Samaroli Caribbean Rum 2005. For those unfamiliar with Samaroli, they are an Italian Independent bottler of Whisky, Rum and other Spirits. The founder Silvano Samaroli sadly passed away on the 16 February 2017 aged 77. He had handed the reins of the Samaroli empire to Antonio Bieve in 2008 but had remained active within the company until his death.
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Wood’s Old Navy Rum. Wood’s is a Navy rum brand which is quite a staple in UK bars and Working Mens Clubs. It’s not quite as common as Lamb’s – partly due to its ABV, but it is probably the second best-selling Navy rum in the UK.
You will probably find a number of “old timers” proclaiming the joys of Rum and Pep (Peppermint cordial) or Rum and Black (Blackcurrant cordial) they will likely know all about Woods Navy Rum or Wood’s 100.
Bumbu The Original. Bumbu is an Indonesian word for a blend of spices. I’m sure I have also seen terms such as Bombo and Bumbu, used to describe mixed drinks made by Pirates and other historical figures. These drinks have been composed of rum, water and varying spices.
This rum has proved to be very popular over the past couple of years. It has also proved to be very controversial. Bumbu The Original titles itself as The Craft Rum. They note that their rum, which is “hand crafted” using 8 different sugar cane varieties is aged for up to 15 years.
Kane’s Golden Rum. Every so often I’ll walk into one of the Supermarkets and find a new expression of rum. More often than not I am already familiar with the brand. Supermarkets in the UK have been greatly expanding their rum selections, over the past 3 to 4 years. On occasion though, I come across a bottling which I have never seen or heard of before.
Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry. Unless you have only very recently gotten into rum or have been living in a cave, Plantation Rums should really need little or no introduction. Headed by Alexandre Gabriel Plantation Rum is a part of Maison Ferrand. They are based in France and a lot of their “double ageing” or secondary maturation takes place in cellars in the Cognac region of France.
In February this year Alexandre Gabriel, owner of Maison Ferrand, the producers of Plantation rum gave an interview to David Driscoll of K&L Wine Merchants. A popular Wine and Spirits retailer based in the US.
Over the past few years, Alexandre and more specifically Plantation rum have been held up by many as the “poster boys” for adulterated rum. This is partly due to the fact that until very recently ALL their rums had what Alexandre refers to as “dosage”. The reality is, that whilst Plantation do add sugar (an aged sugar syrup), they don’t usually add the huge amounts favoured by some other “Premium” rum producers. Nor as far as I am aware, do they add things such as Glycerin or essences.
Sugar House White Rum. I wrote a couple of years back now on the “Rise of the Micro Distiller” in the UK. A number of companies were setting up small, often one pot still operations and producing rum, with varying degrees of success. Some have long since left the game, meanwhile others are doing quite well for themselves. The English Spirit and Dark Matter are two of the success stories.