Alnwick Rum Golden Spiced. Alnwick Rum is a bit of an icon up here in the North East.  I reviewed the original Alnwick rum a couple of years back (a re-review if forthcoming as I do feel I got the original review wrong).

This is their Golden Spiced expression which was released in late 2015. Golden Spiced is a blend of the original Alnwick rum with a mixture of spices and flavours such as Black Pepper and Ginger. At the time of release they deliberately stated they were staying away from the vanilla flavour profile preferred by many other producers.

The original Alnwick Rum is a blend of rum from Jamaica and Guyana aged upto 5 years. So that is a more than solid base for me for a Spiced Rum.

I’m not sure how far the reach of Alnwick Rum is but in the UK a bottle of the Golden Spiced will set you back around £30 for a 70cl bottle. Unlike many Spiced Rums it is bottled at a respectable 40% ABV.

Alnwick Rum Spiced Gold contains mixed spices, citrus and exotic fruits. It is mixed and bottled in house up in Northumberland, England.

In the glass unsurprisingly we have nice golden brown coloured spirit.

Nosed the rum is very citrusy and has a really nice spicy ginger note. Marmalade and lime zest mingle together alongside the ginger and a nice but not overpowering note of cloves and cinnamon. It’s quite sweet even by Spiced Rum standards and does have a slightly overly sweet almost saccharin like note on the nose.

It is as still aimed at the younger end of the market who perhaps have the sweetest tooth. Sipped its surprisingly agreeable even with the slight saccharin aftertaste. Certainly much better than most spiced rums!

It’s quite a complex after dinner kind of drink maybe with a cube of ice to temper the sweetness just a touch.

To be honest when it comes to Spiced Rums I’m not really expecting a great deal “sip-wise”. What I do expect though if for them to mix nicely. I also prefer a flavour profile beyond sugar and artificial vanilla essence. Which is definitely something Alnwick Rum Golden Spiced does offer.

Mixing Golden Spiced with cola (ice and slice of lime as well if you wish) you really do get a nice drink.

Notes of ginger, black pepper. cinnamon and a touch of clove are enveloped by some nice sweet notes of toffee and caramel. The Golden Spiced is not over-awed in the mix at all and really stands out in the drink. It’s a better class of Spiced Rum almost in the same bracket as Elements Eight, St Abbs Spiced and my favourite Bristol Black Spiced.

I also really like the full fruity zesty notes of lemon, lime and orange zest. There is a slight bitterness there as well which puts me in mind of marmalade on toast.

Alnwick Rum Golden Spiced also works well with other mixers. Its makes a great rum and Ginger Beer/Ale – though it does make it pretty heavy on the ginger. In a Bloody Mary it also does a good job adding spice and kick. Mix it with tonic or lemonade and it will also deliver a taste experience which pairs nicely with the mixer.

There’s a lot going on with this spiced rum – it is pretty complex. It might not appeal to everyone but for me its another welcome addition to the “no vanilla” camp. If they can remove the slight saccharin like bitterness it would be even better. Still way better than most Spiced rums out there though.

Well worth a try if Spiced Rum is your thing.