Kill Devil Jamaica 24 Year Old

Bythefatrumpirate

Kill Devil Hampden Jamaica 24 year old cask strength rum review by the fat rum pirateScotch Whisky bottler Hunter Laing and Co Ltd, released their range of Kill Devil rums early in 2016.  Not so hidden amongst the interest were a number of comments on the strength of the rums.

All the rums released initially were bottled at 46% ABV.  This disappointed quite a few rum connoisseur’s who had hoped to see Cask Strength releases.

Quick to recognise this and following the success of their first releases (both critically and commercially) the team at Hunter Laing have returned with some Cask Strength offerings.

The presentation of the rums remains the same aside from a slight change in colour scheme.  The lozenge labels are now a deep reddish/purple colour instead of grey.

As well as releasing rum at Cask Strength Kill Devil have also used one of their older stocks from an iconic Jamaican distillery.  Famed for its Pot Still rums this Cask Strength release will be for many rum lovers an essential purchase.

Which is probably just as well for Hunter Laing because this rum retails at around the £200 mark in the UK.  For this you get a 62.4% ABV rum which was distilled back in April 1992 and bottled in 2016.  So you are getting a Single Cask Jamaican Pot Still Rum.  Only 234 bottles of this are available worldwide so despite the price tag some people may still be left disappointed.

From the information available I am unable to determine if this is all pot still rum or a blend.  From what I can gather Hampden Estate have only 4 Muller Pot Stills at the distillery.  I’m fairly certain this is Pot Still only.

Hampden Estate rums are best known for being high ester.  If you aren’t sure what is meant by the term ester I’ll direct you here.  They explain it way better than me.  Tastewise it means the rums are very “funky”.  There are a number of articles about Hampden Estate and their processes.  Again as it has already been explained better elsewhere I’ll direct you to Rum Connection who have visited the distillery.

This is very much a rum for someone who knows specifically what they are looking for.  If you want to try high ester Pot Still Jamaican rum then I wouldn’t advise beginning with a bottle as expensive as this.  You might get quite a shock.

Kill Devil Hunter Laing Jamaica Hampden Estate Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

In the glass the rum is a light gold/straw colour.  I might have perhaps expected a darker rum considering how long it has been aged.  As far as I am aware this rum has not been treated to any finishes – its spent its 24 years maturing in an ex bourbon cask.  It’s difficult really to determine what colour rum really should be – so many commercial bottlers colour theirs with caramel.

The nose on this Hampden is huge.  You can smell it from across the room.  Unlike unaged Jamaican overproofs however it doesn’t smell quite as “boozy”.  It’s not as alcohol forward as you might expect as such a proof.

Big wafts of black banana and mango combine with rich unsweetened slightly bitter toffee and caramel notes.  Despite all the big high ester Jamaican funk it also displays evidence of its time in the oak.

There is a nice spice to the nose – hints of sweeter bourbon and some nice oak notes.  The oak notes are quite light and fragrant.  It is better and more rounded than the younger Hampden rums such as Hampden Gold or for instance Smith & Cross.

So onto the sipping.  Like many whisky commentators I will always advocate adding water to any spirit which is more than 50% ABV.  I am more than happy drinking a spirit at between 46-50%.  I personally feel that any higher any my palate simply does not pick everything up from the rum it should.  I try rums such as this at Cask Strength for review purposes but I don’t routinely drink them at that strength.

At Cask Strength you get a very big complex rum.  However, I add a couple of drops of water and I feel I get more from this rum.

Everything that was found on the nose translates through with this on the sip.  It’s a big pot still rum but the ageing really has developed it beyond just that.

It has a lovely spiceiness to it, full of flavour and sweet/sour notes which compare to the Foursquare 2004.  Slightly savoury and at times slightly bitter.  There’s a lot of fruit and the finish is long, balanced and warming.  Some notes which might not sound quite as appealing (but work surprisingly well to give this rum its complexity) would be varnish, shoe polish and even a little astringency.

The sweet fruit flavours make this rum very moreish yet the finish is so good you feel like you mustn’t rush it too much.   You get that nice funky Jamaican black banana and tropical fruit hit, good notes of toffee and unsweetened caramel.

As so few bottles of this are available I sincerely hope that the 200 or so people lucky (and rich) enough to get their hands on this fully appreciate what they are getting.  I hope it doesn’t fall into the hands of someone looking for another Ron Milonario XO or a replacement for his Zacapa XO.

Expensive but rums this age from Hampden Estate do not come up very often.

4.5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateFoursquare Rum Distillery 2007. Foursquare may have dropped the “Rum Distillery” part from the front label but I’m keeping if for my review titles. Just to keep things nice and tidy. I was going to finish off the sherry finished rums and review Patrimonio but my photographer is not available tonight, so we’ll do the 2007 instead.

    As with all the Exceptional Cask Series this is a Single Blended rum. Which means it is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums. I do not know the exact ratio of Pot/Column but I do know that the ratio of Pot to Column has increased from the 2005, which in turn had more Pot Still rum than the 2004. All three of these rums are part of the Exceptional Cask Series. This is number ten already in the series.

    All of the ECS named after the year of distillation have been quite straightforward affairs. All have been aged in small oak (ex-bourbon casks) with no additional maturation or any other faffing aroun. This is a 12 year old rum and was bottled in March 2019. it has been bottled at Cask Strength of 59% ABV.

    For those familiar with the ECS, the bottle will be familiar. They have tweaked it a little to give a little medal on the neck and we now get a synthetic cork stopper, rather than a screw cap. You pick this up quite easily in the UK from the likes of The Whisky Exchange (make sure you get a Hereditas as well whilst you are on) a bottle of 2007 should set you back around £55. This bottling is not similar to the Foursquare/Velier 2006 collaboration aside from the distillery it is a progression of the 2004 and 2005 releases.

    The 2004 “version” of this rum one my Rum of the Year back in 2016, so this has quite a lot to live up to. So let’s put it to the test and see how we get on.

    In the glass, we have a classic golden/dark brown rum with a slightly orange hue. The nose is full of sweet notes of vanilla and coconut. There is a spicy sweet/sour bourbon note, the more you nose. Nice notes of woody oak and a touch of ginger.

    Sweet notes of raisin and sultana move in and out of the mix, adding a really nice fruity balance to oaky notes. You wouldn’t think you were nosing such a high ABV spirit as the balance of this rum is absolutely perfect.Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    The woody/oaky notes are fresh and quite airy. I’m not getting much barrel char, it all smells very light and very fresh.

    Sipped at Cask Strength you get a lot of spice on the initial sip. It shows it’s full 59% ABV especially when it is your first drink of the evening. Further sips of this rum come much easier and more flavour does come forward. It’s just a case of getting the palate accustomed to the ABV. You can of course, add some water if you prefer.

    Once things have calmed down the initial sip is still quite hot with a lot of oak spice and ginger especially on the entry. This seems more boozy than the 2004 especially. There is a slight bitterness on the mid palate but this leads onto more rich oak spice, which really integrates nicely. It’s rich and warming.

    Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 is a woody, very dry rum. It is not as sweet as the nose suggested it might be. The sweeter notes come in time – on the entry you begin to get some coconut, banana and vanilla.

    It is not as easy to drink as some of the other Foursquare offerings, especially those with a secondary maturation. It is very much an example of a very pure, simple Barbados rum. Yet one of exceptional quality, which few other producers could even begin to replicate or match.

    The question will be is this as good as 2004 and 2005. How does it compare? The answer is, I am not at all sure I would be able to pick them out blind. Much like Rum Sixty Six Cask Strength the rums are very similar. From memory this rum seems a touch less sweet than the 2004. I have one bottle of 2004 left but I won’t be opening it for some time yet. It’s more similar to the 2005 I would say.

    For £55 Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 is another fantastic example of a pure Barbados rum. Maybe lately, my preferences have geared more towards some of the sweeter Foursquare offerings but this reminds me what I liked about Foursquare in the first place. Foursquare Rum Distillery 2007 Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    Many rum producers neglect the balance of a rum and many rum commentators, also miss this as something very important in rum. A lot go for intense rums, such as Jamaican Long Ponds or Hampden DOK marque rums, Clairin’s from Haiti and other such “flavour bombs”. Whilst there is nothing wrong with such rums – I enjoy those as well, the belief that 100% Pot Still or Maximum Ester rums is where the good stuff is – I feel is a bit misguided an shortsighted. An excellent balanced blended rum, is every bit as good if not better.

    The score for this one may be a bit predictable. If you enjoy Foursquare, you will thoroughly enjoy this bottling.

  • Appleton Estate Reserve Blend

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Appleton Estate Reserve Blend Rum Review by the fat rum pirateWhen Appleton Estate re-branded their rums in 2015 much was made of the move.  The usual conspiracists hailed the blends must have all changed and been down graded.

    To be honest this is a familiar and very boring critique which is immediately “asked” everytime a producer decides to re-brand.  I found it particularly sad that a brand such as Appleton Estate would also be treat with such suspicion.

    To add some balance I will say that it is not surprising rum does get treated with suspicion – many producers do not help themselves.  I do feel though in this instance Appleton Estate should have been given a bit more of a break.

    Appleton Estate Reserve Blend was previously just Appleton Estate Reserve or Appleton Estate 8 Year Old.  For reasons which I do not know the UK got a variant on the Reserve which was sold in most of the rest of the world.  This rum was largely felt to be slightly sweeter and less funky.

    I have tried both the new Appleton Signature Blend and the 12 Year Old Rare Blend.  I cannot detect any notable difference between the old and new bottlings.  I tried both side by side over a few sessions.  Others have suggested otherwise.  I’m not going to argue the point, I can only taste what I taste and comment appropriately.

    I’m not sure quite what Appleton Estate really want to do with this particular rum.  When I took part in a Twitter Tasting of Appleton Estate rums I was not sent this rum as part of the flight.  It was missed out. The flight was Signature Blend, Rare Blend and the 21 Year Old.

    A bottle of Appleton Estate Reserve Blend will set you back around £25.  The Signature Blend is typically £20 and the Rare Blend can be picked up for as little as £32.  The average age of the rums in the blends are in keeping with the pricing.  This blend has an average age of around 8 years.

    I have reviewed the “old style” Reserve and enjoyed it a great deal.

    Appleton Estate Reserve Blend Rum Review by the fat rum pirateAs I’ve already mentioned I’m not sure if Appleton will persist with this particular line.  Even the packaging seems a little half hearted.  The colour scheme makes it hard to read in parts and it reflects badly in most artificial light (particularly the label on the neck).  It’s only a minor quibble as you still get the classic Appleton bottle and a good quality screw cap but it adds weight to the fact that I’m not sure Appleton want to continue with this rum.

    Prior to reviewing this rum I visited the London RumFest.  My friend Kevin Brooks very kindly had brought with him a tot of the old label 8 Year Old reserve, prior to the change of formula mentioned earlier.  This has enabled me to do a comparison far more effectively than I could have from memory.  Hoofing stuff Kev! Thanks!

    First up in the glass the Reserve Blend is a lovely golden/orange colour very inviting and very vibrant.  Looking at the two rums side by side I cannot tell them apart.  But looks (as you should know by now) are not everything in the rum world.

    The Reserve Blend is punchy, lots of Jamaican funk.  Black bananas and tropical fruit, orange zest and some nice spicy heat.  I could mistake it for the V/X quite easily.

    On the other hand the older Reserve bottling displays very little funk on the nose.  It is a much oakier affair.  Nice spicy oak notes similar to the 12 Year Old dominate with only hints of fruit and just a small undertone of funk.  It is quite zesty though with drier more zesty peel coming through.  For me the nose seems better balanced and more complex than the newer offering.

    Moving onto the tasting.  A sip of the new Reserve blend is a fruity experience.  It’s initially quite sweet – nice fruity notes banana, mango maybe a little grape, which fade into an almost tangy dry zesty spice.  The finish is medium long.  Althought its pretty spicy and lively on the tongue initially, it is quite smooth with little real alcohol burn.

    It reminds me of the V/X/Signature Blend, only maybe a touch older – some of the oak has slipped into the mix giving it some spice and a little more complexity.  It’s not bad as a sipper but like the V/X, maybe it has just a little too much of the younger rums to make it a great experience.  Good but not quite great.  It’s not hugely complex but its tasty enough on its own and it certainly isn’t bland.APPLETON RESERVE BLEND RUM REVIEW BY THE FAT RUM PIRATE

    Back to the old style “UK” Reserve blend.  I can certainly tell a huge difference between it and the new blend.  Before re-visiting this rum I did think I might have got my review wrong back then but this rum is a lot different to the current bottling.  The old Reserve, definitely has more in common with the 12 Year Old than the V/X/Signature Blend.  I remember saying at the time what a great sipper it was.  I was right.  It has a great balance to it.  Less funky and I prefer the drier oakier profile much more.

    I guess I’m left a little disappointed with the new blend but at the same time pleased that my re-collections have proved correct.

    It’s a touch better than the V/X but I doubt I would readily pay much for it as I would use it for the same purpose.  To mix.

    3.5 stars

     

  • Comandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Comandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe rum review by the fat rum pirateComandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe. Spain is quite an interesting place to visit when you are on the search for rum. First up it’s cheap as chips compared to the UK, sadly though they do seem to prefer (funnily enough) the Spanish style of rum. So you are faced with an endless supply of Cuban, Venezuelan and Guatemalan rum.

    To be honest I’m mostly in the British resorts when I am in Spain. So we are talking about the likes of Benidorm, Salou and Torremolinos. In terms of islands it will be Mallorca or Tenerife. So perhaps the available rums aren’t the best representation.

    However, Comandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe seems to be pretty well distributed as I have seen it in a few resorts including Barcelona. I finally decided to get a bottle as I was leaving Salou, earlier this year.

    To be honest it was dirt cheap €7.90 for a 70cl bottle, which unsurprisingly comes in at the bare minimum for a rum 37.5% ABV. Standard practice for “domestic” spirits in the UK so no big deal.

    Comandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe is a rum which is not identified as being from any particular place in the Caribbean. I guess the fact Fidel Castro suggests at least some of the rum in this bottle is possible from Cuba. Then again this is the rum world so maybe not………maybe a mix of Cuban an cheap Trini rum.

    Beyond this I have little information on the rum. The label is in Spanish an I doubt it will fill in many of tComandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe rum review by the fat rum piratehe blanks anyway, even if I do a translation. The bottle is a 3/4 stubby style affair with a rounder base and a short neck. The neck has a diffuser in the bottle to prevent any other rum being poured into this as a cheaper replacement. It is imported into Spain and I’ve not seen it anywhere else.

    In the glass we are presented with a straw coloured rum. It’s light and doesn’t appear to have been coloured. The hydrometer also agrees with the ABV coming in at between 37 and 38% ABV, when tested. I won’t get involved in the politics of this rum or the choice of person used to promote it. So we’ll just move along and see how it tastes.

    Taken neat this is best described as entirely lacking any merit whatsoever. It tastes like an ash tray that has had warm lager spilled into it. With maybe a shot of vodka added for a bit of a kick. It’s repulsive. Huge, sickly flavours of sweet cheap nasty cigarettes.

    It’s thin and boozy and just completely disgusting. Raw, smoky. unbalanced and just down right awful. Easily one of the worst undosed rums I have ever tried. It’s bitter and almost tastes like Marajuana smells. Urgh, its truly repulsive muck. No matter how cheap this foul tobacco water is do not buy it.I’d buy anything over this even cheap Tequila doesn’t taste this bad.

    Comandante Fidel Ron Anejo del Caribe rum review by the fat rum pirateTo be fair I wasn’t expecting a sipper but even as a mixer this is god damn awful stuff. Unlike a lot of rums the flavours and aromas when sipped, do not disappear. In fact they almost become more pronounced when mixed with cola. Making for an absolutely disgusting rum and cola. I’m not exaggerating, unless you enjoy chewing tobacco I doubt you will get any enjoyment out of this rubbish.

    Avoid no matter how cheap it is – even if they are giving this away. The novelty value is not enough to rescue this nonsense.

     

     

     

  • Spice Hunter Boldest Spiced Rum

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Spice Hunter Boldest Spiced Rum Review by the fat rum pirateSpice Hunter Boldest Spiced Rum. I’ve seen spiced rum described in many different ways but I’ve never heard anyone claim their spiced rum is the boldest before.

    Not many spiced rums claim to add 13 different spices to the rum. Which is why as their website informs us – they have decided to call it “Boldest Spiced Rum”. They think it is a very bold move to infuse so many spiced into their rum.

    Presentation is also quite bold with a very vivid orange, white and black colour scheme. The man in the boat on the front label is an 18th century “Spice Hunter” called Pierre Poivre.

    The rum comes housed in a rounded 3/4 stubby style bottle with a chunky wooden topped synthetic cork stopper.

    The actual rum is a column distilled rum from the Medine Distillery in Mauritius. Readers of this blog may find the name of that distillery familiar. It also gives us a bit more idea about the company behind this spiced rum. Spice Hunter is bottled at 38% ABV and a 70cl bottle currently retails at £28. You can currently find it on Amazon and in select Revolucion de Cuba bars around the country.

    Spice Hunter is infused with 13 different spices – All Spice, Caraway, Cardamon, Chilli, Cinnamon, Clove, Cubeb, Elemi, Ginger, Nutmeg, Pepper, Pimento and that spiced rum staple Vanilla.

    The rum has been released at 19 Revolucion de Cuba venues throughout the UK – so if you don’t want to take the plunge and buy a bottle you can try it there.

    Now I wouldn’t normally get too excited or enthusiastic about a spiced rum. I don’t mind a good spiced rum but sadly there aren’t many of those about. Too many rely on synthetic tasting vanilla and sugar and little else. To many copycat brands all doing the same thing. I wasn’t even that fussed on Pink Pigeon which is a spiced/flavoured rum produced by the Medine Distillery using Vanilla.

    However, the base rum for this is produced in Mauritius but the spices are blended here in the UK by Berry’s Bros & Rudd. So this is for me a bit of a “posh” rum. I’m assured all the spices used are authentic and they have taken a great deal of time and care making sure the blend is bold but very tasty.Spice Hunter Boldest Spiced Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    So I have higher hopes for this spiced rum than I perhaps usually do.

    In the glass the rum is a rich golden brown – if the spices have had only a minimal impact on the colour of this rum then the distillate appears to be at least 2-3 years old. That said, it could have been coloured at any stage.

    The initial nosing reveals Cloves, Ginger and some peppery spices. It’s quite sweet but has a lot of punch to it as well. I certainly couldn’t pick out all 13 spices in the mix (I’ve not even heard of Cubeb before) but there is certainly a lot more there in terms of actual spiced than you get in most spiced rums.

    This has more an infused vibe to it than a standard supermarket spiced rum. The sweetness of the cloves is quite dominant on the nose but you can still detect the spicier elements such as Pimento, Ginger and Pepper.

    Sipped neat the sweetness of the cloves takes a back seat. This is quite “fiery” spiced rum – similar in many respects to Dark Matter. For me though the base spirit is a lot better and so the drink has a much better balance. No bitter or metallic elements with this.

    Ginger, Pepper and the Pimento give this a really spicy kick – there is just enough sweetness from the Cinnamon and Vanilla to balance this out.

    In terms of a spiced rum this really delivers and the flavours of the actual spiced really shine through the rum. Sipped it’s very pleasant – I wouldn’t normally recommend it but a cube of ice works nicely.

    It’s punchy throughout but the finish is really spicy with lots of Chilli and Pimento heat. It’s a real winter warmer of a rum.

    In mixed drinks it works really well with cola giving a really nice spicy rum and cola. If you are a fan of spicy Mexican food I think you will really enjoy this. Their website Spice Hunter Boldest Spiced Rum Review by the fat rum pirateadvises mixing with Ginger Beer/Ale that works well also.

    However, like Dark Matter I find that this hot and spicy Spiced Rum works best in a Bloody Mary. If you think the idea of a Bloody Mary is awful – try one with Pusser’s Gunpowder.

    This is a sophisticated “grown up” kind of spiced rum. I’d rank this up there with Bristol Black in terms of its standing in the Spiced Rum world. It might not be “sweet” enough for some but there is no doubting how “bold” this effort is.

    Really excellent stuff.

     

  • 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.

  • The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum

    Bythefatrumpirate

    The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum review by the fat rum pirateThe Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum. It’s proving quite dificult trying to keep pace with the output from the Foursquare Rum Distillery. Not content with various re-vamped releases from their existing portfolio such as higher ABV offerings of R L Seale’s, Doorly’s 3 Year Old and Doorly’s XO. Foursquare have also added further aged Doorly’s at 12 and 14 Years old and numerous (we are now up to release number 12) Exceptional Cask Series rums in the past 5 years alone.

    So you might have thought that their collaboration with Bailey Pryor and The Real McCoy brand might have led to a more static brand. That has definitely not been the mistake as the ABV has been increased on these offerings as well. A couple of Limited Edition rums have also been released.

    Today we have a 10 Year Old rum, which proved fairly difficult to source over here in the UK. Either we didn’t get many of these over here or I just completely took my eye of the ball when they were released. I finally found a bottle online at The Whisky Exchange. I paid a very exact £66.25 for my 46% ABV 70cl bottle.

    The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum is presented in the standard stubby style bottle used by all The Real McCoy rums. It has a bulbous neck. The Real McCoy rums contain a lot of information on their labels. They are pretty much transparent. So we learn that this is a Single Blended Rum (Blended Pot and Column distilled rum from a single distillery). My bottle dated 2017, is one of 3000.

    It is also worth noting that the rear label of this rum notes that the blend of rums is aged seperately for 12 years in American Bourbon barrels and 10 years in Virgin Oak. So the age statement notes the minimum age of the rum in this bottle. Do we expect anything less from Mr Seale?

    The Real McCoy rums have been aged in heavily charred oak cask, to perhaps. differentiate them from the official Foursquare bottlings. It is also noted that this blend of rums has a high ratio of Copper Pot Still distillate. So we should be in for a pretty flavourful blend.

    I can’t think of anything else to add at this stage, so I think I will pour myself a glass and see how I find this.The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum review by the fat rum pirate

    In the glass we have a deep dark brown liquid almost mahoghany. With a orange hue.

    Nosing, I immediately notice are more woody profile. Definite wafts of freshly cut timber (says he who has never chopped a piece of wood in his life). Further nosing reveals dark chocolate, intense cacao and some stewed breakfast tea. Barrel char is evident on the nose as well.

    This is not a particularly sweet nose but if you go deep enough you’ll find some dark fruits – plums, redcurrants. Surprisingly there is little by way of vanilla, coconut and banana. Still it is quite a nice nose just a bit “woodier” than usual.

    Sipped, I’m finding it very heavy on the wood. The first couple of sips are a bit of a challenge and I find them quite bitter and just a bit too heavy on the char and wood. My palate, however seems to recover from the initial woody onslaught.

    A little anyway. I first tried a rum aged in Vigin Oak at London Rumfest in 2018. It was from Worthy Park. A number of people were raving about it. I just didn’t like the overall balance, it was just too woody.

    This isn’t as bad, as I recall the Worthy Park offering but it is still more bitter, more charred and more woody than I enjoy. Some of the balance and softness I enjoy with Foursquare rum has been lost a little with this.

    It does calm a glass or two in but it’s still not my favourite Foursquare. The initial bitter, cacao heavy, charred entry does give way to a little milk chocolate sweetness on the mid palate. Unfortunately this quickly switches back to the more charred woody influence.

    The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum review by the fat rum pirateRather than improve this rum, I think the 10 Year Virgin Oak blend is actually drying the overall profile out. It’s thrown it out of sync. I’m not getting the vanilla, toffee,banana and coconut notes I enjoy in other aged Foursquare/The Real McCoy releases. This is bone dry and I’ve really struggled with it.

    There are of course far worse rums around than this but (and in a perverse way I’m kind of glad, as it might show some of my doubters that Foursquare don’t always get an easy ride) I won’t be handing out any plaudits for this Foursquare offering.

    Finish wise, it’s got a good length to it but it seems to dry up and leave behind only woody notes. I didn’t get a great deal of complex spices or much else unfortunately.

    I don’t think Virgin Oak is the way forward for me. I’ll be honest had I tried a sample of this, I doubt very much I would have bought the bottle.

    A very rare disappointment. This just did not work for me. I would definitely plump for the 12 Year Old given a choice.

4 Comments

    1. I tend to use a teaspoon a time. Until I get to where I want to be. I have used the hydrometer in the past and added till it reads around 50%

      It’s tricky but I know that sipping rums at 62% for me is too much. I lose to many of the nuances of the rum.

  2. Sounds awesome!
    I got a bottle of Kill Devil Jamaica 15 year old – Long Pond Distillery which already has a massive amount of funk (compared to what I’m used to) so gives me a nice choice when I want something “different”.

    Would love to get a dram of this too try it, but as I’m not that familiar with this style of rum I wouldn’t spend that much on a bottle I won’t be able to fully appreciate.

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