste a product you *know* is fake from the start!
thefatrumpirate
January 8, 2015 at 4:57 pm
At 5 Euro’s I felt I had nothing to lose! How wrong was I…..
Matthew Rapaport`
January 8, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Yes, exactly!
Nik
January 25, 2015 at 7:07 pm
This rum is the best for “cakes” … That’s what it’s really meant to be used for.
thefatrumpirate
January 29, 2015 at 2:14 pm
You may well be right. But I certainly won’t be buying more!