Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #2
Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #2. We are back in Bonny Scotland and back at Kit Carruthers’ distillery in Dumfries and Galloway. Which is situated just 15 miles from the from the English border. Although it is over the “other side” of the country to myself it might actually be my nearest rum distillery.
As the title outlines this is Ninefold’s second release of Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum. Well kind of, as they have also released an aged Charity Release for Nith Inshore Rescue.
The following information is taken direct from the Ninefold website. I’m sure you would rather read the article through rather than jump from one site to another. I’ve taken the pertinent details direct from the notes written by Kit.
“Our second single cask release, Edition #2 of the Experimental Cask series.
Following on from the 12 month old Edition #1 released in September 2020, Edition #2 has been bottled from barrel #5 at the distillery.
The rum itself was 100% distilled from scratch at Ninefold, and is a mix of experimental recipe development spirits distilled from sugar cane molasses in 2019. Cask #5 was a virgin American oak standard barrel (200 litres) that was partially filled in September 2019 (about 50 litres) with these rums. In March 2020, the feints from these experimental rums was redistilled and the resulting spirit used to top up barrel #5. In June 2021 the barrel was re-racked to four ex-Speyside whisky oloroso sherry octaves for finishing, and bottled in January 2022.”
Non-chill filtered, no added sugar or colouring. Naturally gluten-free & vegan friendly. Only 256 bottles available.
Each bottle is individually numbered and hand signed by the head distiller and owner, Dr. Kit Carruthers.”
The first 10 bottles of the rum are available priced at £85 and the remaning bottles numbers 11-256 cost £60. The website notes free shipping in the UK. Shipping outside of the UK can be discussed with Ninefold.
Presentation is in keeping with Ninefold’s other releases with the company log prominent once again. Information on the juice inside is provided on both the front and rear label. The bottle itself is contoured 3/4 “stubby” style bottle which I really like. The rum is sealed with a chunky cork stopper with the Ninefold logo and a wrap over label (there’s probably a proper term for these type of label/seals but I don’t know it!
Let me know if you do.
Anyway that is pretty much all the information required, so we may as well get on with the fun part. I’ve enjoyed Ninefold unaged and at 12 months so it will be interesting to see how this one goes down. I’m particularly interested to see how the ex-Speyside/Oloroso Sherry finish works and how much impact it has.
In the glass we have a gold/medium dark liquid. It looks as you might expect at this age.
On the nose, we are getting a lot of sweet caramel, toffee and a back note of aniseed or liquorice. It’s quite molasses-y but not completely dominating the nose.
The molasses notes are accompanied by a good weight of vanilla, raisin and a hint of blackcurrant. There is a hint of smoky oak but there isn’t a great deal of “spiciness” or obvious oak influence. It’s not at all woody. Probably not much of a surprise as it is still a relatively young rum being aged in a cold climate.
It’s a nice nose, pleasant and inviting but its perhaps not a million miles away from Ninefold’s Unaged White. It has much the same profile. Not a bad thing per se but it will be interesting to see how much the nose changes over time – in terms of older releases from Ninefold.
On nosing its difficult to remember that this rum has been bottled at 59.4% ABV. So the first sip is a little spicier than I expected.
It’s a pleasant surprise though as it shows more of oak ageing and the differing casks used. Quite woody – you can certainly taste the Virgin Oak on the initial sip. It’s a little herbal and there is lots of ginger and a kind of peppery woody note (??).
A few sips in and I’m getting more accustomed to the woody-ness which has calmed down a little. I’m also getting more of a feel for the rum as I feel it slip down and the mid palate comes in.
After the initial entry and the spicy/woody-ness the rum does quickly develop with more of the richer notes of toffee and raisin returning to the mix. There is a hint of soured 
cream and some more ginger and a touch of lime zest.
As we move towards the finish I begin to get some quite tannic notes of red wine and stewed prunes.
The finish isn’t particularly long but what is there is a nice mash up of what has preceded it. It fades out quite quickly.
Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #2, is overall an intense and very flavourful rum. Perhaps, though lacking the complexity and maybe more so the refined nature of a longer matured rum.
That said it does still punch well above its weight.
Habitation Velier Foursquare 2013. No what other pairing in the rum world could you possibly think of that would be a virtual guarantee of a quality rum experience?
What I am sensing here is something very different. Over the past couple of years Richard Seale Master Distiller at Foursquare has been producing some of the best and most daring rums that the world has ever seen. This is perhaps the most “out there” product to date..
tation Velier releases it is quite experimental and different even to your “normal” Foursquare. It won’t be a rum for everyone. Having said that this rum makes a fantastic rum and coke and could also be put to good use in cocktails. It’s just a rather expensive way to make a cocktail.
Havana Club have recently re-branded and re-formulated their entry level Anejo Especial dark rum. Whether this has anything to do with Bacardi’s recent re-branding exercise I’m not sure. I doubt however that the two giants weren’t aware of what the other had planned……
The changes to the formula, if not immediately apparent on the nose are stated on the neck of the bottle. The previous formula I found not to my liking. The extra vanilla actually gives the rum a better balance. I’m not a huge fan of the “vanilla” flavouring which seems to be added to many spiced rums. The vanilla flavouring in this is more muted. The previous tobacco, petrol like notes I experienced and did not like in the Anejo Especial are still present. However, the vanilla has smoothed them out. This gives the rum a better overall balance and less of a chemical like after taste.
Admiral’s Old J 151 Overproof Spiced Rum Tiki Fire. Sometime in the late noughties there was a brief craze for Sailor Jerry and Cola here in the UK. It was before I seriously drank rum in any shape of form. I confess I did take part. A little.
Another independent bottling from Kill Devil. This time we are taking a trip to Trinidad. This rum is one of the first releases by Kill Devil to be released at Cask Strength.
Sipped the Kill Devil Trinidad is quite sweet. It’s quite difficult to describe the sweet profile. It’s perhaps a little like a sweetener – its kind of sugary but you know its not the real thing. This is similar the sweetness doesn’t seem to be a fruity sweetness or a sugary sweetness. It’s just a little odd.
St Lucia Distillers are famous for producing Chairman’s Reserve, Bounty (mainly for the domestic market) and Admiral Rodney.
,1931 is released in limited quantities and each bottle is individually numbered. My bottle is from Batch 1 – Bottle Number 5457 and was bottled on the 17th May 2011. Each years release is a different rum to the previous years, using different distillates. It is not a case of batch variation year on year. Each year a new rum is created. It is blended under the supervision of Master Blender Evanius Harris.
In the glass the rum is a lovely shimmering golden brown. It is bright and vibrant. The nose of the rum gives you an immediate waft of Pot Still Rum. Compared to Admiral Rodney which is 100% column distilled, this is quite a big difference. The nose is more intense. It is rich and fruity. Not quite in the boundaries of a Jamaican still pot still but certainly more punchier than the lighter Bajan style. It is very much like Chairman’s Reserve’s slightly bigger brother. There is a fair bit going on in the nose. Initially it is quite zesty, limes and orange peel, but it still has an undercurrent of light vanilla and gentle oak ageing. It is both delicate and slightly punchy at the same time. There are notes on the nose that are almost vegetal. Quite reminiscent of Bourbon in many ways. Slightly grassy with an almost banana skin like note.
Sipping this rum offers a rich experience. The upfront zesty notes almost wine like notes on the nose are there when you take a sip. The mouthfeel is slightly dry and spicy. Oak and vanilla are very much present. This rum is pretty well balanced but not quite perfect. I would have preferred the citrus and zest to be parred down a little and for more cocoa notes to have been present. That is largely personal preference and is a very minor criticism. The finish is long and leaves behind notes which anyone who is familiar with St Lucia Dsitillers products will be familiar with. It is fruity, oaked and very long lasting.
From what I understand Appleton Special isn’t widely available in a lot of territories. It is freely available in the UK though.
rum is respected in the rum world especially amongst mixologists such as Jeff “Beachbum” Berry who has included it in a good few of his cocktails over the years.
Once you start mixing with this or the V/X and you’ve had a couple you’ll probably not notice much of a difference. A rum and cola made with a slice of lime and plenty of ice is very enjoyable with the Appleton Special. The fieriness of the rum still comes through and you get all that lovely funky Jamaican rummy goodness.