Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum

Bythefatrumpirate

Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum Review by the fat rum pirateHattiers Premium Reserve Rum. Blended rum (particularly from multi islands) has been on the decline recently, in terms of new products. I can’t think of all that many multi island blends that have popped up recently. Unfortunately this has been mainly due to the sheer volume of Spiced Rum which is constantly entering the low and mid range of the market. You don’t need any multi island blend for much of that rubbish. Just cheap base spirit from Trinidad.

So its a bit of surprise that hot on the heels of reviewing Thameside Signature Blend I am again reviewing a multi island blend from a UK based bottler. Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum is the brainchild of Phillip Everett-Lyons.

After 18 months of research and development beginning in 2017 Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum finally entered the market in 2019.

Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum is a blend of 8 year old Pot and Column distilled rum from Barbados (Foursquare Distillery) and column distilled rums from Panama aged 6 years, Dominican Republic aged 8 years and Guatemala aged for 4 years. The majority of rum in the blend is the 8 year old Barbados rum. It is then blended with the softest Dartmoor spring water and reduced to 40% ABV before being bottled.

Presentation wise Hattiers comes in the now familiar stubby rounded bottle. The labelling is sleek and modern and the rear label gives information on the rums made up in the blend. A chunky cork stopper tops off the Premium presentation of this rum. It is currently available at The Whisky Exchange for just under £40.

Hattiers Rum is named after Philip’s daughter (who I presume is called Hattie? I’ve never met anyone called Hattiers? Unless it is her married surname). I will be meeting Philip at Rumfest this year so I will clarify!

Hattiers Premium ReHattiers Premium Reserve Rum Review by the fat rum pirateserve rum has won a few awards the most notable being a IWSC Silver. So this shouldn’t be too shabby at all….

In the glass we have a golden to dark brown spirit with an orange hue. Sipped it is quite sweet on the nose. Notes of toffee, caramel, toasted coconut and some slightly perfumed notes. Further nosing reveals some stoned fruits and milk chocolate.

There is sufficient oak and spice to keep things interesting and not let the sweetness overwhelm the nose. It is accessible but not overly sweet and sugary. There are no suspicious artificial notes that you often find when the Dominican Republic makes an appearance.

There is a slight butteriness on the nose – shortbread and some corn flake like notes. All in all its balanced and approachable. It’s not a blow your socks off kind of nose but it isn’t weak or insipid in anyway.

Sipped, it is perhaps one of the easiest sippers I have ever encountered. It is smooth (in relative terms) but has enough spicy and oak to let you know it hasn’t been smoothed out by glycerol or sugar or any other nasties. It has a dryness which is nice, rather than a gloopy mouthfeel.

Sweet notes of caramel and toffee are met with big spicy notes of ginger and allspice on the initial entry. Vanilla and milk chocolate come into the mid palate and a very slight tartness of red wine makes a brief appearance. It’s very much an everyday easy kind of sipper. However, its the kind of rum you would need to start with rather than try and follow after some Cask Strength or “beefier” rums. In terms of profile it is probably just a bit sweeter and slightly less dry than a Foursquare rum. It’s not full on “South American” style but it is certainly a more approachable easy going kind of rum.

It’s nicely put together and has a really nice balance to it. Finish wise it is probably a touch on the short side and a little bit weak but there is at no point anything off or unpleasant about this rum.

Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum Review by the fat rum pirateIt’s a bit pricy for a mixer but it makes a really smooth and tasty rum and cola. Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum is also pretty decent in most cocktails that call for a Latin Style rum or even some Barbados rum. It’s pretty versatile and will add a little finesse rather than a full on assault of punchy flavour.

All in all this is very different to the Thameside Signature Blend. Aimed I would say at a different segment of the market. Often I see Plantation’s 5 Year Old Barbados cited as a good entry to rum. Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum certainly fits the bill for me.

A pleasant surprise. There’s plenty life in these blends yet!

 

Similar Posts

  • Don Papa Rum Aged 10 Years

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Don Papa Rum Aged 10 Years Rum Review by the fat rum pirateDon Papa Rum Aged 10 Years. Alongside Bumbu, Don Papa have become the poster boys for adultered rum masquerading as premium. You could throw a few other rums into the mix, that use additives but Don Papa’s offerings are met with dismay and derision by most serious rum enthusiasts.

    Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the sheer success of the brand. So not content with offering us a 7 Year Old version of their delicious elixir they felt that a further aged version of their wonderous concoction, was just what the rum world needed.

    Presentation wise Don Papa tick all the boxes for the type of Premium rum you will find in department stores such as Harvey Nichols. It is striking and for the average consumer you will see the overall package of this rum and think it is a considerable step up from supermarket offering such as Captain Morgan and Lamb’s. The truth is better rum can easily be found now in UK supermarkets, in the shape of Chairman’s Reserve and Appleton Estate. Amongst others.

    The black and white colour scheme of this rum is offset by and orange labelling on the synthetic cork stopper. A black cork topped cylinder houses the rum. Which comes in a stubby bottle. Don Papa Rum Aged 10 Years has been bottled at 43% ABV. The trusty hydrometer indicates around 16g/L of additives are present. This may seem low but it has been shown in laboratory tests that it also contains glycerin and vanillan. Small amounts are needed to significantly sweeten things up. The hydrometer does not pick up such small amounts of intense flavour.

    Anyone familiar with this site is probably not surprised by my apparent distain for this particular rum. Those of you arriving from a Google Search or visiting for the first time might wonder why I am effectively saying this rum is awful before I even conduct the tasting etc. I usually try not to do this but this brand are one that take the concept of “rum” a step to far. This product is at best a spiced rum and at worst a flavoured neutral spirit.

    It’s popularity is fuelled by a natural human love of sweetness and complete ignorance of what rum actually is. We are sadly still in an age where rum is perceived as sweet as it is produced from sugar.  It is not produced from sugar. It is produced using the by products of sugar production. From the sugar cane. During distillation all the sugar turns to alcohol. Rum is not naturally sweet – at least not to the extent that rums such as Don Papa might lead you to believe.

    This is a rum produced from molasses and aged for 10 years in American oak barrels. Ex-bourbon barrels.

    Don Papa Rum Aged 10 Years Rum Review by the fat rum pirateIn the glass Don Papa Aged 10 Years is a very dark brown. Almost black. It’s a bit of a push to say a 10-year-old rum would be this dark even if it has been aged in Sugarlandia (I am not making that up it’s what they call it).

    The nose is very familiar – huge wafts of raspberry flavoured bubblegum.  Notes of sweet artificial saccharin. Cherry flavoured boiled sweets and a slight hint of some kind of spice trying to break out but its just overpowered by the artificial confected notes.

    It smells like a liqueur – it is ludicrously sweet. It is as far away as a 10-year-old molasses based rum from say Barbados or Jamaica as it is possible. The very idea this can even be labelled as a rum is frankly, a complete embarrassment to the category.

    Sipped you are overwhelmed by a synthetic tart, bitterness. It tastes like a reduced sugar Marmalade. Full of that slightly bitter artificial sweetener like taste.Luckily the huge burst of sugary orange quickly subsides. As does everything else.

    Don Papa Aged 10 Years doesn’t really develop onto anything meaningful. Beyond the sweet/bitter orange on the initial sip you only really experience sweet saccharin notes on the mid palate. There is something which is trying to be oak ageing in there but its just overwhelmed by all the nonsense they have added to this putrid mess.

    An easy comparison – to suggest this is a good rum would be like suggesting Cherry Lambrini is a good wine. No one in the wine community would put up with such nonsense so why the hell does rum put up with bullshit like this? Why will spirit professionals not speak up about this complete and utter insult to rum? Heads in the trough is why. Money, money, money. Wankers.

    Don Papa Rum Aged 10 Years Rum Review by the fat rum pirateFortunately because your taste buds have been assaulted in such a way you probably won’t even notice the finish. It’s very much a blink and you miss it kind of affair. A tiny hint of something sweet and woody – and its gone. All that is left on the palate is artificial bitterness.

    I actually think the No.7 might be better than this. It is as a sipper virtually undrinkable to anyone with a palate. If you are a 12 year old chav with a love for White Lightning and Cinema Pick and Mix then this might be the “rum” for you. However you could buy around 4 litres of Morgan’s Spiced Gold or better still head to Lidl or Aldi for some even cheaper spiced nonsense – for the £50 plus you would pay for this bottled bullshit. For the record I am not advocating any 12 year old’s should be drinking this or any other rum for that matter. My 3-year-old could probably drink this festering gloopy mess it has no alcohol taste to it whatsoever.

    I hate everything about this and the brand. An utter disgrace to rum. A joke in every sense. You will find sadly more favourable reviews online. Here’s a clue they were freebies. Lance over at the Lone Caner was more honest and gave it one of his lowest ever scores. Some of the feelings I have for this have also been expressed by Lance here. The first thing he says is exactly what I thought!

    I hate this so much right now! I was actually given this by someone who had it gifted to them. They couldn’t actually drink this.

    Gateway rum? Gateway to what? It’s certainly not rum that’s for sure.

  • Doorly’s Aged 3 Years Fine Old Barbados Rum

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Doorly's Aged 3 Years Fine Old Barbados Rum review by the fat rum pirateDoorly’s Aged 3 Years Fine Old Barbados Rum. The Doorly’s line up should need no introduction to most of you. I’ve reviewed all of their line up that I have been able to get my hands on. I’ve failed thus far to get the Sweden(?) only 6-year-old.

    In all honesty I thought I had reviewed this long ago. A quick look revealed that I had completed the tasting notes but had never got around to writing and publishing the rest.

    I usually do most of a review all in one go. Don’t go thinking I spend hours and numerous tasting sessions, before writing a review. I do spend time with any rum I review but I’m maybe not quite as “intense” or thorough as some reviewers seem to be. However, weekends spent without an internet connection meant I was able to take samples away and taste them. Alas I could only update my thoughts on paper or using LibreOffice Writer (I’m not paying for MS Word when I hardly use it)

    Doorly’s Aged 3 Years is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums from the Foursquare Distillery,  Barbados. All the rum in the blend is aged for a minimum of 3 years in the tropical Caribbean climate of the island.

    Presentation wise it comes in the stubby Doorly’s bottle which has a bulboDoorly's Aged 3 Years Fine Old Barbados Rum review by the fat rum pirateus neck. This 40% variant, has a screw cap. Foursquare have recently released a 47% ABV Doorly’s Aged 3 Years which, I understand has a plastic cork. I’m not totally sure if both rums will remain in production. You should be able to find the 40% version for a while as there still seems to be plenty stock kicking around. In the UK a 70cl bottle of this white rum should set you back between £20-25. I would advise shopping around as the price can vary quite a lot..

    In the glass Doorly’s Aged 3 Years is almost clear with just a very faint hint of haziness. It is a touch “yellow” ie not entirely clear like Bacardi or more generic white rums you come across.

    The nose is pretty heavy on the vanilla and has a “young” sweet alcohol forward feature which I quite enjoy in younger white rums.  Banana, grape and a some coconut add a nice fruitiness to the mix.  It’s not a remarkable or overly distinctive white rum but it is nicely balanced. It certainly doesn’t seem like a white rum which will “disappear” when mixed.

    Sipped Doorly’s Aged 3 Years is initially quite sweet, with an aftertaste of oak, tobacco and charcoal.  The vanilla is still present but the fruitiness seems to get a little lost to the alcohol.  Which doesn’t displease me.  This is authentic aged white rum.  I dare say in order to get the almost clear white, we may have had to sacrifice a little of the flavour in the original distillate.

    The finish is fairly short and overall the alcohol burn on this rum is pretty minimal.  It’s very smooth and for such a young rum surprisingly easy to sip.  It’s not hugely complex but its pleasant and better than a lot of so called “premium” sippers.

    Mixing Doorly’s 3 with some cola gives a very tasty drink.  The coconut, vanilla and banana notes reappear and balance beautifully.  It’s really very good this way. Ginger Beer overpowers it (as it does most whites) but it works very well in simple cocktails such as a Daiquiri or a Mojito.

    This is a really good white rum at a very competitive price.  Easy to drink, yet complex enough to lift it above most of the competition. Will be interesting to compare this to the newly released 47% ABV version. And of course Veritas which I also have to review soon…..

     

     

  • Holmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Holmes Cay Single CaHolmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateHolmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004. Fiji has been on the “rum radar” recently with Plantation Rum releasing the newest addition to their Signature Blends in the shape of the “Isle of Fiji” which I reviewed earlier this month. It has also been revealed that Plantation have an agreement with South Pacific Distillery (the only active distillery on Fiji) to be the exclusive buyer of their rum.

    Going forward that will mean less Independent bottlings of Fijian rum will appear on the market. Instead the Fijian rum will be produced by South Pacific Distillery, under their own brands and by Plantation, as part of the agreement. No other bottler or producer will be able to access Fijian rum. That said E&A Scheer and the Main Rum Company, here in the UK still have plenty of casks ageing in their warehouses……so it may be a while before we notice any difference.

    One such cask, which has been ageing here in the UK for the past 4 years has now been bottled by Eric Kaye. Eric runs Homes Cay Single Cask Rum. Coming out of New York City, Eric is introducing rare and exciting premium rum to the US. He previously bottled a relatively “safe” bottling a vintage 2005 Foursquare rum to widespread acclaim. It was a fantastic debut!

    For the next Holmes Cay release Eric has decided to push the boundaries and really go a little “out there”. He is releasing a “safer” Port Mourant Guyana, at the same time as this bottling but he is really putting his faith in the juice rather than the name with this particular bottling.

    Fijian rum hasn’t quite got a “name” for itself in the way Jamaican, Barbadian or Guyanese rum has over the past 5-10 years. Aside from Bounty Overproof there is no real “staple” Fijian rum. The attempts by Coca Cola (who own South Pacific Distillery) to market the Ratu brand – hasn’t quite caught peoples attention for one reason or another.

    As far as Independent bottlings of Fijian rum have been concerned, they have been very variable in terms of both quality and profile. In some instances you would be hard pushed to even guess the rum was from the same distillery. Trying to explain the profile of Fijian rum is difficult. It can be anything from a lighter St Lucian style of rum, right upto a Jamaican Overproof style of funk and esters. It’s a distillery which never ceases to surprise and confuse me on my rum journey. Holmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    So what do we have in our glass today? Well, as is the case with most Independent bottlers, Eric at Holmes Cay is very keen to share as much information as possible.

    Holmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 is, as the title tells us a single cask of rum. Which yielded just 240, 75cl bottles. It has been bottled at 58% ABV. 100% Pot Still rum. Aged for 12 years in Fiji and 4 years in the UK, at Main Rum Company, Liverpool. Aged in ex-bourbon barrels. (It was re-casked in Liverpool) It may prove difficult to find this in Europe and the UK but here is a list of current stockists at least for the US.

    I’ll let you know how I came about being able to review this rum at the end. In the meantime lets take a look at the liquid I have in my glass.

    Holmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 is a light golden brown. Certainly not as dark as I might expect of a 16 year old rum, with a high proportion of Tropical Ageing. That said, this is perhaps testament to the fact Holmes Cay have not added anything to this rum. No colours no additives.

    Nosing Holmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 is a much lighter experience than I had expected. For a 100% Pot Still rum this shows a remarkable amount of balance and restraint. I was expecting a lot of funk, brine and booze. Instead I am getting a very well balanced profile.

    Wafts of vanilla ice cream and cream soda are immediate. There is a slightly salty aroma – a touch of sea brine and some green olives. A touch of pine cone. This is all brought together by a layer of toffee and a dusting of icing sugar.

    I’m not sure blind I would guess this was from Fiji. I think I may have thought it was from Worthy Park or even St Lucia Distillers. Maybe a blend of them both?

    Certainly not bad company to be keeping!

    Sipped, this is a very punchy flavourful rum. It has a good hit of brine and some funky Jamaican notes. It also has a really good weight of vanilla, toffee and double cream to keep it all together. Great balance even sipped at 58% ABV.

    The mid palate builds and builds with an array of spices and wonderful aged oak notes. Cinnamon, butterscotch, ginger, white pepper and some smoky notes all put in an appearance.

    The finish is long and lingering with a fantastic array of woody spices and a dry smoky finish which just goes on and on. It has a wonderfully chilli like heat which builds but never dominates or throws it off balance. This is not just one of the best Fijian rums I have tried but also one of the best rums I think I have had…..ever.

    I’ll make a little disclosure but in all honesty, I doubt anyone who tries this rum will be disappointed by it. I wouldn’t have said what I said to Eric upon first trying this if I didn’t think it was as good as it is.Holmes Cay Single CaHolmes Cay Single Cask Rum Fiji 2004 Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    In October last year I met Eric Kaye at London Rumfest. He came out to dinner with our group after spending a large part of the day socialising with us. He had samples of Holmes Cay Barbados and he was keen for me and others to try it. The result was my review in November and I was suitably impressed!

    Following, on from this meeting Eric arranged for Main Rum Company to send me some samples. He was working out what he wanted to buy. For some reason he valued my opinion. Amongst them was this SPFD (South Pacific Fiji Distillery) 2004 sample.

    Upon trying it, I told Eric if he didn’t buy it I would! I really did think straight away it was excellent.

    An absolutely fantastic find.

     

     

     

  • Kill Devil Barbados 9 Year Old

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Kill Devil Barbados 2007 9 year old rum review by the fat rum pirateAnother rum from the Kill Devil Single Cask range.  This time hailing from Barbados.  This bottling is identified as being from the Foursquare Distillery.

    Due to a surge in releases and activity over the past 12-18 months.  We have featured a number of Foursquares releases.  It is likely that their key releases would have been reviewed as a matter of course, even if they weren’t as good as they are.  Had I not enjoyed them as much as I did it is unlikely we would have featured as many Independent bottlings. Please note there are more to come as well.

    Distilled in June 2007 this is a 9 year old rum.  I don’t have a great deal of information on the actual makeup of the rum.  I don’t know if it is a single cask rum, in that it is a blend of rums married together in one cask or if it is truly just a single run from a pot or column still.  I’d guess (before tasting) that it is a blend.

    There is a total of 374 bottles of this available and it retails at under £50.  As is the standard for the Gold and Black labelled Kill Devil rums, it has a very drinkable ABV of 46%.  This rum has not been matured for 9 years in Barbados.  Hunter Laing buy their rums from a broker here in the UK.  I’d guess this rum probably spent around 3-4 years in the tropics.  Again this is just guesswork from past experiences and questions I’ve asked people in the know.

    My first thoughts on this rum is how it will compare to another 9 Year Old Bajan rum – Foursquare’s  owen Port Cask finish.  From what I can gather this has been aged only in a Bourbon cask.  It may be more in keeping with Doorly’s 5 or 8 neither of which have a port or sherry type finish.

    In the glass the rum is a straw to golden brown colour.  I don’t think that caramel colouring has been added to this rum.  It is quite light for a 9 year old rum.

    Kill Devil Barbados 9 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateThe nose on the rum has nice balance to it – as I expected.  The usual notes of vanilla and sweet/sour mash bourbon like oaky notes.  What is a surprise is the strong smell of varnish – which really does make the nose tingle a little.  I quite like the extra bit of oomph it seems to deliver to the nosing experience.

    Sipping this 9 Year Old Bajan is also a bit of a surprise.  I don’t think its entirely down to the extra ABV but it does seem to be a bit more menacing than a lot of Bajan rums. 

    It is very spicy.  Even if it wasn’t tropically aged for long it has definitely taken on quite a lot of the oak from the barrel.  You get a lot of spice and quite a lot of heat.  I wouldn’t say it was a particularly young or immature rum but it is a lot spicer than similarly aged Foursquare’s I have tried.  Could it be all or mostly Pot Still rum?

    It has a nice spicy heat to it – Black Pepper and perhaps even a little Chilli.  A little savoury and very woody.  I’m noticing more savoury aspects of European aged bottlings lately.  Whilst tropical ageing accelerates maturity, European ageing also brings its own distinctive character to many rums.

    In the bigger picture of Foursquare rums both commercial and independent offerings this isn’t quite up with the elite bottlings.  It is interesting though and will offer you more of a variety in flavour than you perhaps would get from, say the progression from Doorly’s 5 to the 8 Year Old.

    Balance wise it is arguably just a bit to oaky and a touch to spicy.  Maybe another couple of years would have seen it mature better?  Or maybe it was left too long to start with?

    It reminds me of Captain Bligh’s XO but I don’t think it is as good.  I’m giving it the lowest score I’ve ever given a Foursquare rum.  It is the “worst” of their rums I have had.

    In the overall scheme of things its still far from being a bad rum though.  It’s good/very good just perhaps a little below the usual high standards set.

    3.5 stars

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Berry’s St Lucia Rum Aged 11 Years

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Berrys St Lucia Rum Review by the fat rum pirateBerry’s Bros & Rudd (BBR for short) is London’s oldest and one of its most respected wine and spirits merchants.  They have traded from the same shop in St James Street since 1698.

    They hold two warrants to supply wines and spirits to the Prince of Wales and the Queen!  So if I don’t give this bottle of rum a good review I might end up in the tower….

    I was fortunate enough to come across a selection of Berry’s rums in own local Wine and Spirit Merchant (Rehills in Jesmond – no royal warrants but they do supply me on a regular basis).  Amongst the selection was this 11 Year Old St Lucia Rum.

    As many of you will know I’m very fond of St Lucian rum, in particular Chairman’s Reserve.  Having been very slightly disappointed in the 1931 offerings and the Forgotten Casks edition of Chairman’s Reserve I jumped at the chance to try a pot still aged St Lucia rum.  Which is what this bottle has afforded me.

    I picked this bottle up for just over £42 which compares favourably with online prices.  The rum comes in the very elegant and very tall traditional BBR spirit bottle. It has a clear glass bottom which adds a touch of class and it has a good weight to it.  The labelling is clear and uncluttered and gives some information on the rum in the bottle though not enough for the likes of me!  It’s all very elegant.  The rum is bottled at 46% ABV. I like the tasting notes on the bottle its nice to know this rum has been tried and tested!

    The rum is a nice golden to red colour suggesting maybe a little of added caramel for colour only.  I suspect it has only been lightly chill filtered.  The nose is immediately reminiscent of the 1931 series of rums.  St Lucia Distillers pot still rums have a very distinctive nose.  A kind of halfway house between Jamaican rum and Scotch Whisky initially.  Given time in the glass the rum begins to show its sweeter side despite its slightly medicinal almost herbal notes.  It is very clean and almost refreshing – perhaps a touch of pine? The sweeter notes are  Banana and Toffee perhaps a little green apple.Berrys St Lucia Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    What I found with the 1931 series was that all the rums were just a little bit too busy for their own good.  The numerous rums in the blend and the different types of casks used to age before the final maturation, made the 1931’s at times a little unwieldy.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a complex sipper but it needs balance.  Which is what you get with this rum.

    If this is a rum blended from many casks I will be surprised. It is very well balanced.  Very crisp and clean.  It tastes exactly how it appears. Elegant and not too showy.

    When sipped it has a very herbal and slightly medicinal note to it.  The label notes it as invigorating.  I would liken the taste to trying to eat immediately after brushing your teeth or eating chewing gum.  You can taste the flavours but they are masked by an almost minty, refreshing note.

    There are also notes of almost Jamaican pot still rum and dare I say it Scotch Whisky.  Despite its ABV the rum exhibits very little burn even on the finish.  It is spicy but not at all rough.  It’s a dry rum which you could compare to R L Seale’s 10 Year Old.

    The finish is very long lasting and spicy with nice oak notes finally coming into the mix.

    It is a rum which benefits from a second glass. I find that the sweeter notes shine a little more.  They don’t dominate the profile but light honey and a little vanilla do start to show themselves.

    Berrys St Lucia Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    This is very much a sipping rum.  Those who enjoy a drier less fruity experience will particularly enjoy this rum.

    I did however decide to mix this rum with some cola.  Really it was just to see how it faired next one of my favourite mixer’s Chairman’s Reserve.  I found that the extra sophistication this rum has meant that really it was a little wasted as a mixer.  Whilst it made a smoother and equally flavourful rum and cola I felt that it lacked the extra little oak and oomph that Chairman’s gives a rum and cola.  Plus I was paying twice as much for the drink!

    This rum doesn’t quite hit the highest mark on the score front but I have enjoyed it slightly more than the 1931’s overall.  I would say it is pretty much on a par with the 2nd 1931.

    It delivers a very different experience to Admiral Rodney, which is another rum from St Lucia Distillers but is entirely column distilled.  I found the Admiral Rodney to be sweeter, much less dry and very easy to drink.  This is more challenging but well worth the effort.  A real grower.

    4 stars

     

     

  • Kill Devil Guyana Aged 12 Years

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Kill Devil Guyana 12 Year Old Rum Review by the Fat Rum PirateKill Devil Guyana Aged 12 Years.  Kill Devil are a range of rums bottled by Whisky bottler Hunter-Laing.  I’ve covered them quite extensively on the site so far.

    They are now bottling rums at Cask Strength.  The Kill Devil range now have rums with Red labels like these – to demonstrate Cask Strength.  Everything else presentation wise is exactly as before.

    I really like the presentation of the Kill Devil rums especially the dark 3/4 bottle.  Kill Devil – much like Mezan tend to identify their rums by the Island/Country of origin.

    This Guyana rum was bottled at 62.7% ABV housed in a 70cl bottle.  I recollect paying around £70 for this bottle.  It was distilled in July 2004 and is a product of the Diamond Distillery – Pot Still.  So its a single cask rum from the famous Port Mourant still.  I do not have information on the cask marque used or when it was bottled. It is one of 284 bottles.

    I’ve had a few Port Mourant single cask rums aged in Europe recently.  I have found them to be very different to those bottled by Velier.  Much lighter and more “whisky” like.

    In the glass the rum is a light gold/straw colour.  I would guess that it hasn’t been coloured.  It does appear to have been lightly filtered though.  No sugar or other additives have been added.

    At such a high ABV the nose is very strong.  However the alcohol notes are not too severe or overwhelming.  I am still able to pick out some notes.  Initially it reminds me of the Mezan Guyana only revved up a bit more.  Which is pretty much what it is!

    It’s another what I would call clean almost clinical smelling rums.  It has a very crisp menthol and anise note which dominates.  There are also notes of mint and tree sap. There is quite a lot of spicy oak on the nose as well – which gives the rum an almost savoury whisky like note.

    How the rum has been aged or rather what barrel it was aged in I do not know.  I think its either well used Bourbon or ex-Scotch Whisky barrels.  There isn’t a lot of vanilla or sweet chocolate of fruity notes.  Any sweetness is a licorice/aniseed note.

    Sipped at full strength this is a very intense, spicy and dry rum.  Flavour initially tingles on the tongue – big hits of salted licorice and really drying oak spice.  The finish is reasonably decent but not very long lasting.  You have to take very small sips at this ABV so I do feel I’m missing out a little.

    Water really is your friend with this rum unless you really do have a preference for such high ABV rum.I’d recommend a fair few drops as well.  This for me brings out more flavour.  I can enjoy it more by sipping larger amounts and getting more of my taste buds involved.

    It’s undoubtablyKill Devil Guyana 12 Year Old Rum Review by the Fat Rum Pirate a Port Mourant rum – the licorice and aniseed dominate throughout the sipping experience.  Running alongside the licorice the interaction with whatever oak it has been aged in also shines.  As mentioned already its dry and very spicy.  Very clean tasting with a very definite whisky “sharpness” in the finish.

    This is very similar to the Mezan Guyana.  The extra ABV (even when I dilute the rum its still only to around 46%) does make a difference though.

    This is very unlike tropically aged Demerara from Velier.  It is even further away from the El Dorado range from DDL themselves.

    All in all a honestly made, well aged (I’d probably have preferred Tropical ageing) rum from an iconic still.  It isn’t my personal all time favourite Demerara but its pleasant enough.

One Comment

  1. Picked this one off the shelf at the whiskey exchange, and noted it had rums from countries that I enjoy with a healthy bit of ageing, so decided to take a gamble. What a lovely drop, I don’t like mixers, so I drank it neat or sometimes with a splash of water. was very easy to drink and didn’t last long!

    Also loved the Cane Islands Belize, and Guadeloupe (molasses) rums.

Comments are closed.