Merser & Co. Rum Merchants Double Barrel. Blended rum has long been well established at the lower end of the rum market. Most supermarkets have their own blends and many “cheaper” brands are based around blends of Caribbean rum. In recent times many blends have changed from multi island blends to single island blends.
Black Tot Rum Last Consignment British Royal Naval Rum. This is the fourth release from Elixir Distillers in their “Black Tot” series that I have reviewed. It was, however the first one they released. Pretty much as long as I started to get quite serious about rum I’ve known about this mythical (and expensive) bottling.
Jamaican Rum JHK Thompson Bros. Independent Whisky Bottlers have a long tradition of putting out some rather decent rum over the years. In fact quite a few of the most respected “Independent Bottlers” of rum are primarily Whisky bottlers.
Names such as Silver Seal, Cadenhead’s and Duncan Taylor are well known and well established. However, over the past few years as more Whisky enthusiasts are beginning to discover rum – more and more “Whisky” bottlers are turning to rum.
Cachaca Prosa Mineira Tradicional. As I enter the website for Prosa Mineira I am informed that it is “The most awarded from Minas Gerais”. Now Minas Gerais is widely regarded as the “birthplace” of cachaca. For many it is the best region of Brasil to find cachaca.
So its quite a statement to make. Or is it? Is a brand really recognised by the number of awards it wins. I know of one reasonably well known rum brand that proclaims itself as the “Most Awarded Rum Brand in 2018/19”.
Watt Rum Jamaican Rum Distilled at Clarendon Estate Aged 16 Years. A new independent bottler of rum is on the scene.
They seem to hail in the main either from Scotland or Italy (in most instances the rum bottled by Italians is aged in Scotland/England). This time we have a new bottler but not an entirely new face.
Rum & Cane Merchants Mauritius XO Single Cask. I’ve covered a bottling from Rum & Cane Merchants previously. If memory serves me correctly that was an offering from Worthy Park Distillery in Jamaica.
The brand seem to cross over between being called West Indies Rum & Cane Merchants and just Rum & Cane Merchants. I fancy with all the cultural appropriation backlash, they may be looking to phase out the West Indies part in time. The brand is based in London but the parent group Crucial Drinks are based in Scotland. So not very West Indian in terms of location certainly.
Ron Santiago de Cuba Ron Extra Anejo 11 Anos. I use the exact naming convention adopted on the bottles I review, so apologies for the extra brevity of this reviews title. I guess much like me, these Cuban rum producers have a tendency to waffle…..
For those of you who are unaware and I guess this is where my review is designed to assist, Ron Santiago de Cuba (formerly just Santiago de Cuba) has begun working with global booze conglomerate Diageo. This has led to a re-brand and increased availability here in the UK and Europe.