MOB33 Gold Heist Rum. A bit of American History is required to make sense of the name of this rum. In 1920, the US introduced Prohibition, which banned the sale of alcohol for anything (pretty much) other than medical purposes. Bizarrely enough at the time you could Bourbon for medicinal purposes and it wasn’t seen as a joke.

By 1933 the act had been repealed. This was partly due to the flourishing “Black Market” which was ruled by the Mafia or “The Mob”. Hence Mob33. At the end of the day, the US government was missing out on much needed taxes, which could be levied on alcohol. This was ending up in the hands of organised criminal gangs and leading to increasing “Black Market”.

Gold Heist represents the first rum from the newly formed Legacy Brands and MOB33 rum brand. The main aim at this stage is to produce an authentic – no additives or colourants blend of Gold Rum. It is priced (under £30) to be competitive on the on trade and with consumers. Much of the sub £30 market in the UK is dominated by the likes of Bacardi and Captain Morgan – it is also saturated with Spiced and Flavoured Rum.

I recently had a brief chat with Ivar de Laat from Rum Revelations regarding the Rum Scene in Canada and the UK being very different. Some areas of Canada suffer badly from a dearth of decent rum selection.  A lot of provinces liquor distribution is government controlled, so some brands have a bit of a monopoly.

In the UK we do not have those problems. That said the Spiced and Flavoured Rum market in the UK is certainly a case of the “tail wagging the dog” at the expense of authentic or should I say ACTUAL rum. Whilst there may be more authentic rums available in the UK, they are bought by a very small fraction of the market, in terms of what is classed as “Rum”. I don’t think Canada has such a “Spiced/Flavoured” scene.

Anyway, lets move on from that and discuss what this Authentic Gold Rum is all about.

Timos Spanos, who is the Global Brand Ambassador and the man responsible for the blend of this rum, gave us the following run down of the components of MOB33 Gold Heist Rum.

• 3-5 year old blend from the Dominican Republic
• 3-5 year old blend from Venezuela
• 3 year old blend of rum from Barbados
• and a 50/50 blend of Jamaican rum comprised of aged (up to 2 years) Plummer style rum and unaged Wedderburn rum.

So a little bit of Smith & Cross in the mix if you like. Nearly anyway.

MOB33 Gold Heist Rum has been bottled at 40% ABV and comes in a 3/4 stubby style rounded gold and black bottle. The design is distinctive and certainly eye catching. The rum is sealed with a wooden topped cork stopper. It retails at £27.99 and is available direct from Legacy Brands online and also at The Drinks Agency for 49p cheaper.

As you can see the rear of the bottle gives some information on the blend of rums in the bottle. It also notes that is primarily a mixer. I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of calling rums “mixers” and “sippers”.

However, what you find sippable and mixable, can change dramatically once you begin experimenting drinking spirits “neat”.

Whilst I wouldn’t say this is being marketed as a beginners rum, I do get the feeling its looking to move people along a little on their rum journey. Getting away from the Spiced/Flavoured and even those adulterated “Premium” sippers, without giving anyone a massive shock to the system.

In the glass MOB33 Gold Heist Rum is unsurprisingly, a nice golden/yellow colour. It’s not as dazzlingly gold as some “Gold” rums. This is due to the lack of caramel colouring and chill filtering. Well played Timos.

Nosing MOB33 Gold Heist Rum its quite sweet, with a delicate almost perfumed note. This is underpinned by some red apple, a touch pear and a nice waft of caramel, toffee and vanilla.

Further nosing sees some of the Jamacian rum come to the fore, with notes of banana, pineapple and strong note of lime zest. There is a touch of funk about the nose but nothing which would put a less experienced drinker off.

It’s nicely balanced, approachable but more importantly though, it smells of rum. Actual real rum. Although its recommended as a mixer, I’ll give it a sip or sixteen…….

As a sipper, at under £30 it doesn’t really disappoint. You can’t expect too much at that price. I don’t mind the relative younger character of this rum as it has a good balance of lighter rums. Again making it a little more approachable.

That said its still quite “boozy”, even at the lowly 40% ABV. I don’t mind the kick nor do I mind the funkier notes from the Jamaican elements, giving it a bit extra bite. There’s quite a bit going on in terms of different notes and flavours. As a sipper, not all work in harmony and it is still a bit young overall. Its interesting though. Different.

It’s perhaps as a mixer that we should turn our attention to Mob33 Gold Heist Rum. As a rum and coke aficionado (cough, cough) I did reach for a tall glass, got some ice and cola then poured myself a hefty measure of Mob33 Gold Heist Rum and settled down.

My friend Steven James over at Rum Diaries Blog, is forever making mixed drinks on a weekend with a variety of different rums. I felt a bit like him sipping one of his exotic concoctions. Without all the effort………

It certainly made for a very interesting and quite different rum and coke. Light notes of vanilla, caramel and toffee alongside a slightly perfumed note. To then find some black funky banana, mango, pineapple and lime zest. Held together by some really nicely spicy bourbon-esque notes – a touch of cinnamon, and a touch of barrel char a hint of smokiness.

In the hands of a more capable mixologist or someone who just isn’t completely bone idle, I am sure this rum could be used in a variety of cocktails, which call for more than one type of rum.

This is a really interesting “Premium Mixer” and certainly at the price something worth giving a try. It’s familiar in many ways but at the same time quite different.

Crikey, I’m turning into John Peel…..