Dead Reckoning Rum The Sextant. I haven’t reviewed many rums from Australia. I’ve reviewed even less Independently bottled blended rums from Australia.

Which is exactly what Dead Reckoning Rum The Sextant is it is a blend of rums from Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados. So three of the most famous Caribbean rum producers.

In navigation Dead Reckoning a process whereby you calculate the current position of a moving object, using a previously determined position, or a “fix” as it is often called. This is calculated using estimations of speed, heading direction and course over elapsed time. I thought Dead Reckoning might have been related to something a bit more “pirate-y” to be honest.

So what is a Sextant? Well a Sextant is a navigational instrument, used to measure the angle of an astronomical object and the horizon.

So that’s firmly blew all my theories about Pirates and Sea Serpents out of the water (pun intended).

So we understand the name behind Dead Reckoning Rum The Sextant but what about the liquid in the bottle? What do I know about that? Well quite a bit actually…..

As mentioned already The Sextant is a blend of rums from Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados the exact rums used are

5 Year Old Column Still rum from Trinidad (Angostura or TDL if you prefer)

3 Year Old Pot Still rum from Jamaica (Worthy Park)

5 Year Old Pot/Column blend from Guyana (DDL)

3 Year Old Pot/Column blend from Barbados (Foursquare)

The rums have all been 100% Tropically Aged before being moved to Australia where they are blended. Dead Reckoning Rum The Sextant has been bottled at 49% ABV. In Australia (the only place it is available) it retails at around the $140 mark for a 700ml bottle. Spirits are quite expensive in Australia. Possibly even more so than here in the UK. Despite not being a Single Cask Rum this is limited to just 330 bottles.

Dead Reckoning is a brand which is the brainchild of Spirits Importer Justin Boseley who has spent the past 10 years importing quality spirits into Australia with his La Rumbla Imports business. Finally, Justin decided to create a brand of quality blends in his own right. Sourcing the Caribbean for top quality rums.

So in terms of this rum, I am approaching it very much to be a “Navy Style” type of rum. As far as that definition really goes…..

I think we’ve covered everything so lets see how this one goes down. Up Spirits! as they say…….

First up it is noticeable that whilst this could be considered a “Navy” style rum, it hasn’t been coloured like many released here in the UK. So it doesn’t have the same, almost black colour of the likes of Wood’s and Pusser’s.

It is a dark brown but a more natural aged rum colour. With a slightly orange/yellow hue around the edges. It also looks a touch hazy but that might be my glass………

Nosing Dead Reckoning Rum The Sextant I am immediately getting a bit of “menace” something which I have referred to in Pusser’s reviews in the past. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s kind of something a little bit tarry and musty and it’s got a certain “oomph”. It may not sound like a good thing…….but believe me it is!

Alongside this are some very familiar notes of banana and pineapple. I’m also getting some tea and a touch of fennel. The Guyanese element is present giving us even more fruity notes of raisin and blackcurrant.

The Trinidad and Barbados elements add a nice note of vanilla and give the nose a nice balance.

Sipping, Dead Reckoning The Sextant – I would have placed this as a rum being around 8 years old. The initial entry is full of an array of fruits, English Breakfast tea, toffee and dark chocolate.

Further sipping reveals a slightly tarry element to the rum and a bit more of the Guyanese Pot/Column blend. A touch of aniseed and some fruity/chocolate raisins come into play on the mid palate.

This rum really evolves from the initial entry through to the mid palate. There are a wide variety of notes and a lot of complexity. In addition to the flavours already noted, there is also a nice backbone of vanilla. I’m also getting a nice warming but not overbearing woodiness. There is a nice spicy note as well and a touch of chilli.

The finish is long and again has a lot of complexity going on – it’s oaky and spicy but has a lovely warming vanilla note and again that little bit of tarry “menace” lurking.

This rum is really more in keeping with the Velier Royal Navy Blends or

the recent Black Tot 50th Anniversary Rum. Albeit admittedly it is a little “younger” overall in terms of the profile.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s a vibrant and very tasty blend. It’s very sippable – I think it sits very much towards what an enthusiast might pre

fer. It does work really well with cola but it would be quite a pricy rum and cola. Bit of a waste really.

I’ve really enjoyed this blend. Blends really do seem to be having a bit of renaissance. Certainly the use of more aged stock in these blends is really helping elevate the category.

A really good start for Dead Reckoning Rum. Sadly they do not have distribution in Europe or the UK. They don’t need it either as this rum sold out in 14 days!