Bedford Park Single Barrel Fiji Rum Aged 19 Years. When Maison Ferrand teamed up with the Rum Co. of Fiji (South Pacific Distillery) a few years back, I was concerned about the future of Independently bottled Fijian rum.

So far, there has been little change. Whilst Planteray have released their own take on Fijian rums, Independent bottlers are still consistently releasing quality products from the distillery.

Today is Indie bottler Bedford Park’s turn. With one of the oldest Fijian bottlings I have came across so far.

Bedford Park Single Barrel Fiji Rum Aged 19 Years is a 100% Pot Still Molasses based Rum. Distilled in 2004 at the South Pacific Distillery. The rum was aged in an ex-bourbon barrel until 2016.

At which point it was moved to ex-rum cask (which will most likely be an ex-bourbon barrel!)

It was bottled in 2024. Noted as being Cask Number 15. Which yielded just 223 bottles at 57.6% ABV. It is non-chill filtered with no additives.

Availability of Bedford Park Spirits bottling is often split between Europe and North America. I’ve noticed the odd bottle for sale on Auction sites as well. In the US try Raising Glasses where it retails at $200. For Europe Bedford Park’s “own” website (ran by North Point Distillery) has it for sale at £120. They could do with separating their whiskies and rums or adding a search engine to make things easier to find.

The artwork on the Bedford Park Spirits bottlings are particularly interesting. I’m sure you will agree. Certainly more interesting than some of the more austere European bottlers. This label was designed by The label is designed by Toronto-based artist Elise Conlin, whose early work while studying at the Ontario College of Art & Design caught their eye. Elise agreed to lend her talents to a series of labels, aptly named “Shady Grove”, for their first releases.

In the glass Bedford Park Single Barrel Fiji Rum Aged 19 Years is a dark brown colour with a slightly reddish/orange hue. (I feel I write this a lot!)

On the nose its quite grassy and floral. Not dis-similar to an aged Agricole Rhum. There is a slight hint of petrol on the nose and some more medicinal notes as well. Theres an almost floral sweetness running through it. Floral Gums (gum sweets) and a saccharin like note.

It’s pleasant if slightly underwhelming. There is no sign of the more unpolished and fiery notes you often find with single digit Fijian rum.

On the sip it is again quite sweet and a little on the floral side. Peach and Strawberry alongside a slightly perfumed note come through initially. It has a slightly oily mouthfeel which I enjoy

Further sips reveal some very little tar and some slight petrol like notes. These are fairly faint though. As we move into the mid palate the rum begins to bear its teeth a little more.

It’s spicier with some nice ginger heat and some cloves. There is a medicinal feel to the rum as the sweeter notes dissipate a little.

The finish is a reasonable length and offers a nice mixture of spice and sweetness which fade out to leave a slight grassiness behind.

I’ve compared Fijian rum to Caroni’s output in the past. For those of you looking for something akin to that then I would advise looking for something younger. Fijian rum is perhaps the distillate which seems to change the most in the Rum World. Especiallly when we get into the higher teens in terms of age.

It would be unfair to say this is a sweet easy going sipper – without giving that some context. It’s certainly not a Zacapa or a Diplomatico style rum. It is probably more similar to an aged Foursquare in terms of profile.

I like this quite a bit but I’m pleased to have had chance to try it before buying it. I would have expected more oomph from a Fiji rum if I had bought it blind.

Another very good bottling from Bedford Park. Just maybe not what you might have expected.