Dead Reckoning Port Broadside

Bythefatrumpirate September 29, 2023

Dead Reckoning Port Broadside. Today we have another review of a rum from Australian Independent bottlers – Dead Reckoning. They have recently expanded distribution into Europe and the US. However, this is Single Cask release for the Australian market only.

This is a blend of rums from three different “secret” distilleries. It should be noted at this point that some Rum Producers have requested that Independents do not use the distillery name on their bottlings.

I am not entirely sure if all three of the distilleries used in this bottling have such informal arrangements in place. Dead Reckoning Port Broadside does have identifiers though. In the shape of rum marques which can be used to determine which distillery the rum hails from.

First of all though we will consider the name used for this release – Port Broadside. Rather than being an actual Port the term is actually a reference to firing all guns/cannons from one side – Port (left) of a warship. Which suggests this is quite going to quite a “fiery” number.

So it is a little bit of surprise to see which rum marques have been used in this release. You might expect this rum to be made up of the higher ester Rum Marques. It isn’t. Dead Reckoning Port Broadside is made up of marques at the lower end of the ester count. That said this is Jamaican rum so it is by nature more “funky” than just about everything else on the planet.

I’ll give a quick run down on the marques used in this release

LFCH – First up we have a marque from the Hampden Estate. This is a more recent marque – Lawrence Francis Close Hussey a member of the Hussey family who own Hampden Estate and the grandfather of current Marketing Director Christelle Harris who is often the “face” of Hampden Estate. The ester range is between 85-120 gr/hl AA.

For context Hampden Estate’s ester level marques range from 40 gr/hl AA OWH (Outram W Hussey) to 1600 gr/hl AA DOK (Dermot Owen Kelly-Lawson).

This is a Pot Still distilled rum.

WPL – Secondly we have rum from Worthy Park Estate. Worthy Park Light which has between 60-119 gr/hl AA. Worthy Park are a different kind of distillery to most of the other Jamaican producers. It is a much more modern, more technologically advanced distillery.

Worthy Park operate a Pot Still only set up and there rums do not go as high ester-wise as the likes of Hampden, Long Pond and New Yarmouth. The highest ester rum produced by Worthy Park is Worthy Park Extra (WPE) which can go up to 800 gr/hl AA.

NYE/P – The New Yarmouth Estate has only recently become more well known thanks mainly to Independent bottlers. New Yarmouth is situated in Clarendon Parish (not to be confused with Clarendon Distillery) and was acquired by Appleton Estate (Campari) in 2012. It operates both pot and column stills.

The distillery produces rum for various Jamaican blends and is also where the world (in)famous J Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum is produced.

From what I gather the rum used in this release is a column distilled rum. NYE/P – New Yarmouth Estate Plummer is the marque. I have also seen this marque attributed to Pot Still rums. It will also be familiar with anyone who has had a bottle of Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum.

The ester count for this one is between 95-150 gr/hl AA. Again for reference New Yarmouth Estate rums can run up to 1600 gr/hl AA with their NYE/WK – New Yarmouth Estate Winston Kennedy marque.

So that is the information on the juice in the bottle. I am not sure in what quantities the rum has been blended. The bottle notes this is Single Blended Rum, As it is from multiple distilleries this should just be labelled Blended Rum. Justin at Dead Reckoning has acknowledged this error. It’s not a big deal for me as we get plenty information from Justin and co at Dead Reckoning so there is no real confusion over what we are getting here.

As noted this rum is a Australia only release with just 360 bottles available. ABV is 50%. The overall ester count is noted as 96.5 gr/hl AA. It has been aged for 4 and a 1/2 years. 3 Years in ex-bourbon casks in Jamaica and 1 and a 1/2 years in a 120 year Australian Dry Tawny (Port to all intents and purposes) Cask “Dry Aged” in Adelaide.

The cost of this rum is around $125. Information on this rum can be found at The Rum Tribe.

As with all Dead Reckoning releases – no added sugar or any other additives and non-chill filtered.

I think we have enough information on the contents of this bottle so now lets see how it goes down…….

The nose is quite mellow, fair bit of influence from the Tawny casks giving it a sweet, slightly floral aroma initially. There is a hint of “funk” lurking beneath.

Further nosing reveals more tropical fruits – pineapple and coconut in particular. There is also a hint of stewed prunes, breakfast tea (no milk) and a mix of allspice and some slight woody/aged notes. I am also getting hints of nail varnish and some charred banana skins.

All in all the nose is complex and inviting at the same time. Even at 50% ABV this is very approachable.

Sipping Dead Reckoning Port Broadside offers a quite different experience initially. On the first sip their is a real “tang” and a hit of sour notes. There is a lot more Jamaican funk going on now. After a couple of sips the tangy sour notes begin to give way to more traditional, familiar Jamaican notes. I’m getting more of the nail varnish and pineapple. It’s a kind of sweet and sour note now.

As the palate becomes more accustomed to the rum you will begin to notice some stoned fruits, banana bread and a touch of icing sugar.

The mid palate really begins to open up and you will start to experience the black tea notes again. Alongside a nice mix of vanilla/bourbon and some spicy oak. There is a slight herbal note to this as well. Mango, Passion Fruit – the list goes on…..

There is so much going on with this rum. By the time you reach the finish you will have went through a real array of flavours and aromas.

Length wise the finish is a good length, nice and dry with a good amount of spiciness. Even a touch of ground coffee. Sweetness from the Tawny cask comes through leaving a nice taste of what I can only describe as funky blackcurrants.

With this rum Justin at Dead Reckoning has achieved a complex sipper. One which will appeal to more experienced rum buffs but won’t have more casual or less experienced rum drinkers running to the hills.

It might not be the liking 100% of the more extreme 1% of rum drinkers who only drink perfume, sorry DOK (Dermot Owen Kelly) marque rums but hey ho.

I think this is a great piece of work again from Dead Reckoning.

Coruba White Rum

Coruba White Rum
Bythefatrumpirate August 21, 2017

Coruba White Rum. They are a brand of rum with mixed origins. Coruba Dark is popular and widely available in the US and New Zealand. Coruba are a Jamaican rum brand (the rum used is understood to come from Appleton Estate).

The brand itself also seems to have some Swiss roots. It is for the US market owned by Campari. Coruba have a number of young “mixing” style rums in their portfolio. They have also branched out into the cheaper flavoured market.

On the flipside of this Coruba also have a number of aged “Cigar” rums. Presentation wise they appear at first glance to be unconnected. They are however all part of the same brand.

Coruba White Rum is bottled at a stingy 37.5% ABV and is a young (no older than two years) white rum. Marketing material state it is made in the traditional “planters” style. Coruba White Rum comes housed in a traditional bar style bottle. The label is best described as Tiki. It’s a little gaudy and very OTT.

You don’t get a great deal of information on the bottle. When you can find a bottle of Coruba White in the UK (distribution is sporadic) it should cost you no more than £20 for a 70cl bottle.

In the glass a typical clear white rum. Filtered no doubt and no signs of any “yellowing”.

On the nose – not a typical white rum. Certainly not a typical white rum bottled at only 37.5% ABV. This is a very funky Jamaican style rum. I’m getting a lot of Jamaican Overproof type notes despite the much lower ABV.

Very grassy, vegetal notes with big hits of banana and aromas of tar and varnish. Strong defined funk with just a slightly gentler odour of light spicy oak in the background. It’s not quite as intense as a Jamaican White Overproof but it is pretty similar.

As a sipper it is just a little too sharp. The big funky notes get lost on the tongue to a harsh, overly sweet alcohol hit. Which fades very quickly into a short, sharp and very dry finish. It’s pretty neutral tasting for most of the brief journey it takes you on.

As a mixer it also seems to get a bit lost. The promise which was so evident on the nose just seems to fade away no matter what you try and mix this with. It does add a little Jamaican funk but it all just seems so short lived. It’s almost as if it gives up as soon as you get a little taste for it. It ends up pretty much like slightly sweeter vodka. It really doesn’t have a lot to offer.

I can only really blame the low ABV for this becoming so non-descript. I can’t really understand otherwise how a rum can disappear as quickly as this one seems to.

Bit of a shame really as this was a reasonably priced and quite fun looking white rum. Maybe a higher ABV would be more satisfactory?

Average

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Old Jamaique 1977 Long Pond Aged 35 Years

Old Jamaique Long Pond 1977 Aged 35 Years
Bythefatrumpirate December 16, 2017

Old Jamaique Long Pond 1977. A rum older than me – just. From the Long Pond Distillery in Jamaica. A distillery which I have become increasingly interested in, over the past year or so.

Old Jamaique is a collaboration between Scottish bottling giant Ian MacLeod and the Belgian Independent bottler Corman-Collins.

I’ve not previously reviewed any of the Independent bottlings from Corman-Collins. Who often seem to collaborate with other independent bottlers, such as Samaroli for instance.

I have however reviewed a few Ian MacLeod bottlings. Though none as “high end” as this one. Ian MacLeod caters to the budget end of the rum market. I have reviewed both Watson’s Demerara and Trawler rum. They are predominantly though a whisky bottler. With a portfolio of malt and blended whisky such as Tamdhu, Glengoyne, Sheep Dip and Black Shield. They also have numerous gins and even some vodka.

From the information I have been able to find on this rum, it is 35 years old. Well it was aged for 35 years anyway. Distilled in 1977 and bottled in May 2013. Aged in an ex-bourbon barrel. It is single cask (#10) and comes from an out turn of just 229 bottles. It is bottled at a very rounded 50% ABV, so I assume it is not fully cask strength. The reduced ABV may have yielded a few extra bottles. When released it would set you back around £400. You’d be hard pushed to find a bottle now. If you do want one you may find yourself paying a lot more at auction.

Finding rare pot still rums such as this especially from the Long Pond distillery is difficult. Long Pond is due to re-open but has been out of commission for a number of years. Much of Long Pond’s output historically has been in the sale of bulk rum for blends. As far as I am aware there has never been a commercially distillery release of a “Long Pond” branded rum. I’ve started buying any Long Pond rum I can find. Such is the enjoyment I’ve had from the few I’ve been lucky enough to try.

Long Pond rums are similar to Hampden. From my limited experience I have found them to be slightly more fruity but as I explore both distilleries more (and not forgetting Clarendon) I am finding more expressions which I could easily confuse for either distillery.

Anyway I’m quite keen to put this rum through its paces so lets crack on with the nosing and tasting.

Old Jamaique Long Pond 1977 presents itself in the glass as a light golden rum. As stated on the label no colourant has been added.

The nose reveals the extensive ageing (albeit it a lot is European). It has quite high weight of oak on the nose. It’s initially more Appleton Estate 21 than the more zesty, medicinal Long Pond I am more familiar with.

A touch of pine cone, quite a bit of vanilla and spicy bourbon barrel. Hint of char it’s clearly a very mature rum. Heavy barrel influenced distillate.

Sipped it hits you with an initial tropical sweetness- mangoes, passion fruit and some black mushy banana which fades into a very oaky and rich toffee and caramel mid palate.

It’s not the funkiest Long Pond. Lacking some of the dunder/esters I have tried before but it is certainly a very complex sip. There are some notes of stewed English Breakfast tea and a hint of pipe tobacco. I’ve noted Dave Broom refer to rums before as being like old leather sofas. I’m with him on that with this one.

It’s not what I was expecting from a Long Pond rum. It definitely has more similarities to Appleton 21. But it is excellent and very rewarding. Really tasty, oaky and a very rich rum – touch of Christmas pudding alongside those tobacco notes. Plums, dates and more than a touch of raisin.

The finish was nice, long, rich and warming. Probably the most medicinal part of the experience as well. As the finish progresses the oak subsides slightly and reveals just a touch more tree sap and a bit of the sweet funk. Black banana and pear drops.

It’s expensive but its just about unique. The Whisky Nectar bottled a 1977 Long Pond a few years ago that was aged until 2012. Like this one you’ll struggle to find one of those.

Really great stuff but take care, its not Long Pond as you might recognise.

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Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem

Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem
Bythefatrumpirate September 9, 2020September 9, 2020

Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem. For once, I am actually familiar with a term being used on one of these fancy named Foursquare bottlings. We’ll get round to that shortly.

A Diadem is actually a jewelled headband worn as a sign of sovereignty. In other words it something the Queen might put on, when she can’t be arsed with the full faff on, of sticking one of her crowns upon the Royal bonce. Or something like that.

In all honesty I didn’t know that but I did recognise Diadem. After a while, I worked it out that it was one of the offices in Preston that I had to visit on a regular basis – Diadem House, when Tax Credits (no booing please) were being set up around 2002. It was quite a modern office and is now no longer occupied by HMRC. There was a KFC just round the corner…..

Anyway, my Civil Service career has little bearing on this offering (though it might partly explain why I drink so much) from Foursquare Rum Distillery. Although this rum comes in a bottle very similar in style, to the Exceptional Cask Series – it is not part of the series. Instead it is a Private Cask Selection bottling. Picked by The Whisky Exchange. As a result it is a retail exclusive to them. I am not sure who decided to give it such a regal name – pretty much calling it the “Jewel in the Crown”. I suspect it may have come from the The Whisky Exchange side.

This is the second exclusive bottling for The Whisky Exchange following on from the excellent (though quite divisive) Hereditas. I throughly enjoyed that though not everyone I’ve spoken to, was quite so keen.

Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem is a Single Blended Rum. So it is a blend of Pot and Column Distilled Rum from one distillery – Foursquare, obviously. It has been aged for 12 years. The rums have been aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-madeira casks. It is distilled, matured and bottled at Foursquare Distillery and presented at 60% ABV. There were just over 2000 bottles available on release.

It retails at £84.95 for a 70cl bottle exclusively from The Whisky Exchange. At least until the flippers get their mitts on it anyway and its on the Secondary market. The bottle also handily tells (or warns) me that this bottle has 42 units of alcohol. I should drink no more than 14 units per week. You’ve got to hand it to the UK’s Chief Medical Officers. They are nothing if not optimistic……….

Presentation wise we get the now familiar stubby rounded bottle with the Foursquare Rum Distillery “medal” on a ribbon around the neck. It is sealed by a synthetic cork which Foursquare now use following so many complaints around the wooden corks disintegrating. The only differences in presentation is that the “Rum Distillery” after Foursquare has been retained on these Private Cask Selection bottlings and it would appear that some tasting notes have been introduced on the back label. I suspect they will be the work of The Whisky Exchange but I could be wrong. Their listing of this I think confirms my suspicions………they have two sets of tasting notes.

So I think we can safely move onto the fun part now, as I have told you everything I know about this rum and I haven’t even mentioned Richard Seale. That must be a first for a Foursquare Rum review.

In the glass we have a dark brown liquid with an orange hue. It’s an impressive colour considering no E150 has been added, nor has anything else. Non chill filtered as well so don’t go crying online in the Rum Groups if your rum goes a bit cloudy, you uneducated fanny.

The nose immediately reveals itself to be that of a rum at Cask Strength. I’ve had a fair few Foursquare rums, from the their “standard” range recently. Doorly’s XO and R.L Seales 10 Year Old. Both these rums are below 50% ABV and the size of the nose is immediately much different. This is much “bigger” – richer and oiler with more spiciness.

It’s full bodied with lots of vanilla and baking spices. Blackberries and some more tart Redcurrants. It’s rich and fruity but its balanced by some heat – ginger, a touch of cinnamon and some white pepper.

Deeper nosing reveals some concentrated Pineapple juice and some Pear Drops (boiled sweets). There is some milk chocolate and some Raspberry tart.

I’ll compare this to Hereditas briefly and I have to say the Madeira influence is much less pronounced then the Sherry notes in Hereditas. This isn’t as Madeira heavy as Hereditas was in terms of the Sherry. Which might win round people who were disappointed by Hereditas.

To be honest when it comes to Foursquare, I just like the constant variety and the consistent high quality of the rum. It’s all from the same tree but each branch is just a little bit different. Nothing so far has disappointed me in terms of either the Exceptional Cask Series or these Private Cask Selection’s.

If we hadn’t had so many different releases I probably would have bought more of whatever was available. I always like to have some Foursquare or Real McCoy available. A rum collection without a Foursquare Rum cannot really call itself a rum collection. I know some rum “extremists” will disagree with this. More fool them is all I can say.

As a sipper, this is another bottle which I fear will not be around for very long. I always find Foursquare to be very drinkable. Even the higher ABV doesn’t really lead to me drinking less. Which in some way probably isn’t a good thing! Never mind….

The initial entry has a slightly bitter-sweet note and quite a lot of fiery oak and some ginger and black pepper spices. The sweetness initially is quite short with a slightly tart note of Gooseberries.

However it doesn’t take long to adapt to Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem and 2 or 3 sips in you start to notice the sweeter notes in this rum and the added complexity of the Madeira cask. The inital entry is both and sweet and fiery at the same time. Blackcurrants and juicy Raisins mixed with a fiery chilli like heat.

The more you sip the softer the rum becomes with more notes of pineapple, vanilla ice cream and coconut putting in an appearance. There is a rich fortified wine like note and a strong note of Red Grapes on the mid palate but its not allowed to take over by the complex oak spices coming from the maturation.

Finish wise it is a nice length but it does seem to dry out a little quicker than I would have liked. I would have preferred more of the fruit to remain onto the finish. That said you still get a wonderful integration of spices and a great balance of heat which is very enjoyable and quite long lasting.

I only really judge Foursquare against Foursquare now – there is no real point doing anything else. That said I no longer have access to every ECS or Private Cask Selection available to cross reference and try a side by side tasting every time I get a new Foursquare bottling.

From memory I know which rums have really stood out and I know which rums have been “only” just between Very Good and Excellent in my scoring.

Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem, might not be one of my top five Foursquare rums but it would likely still rank pretty highly in any top 100 I might one day produce. It’s a great rum. It would certainly be the Jewel in the Crown for a lot of other distilleries!

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XM Royal 10 Years Finest Caribbean Rum

XM Royal 10 Years Finest Caribbean Rum
Bythefatrumpirate June 10, 2014July 13, 2015

XM are the signature rums for Guyanese master blenders Banks DIH (Demerara Ice House). Despite hailing from Guyana the rum’s are not Demerara rums. With only one distillery in Guyana (Demerara Distillers Limited) it is easy to think that Banks DIH obtain their rum’s ready for blending from there. However, research has found that they no longer obtain any rums from DDL and consequently the rum cannot be classed as Demerara rum.

This is something which I hadn’t noticed until it was pointed out to me At no point do they proclaim their rum is Demerara. However, it is wrongly labelled Demerara on numerous websites. This as my review will attest is not solely due to geography.

The presentation of the XM Royal is a little cheap, whilst the rum comes with a sturdy protective cardboard sleeve it is let down by the slightly dated label (particularly the XM Royal 10 on the neck) and the metallic screw cap. At £30 it is not unreasonable to expect a synthetic or corked enclosure.

I originally bought both this and the 7 Year Old in the belief I was getting a Demerara rum similar to the El Dorado range. As mentioned earlier the geography suggests this is not the case. However, the appearance of the rum in the glass does nothing to suggest this isn’t a Demerara rum. Upon nosing the rum it gives that familiar El Dorado almost flowery burst of rich caramel and dried tropical fruits.

I have found a lot of satisfaction in rums from the likes of Barbados and St Lucia that are aged between 8 and 12 years and this is no exception. The appearance of the rum is slightly lighter than the aged El Dorado rum’s I have tried (12 and 15 year old). The XM Royal does not smell quite as sweet as the 12 year old and is slightly oaky a little like the 15 year old. I would say that the Banks XM rum’s would definitely be enjoyed by an El Dorado aficionado. As a lot of the rum’s are slightly different age variations to the El Dorado’s (7 and 10 years for example) they could compliment an El Dorado collection. I have certainly not tasted anything as close to an El Dorado Demerara as the XM rum’s. the XM’s are slightly thinner than the El Dorado’s in terms of consistency and the overall smell isn’t quite the same but not far off.

Anyway, that is quite enough talk of El Dorado rum’s. We know how good they are but how good is the XM Royal? Well as with the 7 year old I have found that this bottle has went down very quickly. At £29.95 it was only slightly more expensive than the 7 year old XM XVO. It isn’t quite as sweet and has a little more oakiness in the profile. It leaves quite a dry aftertaste when sipped.

The rum tastes of caramel and raisins and dried fruits, with a little spice and smokiness on the afterburn. It is pleasantly smooth and has a lot of complexity which makes it a very rewarding sipping rum. It is a rum for someone with a bit of a sweet tooth (not as much as the VXO though in my opinion). I really enjoy these XM rum’s and can even forgive the fact it isn’t Demerara and that the packaging isn’t quite as good as it could be.

As anyone who has read my reviews, I do love a cuba libre. Call me what you like but I do enjoy a rum which can stand up to a bit of diet cola. The XM Royal just like the XM VXO is excellent when mixed with a little cola. In this instance, whilst the VXO’s sweetness seems to magnify when mixed the Royal seems to become more oaky with a little bit of smokiness in the profile.

I doubt anyone who enjoys El Dorado’s offerings would be disappointed with XM’s rum, it does have a lot of similarities. I’d be interested to try the two brand’s 15 year old’s in a blind tasting session. That could be very interesting. The one thing that puzzles me is how they get it like this when it isn’t from Guyana? You know what I think I might have to ask them!

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Habitation Velier Last Ward 2007

Habitation Velier Last Ward 2007
Bythefatrumpirate September 6, 2017

Habitation Velier Last Ward 2007 is an intriguingly named rum in the popular series of Pure rums from Luca Gargano and co. Last Ward 2007 represents the Ward family. Who for over 100 years owned and ran the Mount Gay rum distillery in St Lucy, Barbados.

As with all Habitation Velier releases you get a lot of information on the bottle and the study card sleeve which houses the rum. Presented in the now distinctive flask style opaque bottles this rum from the Mount Gay Rum Refinery is given a baby blue colour scheme. Velier usually give individual distilleries/stills a colour scheme which they carry through for all releases. This was most commonly used in their old Demerara offerings.

Last Ward 2007 is a triple distilled 100% Pot Still rum. Distilled on a Double Retort Pot Still back in 2007. For those with long memories you may re-call that 2007 represents the year that Frank Ward began producing Mount Gilboa rum. Triple distilled in McMillan Pot Stills and aged in ex-bourbon Mount Gilboa represented a rare 100% Pot Still Bajan rum.

Much has went on since 2007 with Mount Gay Rum Refinery now under new ownership. Last Ward 2007 represents the oldest rums available as part of the distillation of Mount Gilboa. Velier bought these casks in 2014. The rum has been tropically aged – Angels Share of 65%. It is bottled at 59% ABV barrel proof. A bottle (if you can find one) will set you back around £80.

This rum is a marrying of 19 of the oldest barrels available. I was quite surprised how popular this edition proved to be – I was fortunate to get the last bottle from the retailer I used – on the day of release. Mount Gilboa earned something of a cult following for its heavier, more full flavoured take on Bajan rum. You can still pick up a bottle online here and there even though it hasn’t been produced for a number of years.

Mount Gilboa was much younger than 10 years old so it will be interesting to see how a 100% Bajan Pot Still rum develops over time.

In the glass the rum is a very attractive golden brown. It certainly looks the part. Nosing is quite a sedate experience. Mount Gilboa was quite an “in your face” kind of rum. In some ways it bordered on Jamaican in terms of delivery – though admittedly maybe with the funk dialled down a touch. This rum has quite a strong, spicy alcohol note on the nose. I’m getting a lot of oak and spice from the bourbon barrel. A touch of shoe polish. Deeper nosing makes your nose twitch a little – it’s quite boozy. Sweet alcohol notes can hit the nostrils quite hard.

It has a nuttiness which balances nicely with the notes of shortcut pastry. A little saltiness. Initially the nose doesn’t seem all that complex but the more you nose the more you notice.

From the nose I certainly wouldn’t pick it out as a Pot Still rum. At a push I might identify it as a Bajan. It’s kind of in the middle ground. Similar to a St Lucian rum only without the extra saltiness and vegetal notes.

It’s certainly an intriguing and interesting nose.

Sipped it’s a very spicy affair. I”m getting more of the Pot Still now. It’s not as full on as a Hampden or even a Fijian pot still but its certainly more menacing than a Doorly’s 5 for example or Rum Sixty Six. One of the things I liked about Mount Gilboa was the “funkiness” it displayed. It was a very bold rum – which mixed really well and whilst not bad as a sipper just didn’t have the refinement to make for a serious sipping experience.

Unfortunately Last Ward 2007 has lost some of the youthful “funkiness” and aggression. These seems to have been replaced with a lot of oak spice. This is a very “hot” peppery rum. There is a lot of oak which is very drying.

It’s quite difficult to get past this. A few drops of water certainly help. Opening the rum up more making it easier to sip and appreciate the more complex notes lurking beneath the oak and spice.

Water is very much recommended with this rum. With the ABV reduced you can taste more of the more familiar Bajan style notes. Last Ward 2007 has a sweeter more approachable profile now. It’s nicely balanced and much frutier. There is a little tartness – gooseberries, a touch of lychee but it plays along nicely with the notes of vanilla and banana. There is a little of the trademark Mount Gay coconut as well just lurking in the background.

This is a very different rum to the one I was expecting. I was expecting something akin to the Pot Still of the South Pacific Rum Distillery in Fiji or even something almost Jamaican.

Ageing has taken off some of the rough edges (which I quite enjoyed in the Mount Gilboa) and replaced them with much more interaction with the Bourbon barrels. At full strength the rum is too spicy and dry for my palate. Reduced down to around 50% and a completely different rum is revealed.

It’s not a rum I find easy to compare to other rums. In time it is a rum which grows on you. Initially it doesn’t seem all that exciting. I thought for my first couple of glasses it was just over oaked.

But it grows on you. Sneaks up on you and you soon begin to appreciate it. Yes its a little dry and oaky but water really is your friend with this rum. Honest

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Articles

Rum of the Year 2018 – Shortlist
Bythefatrumpirate December 28, 2018December 29, 2018

thefatrumpirate.com Rum of the Year 2018.

Obviously, this is the one award that every self respecting rum producer wants to win. In a world where many Rum Awards are determined by paid entries and golden handshakes this is one award no producer can influence. And no amount of nasty emails or invites to distilleries will spoil that……..

Now I know that a number of people have been questioning the award going to Foursquare Rum Distillery for the past 3 years. Is there some kind of bias? Do I receive free products from Foursquare? Am I in Richard Seale’s pocket?

The answer to that is of course – no. Since starting the blog I have received the following from Richard Seale, a ton of information and two pin badges. If you don’t believe me, then ask Richard yourself. Having said that, if you are serious about rum and no not believe Foursquare deserve the awards they have received over the past few years, you must live in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Or you have been bought by other producers……

Since starting this blog way back in 2014, I have always ensured that my reviews are 100% honest and reflect my genuine view of a product, as a consumer. Recently I have begun to receive more and more samples, from around the world. However, 95% of these samples are received from fellow Rum Enthusiasts, not from the producers.

So what about the other 5%? Well yes I do receive some free samples. These samples reflect very much the ethos of the blog. So I have received sample product from the likes of Kill Devil, Berry Bros & Rudd, The Whisky Barrel, St Lucia Distillers and Worthy Park – amongst others. Rums where you know you are going to get something of a certain standard and you only get rum in the bottle.

I do not get sent the latest Super Duper Premium from Central America. Bit strange I don’t get sent rums laden with additives isn’t it? Still there are more than enough arse licking fence sitters who will still fawn over such releases..

To be honest when I set the blog up, I always knew it was going to divide opinion.The fact of the matter is there are a lot of people out there claiming to be “promoting transparency” coming out with all the appropriate quotes in the forums. They quickly backtrack as soon as they get an invite to the opening of a crisp packet. Then trot out all the marketing nonsense they learned. It’s the only transparent thing about them.

From a selfish and personal point of view, it is also good for me to see so many bloggers who will sell out. Then concentrate their time and effort on rums and companies no serious enthusiast cares about. The worse your blog is the more viewers I get. Keep up the good work!

It is baffling and perhaps a little sad that a blogger such as myself is seen as “controversial”. People should be honest and be sure of their opinions. Saying things how it is, should be every bloggers raison d’etre. It is sad to see so much fence sitting and pro-industry bias.

To be honest a lot of these bloggers don’t really get much by way of views and have very little influence. Some are little more than Facebook and Instagram irritants, piping up with their regurgitated quotes and quips. In terms of other actual Rum Reviewers blogs such as The Lone Caner, Rum Diaries Blog, Rum Shop Boy and DuRhum do at least take a regular stab at honest opinion and delve beneath the marketing for information in their reviews. They aren’t the problem.

Anyway let’s get on with our Rum of the Year. By coincidence, rather than design I find I have given 10 rums a 5 star rating this year. So I will leave that as the starting criteria and decide which one I think was the best rum of last year.

Please note these are rums I reviewed last year – they may have been released prior to last year and yes I know I have “missed” a lot of great rums. I can only review so many per year.

The actual Rum of the Year will be revealed in due course……..it is amongst these 10 bottlings

Compagnie des Indes Jamaica New Yarmouth 12 Year Old (Danish Bottling)

First up is a true funk bomb of Jamaican wonderfulness. Sadly this particular high proof bottling was only available in Denmark. The rest of Europe got a reduced proof version, which quite frankly does count this one out of the running.

Fantastic rum though and a real hit at the London Rumfest in 2017.

Kill Devil Jamaica Hampden Distillery Aged 10 Years – The Whisky Barrel Exclusive

Another trip to Jamaica, this time we visit Hampden Estate courtesy of Hunter Laing’s excellent Kill Devil range via The Whisky Barrel online store.

Fantastically funky and a really great rum. The Whisky Barrel released a number of Hampden bottlings in 2018 and certainly got plenty of custom from this Rum Enthusiast!

Foursquare Rum Distillery Principia

The latest Foursquare bottling (on general release) in conjunction with Velier. We await the standard Destino bottling in the UK with baited breath but we’ve been more than spoiled (again) by Foursquare this year.

This was another classic.

Foursquare Rum Distillery Premise

A very deliberate release by Richard Seale. Aimed at a different segment of the market, to the likes of Criterion and Principia. This is a lower ABV and slightly gentler rum. Designed to show people sweet rum is far superior to sweetened rum.

An advancement on the Port and Zin Cask rums in terms of ABV at 46% but still a very accessible entry into “real” rum.

Foursquare Rum Distillery 2005

An update on our 2016 Rum of the Year winner, the 2004. Difficult to decide whether this one is better or just different to the 2004.

A seemingly very simple rum – blend of pot and column aged in bourbon casks and released at 59% ABV. Sounds a little boring?

It’s anything but.

Havana Anisio Santiago Aguardente de Cana

Some of these rums weren’t actually released for the first time last year. Some are old staples, I have just gotten around to trying. 2018 saw me begin a Cachaca journey in earnest. This is widely recognised as one of the best Cachaca/Aguardente de Cana available in Brasil.

An example of how good aged Cachaca can be. You could argue, I should just have rum on this list. Not when something is as good as this!

Rhum J.M XO Tres Vieux Rhum Agricole

It’s not very often every member of staff and even the odd browsing customer tells you how great a particular rhum is when you pick it up. But that is what happened to me in Charles de Gaulle airport earlier this year.

I was aware how good Rhum J.M could be from past experience but this as a continuous release, is a fantastic rhum which is now a staple here..

It wasn’t released last year but I felt it more than worthy of a place in the final countdown.

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL

Going forward, I doubt this will be the last 5 star rum from the Worthy Park Estate. They have been toying with perfection for a good few years now and finally with this wonderful expression they hit the peak of their powers.

An absolutely fantastic rum. Everything just seemed to fall into place with this one.

Appleton Estate 15 Year Old Limited Edition

When researching this blog you find out all kinds of information. Apparently the biggest market for Appleton rum at the present time is Canada. So this meant that this Limited Edition 15 Year old rum was released only in Canada.

Rumours of a UK release persist but for now you’ll need a holiday or a rum runner to get this one in Europe.

Well worth trying either!

Foursquare Rum Distillery Destino Velier 70th Anniversary Release

From what I gather this release was made up of rum from different barrels to the standard Destino release (as mentioned earlier and we are still waiting!). Other than that the make up of the rum is the same age, barrel type etc.

Another really good rum from Foursquare. They are perhaps dominating this list but they really are having a purple patch at the moment.

So what is your favourite from the list? Any idea which rum I will choose as Overall Rum of the Year? A lot of Jamaican funk and Bajan balance in the list.

All will be revealed tomorrow.

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Read More Rum of the Year 2018 – Shortlist

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