Jamaican Rum JMM Thompson Bros and Bar Tre
Jamaican Rum JMM Thompson Bros and Bar Tre. Here we have another bottling from a Scottish Independent Bottler in the form of the Thompson Bros. For this release they have collaborated with Japanese bar “Bar Tre” in Hiroshima.
As well as independent bottlings of whisky, rum and other quality spirits, the Thompson Bros are also behind the Dornoch Distillery.
They (Simon and Phil) established the Dornoch Distillery and IB business following a successful stint, running a whisky bar in the Dornoch Castle Hotel. Which is also the venue for the distillery. Further information can be found here and here.
I’ve already reviewed 2 Jamaican rum releases from Thompson Bros in the shape of a Clarendon and a Worthy Park. Both of which were very good.
To be honest I know very little about Bar Tre but Japan is famous for its own (well sometimes its own) whisky and there is a huge market for Scotch Whisky in Japan. The distinctive artwork on this bottle has been provided by Yu Kurahashi, who is an artist with links to Bar Tre.
The design on this bottle is quite a departure from the previous Thompson Bros bottlings, I have reviewed. Much more rustic and more “home made”. That said its very striking and looks a lot better, than it might sound if you tried explaining the label to someone. Jamaican Rum JMM Thompson Bros and Bar Tre, comes in a standard bar style bottle with a slightly bulbous neck and a cork stopper to seal the rum.
Now I’m not sure if Bar Tre are getting an allocation to stock/sell but this is a single cask rum. The Rum was distilled in 1997 at Monymusk Distillery hence the J(amaica) M(ony)M(usk) marque. I assume this is the case, as I can find no official JMM marque noted for Monymusk. So its likely just a marque that possibly the importer has put on the barrel as an identifier. I know a lot of you out there know a lot more about this kind of thing than me. It’s not really my “thing”.
It has been bottled at 48.1% ABV and has an outturn of just 247 bottles from a Single Barrel. It has been aged for 23 years until 2020 and is non-chill filtered and natural colour. The whisky people love stating things are non-chill filtered.
In the UK you can currently buy a bottle direct from Thompson Bros here, it is priced at £137.50. This is 100% Pot Still Jamaica Rum.
Well I think that is as much as needs saying about this rum. So I may as well pour myself a glass.
In the glass we have a light brown/straw coloured spirit. The nose is quite fruity – lots of pineapple, banana and a touch of passion fruit. It has a slightly fermented note to it with some traces of cider and malt vinegar.
There are traces of nail varnish, petrol and a smattering of oak and just a touch creosote. Yet despite this heaver, less desirable sounding (believe me they are very desirable!) notes it’s still quite light and fruity. It has a nice balance of Pot Still menace but it doesn’t go completely batshit mental like some of the really high ester Long Pond or Hampden rums.
Further nosing reveals some white wine, red grapes and a touch of brine.
Sipping Jamaican Rum JMM Thompson Bros and Bar Tre you get much more of a feel of the long ageing involved. Even though this rum has likely spent the majority of its time maturing in a continental climate it has still taken on a lot of character from the dynamic of the barrel ageing.
It’s definitely much woodier and oakier than the nose suggested. It’s quite tannic and I’m not getting more notes of tobacco, pipe smoke and some dark chocolate. Especially on the mid palate and finish.
The sweeter notes do however return after a couple of sips. Possibly as the palate re-calibrates. In particularly on the entry I’m not getting some citric lime juice and again the slightly fermented pineapple note. There’s a also a kind of baked banana and treacle like note mingling with the oak and spice on the mid palate.
Finish wise it’s pretty long and quite interesting. The sub 50% ABV also makes this
dangerously drinkable. That said there is no need to be “knocking this back like a pirate” the finish is slightly smoky and musty but has a nice hit of dark chocolate, tobacco and banana. It fades out gently but is a more than reasonable length.
I’m not always too impressed with Monymusk. Especially their own brand bottlings but this is a very nice rum. It’s not a huge funk bomb of a rum but it’s more approachable than a lot. It has aspects to it that remind me of Appleton 12 and at the same time something funkier like a low ester Hampden.
Really interesting and another great pick from Thompson Bros.
English Harbour is a rum which I had been looking at for some time. For whatever reasons I had resisted the temptation to buy a bottle online. I was presently surprised to find Newcastle (Upon Tyne) department store Fenwick’s had it in stock. There is something satisfying about actually being able to have the experience of being able to buy a half decent bottle of rum over the counter. Whilst the rum was slightly more expensive than online (£27.50) this was tempered by the ability to have the rum instantly (even though its taken nearly 3 weeks to try it!) and the fact no P&P charges.
found to have the ACR (Authentic Caribbean Rum) mark. From memory I can only really think of Chairmans Reserve displaying this. I’m pretty sure though that a few more of my Bajan, St Lucian and Jamaican rums probably do satisfy the criteria for ACR. For those who are not in the know the ACR mark means the rum has been produced in a traditional manner. The only additives permitted are caramel but this must only be for colouring it must not impart flavour to the rum. NB I have since writing this review conducted Hydrometer Tests on this rum which reveals added sugar – which makes me wonder quite what the ACR is achieiving.
As a cheap sipper English Harbour is certainly less rough and ready than many of the rums I have tried in this price range. An ice cube also improves things as it takes some of the heat out of the rum allowing a little more flavour to come through in the mix. Personally if I was looking for a sipping experience and enjoyed this unadulterated style of rum I would spend a few pounds more and go for either R Seale’s 10 Year Old or his Rum Sixty Six. Cockspur 12 would also be a good shout at around the £30-35 price point. Maybe even Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Casks.
Recently there was a debate at Tales of the Cocktail. The debate centered around “When is rum not a rum?”.
Industry Samples
Personally, once I realised how simple and inexpensive these tests were it struck me as a no brainer to test all the rums I reviewed. Why? Because you can never know enough about rum and you will rarely be told by the industry.
Rum is a distillate derived from sugar cane or sugar cane juice. It is distilled in either pot or column stills. To remain a rum it should not be distilled to the point whereby it becomes ethyl alcohol or neutral spirit. Typically this is at around 95% but many have suggested it should be lower to maintain the character of the spirit – around 85% maximum.
Demerara Rum – It’s quite difficult to get unsweetened Demerara especially at the lower mixing end of things. As a result my standards for Demerara include both sweetened and unsweetened. El Dorado 8 and 15 for sweetened rums. Woods Navy Rum (it is purely Demerara despite being sold as Navy rum) and Cadenheads Classic Rum for the unsweetened rums. If I am reviewing an expensive Demerara around the £100 mark for example then Velier’s rums will set the benchmark.
Which brings me round to my final point. I mentioned already that when reviewing rum you can never know enough about the spirit. Knowledge of the spirit of rum and how it should taste is key. It’s vital to understand and at least try to determine when a rum has been adulterated.
The whole “smooth and sweet” basis of reviewing rum needs to stop. Rum is not sweet because it is distilled from sugar cane. It is exactly the same as any other spirit. The sugar turns to alcohol. Didn’t anyone pay attention to Dennis Leary’s 1990’s Holsten Pils adverts?
Santa Teresa Anejo Gran Reserva. The Santa Teresa brand hails from Venezuela. The Hacienda Santa Teresa is situated in the valleys of Aragua near the capital Caracas. The estate was founded way back in 1796.
s bottled at a respectable if unremarkable 40% ABV.
Don Papa No.7 Small Batch Rum. This is how the Bleeding Heart Company who produce Don Papa are marketing this version of their very popular Don Papa Rum. This is the original Don Papa which was released back in 2012. Don Papa No.7 has proved to be a very controversial and divisive rum ever since.
um focused reviewers have rightly pointed out this is fake rum – I would even question if legally it should be available as “Rum” in the EU. Some retailers have taken to listing this as Spiced Rum. Maybe enforcement of the EU directives would see this re-labelled but don’t hold your breath on that.
J Gow Revenge Aged 3 Years. This is the third aged release from VS Distillers, who are based in the Orkney Islands, just off the North East coast of Bonny Scotland. VS Distillers refers to the man behind J Gow Rum Collin Van Schayk. Clever eh?
I think I’ve covered pretty much everything now so we may as well get on with the fun part and see what this “Scottish Rum” has to offer.
It’s interesting to note the progression as unlike the Fading Light, the molasses notes aren’t as dominant. Sure they are there but they are tempered and balanced more by the barrel influence. Very nicely balanced.
Bacardi Anejo. Aside from the usual Bacardi bottles you find in the Supermarket and Duty Free a trip to the continent (and further a field) can often throw up a few more variations from the Puerto Rican rum powerhouses.
cheaper or inferior spirit.
oves onto some ginger and some light notes of pepper. The finish is next to non-existant as the ginger and pepper are overtaken by a slight bitter tobacco note which quickly fades away. All of this is running alongside some rough sweet alcohol which is delivering most if not all the flavour. A good sipper it is not.
