Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros

Bythefatrumpirate July 29, 2021July 29, 2021

Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros. Independent Whisky Bottlers have a long tradition of putting out some rather decent rum over the years. In fact quite a few of the most respected “Independent Bottlers” of rum are primarily Whisky bottlers.

Names such as Silver Seal, Cadenhead’s and Duncan Taylor are well known and well established. However, over the past few years as more Whisky enthusiasts are beginning to discover rum – more and more “Whisky” bottlers are turning to rum.

Now Thompson Bros have only been around since 2016, but over the past couple of years have shown a really good eye for single cask rums, in particular they seem to really enjoy and appreciate the funky style of rum that comes from Jamaica and the heavy style adopted by the now defunct Caroni Distillery, Trinidad.

Now both styles of rum are extremely popular in Rum Enthusiasts circles. However, over the past few years a particular style.marque of Jamaican Rum has become even more popular.

As bottlers such as Velier began giving more and more information on bottles “Rum Geeks” began asking more and more questions. Leading to more and more information being made available. Whilst it was known that Jamaican Rum producers such as Hampden and National Rums of Jamaica had different Rum Marques it wasn’t always made clear which marque was being bottled. It also wasn’t common knowledge how many “esters” were present in a bottle of rum.

Now I’m no Chemist or any kind of Science Geek. I know esters give certain flavours and intensity to alcohol. They supply the funk if you like………..if you want a more scientific explanation of what esters do then I’d read this piece here provided by Rum Auctioneer. It will explain things far better than I ever could! Trust me.

So what relevance is “high ester rum” in the context of this review? Well this particular JHK (Jamaican Hampden Kelly-Lawson?) is actually a DOK marque. Which stands for Dermot Owen Kelly-Lawson. Who was an owner of Hampden Estate in the 1800’s.

Now for those unfamiliar with the DOK marque it is Hampden Estates highest ester count rum. With rums produced with this marque clock in at around 1500-1600 esters gr/hlAA. It’s as “funky” as rum gets.

Now there has been a bit of a debate about the use of these rums and what they were originally intended for. Some will contend they are not really for drinking. This is backed up by their use in perfume and confectionary products. They have also been used as a flavour in alcohol such as Rum Verschnitt – a mix of neutral alcohol and often high ester rum. Designed to re-create Jamaican rum on the cheap…………However a lot of rum enthusiasts get very excited about these rums. Seeking out higher esters and higher proof bottlings………

Now Thompson Bros have introducted a “ballot” system for a quite a few of their whisky bottlings and limits on how many bottles per person etc. With this rum release they initially opened it as a ballot. I do not think the ballot was for the full outturn of bottles and some may reach retailers soon. Don’t quote me on that though.

Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros is a 12 year old rum which was distilled in 2009 and bottled in 2021. It has been released at Cask Strength of 62.1% ABV. From a Single Cask which yielded 322 70cl bottles. it is non-chill filtered and has no colouring or any other additives. It was priced at £58.33 excluding VAT – so £68.54 by the time you add the VAT. So just under £70 for a Cask Strength bottling of DOK. This is 100% Pot Still rum. It has been aged in an ex-bourbon cask.

Although this isn’t noted as one of Thompson Bros collaborations with Bar Tre the artwork has been provided by their employee Yu Kurahashi

In the glass Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros has clearly not been messed around with as per the information on the website. It is light in colour of a 12 year old rum suggesting Continental ageing. It is straw/white wine colour.

The nose is very fruity – strong almost fermented Pineapple Juice, Passion Fruit, Guava and some black banana. It’s not as gluey or as solvent heavy as some Jamaican rums but it still has a good hit of creosote and nail varnish.

Notes of vanilla and some oaky spice and a touch of Scotch Whisky also come through. It’s got a touch of smoke and some light herbal notes.

This rum is as funky as you will find but it has a really nice balance to it. It’s not over the top to the point where things get out of hand. Everything gels nicely.

Sipped at full strength it is very funky,, slightly astringent and has a lip smacking tartness on the initial couple of sips.

It will take your palate time to adjust to this rum so don’t judge it by the first few sips or glass.

Gooseberries and tart Pineapple notes hit you initially. This is folowed up by some sweeter vanilla notes, some apricot jam and some marmalade.

The mid palate reveals a more savoury whisky like complexity. The vanilla and oak spice begin to integrate more. The nail varnish and creosote that was apparent on this nose make an appearance at this stage before moving onto the finish.

To be honest the finish is where I find DOK marque rums to be a little bit of a let down in some ways. The DOK marque gets a lot drier towards the finish than other Jamaican rums. As a result whilst you still get a fairly good fade of the flavours from the mid palate it doesn’t seem to evolve – it all just kind of dries up leaving behind a tart after taste which I am not all that fond of. It’s really quite a sour end which isn’t my favourite type of finish for a rum.

Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros is the type of rum you will need to be in the mood for. It’s not something you will drink a lot of in one sitting. It is pretty intense stuff and can leave anything you drink afterwards seeming quite tame in comparison.

If you are looking for high ester funky Jamaican rum then this is a good choice. It’s keenly priced and (hopefully) a couple of retailers will get a few bottles.

Don Q Anejo

Don Q Anejo
Bythefatrumpirate April 9, 2016

Don Q Anejo is one of the two more “premium” rums available in the UK from Puerto Rican producers Serralles. The Don Q brand has recently been re-vamped and they are actively trying to get a foothold in the UK market, which is currently dominated by another Puerto Rican concern – Bacardi and brands from Diageo such as Captain Morgan.

I won’t go too much into detail about the Don Q Brand as their own website will give you all the information you should need and I also gave some details in a previous review of the Don Q Gold.

When reviewing rums I always like to try brands full portfolios. It can be very interesting trying full portfolios and it has taught me not to judge brands solely on one expression. My best example of doing this so far is ignoring offerings from Mount Gay after not enjoying their Gold Eclipse rum. The difference between the Eclipse and the XO is night and day. In instances such as Appleton Estate you get a nice and clear increase in quality with each rum in their line up right up the line but this is not always the case.

If Don Q are to succeed in making inroads in the UK market then for me they need firstly to establish themselves as a popular and recognisable brand in pubs and clubs. Their entry level bottles – the Gold and Cristal are both very bartender friendly, as is this bottle.

Retailing at around £27-30 for a 70cl bottle Don Q Anejo is a blend of rums aged between 3 and 8 years. It is bottled at 40% ABV and as already mentioned, it comes in the same style bottle as the Gold and Cristal. The colour scheme is different being black and gold.

The Don Q Anejo is an obvious step up agewise from the Gold, which was a blend of rums aged between 2 to 5 years.

As well as the difference in colour scheme there is a different colour to the rum in the bottle and glass as well. It is noticeably darker and as the name would suggest it does look more aged. It is noted on the bottle that some E150 (Caramel Colouring) has been added. This is common practice amongst nearly all “commercial” bottlers and quite a lot of Independents as well (often they have no control as caramel can be added pre-distillation). Judging a rum on its colour is a dangerous practice.

The nose is more oaked than the gold. There is much less of the sweeter young alcohol notes and more woody and leathery notes. It has a nice almost Bajan like lightness and balance. Vanilla, hints of cocoa and dark chocolate. It smells re-assuring as rum should. Once again it comes up clean on the hydrometer test and there really is nothing at all in the mix which raises any suspicions of any additives or funny business. The Serralles family seem happy to make rum in the traditional manner.

Sipping the rum is another lesson in balance. Initially you get a sweet fruity entry which gives way to some very nice oak aged notes. Bourbon casks no doubt are where this rum has been aged. The mid palate of oak and spice is nice with some notes of vanilla and a slight bitter note. The finish is long and spicy but it doesn’t burn at all. It’s highly sippable and reminds me very much of Captain Bligh XO.

Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to the Don Q Anejo (and to be honest the other rums in their range) is what they remind me most of. Bajan rum and in particular the beautifully balanced, clean pure rums that come from Richard Seale’s Foursquare distillery. I’m thinking Rum Sixty Six and Doorly’s 5 in particular.

At £30 Don Q Anejo comes at my upper limit for what I would consider mixing – anything I pay over £35 I shouldn’t really have to mix. At £30 I don’t mind using the Don Q Anejo in an occasional Cuba Libre or a Rum and Ginger Beer. The balanced, slightly easy going nature of this rum means that it works very well in a Cuba Libre. It is a noticeable step up from the Gold.

It has added complexity when compard to the gold and it sits very nicely as a very versatile sipper and premium mixer. It is a rum which is clearly made with a flavour profile in mind rather than worrying itself too much about a definitive age statement. As with other blended rums which are released year on year the exact age/ratio of the blend can change over time to keep the taste as similar as possible.

Impressive stuff and to be honest until Don Q made a few noises on Social Media (I like it when brand owners get involved and make clear statements on their rums authenticity) it was a brand I would have overlooked. Which would have been a big mistake

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Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL
Bythefatrumpirate August 31, 2018December 29, 2018

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL. Jamaica Pure Single Rum from the Worthy Park Estate. Although Velier are an Independent bottler and importer many of the Habitation Velier releases are collaborations between Velier and the producers.

Rather, than the more traditional Independent bottling model, whereby the bottler either buys direct from the distillery or sources from a broker, Habitation Velier release the rums in conjunction with the distillery, as a joint venture.

Which is one of the reasons why Habitation Velier are now using the Worthy Park name, rather than using the still names or the WP abbreviation. Luca Gargano is very keen to push his “Gargano Classification” and over the past few years he has began working more closely with other distilleries sharing the same vision. Other Independent bottlers have been asked not to use the Worthy Park name on their bottlings. This is because Worthy Park are trying to promote their own releases such as the Special Reserve. The Caribbean producers are increasingly looking to release their own premium efforts, rather than sell bulk rum to brokers.

Worthy Park have been gaining a reputation for producing classic yet very distinctive Jamaican rums over the past few years. I am pleased to say that this website has been championing the rum from Worthy Park long before most people were aware of the wonderful rums coming from the Lludias Vale.

This 10 year old rum is a result of the third distillation since the distillery was re-opened in 2005. It is an 100% Pot Distilled Rum aged in ex-bourbon casks. Distillation took place in 2007 and it was bottled in late 2017. The WPL marque stands for Worthy Park Light, as it is a relatively low ester rum.

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL has been bottled at 59% ABV – Cask Strength. The rum was distilled on the Forsyths Double Retort Pot Still. I paid around £110 for the flask like 70cl bottle. It has an Angel’s Share of 64% I do wish those Angel’s would leave more rum for us mortals so it wouldn’t be so expensive!

The rum comes in the now traditional Habitation Velier flat flask like bottle. You get a nice card sleeve to house the rum and more than enough information on the actual rum in the bottle. No fairy tales just facts. Worthy Park seem to have been given an Orange and Gold colour scheme for their releases.

As with a lot of Authentic Rum Producers that do not involve additives and bullshit age statements you will struggle to find a “bad” Worthy Park rum. The worst I have encountered is one that fell into the hands of Bacardi and was dosed. Which took away a lot of the character.

I was actually looking for the 2006 release when I discovered this had been released. So I opted for the newer kid on the block. Lets see if that was a good choice.

In the glass Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL is a rich dark/golden brown with orange edges.

The nose is easily recognisable as Worthy Park. Lots of Banana, Pineapple and hints of Coconut. The breakfast tea notes are dialled back a bit with this one but they can still be found.

Further nosing reveals a lovely balance of toffee, milk chocolate and caramel. Notes of Almond and Cashew nut mingle alongside a very rich caramel heavy hit of sweet alcohol and a burst of spicy barrel notes – cinnamon, ginger and as you delve deeper you discover a bit more of the breakfast tea notes.

It’s rich, warm inviting and very rummy.

Sipped at the full ABV it is full of flavour – very spicy with lots of lemon and orange zest. There is a really nice weight of oak and bourbon sour/mash spices. Married alongside chocolate covered bananas and Banoffee Pie on the entry.

On the mid palate you get more of the breakfast tea, coconut and some slightly bitter cocoa. It’s a very complex sipper with a lot going on.

Finish wise it is long, spicy and very warming. This is a very intense and very rich tasting rum. It has a really nice long oaky finish to it with notes of coconut, ginger, allspice and a hint of cinnamon. As it fades you get a nice hit of pineapple, cocoa and some dark chocolate makes an appearance.

All through the rum from nose to finish you get some funky, fruity Jamaican rum but the Worthy Park style also exhibits richer notes of chocolate, cocoa and breakfast tea. Which makes it a different take on Jamaican rum from the likes of Long Pond and Hampden.

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007 WPL is a richer, more chocolately take on Worthy Park. It is not quite as fruity or funky/grassy as some of the releases but it’s unmistakably a Worthy Park rum.

As with the Foursquare releases of late we are dealing in very small margins in terms of quality. Miniscule or almost non-existent. We are now getting into the nitty-gritty of small nuances in the rum, which you may enjoy more than other releases.

There is something in this rum that appeals to me, ever so slightly more than the other Worthy Park releases I have tried. All of which were excellent I must say.

This however is my favourite Worthy Park to date and it is one of the best rums I have tried this year. Scratch that one of the best rums I have ever tried.

You need to buy this. Treat yourself.

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24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Box
Bythefatrumpirate October 15, 2019October 15, 2019

24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Box. Warning! This article contains spoilers. If you have bought this calendar and do not wish to know any of the contents. Stop reading now!

I would imagine the young child I once was would have given someone a very strange look had they suggested they would one day be writing about a Rum Advent Calendar.

Indeed, I remember first seeing the 24 Days of Rum and the Rum Advent Calendar from Master of Malt and thinking “Is that for real?” Well indeed they are. Very real in fact. 24 Days of rum comes from our Danish friends at 1423.dk

For those who are a little slow on the uptake – 24 Days of Rum is a Rum Advent Calendar. It is intended to be used during December on the run up to Christmas Day. That said there is nothing stopping you using it any other month………

As a child, I was always hopeful of getting a more upmarket Advent Calendar. You know one with real chocolate in it. Something like Thornton’s or even Cadbury’s. Alas invariably, I would be presented with a Transformers or Star Wars calendar (both of whom I had little interest in) from Kinnerton. Yes that’s right Kinnerton. Purveyors of the most repulsive synthetic chocolate you could ever imagine. Heck, I bet if I had left my calendars from the 80’s untouched the “chocolate” would still be as edible as it was back then. The most disturbing thing about Kinnerton advent calendars, is that they were a £1 back in the 80’s and they are still a £1 now………..

Anyway, it maybe in part to be deprived childhood but the thought of having an Advent Calendar full of rum seems very exciting…….

24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Box comes in, well a black cardboard box. Presentation wise it keeps up with the 1423.dk S.B.S and Companero vibe. Thankfully isn’t all Red, White and Green and tacky. It’s quite minimalist with its black and grey colour scheme. Nicely done.

In the UK it retails at £79.99. Which you may notice is significantly cheaper than other Rum Advent Calendars. As well as the rum you also receive 2 drinking glasses and a little brochure each to write your notes about each rum.

The small drinking glasses are actually quite nifty and handy. They are a bit of a bonus. I didn’t realise you got them with this calendar. In terms of opening everything, it works pretty much like every other advent calendar. Perforated card with a handy little opener for each window. It’s very solid and works very nicely.

At this stage I will point out the good and the bad about the rum in this box. Firstly, the individual bottles are 2cl or in more familiar “British” terms 20ml. So they just below a standard “shot” measure, here in the UK. I’ve got to say the idea of sharing such a small amount of rum does seem a touch optimistic. Maybe you’d need to buy a calendar each?

I’ve griped before about the small measures in these advent calendars. However, I appreciate the cost of creating miniatures. Try and assemble 24 miniature rums from Master of Malt for £80. You’ll struggle for sure.

As well as being 24 Days of Rum you also get rum from 24 different countries/islands. Now, this is the part that really got me interested. As a reviewer and someone who just likes trying new things, I have looked at a number of bottles over the last few years and thought – I’d like to try that.

Often though I have baulked at the price of a full bottle. I’ve then ended up frustrated at not being able to buy a little tester. This gives you the option to try satisfy some long running curiosity.

It also takes the choice out of your hands. Great if you are similar to me and just like trying new things. Even if you know some you might not be too keen on. This box is absolutely ideal. We have rums from Nepal, Phillipines, Indonesia, alongside more familiar favourites such as Guyana, Barbados and St Lucia. It truly is a completely random selection of rum.

I noticed last years box seemed to have a fair few spiced and flavoured rums in the line up. This year we have 24 “straight” (I dare say one or two might have some special sauce in there somewhere) rums. In the photos, I have shared a few of the rums available in the box but I don’t want to entirely spoil everyone’s fun so I won’t give the full “tracklisting”.

Quite a few of these rums I have barely heard of. Some are are rarely available in the UK. So it has certainly been a very good investment from my point of view. I’ll get quite a few reviews out of this box. There are are only around 5 rums I have actually tried in this box. There are some real surprises and some genuine oddities.

I’m not going to review this box as such in terms of giving it a score. I haven’t tried all the rums yet. I need to be a good boy for Santa so no opening until Advent begins! As a package I think at the price, its pretty hard to beat.

Attention to detail on the miniatures should also be commended as 1423.dk have shrank and re-created the original labels onto the bottles. This is a really nice touch and particularly useful when trying to track down information on some of the rums in this box.

If you are willing to go a little outside the box and are looking to try some new rum then this is will be great fun. Sure you aren’t going to like everything in this box but I’m pretty sure you’ll find a couple of gems you hadn’t previously even heard of.

Should you wish to buy 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Box you can find it in the following retailers.

Amazon, Master of Malt, Drink Supermarket and The Whisky Exchange. It will also be available at various European retailers.

Give it a whirl you might find a few new favourites!

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Kill Devil Jamaica Hampden Distillery Aged 16 Years - The Whisky Barrel Exclusive

Kill Devil Jamaica Hampden Distillery Aged 16 Years – The Whisky Barrel Exclusive
Bythefatrumpirate November 5, 2018

Kill Devil Jamaica Hampden Distillery Aged 16 Years – The Whisky Barrel Exclusive. The world of Scotch Whisky seems to have partly fallen in love with Jamaican rum. Some whisky commentators still find them a little “too much”. In particular bottlings from the Hampden Distillery, Trelawny seem to really split opinion.

With all the enthusiasm surrounding the release by Hampden of their first aged rums, Hampden is flying high in the rum world at the moment. This has left independent bottlers such as Hunter Laing – who own the Kill Devil brand with an ideal opportunity to release their continentally aged Hampden bottlings. Which is great for those in the rum world who really enjoy what the distillery has to offer.

This latest offering from Kill Devil in partnership with The Whisky Barrel is a 16 year old Hampden rum from 2001. Marius over at Single Cask Rum has compiled a list of marques sold by the distillery over some of the years from 1990 to 2011. As his list notes this is the Hampden Diamond marque of rum. This is quite a high ester rum coming in at between 900/1000 g/hlaa.

I recently reviewed the Velier 70th Anniversary release of the Hampden Diamond whilst it wasn’t my favourite Hampden ever, I still got plenty enjoyment out of it. It is likely that if I dig around in the archives that I have also reviewed other 2001 Hampden Diamond vintages. Please note do not confuse the Hampden Diamond marque of rum with anything to do with the Diamond Distillery in Guyana.

The rum is housed in the now familiar opaque Kill Devil bottle with their standard labelling. Information is always good on these Kill Devil releases and we are told the following.

Kill Devil Jamaica Hampden Distillery Aged 16 Years distilled in October 2001 and bottled (I assume) sometime in 2018. The ABV is a meaty 61.2%. It retails at £93.16 for a 70cl bottle of which 156 were drawn from the single cask. It has been aged entirely in Europe to my knowledge.

I have had the UK Rumfest and a weeks holiday to contend with before completing this review. Fortunately there are still bottles of this available – I’m never overly keen on reviewing bottles which are extremely limited and totally sold out (though admittedly I still do). You may have to move quickly to secure one though. Here is a link which should help with that.

I think I’ve exhausted all my knowledge of this particular bottling, so we may as well see how this bottling ranks in the Jamaican rum stakes…….

In the glass the rum is a golden to light brown colour.

On the nose I’m in familiar gluey Hampden territory. Toothpaste and creosote mingle nicely alongside some Pritt Stick and some nice woody varnish.

The Pineapple juice is dialled back a bit with this one but you can still nose some very woody (?) Pineapple. A touch of stewed black tea lurks in the background. Banana has went walkabout but you still get a little hint of some banana peel.

Sipped at the full ABV this is surprisingly accommodating. A lot of bitter oak and sweaty socks appear on the initial sip. Alongside an almost tobacco/roasted pineapple juice taste. Fermenting apples and some cider vinegar.

It’s certainly an interesting rum if you really enjoy exploring the funkier side of Hampden. This isn’t DOK levels of esters, so its not as dry or as unforgiving as those particular expressions. For me Diamond H is probably about my limit in terms of actual enjoyment of the rum, as a true sipping experience. Beyond that point we are into bat shit mental stakes of experimentation. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy a small glass or two of something like DOK but I wouldn’t come home from work and fancy sipping on a glass to wind down with…….not unless I had a very shitty day.

The mid palate is pretty oaky with a lot of woody notes. I wouldn’t say they were tired but they lack the vibrancy perhaps of some younger ex-bourbon casks. I don’t know what this rum was aged in but I get the feeling the barrels were reasonably well used. It tastes just a touch over oaked.

Which might kill a lot of rums off but Hampden comes out fighting. Such is the depth of flavour in this rum it can withstand almost anything. If ever an argument needs to be formed to back up Continental European Ageing, Hampden Rum would be your defence.

So despite the slightly over oaked notes you can still get a lot of flavour from this rum. The finish at full ABV is a very zesty and punchy but perhaps a touch short and dry.

I found that a drop or two of water really made this rum come alive. Which is useful as it means your bottle may last a little longer. Using the Hydrometer I brought this down to 50% ABV.

This definitely brings out the more fruity elements of this rum – suddenly the Pineapple is well more Pineapply, the banana comes back and adds a nice hit of sweet green banana. The oaked notes are still there but dialled back a little to add a little more balance. Overall the flavour profile is better integrated – the finish whilst not necessarily longer is less harsh and drying on the palate. You taste more of the fruity notes throughout.

This is a complex rum and one which definitely benefits from a drop or two of water. In my opinion all Cask Strength rum should at least be tried at a lower ABV. Some people over estimate how good their palate is and a hit on the heat can often give a much nicer glass of rum.

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Bounty St Lucia Rum

Bounty St Lucia Rum
Bythefatrumpirate October 25, 2017

Bounty Rum is something of a staple rum in its homeland the island of Saint Lucia. Finding a bottle of this rum become something of an obsession for the completist in me. I’ve always had a soft spot for Saint Lucia Distilers (SLD) and I’ve wanted to try this rum for a long time.

Finally I found a bottle at Drinks Supermarket here in the UK. Complete with HMRC customs stamp on the actual label. Suggesting that this was at one point distributed in the UK. Indeed it was imported by the current SLD Importer Emporia Brands. Quite how old this bottle is I’m not sure. I suspect it is stock that Drinks Supermarket stumbled across in their warehouse after forgetting they had the odd bottle.

I paid the princely sum of £19.99 for this 70cl bottle. Domestically it is very much SLD’s entry level rum but welcomingly it is bottled at a respectable 40% ABV. Presentation wise it is very different to most of the SLD range. A conventional bar style bottle is topped off with a slightly oversized metal cap (like Barbancourt’s). The gold, yellow, red and black colour scheme and the picture of Saint Lucia serve their purpose but its far from innovative.

Bounty Rum’s taglines are “The Spriit of St. Lucia” and “Our Island Our Bounty”. Which might explain why it is so hard to find outside of the island. It should be noted that this is a very different Bounty Rum to the one produced and sold in Fiji.

I spoke with Michael Speakman who works at SLD for some more information. Michael noted that Bounty rum is 100% column distilled rum aged 2 to 3 years. They are currently overhauling Bounty. A white, dark, gold and spiced are planned to be exported to the US and Europe from 2018. Bounty Rum will become SLD “entry level” range.

In the glass Bounty Rum is a gold/straw colour. The colour looks quite honest – maybe just a touch of colouring.

The nose is light and floral. It reminds me a little of VAT19 from Trinidad only not quite as sweet. It’s easy going with a lot of coconut in the mix. Reminiscent of Chairman’s Reserve White Label. Which is no bad thing.

It’s not hugely complex – there is a touch of spiciness, the tiniest hint of oak but its mainly vanilla,coconut and orgeat than I am getting on the nose. It’s definitely more easy going mixer than sipping rum.

Having said that sipping Bounty Rum is not an unpleasant experience. It’s quite nicely aged for such a young rum and has enough flavour to merit a glass or two on its own. It’s perhaps a bit too spicy and young but I’ve paid a lot more for a lot worse in the past!

Mixed Bounty Rum really comes alive. It gives a nice fruity kick to most mixers and is surprisingly smooth. It really mellows out cola and gives you a really nice long drink. The coconut notes and the vanilla are quite prominent but it stays clearly on the side of “pure” rum rather than Old J or Sailor Jerry levels of sweet.

This isn’t a particularly complex or challenging rum. It’s light and sweet. Although it doesn’t have a huge amount of different flavours what it does deliver is well defined and very tasty. It’s certainly worth every penny of the £19.99 I paid for it.

This is quite a different rum to Chairman’s Reserve which is the most obvious rum to compare Bounty to. Both hailing from the same island and same distillery. The price of Chairman’s Reserve is also around £20. Chairman’s is a more complex, more interesting rum but both perform really well as a mixer. If Bounty wishes to establish itself then it will probably need to price itself near the £15 mark here in the UK. Bit like Appleton Special and Appleton Signature Reserve. Though I would say there is a more a difference in terms of profile between Bounty and Chairman’s Reserve. No surprise as Bounty is all column distillate and Chairman’s is a blend of Pot and Column.

This is certainly up there with other “entry level” rums from the likes of Appleton and Foursquare. It really is very decent stuff. I’m looking forward to the new re-vamped Bounty range. Providing the UK gets it that is!

I hope I don’t have to wait five years to try it like I have with this.

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Premium Rum The Impossible Task? – Part Two
Bythefatrumpirate November 9, 2016November 10, 2016

In the first part of this series we touched upon how rums are labelled. I used an example to show how confusing it can be to determine a Premium rum.

Marketing and packaging play a huge role in what the end consumer buys. No matter who you are, you will encounter and be influenced by marketing at some stage. Even if you think you aren’t.

It is fair to say that some Rum Producers are absolute masters at the art. With big brand backing comes big advertising and marketing budgets. Some producers have already taken steps to ensure that their products are deemed “Premium”.

When I first began exploring rums I had little idea about Rhum Agricole.  I would still class myself as a bit of “newbie” when it comes to this rhum category.

Produced from Fresh Cane Juice. The cost of producing such rhum is more expensive than molasses based rum. As a result Agricole producers are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to cost conscious customers.

One of the ways Rhum Agricole producers ensure their survival is by selling a lot of unaged white rhum. If you ever go into a larger Carrefour store in France you will be surprised at the amount of agricole rhum available. A lot of this is at entry level prices. I guess the mark up on such bottles isn’t great but the volume is.

Once you get beyond these inexpensive white agricoles we get into aged Agricole territory. This is where the molasses rum world needs to wake up and take a look at how the French speaking population are doing it.

As with Champagne and Cognac the Caribbean island of Martinique has ensured that their product is protected under French law..

The AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée)) is the equivalent of the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).  Which protects things such as Parma Ham and Wensleydale Cheese. It sets out clear guidelines regarding production. A link to the guidelines are here.

The AOC decree elevates rhum from Martinique and gives it a status which others rhums cannot have. It is a clever move and one which causes quite a lot of disagreementss about what rhum agricole can and can’t be!

Despite the AOC other rhum producing islands are still held in high esteem. Brands such as Haiti’s Barbancourt as are brands from Guadeloupe such as Longueteau and Damoiseau.

It’s not just the AOC which makes me feel agricole producers have done more to elevate their products into “Premium” category, than molasses based producers. It is also the way they have chosen to label and present their rhums. I think this is where other producers could learn.

Terms such as XO are used in molasses based rums.  It is only agricole producers though who seem confident enough to use terms such as VO or Rhum Vieux for rhums aged only a couple of years.

Taking influence from the ultimate luxury spirit Cognac – most agricole producers have adopted labelling which suggests “luxury”.

Pictured is La Mauny VO (Very Old) the rhum is only 3 years old. As you can see the presentation screams out Premium Rum – the decanter is particularly impressive. I have a bottle of this at home and whilst I didn’t find the contents all that impressive – I certainly liked the packaging. Compare this to a similarly aged molasses based rum. You won’t get the fancy decanter!

I’m not suggesting Molasses based producers should put average rums in fancy packaging nor am I suggesting this is what Agricole producers are doing. They just seem to have more confidence in their aged products.

I do feel though that by using some of the Cognac terminology in their labelling of rhum they have made it more consistent and recognisable than the various naming and labelling conventions used in Molasses based rum. Admittedly it might still be confusing at times but I’d say easier to research the terms used in Agricole than try and decipher the various codes used in labelling molasses rum.

Despite all this though Rhum Agricole has still not elevated itself outside of French speaking territories. Molasses based rum is still more popular worldwide.

So what do molasses based rum producers do to market and package their rums to elevate them into the Premium category?

Big brands such as Appleton Estate and Mount Gay have adopted a hybrid of largely meaningless names and age statements. They occasionally use the odd Agricole moniker as well,

Appleton Estate have Appleton Special, Appleton Signature Blend (formerly V/X), Appleton Rare Blend Aged 12 Years and Appleton 21 Year Old.

Mount Gay release Mount Gay Eclipse, Black Barrel XO (Extra Old) and 1703.

So what else has the molasses or industrial rum world been doing in recent years to try and elevate their “Premium” rums?

We’ll take a look at that in Part 3.

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Read More Premium Rum The Impossible Task? – Part Two

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