This is really the signature rum for the Captain Morgan brand. However, it is no longer its most recognised rum/spirit drink. A lot of people recognise Morgan’s Spiced (UK) Or Captain Morgan Original/Gold Spiced Rum (USA). There are so many differences around the world that I won’t even begin to try and explain any further variations within the Captain Morgan brand. The UK has recently begun adopting the US style bottlings of the Spiced Rum.
English Harbour is a rum which I had been looking at for some time. For whatever reasons I had resisted the temptation to buy a bottle online. I was presently surprised to find Newcastle (Upon Tyne) department store Fenwick’s had it in stock. There is something satisfying about actually being able to have the experience of being able to buy a half decent bottle of rum over the counter. Whilst the rum was slightly more expensive than online (£27.50) this was tempered by the ability to have the rum instantly (even though its taken nearly 3 weeks to try it!) and the fact no P&P charges.
A Premium Sipping Rum isn’t really a big deal anymore. You could probably spend most of your life trying every premium sipper and never get close to trying them all. However, what hasn’t really been done before is a white sipping rum. Whilst the casual rum drinker may consider Bacardi Superior to be a premium white rum, in terms of sipping it doesn’t even come close to the kind of smoothness and complexity that befits a true sipping rum.
Captain Morgan Black Spiced Premium Spirit Drink with Caribbean rum, select spices and natural flavouring – to give it its full name. The spirit drink is aged in Double Charred Blackened Oak Barrels. It is Blackstrap rum (very thick molasses), Rich Clove Spice and Premium Cassia bark.
Unlike the Spiced Gold this is not readily available in the United Kingdom as yet. I find this a little strange as even the presentation suggests this is the Captain’s answer to The Kraken (see my review). It also uses a predominantly black and white colour scheme and the bottle shape is very similar. It omits the two rings on the neck and gains an upper hand by having a synthetic cork enclosure (pictured below). The rum/spirit drink is 40% abv. I have seen this available in the United States at 47% abv. I’m not totally sure why such regional difference apply, whether it is down to taste or politics, I really don’t know. Often rums are stronger in the UK than their US counterparts so its a bit of a conundrum.
Appleton Estate V/X Jamaica Rum was the entry level rum for the Appleton Estate brand. It has now been re-branded as Signature Blend – the juice I can reliably assure you all is exactly the same as before.
The rum is distilled, blended and bottled in Jamaica by J Wray & Nephew. It is imported into the UK by J Wray and Nephew (UK) Ltd. The Appleton V/X is bottled at 40% abv. The blend of rums are between 5 and 10 years old. The master blender at the Appleton Estate is Joy Spence, who was the first female master blender in the spirits industry. Joy has been at the Appleton Estate for over 30 years now. She became the master blender in 1997. The Appleton Estate has been producing rum since 1749, officially.