Ok, the first thing you have to know about Brugal is that there are different kinds, namely Extra Viejo (golden premium), Añejo (golden mid-tier), Carta Dorada (golden low-tier)
Ron Blanco (white low-tier), Ron Blanco 151 (white high-proof for mixing cocktails), Licor Único (rum liqueur), Siglo de Oro (golden high-end porcellain-bottled premium blend). The only one they sell here in Montgommery County, Maryland is the Anejo, the higher quality "Extra Viejo" and "Siglo de Oro" I have not found (nor the lower tiers).
My favorite rum is Brugal's Extra Viejo (to me it tastes very similar to Siglo De Oro and is not worth the difference in price). Extra Viejo can be drunk pure or mixed (in the Dominican Republic usually with Coke or Sprite). Anejo or anything less should definitely be mixed unless you like to torture yourself a little. The Extra Viejo is sweeter, almost honey like. So make sure you read the label. One sectret this rum carries is that is makes people "caliente" (hot), and even not allways openly talked about, the rum definitely has that reputation, weather good or bad. They even have an expression for Brugal in The Dominican Republic "Brugal es paleo o resuelve", this Dominican Spanish I will leave to be explained by a local on your next trip to The DR.
