The Real McCoy Aged 3 Years. The Real McCoy is based around a famous prohibition era “rum runner” or “bootlegger” called Bill McCoy.

The term, now in common use “The Real McCoy” when referring to something of higher or better quality is not thought to have orginated from Bill McCoy however.  It was in use long before he came along.

The Real McCoy rum does however have a good claim to being of higher or better quality product, as it created at the Foursquare distillery in Barbados.

Quite what the standard was of the rum which was originally smuggled into the US is anyones guess. It is likely it wasn’t quite to the standard of what we are used to now. Far from it infact.

The Real McCoy range of rums were released a few years ago. Although bottlings are made for both the US and European market (difference being bottle size as the US still use imperial sizes/measures) it seems the range have focused more on the US. A couple of limited editions of the Real McCoy 12 Year Old have not yet made it to this shore. Which is a great shame.

A bottle of this rum should set you back no more than £25. It is bottled at 40% ABV. From discussions with Richard Seale in the past – it is my understanding that the Real McCoy line up distinguishs itself from the Doorly’s line up as the barrels used to age the rum are charred prior to being filled with rum. The barrels are still ex-bourbon.

This extra charring may mean extra filtering of this rum to remove the barrel colour? At least in my rudimentary understanding that would make sense. I don’t ask Richard questions about everything as I do not wish to become a pest! So occasionally my guesswork comes into things. No doubt he’ll point out any flaws in my theory…..

I’ve been trying quite a lot of White Rum recently so you may notice a few more white rum reviews than usual.

In the glass The Real McCoy Aged 3 Years is a completely clear liquid.

The nose is quite heavy on the vanilla notes but has a little beef to it.  It’s quite spicy and I’m getting a little bit more barrel with this one than I did with Doorly’s 3.  Unsurprisingly the two rums are very similar (same age, same distillery).  This is perhaps a touch heavier but overall not to sure if you would notice the difference between the two.

Sipped this seems a little sweeter and more oaked.  The initial sweetness is full of vanilla and it quickly subsides to give a very spicy and quite woody mid palate.  The finish is longer and more spicy than Doorly’s 3 year old.

Most of the notes I found in Doorly’s 3 are present in this white rum – Vanilla, banana and more than a hint of coconut.  This has a longer finish but I feel is ever so slightly less complex. The fruitiness never quite develops the way it does with Doorly’s as its quickly enveloped by the oak and spice.

It still sips way better than most whites.  You can tell this is “good” rum from a very good Distillery.

Mixed with cola it becomes a little bit one dimensional.  Doorly’s 3 year old shined in a cola mix. This does a lot of the same things but it lacks that extra fruitiness.  I had hoped for a bit more “menace” from the oak and spice but that seems to disappear.  You are left with a smooth uncomplicated drink which is pleasant enough but is no game changer.

It stands up better in more tropical based drinks where the oak and spiciness give the drinks a little less sweetness. It goes nicely in a Daiqiuri as well. So if you are more sophisticated than me you may find more use for this.

It is, of course still better than most white rum at this price point and beyond, but it fails to uproot it older better known brother. I may have focused a little to much on how the Real McCoy 3 Year Old compares to the Doorly’s 3 Year Old. However, I feel that most people considering buying this rum maybe in the quandary of deciding which one to buy.

For my curiosity I was always going to try the two regardless. Tasting them together to see what the difference is. I’m pleased firstly that there is a noticeable difference as that might debunk some of the conjecture that they are the same rum just re-bottled.

A bit of a rarity in that this is a good rum from Foursquare rather than an excellent one.