Hampden Estate along with Appleton Estate is one of the few remaining distilleries on Jamaica. This rum is one of the very few offerings (two) the distillery produces which are bottled under the Hampden name. For further information on the distillery (including its famous tours) please see their website.
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Mekhong The Spirit of Thailand. I’m not sure how much translation plays a part in these things but from what I can gather this “rum” (I’ll explain later) is named after the river Mekong which runs through Thailand. Yes I know the spelling isn’t the same. I’m using what is on the bottle though it is often spelt Mekong as well.
Plantation 3 Stars is a white rum from the French based bottling giant Plantation . The name is coined from the 3 “stars” of the Caribbean from which the rum is obtained. Namely Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. As with most of the Plantation rums there is no age statement.
White rum hasn’t featured a great deal on the site so far. This is something I am trying to address. Whilst white rum is often seen as mixing rum for cocktails such as the Daiquiri and the Mojito, I have noted that this and the El Dorado 3 Years Cask Aged have received favourable reviews by other reviewers.
Appleton Estate Reserve rum for the world famous Appleton Estate distillery. Appleton Estate is part of a portfolio of rums produced by J Wray and Nephew and Sons. The company pretty much dominate domestic rum sales in Jamaica.
Appleton Estate Reserve highly regarded throughout the rum world and is seen by many as one of the best examples of rum for your money.
Distilled in 2000 from the last Trinidad molasses and bottled in 2012. This rum from the famous Caroni Distillery has been bottled by Italian company Velier.
As my rum journey has progressed (I hope with my assistance some of you have a smoother journey than me!) I have read a great deal about the now defunct Caroni Distillery. Caroni is famous for “Heavy Rum” and rums from the distillery can now fetch quite mind boggling prices. I have been fortunate enough to pick up both this and a 16-year-old Caroni (The Ancient Mariner) for under £50 per bottle.
Mount Gay Extra Old or XO as they seem to have re-branded it. For those in the know Mount Gay Extra Old is often known as MGXO. The XO notation on the Mount Gay is pretty standard across the rum and spirits industry to denote an aged spirit (without actually noting how old it is!).
As the Mount Gay Distillery is the oldest official distillery in the world established 1703 as the label denotes, I don’t think we need to worry too much about the heritage and authenticity of the contents of this Extra Old rum.
Lamb’s Navy Rum is seen in just about every Supermarket off-license, public house and Working Mens Club (WMC) the length and breadth of England (and quite possible Scotland and Wales too).
Originally created in 1849 from a blend of new fewer than 18 rums from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana by Alfred Lamb. The rum has been available in the UK pretty much unbroken since 1872. The rum was originally stored in the famous West India Dock Warehouse just off the Thames. The rum was then aged for 4 years. For more information please see the Lamb’s Navy Rum site.