Brand/Flavor:
JM's Hookah Rum and Cola
Methodology:
-Al Fakher Solid 36" filled with ice water, small Tangiers phunnel bowl, 3 Coco Naras
-2 people with 38 hits/person over 35-40 minutes
First Impressions:
Very finely chopped, very juicy and dyed a deep red, as seems to be typical of JM's. Smells like a strongly mixed rum and coke.
Post Mortem:
Thoroughly cooked in the top 60% of the bowl, still a decent amount of moisture at the bottom.
Pros:
-Both smells and tastes like a real "Cuba Libré", at least at first
-Big clouds
Cons:
-Taste dies off relatively quickly, leaving just bitterness
Andrew's Thoughts:
JM's Hookah Rum & Cola both surprised and disappointed me. On the one hand, it came remarkably close to an actual "rum and coke" flavor: it had a distinct herbal cola flavor, backed up by a tangy, rum-like cinnamon/vanilla. At first, I thoroughly enjoyed smoking it, as it produced thick, white clouds and a strong flavor. Unfortunately, as the bowl progressed that alcoholic tang that had at first been an interesting finish began to dominate, and soon all I could taste was this weird bitterness that tasted neither of rum nor cola. By the tenth round there was no real sweetness left, and by the time we stopped it was nigh unsmokeable. JM's Rum and Cola could have been so damn good, but in the end it was just unpleasant.
Eric's Thoughts:
In my opinion, this is probably one of the more difficult flavors to pull off. I mean, there are complex flavors and then there are complex flavors, this is the latter of the two. And while JM's gave it a valiant effort, I can't help but feel that they fell a wee bit short of the mark. The cola flavor was quite herbal and quite good, much like the Romman Cola that we've smoked in the past, it was the rum part that got a bit dicey. The smell was quite accurate to a captains and coke but the taste comes off as a bit chemical. And while one could argue that this makes it taste "alcoholic", I personally wouldn't give them any points for it. But while the experience at the start was above average, as the bowl wore on the flavor became more and more chemical, and eventually became too much to bear. And keeping in mind we were smoking this out of a phunnel, and the bowl was only about halfway done when we called it, there's a distinct possibility that the flavor would get nastier faster for those of you smoking it out of an egyptian or some such bowl. All in all, a valiant effort, but not quite right.
Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Rum and Coke is alright. They actually nailed the rum flavor, which is kind of impressive—it tastes exactly like having a rum and coke. However, the flavor gets to be a bit much after a while, and I personally do not enjoy smoking it very often. I would much rather drink my rum than smoke it.
Conclusion:
Interesting to try, especially since it's so accurate at the beginning, but it's lack of endurance means we will not likely be buying this again.
B-
JM's Hookah Rum and Cola
Methodology:
-Al Fakher Solid 36" filled with ice water, small Tangiers phunnel bowl, 3 Coco Naras
-2 people with 38 hits/person over 35-40 minutes
First Impressions:
Very finely chopped, very juicy and dyed a deep red, as seems to be typical of JM's. Smells like a strongly mixed rum and coke.
Post Mortem:
Thoroughly cooked in the top 60% of the bowl, still a decent amount of moisture at the bottom.
Pros:
-Both smells and tastes like a real "Cuba Libré", at least at first
-Big clouds
Cons:
-Taste dies off relatively quickly, leaving just bitterness
Andrew's Thoughts:
JM's Hookah Rum & Cola both surprised and disappointed me. On the one hand, it came remarkably close to an actual "rum and coke" flavor: it had a distinct herbal cola flavor, backed up by a tangy, rum-like cinnamon/vanilla. At first, I thoroughly enjoyed smoking it, as it produced thick, white clouds and a strong flavor. Unfortunately, as the bowl progressed that alcoholic tang that had at first been an interesting finish began to dominate, and soon all I could taste was this weird bitterness that tasted neither of rum nor cola. By the tenth round there was no real sweetness left, and by the time we stopped it was nigh unsmokeable. JM's Rum and Cola could have been so damn good, but in the end it was just unpleasant.
Eric's Thoughts:
In my opinion, this is probably one of the more difficult flavors to pull off. I mean, there are complex flavors and then there are complex flavors, this is the latter of the two. And while JM's gave it a valiant effort, I can't help but feel that they fell a wee bit short of the mark. The cola flavor was quite herbal and quite good, much like the Romman Cola that we've smoked in the past, it was the rum part that got a bit dicey. The smell was quite accurate to a captains and coke but the taste comes off as a bit chemical. And while one could argue that this makes it taste "alcoholic", I personally wouldn't give them any points for it. But while the experience at the start was above average, as the bowl wore on the flavor became more and more chemical, and eventually became too much to bear. And keeping in mind we were smoking this out of a phunnel, and the bowl was only about halfway done when we called it, there's a distinct possibility that the flavor would get nastier faster for those of you smoking it out of an egyptian or some such bowl. All in all, a valiant effort, but not quite right.
Peanut Gallery:
(Caroline)
Rum and Coke is alright. They actually nailed the rum flavor, which is kind of impressive—it tastes exactly like having a rum and coke. However, the flavor gets to be a bit much after a while, and I personally do not enjoy smoking it very often. I would much rather drink my rum than smoke it.
Conclusion:
Interesting to try, especially since it's so accurate at the beginning, but it's lack of endurance means we will not likely be buying this again.
B-
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