Lamb’s Demerara Navy Rum – Bottled 1970’s
Lamb’s Demerara Navy Rum. I don’t know exactly when this was bottled. Research has shown that this style of bottle was available in the 1970’s (and before). The UK largely stopped using their own “proof” calculation in 1980 and began showing the ABV rather than the proof. Whilst this is noted as 70 proof on the bottle, it’s the old “British” style proofing so it translates to 40% ABV. The same ABV Lamb’s Navy Rum is today.
I thought it might make an interesting post to compare and contrast the Lamb’s Demerara Navy Rum, that we got in the 70’s with the Lamb’s Navy Rum we find on our shelves today. This also fits in nicely for Black Tot Day as well which was of course 31st July 1970. So we are fast approaching its 50th anniversary.
First up, for all Lamb’s presence in the UK market and a rich history going back many years I cannot find any evidence – even on their own website that they did actually supply rum to the British Royal Navy.
Even though this is just a miniature Lamb’s didn’t introduce their distinctive hexagonal bottles until the 1980’s. The presentation of this rum is quite different with a more sparse colour scheme. I particularly like the heavy plastic and metal screw cap with “Lambs Navy Rum” printed into it. Though it was a bit of a bugger to unscrew.
In the glass Lamb’s Demerara Navy rum is a dark almost burnt brown with orange edges. The nose is the first surprise. I am getting a lot of quite meaty, beefy notes of Marmite and Bovril. Which is quite odd.and not what I was expecting. I did acquire this miniature only very recently at auction, so I cannot really account for how it has been stored. It also smells quite vinegar heavy and altogether just a little odd.
Beneath the sour vinegar and more meaty notes I can detect some more familiar Demerara notes of raisin, coffee and a very definite hit of aniseed.
Sipping this rum I am taken by the lack of sweetness in the rum. It is quite bitter and very heavy on the aniseed notes. Quite a lot of fennel seed in there as well. This is a much less “sweet” style of rum than the one which presents itself on our shelves at the moment.
It’s not a hugely complex rum and the sip is certainly better than the nose – which was really odd. I may well have an off bottle”. Though to be fair it doesn’t taste all that bad, it just smells a bit funny. A little on the one-dimensional side of things though. Bitter burnt toffee and a touch of aniseed with some sharp sweet alcohol is about as far as this rum goes. It’s not awful but its a little bit, meh. I’m thinking Port Mourant still and maybe the Versailles. It’s interesting that this is just a Demerara rum as Lamb’s is noted of being a blend of 18 Caribbean rums way back when Alfred Lamb stated blending it. Nowadays I understand it is a blend of Caribbean rums from various different islands.
Mixing Lamb’s Demerara Navy Rum is quite an underwhelming experience as well. It’s pretty plain and safe, though the odd slightly meaty aroma returns. Drink wise it doesn’t stand up to the cola all that well and doesn’t really do a great deal. It makes a passable rum and cola but it is nowhere near the calibre of other Demerara rums such as Wood’s or El Dorado 8. Even Skipper has a bit more oomph than this and Pusser’s beats it to a pulp.
It is much less sweet than the raisin and coffee/burnt caramel heavy notes of the current bottling but I can’t say I have much of a preference over either. Both are pretty 
one dimensional and fairly bland in their own way. The newer bottling is sweeter but equally no show stopper.
Often it is said rum isn’t as good as it was in the past. I can safely declare that in this instance the passage of time hasn’t really changed things. Lamb’s was bang average in the 1970;s and its bang average now.
An interesting little “rarity” to review for Black Tot Day but not one which I’ll be rushing out to buy. There is the odd full size bottle of this available at around £180 if you hunt around. This may interest a collector but I’m very much about the drinking side of things.
Up Spirits! I think I’ll stick to the Pusser’s next year……
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?
Pusser’s 15 Year Old Rum has been around for some time. (At least 15 years I can hear someone saying……) I first reviewed it a few years ago. I do intend to re-review some of the rums I have covered going forward. To be honest, Pusser’s 15 Year Old was one that would have had that treatment bestowed upon it anyway – miniatures of the rum are readily available. Which makes it easier on the wallet.
m Rums.
The mid palate leads into coffee and cinnamon. This is like a Christmas cake in a bottle. A very warming and very “seasonal” rum. Ideal for this time of year I must say.
Most supermarkets in the UK have their own brand spirits. Marks and Spencer (or M&S for short), however do not do anything by halves.
The nose of this rum is a bit of a surprise. It smells very much of young alcohol rather than the Gingerbread notes I was logically expecting. It dies down after a little time in the glass, it’s a kind of Spiced Steeped Ginger like note. I’m not really getting any bread or baking like notes with this one. It’s not buttery or anything like that. Just a bit boozy and quite fiery. Alcoholic Ginger Beer like almost.
Overall this isn’t a bad flavoured rum. It’s not particularly expensive and its not laced with vanilla like many of the cheaper Spiced rums are. As a flavoured rum does it really taste or remind me of Gingerbread. Well the Gingerbread I’ve enjoyed (and I do like Gingerbread) isn’t really like this. It’s okay but it reminds me more of Ginger Beer than Ginger Bread.
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. In many ways my days of reviewing these “kind” of rums should perhaps have been pretty much numbered.
couple of years old….just floating around in their warehouses.
mber of times it is referenced and recommended. Not so much in more serious enthusiast/geek circles but amongst less serious more casual rum drinkers.
ced rum from the El Dorado brand, funnily enough. You would think that this would be a pretty easy bottling to come across? Surely a global powerhouse such as DDL know the selling power of Spiced Rum?
ded spices its still reasonably aggressive. Quite which still it may come from I really couldn’t hazard a guess its likely from the Enmore but it could easily be that or the Versailles. I doubt its from Port Mourant or contains much rum from that still if a blend.
It has most in common with Foursquare Spiced and Elements Eight Exotic Spices, if you seek comparisons. For all its relative pleasantness I don’t think it is as good as either of those.
Relicario Ron Dominicano is a rum brand which hails from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is famous for the three B’s (Brugal, Barceló and Bermudez). The Dominican Republic is also known in the rum world for the various Oliver & Oliver bottlings such Opthimus and Presidente Marti.
In the glass Relicario Superior presents itself as a dark brown with vibrant orange and red flashes. It’s a classic rum colour if you like (almost certainly some caramel colouring is involved).
rink yet you still feel like you are drinking a “proper” rum rather than something like Pyrat or Millonario.
I have a full and unopened bottle of this rum…I also found Lambs rum a tad bland , but then I quite like Woods and Pussers , so it shall remain unopened. I enjoyed reading your review , entertaining and informative…cheers .
Thanks Dave!