Havana Club 7 Anos is the first in the Havana Club series in terms of price which is intended as a sipping rum. The other Anejo’s and White Rum’s in the range are aimed entirely at mixing. There is little to say about Havana Club that hasn’t been said before. I think the rum is still largely unavailable in the US of A and I’m pretty sure Bacardi have even taken advantage of this to issue their own “Havana Club” brand of rum.
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Bermudez is a Dominican rum producer and along with Brugal and Barceló make up the “big” 3 B’s of Dominican rum. The Bermudez 1852 Aniversario is a rum which has been aged for 12 years. It is bottled but once a year. The rum is aged in select oak barrels and according to one website offering it for sale “is comparable to old brandy”.
I bought this rum out of curiosity. On this site I have reviewed another Guatemalan rum which is produced for UK food retailer Marks and Spencer. The notes on the Marks and Spencer led me to believe that the rum was possibly supplied by Cognac Ferrand who own the Plantation brand of rums.
For those unfamiliar with the Plantation brand the basics are as follows. Cognac Ferrand procure (possibly in exchange for the wine and sherry casks used in the ageing of spirits) aged rum from a variety of distillers around the world. They do not publicise who the distillers are (a little research can often narrow the possibilities down). The rum is then usually “double aged” or finished in other casks to give the rum a distinctive profile. So basically they get good rum and give it a bit of a twist. That’s the theory anyway.
Bacardi Black. Along with Bacardi Gold, the two rums have recently been re-released into the UK market at 40% ABV rather than 37.5%. For whatever reason Bacardi Black is not as readily available as the White Superior or Gold. In most supermarkets and many off licenses the White Superior and Gold can be picked up at entry-level prices. However, the Black is largely absent from these outlets.
Another holiday bottle that I thought I would review. I found this in a Supermarket in Ayia Napa amongst a selection of cheap looking Greek and Cypriot rum. I passed on the various Greek/Cypriot efforts and settled for this Black Head Rum. It is distributed by Slaur International, Le Havre, France. Those who have read my introduction will be aware that amongst my first rum tastings was Bardinet Negrita rum. That rum was also French. Negrita also had a rather questionable stereotype on the label. I’m really pretty shocked by this one to be honest.
I first came across this rum when travelling on a Thomson (TUI) cruise. I was on an all inclusive package no dark rum’s listed on the menu. I thought I may as well chance my arm and see what they would give me if I just asked for a dark rum and cola. I was quite surprised how quickly the bartender understood my request (getting anything other than a Bacardi and Coke when you mention rum is still a problem in the UK!). I was equally surprised how quickly he poured the measure and returned the bottle to below the bar. I got a quick glance at the bottle and noticed only the “medals” at the bottom. There was no charge for the drink so I sat down quite smugly thinking I might have been onto a bit of a winner.
This is really the signature rum for the Captain Morgan brand. However, it is no longer its most recognised rum/spirit drink. A lot of people recognise Morgan’s Spiced (UK) Or Captain Morgan Original/Gold Spiced Rum (USA). There are so many differences around the world that I won’t even begin to try and explain any further variations within the Captain Morgan brand. The UK has recently begun adopting the US style bottlings of the Spiced Rum.