Rathlee Distilling Co Golden Barrel Aged Rum Aged 3 Years
Rathlee Distilling Co Golden Barrel Aged Rum Aged 3 Years. Rathlee Distilling Co are the brainchild of husb
and and wife team Stuart and Paolo Leather. Formed in 2012 they originally released their rum under the Revolver rum brand.
Originally Revolver rum was a blend of rums aged around 18 months to 2 years. They have since been able to further age their stocks in Cornwall. Now the rum is aged for a minimum of 3 years. 2 Years of this is aged in Latin America and a further year here in the UK. It is a column distilled rum.
Once the rum is aged it is brought down to 40% ABV with Cornish Spring Water. It’s ageing process is entirely in ex-bourbon barrels. The actual rum is from a very well-known producer in Latin America. Upon trying the rum I could identify where the rum was from.
However, for contractual reasons Rathlee are not allowed to identify where the rum hails from. much like some of the other Independent brands that are from unidentified distilleries in the likes of Panama and Fiji (Fiji is a funny one as there is only one distillery).
Another thing worth mentioning is that Rathlee aren’t actually distilling any rum at present. That is not to say they won’t give it a try going forward. They merely additionally age and blend the rum prior to bottling.
Presentation wise Revolver Rum was quite a modern and upto date brand but the presentation has taken an upturn with this release. A nice colourful yet tasteful stubby bottle with a quality cork stopper, with wooden topper. Information (aside from the distillery) on the actual rum is provided. You should be able to pick the rum up for around £25-30 for a 70cl bottle. Distribution wise it is currently only really available in the UK. However, many UK stockists will ship it abroad.
It is sometimes easy to dismiss younger rums. I have learnt this in the past to my detriment in the shape of Neptune Rum which is way better than it’s 3 years would suggest. As is Doorly’s 3 Year Old.
In the glass Rathlee Distilling Co Golden Barrel Aged Rum is unsurprisingly – golden brown.
On the nose it is a very clean, slightly mineral-y smelling spirit. Lightly aromatic and slightly perfumed. It’s not a huge bruiser of a nose and it is in keeping with what you might expect from a Latin style “ron”.
It’s youthfulness is not immediately apparent. It doesn’t smell hugely boozy. Nice notes of vanilla and some light toffee. It has a slightly sweet perfumed aroma and decent amount of spicy ex-bourbon like notes of ginger and a touch of tobacco.
At 40% ABV none of it is overwhelming and it has a nice, uncomplicated balance to it.
Siiping Rathlee Distilling Co Barrel Aged Rum is a surprisingly mellow and pleasant experience. Once again whilst many rums under 5 years old can be too boozy or unbalanced to enjoy as a sipper this actually works quite well.
It’s quite spicy and woody on the initial sip but it has a really nice zestiness of marmalade and some lime zest. It’s quite more-ish and it’s one of those rums which gives you a bit of a thirst. Clean, gently spicy it really makes your mouth water bit like a bourbon.
The mid palate is a touch on the bitter side but it has some nice notes of chocolate, toffee and some smokiness and a nice top note of tobacco – but not overly sweet like you find with Havana club rums.
The finish is more of a fade out, than offering anything particularly new but it is again pleasant enough. Maybe a higher ABV might improve the finish but at under £30 I won’t 
quibble too much about it. I’ve paid a lot more for worse sipping experiences.
There is no hint of any additives with this rum and it shows clean on the hydrometer. Which is pleasing.
In overall terms I would imagine Rathlee Distilling Co Barrel Aged Golden Rum will view itself as a “premium mixer”. It passes the Rum and Cola test with flying colours. It delivers a really nice, smooth rum and coke but it also has enough spicy, oaky and zesty flavour to make it much more than just a smooth tasteless drink.
This is a good progression from their previous effort and at good price. Albeit at probably the most competitive price point in the market.
There’s probably not a lot to be said about Bacardi that hasn’t been said before. Probably, on this blog and one of my other Bacardi reviews amongst other places. It was on completing a review of Lemon Hart White Rum that I realised I hadn’t actually reviewed Bacardi Superior. I’d had the pictures taken and reviewed a few other of Bacardi products but somehow I’d totally forgotten to review their flagship offering.
Banks are probably best known for their 5 and 7 Island Blends. In July 2015 Banks Rums were bought out by Bacardi. What plans Bacardi have for Banks Rum is anyones guess. So far no changes have taken place
A refreshing thing to note about this rum is how light it is. Almost straw coloured. Which suggests to me that no caramel has been added. The nose on this one doesn’t have anything which suggests additives either.
The site is now over 3 years old. The site as it appears now was “re-booted” back in December 2014. Which was pretty much when it began getting a meaningful amount of views. We’ve now reviewed over 300 different rums, with many more in the pipeline. Out of curiosity I thought I would see how many rums I have given the 5 star treatment. The search was quite interesting. I was quite surprised by some of the omissions – only garnering 4 or 4.5 stars. I’ve also tried not to flood the list with rums from the same distillery to keep a bit of variety.
10. 
9. 
Perhaps the first “all time classic” rum on the list. Barbancourt have been producing Cane Juice (rumours have it – this is now a mix of Cane Juice and syrup) style rum for many, many years. This rum is often overlooked and I was amongst those people who put off buying this rum due to expecting it to be similar to an agricole. Now whilst it does display some agricole notes it is so smooth and velvety it is almost like a fine cognac. At little over £30 per bottle this really is one of the worlds biggest rum bargains.
Released last October and unveiled at London Rumfest – Expressions is a blend of aged rums. Which might not sound all that remarkable. However, it is a blend of aged rums over 25 years old. 100% Pot Still rums from distilleries such as Long Pond and it even has an element of aged rum from the mythical Barbados Rockley still.
The pinnacle in terms of Appleton regular range of rums. It is a blend of column and pot distilled Jamaican rum which have ALL been aged for at least 21 years. 21 Years of tropical ageing can cometimes result in an over oaked distillate. Joy Spence of Appleton has successfully blended a perfect balance of exceptional aged Jamaican rum. Whilst the 12 Year Rare Blend offers unbelievable value for money this rum does just pip it.
An unusual rum and one which is currently no longer available. The 1842 cask was actually a “live cask” of rum which stood in the Cadenhead’s London store. A kind of commercial sized “Eternity Bottle” the cask regularly had odds and ends of Demerara rums from Cadenhead’s various casks added to it throughout its life. Producing an evergoing blend. The bottle I got was one of the most amazing Demerara blends I have ever tried and I am gutted I never bought another.
Another Demerara rum this time from Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL). The three rums released in the Rare Collection in 2016 had a lot to live upto. Seen as successors to the no longer available Velier Demeraras. For many the releases didn’t quite match up. However I felt that this rum from the Enmore still was as good as any Velier release.
Pussers Gunpowder is the re- branded UK Blue Label 54.5% ABV version of Pussers. The range were re-branded to stop confusion over ABV throughout the world. To be fair Pussers at any ABV offers the very best in Naval style rums there is to offer. Very few Navy style rums even come close to the depth of flavour and complexity.
I could easily have produced a top ten of Foursquare releases. Well I could have had ten world class rums, what order they would go on would be another matter…..that’s not a bad idea actually.
Is this rum a run of less than 300 bottles really the best rum I have ever tried?
Rhum Clement Vieux Select Barrel. We’ve featured a couple of Rhum Clement offerings on the site so far. As I continue to expand my horizons in the r(h)um world I will be trying a lot more Agricole Rhum and Cachaca.
For those who haven’t read Part One it is 
5. UK newspaper The Telegraph with their less than wonderful take on “
Next up is a Canadian newspaper with their own unique take on what is good in the Spiced and Aged rum world.
Next up is an online magazine based on “luxury” living.
Now I would usually expect a little better of Imbibe magazine. They are “commercial” but they usually produce decent articles, albeit with a distinctly commercial feel. However they got the balance a bit wrong with this interview and I was left with a bit of a bad taste in the mouth when someone was allowed to so freely and blatantly promote their own rums as “essential”. Many others around the Rum Community felt the same.
This is the article which really made me decide to produce a “Top Ten”.
Foursquare Rum Distillery Diadem. For once, I am actually familiar with a term being used on one of these fancy named Foursquare bottlings. We’ll get round to that shortly.
Presentation wise we get the now familiar stubby rounded bottle with the Foursquare Rum Distillery “medal” on a ribbon around the neck. It is sealed by a synthetic cork which Foursquare now use following so many complaints around the wooden corks disintegrating. The only differences in presentation is that the “Rum Distillery” after Foursquare has been retained on these Private Cask Selection bottlings and it would appear that some tasting notes have been introduced on the back label. I suspect they will be the work of The Whisky Exchange but I could be wrong. Their listing of this I think confirms my suspicions………they have two sets of tasting notes.
