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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similar Posts

  • Ron Los Valientes Aged 15 Anos Anejo Especial

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Ron Los Valientes Aged 15 Anos Anejo Especial. Rum Review by the fat rum pirateRon Los Valientes Aged 15 Anos Anejo Especial. This is a rum hailing from Mexico. In Mexico rum is often referred to as Charanda. I’ve previously reviewed Mocambo which also hails from Mexico. I also have a few other samples of Charanda lurking about that I need toLico find time to write about.

    Ron Los Valientes is produced by Licores Veracruz who also produce the previously mentioned Mocambo. Ron Los Valientes is named after the fighter of the Mexican Revolution. They have rums aged for 10,15 and 20 years in the range. So this is the middle brother if you like.

    For some reason the Ron Los Valientes rums seem to be cheaper than the Mocambo range. This rum will set you back £33 which isn’t bad for a 15 year old rum. That said the tall “pistol” style bottle is only 50cl. Presentation wise the rums aren’t quite as striking as some of the Mocambo range but its nice enough. Sadly for me all the information on the bottle is in Spanish. Which isn’t terribly helpful.

    Ron Los Valientes Aged 15 Anos Anejo Especial is made up of a pot and column blend. The blend is 70/30. However the rums produced in the pot stills are made using freshly pressed sugar cane. The remaining 30% is produced from molasses and distilled on a multi column still. Licores Veracruz produce other spirits such as Mezcal and Tequila.

    The rum is then charcoal filtered before being aged for 15 years in ex-bourbon casks.

    In the glass Ron Los Valientes 15 is a very dark brown with red/orange flashes. The nose is quite sweet and very rich. It’s a very spicy with notes of Tumeric and Curry Powder. It’s got quite a lot of dark chocolate and fruity notres – hints of Cabernet Sauvignon and maybe even notes of Port.

    I’ve tried a few Mexican rums or Charanda as they call it and they all seem to have this very rich and very intense profile.

    On the sip Ron Los Valientes is very peppery. Again lots of hot spicy notes a bit like a spicy Chilli con Carne in a glass. I don’t mind the occasional sip of this but it is not a rum which you can drink a great deal of straight. Just too intense and OTT.

    It’s not a greatly balanced sipping rum – you don’t get many lighter notes such as vanilla or milk chocolate. It’s got a very spicy curry heavy finish with a lot of spice and oak and to be honest not a great deal else. Its pretty much just a very spicy rum with not a great deal else really going on. That said I don’t find it particularly offensive – although some of the people I have given this rum to have it to be completely repulsive.Ron Los Valientes Aged 15 Anos Anejo Especial. Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    It’s quite a strange rum all in all. It mixes reasonably well but it can be a bit overpowering even with something like cola. The finish is not particularly long but like the rest of the drink its very spicy.

    It’s a relatively inexpensive rum its strange taste makes me wonder what might have been added to it – its from the part of the world where it s likely to have some. I wouldn’t really recommened it but its not a terrible drink per say.

    I know of at least one rum enthusiast who really doesn’t like this.

    Me I don’t mind it, though it is a bit weird.

     

  • Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years - Port Ellen Finish Rum Review by the fat rum pirateKill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish. In all honesty, looking over my notes I thought I had reviewed more Guyanese rum from Kill Devil, than I actually have. It seems a lot of my Kill Devil reviews have been from Hampden Estate, Jamaica.

    Anyway back to Guyana we are. This is another Single Cask and Cask Strength rum from Kill Devil. Kill Devil for those who aren’t in the know is the rum branch of Hunter Laing, who are more famous for their independent whisky bottlings.

    Which goes some way to explain how they have got their hands on a ex-Port Ellen cask to add a secondary maturation to this rum.

    In actual fact this “cask” is a Sherry Butt. So what we have is a rum being partially aged in a cask which was also used to age both Sherry and Whisky. It must have been quite a big Sherry Butt (some can house up to 600 litres of spirit) as there were 690 70cl bottles available of us this rum when it was launched last year. I’ve only been able to find this rum for sale at The Whisky Barrel. Actually I lie I was able to find it listed as sold out on The Whisky Barrel!

    Bearing in mind that they have numerous other bottlings of rum which were available in much smaller quantities still available I am unsure as to where all 690 bottles have gone? I doubt The Whisky Barrel has sold all 690, besides which it doesn’t state this is a Whisky Barrel exclusive.

    What is also puzzling me is that the Sherry Butt maturation is the “finish” so this rum must have been in another single cask capable of housing 690 70cl bottles worth of spirit. Most single cask rums I have seen running at Cask Strength seem to have bottling runs of between 250-350. Certainly much lower than this out turn.

    Another puzzle is the exact still this rum was distilled on. It states Pot Still Diamond Distillery. So we have a choice of three – Enmore, Versaille or Port Morant. I suppose feasibly if we have a “blending” of two casks before entering the Sherry Butt (as the numbers don’t make that much sense) we could have rum from differing stills. It is more likely to be two very similar casks of the same “run” of rum, however. I hasten to say this is all just speculation.Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years - Port Ellen Finish Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    I am also unaware of how long the initial maturation was. Which I assume was in an ex-bourbon barrel. Nor do I know where all the ageing took place. I am treating this as having spent only a minimal amount of time ageing in the tropics. Which is nothing new for a European Indie bottling.

    The rum was distilled in April 2008 and bottled in 2019 noted as being aged 11 Years. As mentioned the only place I have seen it was at The Whisky Barrel, where it retailed for £70. The rum has been bottled at 60.9% ABV.  The Sherry Butt in which the rum has enjoyed the “finish” previously held Port Ellen Scotch Whisky for 25 years.

    For those of you unfamiliar with Port Ellen distillery, the distillery was to be found on the isle of Islay. Again for those with little Whisky knowledge the island is famous for its style of peated whiskies.

    So without further ado lets move onto the fun part.

    In the glass we have a light golden brown liquid – which pretty much matches what I expect of an uncoloured rum of this age which has been mostly aged on the continent (of Europe).

    The nose is very interesting. It is around 70% “rum” and 30% “peated whisky”. There are sweet familiar “rum” notes of licorice, molasses, toffee and vanilla which nestle nicely alongside a touch of peat bog, tar and some undeniably “whisky” like savoury aromas.

    It’s all very interesting but very nicely balanced and I really quite like this. Please note at this case Peated Whisky is NOT my whisky of choice. I’m a bit sedate with my whisky preferring Bourbon Whiskey and at a push the Speyside style of Scotch. That said I haven’t tried an awful lot of Scotch. Anyway I digress….

    Sipped at the full strength ABV it’s certainly a very fiery affair. The initial entry is full on peaty smoke and tar. Christ the whisky finish is certainly doing it’s work on the entry. That said a few more sips and my palate seems to be enjoying the peaty entry a little more.

    As the Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish, moves into the mid palate more familiar notes appear. I’m not sure what still this is from to be perfectly honest. Elements of it remind me of the Versailles but the aniseed bite is more akin to Port Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years - Port Ellen Finish Rum Review by the fat rum pirateMorant. (Knowing my luck it’ll probably be the Enmore and I’ll be completely wrong!).

    Molasses, treacle toffee and some smoky raisins come through as I keep sipping. There is a really complex array of spicy notes coming in and out of play as well. This is a very complex multi faceted spirit. It’s almost like a mixed Whisky and Rum in many ways.

    The finish as you might expect at an ABV of over 60% is long, warming and fiery. That said it has a nice balance to it and the smokiness and peatiness fade nicely into some treacle toffee and raisin notes. It’s long, complex and very tasty.

    I enjoyed this a quite a bit more than I thought I might. It’s suitably different to warrant a purchase. If you can track one down.

     

  • Berrys’ Panama Rum Aged 11 Years

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Berrys Panama Rum Aged 11 Years review by the fat rum pirateAnother independent release from Berrys’ Bros and Rudd.  This time they have bottled a Latin style rum from Panama.

    Perhaps the best known rum brand from Panama is Ron Abuelo.  Until recently you could argue that one of Don Pancho’s many blends – Ron de Jeremy Reserva was better known/ more infamous.  That rum is no longer from Panama – it is now a Caribbean blend.

    As mentioned Panamanian (is that right?) rum is made in the “Latin” or “Cuban” style.  The rums are light and produced on column stills.  There are a couple of famous distilleries in Panama.   However it can be a little confusing trying to work out all the differing names they are known by.  As far as I am aware Don Jose (or Varela Hermanos home of Ron Abuelo) and Las Cabras are the two biggest distilleries in Panama.

    Which distillery this rum comes from – I have no idea there is no information on the bottling.  I’d guess Don Jose as that is mostly where other indie bottlings have got their Panamanian rum from.

    Trying to get information from Central and South American rum producers is difficult.  They seem to have grown into a culture of smoke and mirrors.  Which is a shame.  They do “adulterate” their rums – claims of macerated fruits and wine being added via what they call aguardiente are commonplace.  They have done little to refute this over the years.  Instead they try to fob people off and at times they can get quite defensive and abusive. Latin Temperement? You got it!

    This rum is bottled at 46% ABV.  The hydrometer reveals a lower ABV suggesting some additives.  Not excessive amounts but a little.  I picked this up at one of my local haunts rather than online.  They had, had it in stoBerrys Panama Rum Aged 11 Years review by the fat rum piratck for quite some time until I turned up and bought all the Berrys’ bottlings.  (I’d estimate this bottling is from about 3 to 4 years ago).  I paid £38 if I recall correctly.

    You get quite a lot of information on the rear label of this bottling.  Unfortunately, it is mostly about Berrys’ you get some tasting notes for the rum but no actual information on distillery, still etc.

    The rum comes in the standard tall Berrys’ bottle and is in keeping with the rest of their range.  You likely can get a Panama rum from Berrys’ at the moment.  It is however unlikely to be this vintage.  Berrys’ have an ever changing line up of rums all only really differentiated by the country and age.

    When poured the rum is a quite vibrant gold colour.  The nose is light and balanced.  Notes of sweet honey, maybe a touch of sherry.  There is also a very nice smoky oak which sits nicely alongside the sweetness.  Notes of sweet peanut brittle and a faint hint of menthol.

    At 46% ABV it is immediately and dangerously sippable.  It reminds me very much of the Mezan Panama’s.  For all I have “knocked” rum from Panama (I don’t believe I have I’m merely pointing out some shortcomings) this is, for a light column distilled rum – very tasty.

    It’s not a difficult or particularly complicated rum.  Reasonably complex – the sweetness plays nicely alongside some very rich and spicy wood and a touch of smoky tobacco.  You get some nice sweet fruits on the opening – apple, pear, raisins, a touBerrys Panama Rum Aged 11 Years review by the fat rum piratch of sherry which give way to a nice smoked finish.  The finish is reasonably spicy – I am pretty sure this rum has been solely aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. It is short though.  All in all the overall experience of the rum in the mouth is fairly short lived.

    Which makes it one of those rums which you sip often and as a result the bottle doesn’t last too long.

    It’s not as good as the Mezan Panamas I have tried but it is better than my limited experiences with Ron Abuelo.

    All in all not a bad rum for the price I paid anyway.  If you like the lighter style but not overly sweet you should enjoy this.  Solid enough if unspectacular.

    If you can’t find this particular rum still then you may find another Panama vintage.  It likely will be fairly similar though dont’ quote me on that.

  • Angostura No.1 First Edition

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Angostura No 1 Cask Collection Rum Review by the fat rum pirateBack in 2013 Angostura announced the launch of No.1.  The first in a new collection of limited edition “Premium” rums.

    This the “first” Angostura No.1 (yes they have called subsequent releases No.1 as well confusingly) is part of the companies Cask Collection.  The collection is a range of Premium Rums aged in select barrels. 

    For this incarnation the rums were blended and aged for between 10 and 12 years and it was then left for an additional twelve months in First Fill Bourbon Casks.  Only 9,600 bottles of No.1 were available globally with just 20 cases allocated to the UK.

    The House of Angostura is known for its iconic bitters and rum-making heritage and is the only rum distillery in Trinidad today after the demise of Caroni and their merger with the Fernandes Distillery.

    Angostura No.1 is a blend of column distilled rums.  It is bottled at 40% ABV.  A bottle in the UK would have set you back around £50.  It is pretty much sold out now.

    The presentation, as to be expected of Angostura is very good.  You get a very nice stubby style decanter and a very sturdy cylinder to store your rum in.  Topped off with a very nice and very large synthetic cork stopper.  The presentation is clear and uncluttered.  More information and less marketing nonsense would be good but hey this is commercial bottlers for you.

    In the glass the rum is a very deep reddish brown almost a mahogany like colour.

    Angostura No 1 Cask Collection Rum Review by the fat rum pirateThe nose is light and pretty sweet.  Thankfully there is none of the more floral notes found in the 1919.  The sweetness is a caramel/toffee.  Big wafts of brown sugar and cashew nuts.  There is slightly fresh note but worryingly very little oak or signs of ageing.

    A quick sip tells you all you need to know about this rum.  Sweet as honey.  It has a very smooth delivery with no burn and wafts of an almost artificial orange zest. Reminiscent of Ron Millonario XO in a lot of ways.  We could call the overall profile caramel or toffee if we were trying to dress it up.  It’s not though its sugar/additives all 31 g/L of them.

    Unsurprisingly for a rum which has been altered as much as this – the finish is very short and what little there is, you could say is oak, I would describe it as corked.  It’s bitter and woody and pretty awful.

    It is no wonder that Angostura are more famous for their bitters than their rums.  It must set alarms off somewhere that a distillery which has been defunct over 10 years is more heralded than the islands only remaining distillery?

    Surely someone somewhere in Angostura could put their minds to producing something a bit more authentic?

    They’ve released at least one other rum in this collection and the price was doubled (around £80).  I’ve no doubt it is much along the lines of this.

    Rum for people who don’t really like rum or rather don’t really know what rum should be.

    Avoid unless Ron Millonario is your idea of a “sipper”.  In which case you probably stopped reading this site a long time ago.

    1 star
    1 star

  • Koko Kanu

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Koko Kanu rum review by the fat rum pirateHailing from Jamaica comes Koko Kanu.  Which is a first on this site as its a flavoured, rather than a “Spiced” rum.  Distilled by J Wray and Nephew it certainly should have a solid rum at the heart of it.

    In the UK Malibu is without doubt the most popular Coconut “rum” but at only 21% it falls massively short of what can be labelled a rum.  In reality it is little more than a Coconut and rum liqueur.  Like Koko Kanu it also has a decent base rum as it is produced at West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) home of Cockspur Rum.  The Malibu brand (12 flavours now available worldwide) is owned by Pernod Ricard.

    I’ve not seen Koko Kanu in any UK supermarkets (personally I think it could sell quite well).  I had looked at it online but never bought it.  I eventually saw a bottle in a local Cash and Carry and decided to buy it (they also stocked J Wray and Nephew White Overproof) it was around £18 for a bottle which I didn’t think was bad.  It is around £18-22 online.  The slightly unusual square 3/4 bottle is very eye catching and distinctive.  Yet at the same time quite simplistic and uncluttered.  The bird on the front of the bottle is actually the “Doctor Humming Bird” and the flower is the “Lignum Vitae” both are native to Jamaica.  The presentation to me is aimed at the female market and was introduced in 2008.

    Bottled at 37.5% Koko Kanu can (just) be labelled as Coconut Rum in the UK.  Originally Malibu was introduced to the market as a more convenient and arguably less skilful way of adding coconut flavour to mixed drinks such as Mai Tai’s and Pina Colada’s.  It is fair to say that a drink made in this way with Koko Kanu will be slightly more potent than when made with Malibu!  No doubt like J Wray and Nephew White Overproof – this will be a big selling point in Jamaica.

    Koko Kanu is naturally flavoured with Coconut Essence.  When I first opened the bottle there was actually crystalised sugar around the rim of the bottle and the screw cap.  This gives you a little indication as to how sweet this rum is.

    To describe this rum is really rather than simple and nothing should come as much of surprise.  As this is the first flavoured rum I have reviewed it is also the first Coconut rum I have reviewed.  So I have no basis for comparison.  In short it smells like Coconut and tastes like Coconut.  So job done……….still I’ll try and elaborate a little more.

    First up is the nose.  It smells how you would expect.  It’s very sweet.  There are wafts Koko Kanu rum review by the fat rum pirateof young alcohol notes but predominantly it is very sweet sugary coconut.  It reminds me of Coconut Ice if you are familiar with that very sweet coconut confection.  For a more international flavour its very much like a Bounty Bar minus the chocolate.

    Moving onto sipping this.  The overall sweetness of the drink means it is actually not bad as a sipper.  Not in the sense it gives a tremendous rum experience though.  It doesn’t in any way shape or form.  But it does give you a nice liqueuer like drink which you can enjoy chilled over ice without a mixer.

    With a mixer though is really what Koko Kanu is made for I’m sure.  With fruit juices it works particularly well but it also goes well with lemonade and cola.  It’s very easy to drink especially if you are in the mood for a sweet treat.

    Perhaps one of my major concerns would be the amount of calories in this drink.  It really is very, very sweet and sugary.  If you are on a diet stick to the Bacardi Superior! This rum flew of the Hydrometer scoring and I could not get a reading!

    To give this rum a “score” is slightly unfair.  I have nothing to judge it against and whilst it is pleasant I have no way of knowing if I will find a better Coconut rum.  Maybe something less sweet perhaps?  I don’t know.

    It’s perfectly pleasant if you want a rum that tastes of Coconut.  I dare say it offers much better value than Malibu as well.  I’ll mark this one up as “good” until something else comes along and perhaps I can update the score.  It hasn’t blown me away but it might well be the best you can get.

    Like Ronseal it does exactly what it says on the tin (bottle).

    3 stars

  • Tellura Amburana

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Tellura Amburana Cachaca Rum review by the fat rum pirateTellura Amburana Cachaca. Tellura are a Cachaca brand from Campos de Goytacazes City, in Fazenda Abbadia, which is in Rio de Janeiro state.

    They were producing sugar and Cachaca since at least the 1920’s at Abbadia Farm. However, they only recently re-introduced their Cachaca production. Which might be why their bottles are a little more contempory in the their design. More “Western-ised” perhaps.

    Tellura as a brand have three Cachaca’s. A Prata (or silver/white), a Cachaca aged for one year in Jequitiba and this Cachaca Amburana which is aged for one year in Jequitiba wood and a further year of ageing in Amburana.

    Their website also shows they have a Facebook and Instagram account. So they are definitely wired up for the current trends in Social Media etc.

    Tellura Cachaca is produced in Copper Pot Stills and is distilled to 48% ABV. Only the heart of the distillate is used in the production of the final Cachaca.

    Their Prata was a solid if unspectacular Cachaca but as this has been aged l am expecting something a little more interesting with this effort. As with most of the Cachacas I have been reviewing this isn’t available in the UK as yet but the look of it does suggest they are trying to being it to the Western market as it is very sleek and modern (not unlike Leblon) in terms of presentation.

    In the glass Tellura Amburana presents itself as a very light golden brown – almost straw in colour or white wine.

    Nosed you get what, is becoming more familiar to me – notes of Amburana wood. This is a delicate floral wood which gives this Cachaca a very light, floral approach. This sits alongside a nice burst of sugar cane juice and alcohol notes. Notes of vanilla and light honey rest nicely alongside a lovely nutty aroma.

    This is easy going and approachable yet deceptively complex.

    As a sipper its very floral and slightly soapy – mild notes of carbolic soap rest alongside more floral notes of rosepetal and a touch of sandalwood. It has a reasonably complex flavour profile. Much of which is promised on the nose transfer over to the sip. I’m getting a lot of cashew nut and some spiciness from the woTellura Amburana Cachaca Rum Review by the fat rum pirateod which adds a little depth.

    I’m enjoying sipping this and quite surprised at how approachable it is for its age. Mixed Tellura Ambruana is a good substitute for Agricole rhum in a Ti Punch and it works nicely in a Caiprinha. It does seem a bit of a shame to mix this Cachaca though.

    This is a kind of everyday Cachaca that I would imagine is not hugely expensive so you can mix or sip it and it works well with both.

    Back to the sip and further sipping reveals some citrus and some hints of ginger. The only downside with this Cachaca is that the finish fades quite quickly and the mid palate is quite short. You’ll find yourself sipping this little and often (or a lot and often depending on how you do it!). It’s not a Cachaca which you might sit back and savour between sips for too long. The flavours simply do not hang around. The finish leaves you with a little spiciness and some zest but its just a touch too mild for my palate.

    This is a softer, more approachable young Cachaca but a very enjoyable one nonetheless.