Requiem SS Ferret Australian Pot Still Rum

Requiem SS Ferret Australian Pot Still Rum. I was going to leave the title of this bottling as Requiem SS Ferret – but I thought it looked a bit strange! So I’ve added another prominent feature, on the front label to the title.

I’ve not reviewed many rums from Australia. Despite a dreadful experience with Bundaberg, I wouldn’t say I’ve been put off trying Australian rum. Logistically though, its just difficult to get my hands on any Australian rum. Very little is imported into Europe and buying from Australia seems a bit of a headache.

I’m obviously not alone in this, as very few rum reviewers are reviewing Australian products. Most reviewers are based in Europe and the US. There is coverage of Australian rum from native bloggers but I’ll be honest I don’t read many Australian rum/whisky reviewers blogs. Any hints on who I could follow let me know.

That said Australia does have a flourishing and expanding rum scene. I’m a member of the The Great Aussie Rum Rumble Facebook group. By being part of this group I have seen a great number of home grown Australian brands of rum.

Which is what I have got here. Requiem SS Ferret Australian Pot Still Rum is produced by Tin Shed Distilling Co. They hail from a suburb of Adelaide – Welland in Southern Australia.

So what is Requiem Rum? Well Tin Shed Distilling Co. are more famous for their Whisky expression “Iniquity” which as received numerous positive reviews and award since it was released in 2019. In June 2020 after 6 years of ageing Tin Shed Distilling Co. released this, their first rum.

So I hear you ask what exactly is the SS Ferret? In all honesty, it sounds like a pretty odd/stupid name to give a ship (I’m assuming the SS has already given that bit away). Ships usually have much more regal or prestigious names. I can’t think of any other ships named after this sort of creature. I’m reliably informed, that a Ferret is a domesticated European Polecat.

There is of course a story to the name first up Requiem Rum is called so because each expression of Requiem Rum will be a “final mass, a prayer for the dead, a final tribute” to each ship which is named in the series. So this is just the first in a series of rums which will be released in the Requiem Rum name.

The SS Ferret was built in 1871 in Scotland for the Highland Railway Co. In 1880 the ship was stolen. It was discovered in Adelaide, Australia by recently transferred Police Constable James Davidson from Scotland.

Sadly, in 1920 the SS Ferret was sadly wrecked after running onto a beach at Cape Spencer on the Southern Australian coast. I guess both stories explain why an Adelaide based distiller has opted to call their first rum….Ferret. Though, in fairness it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice! For further reading see Wikipedia and the companies own website.

So history lesson over with, lets see what we are actually getting in the bottle. Well as already noted, we have an Australian Pot Still rum. I assume it is produced from molasses but Australian regulations do not stipulate rum can only be produced from molasses or sugar cane juice. It’s quite strange, that they demand a minimum 2 years of ageing to be called “rum” but aren’t stricter on the base product used to produce the rum. Still, not to worry.

Requiem SS Ferret Australian Pot Still Rum has been aged for 6 years in American Oak ex-Port Casks. It has been bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered. In Australia it retails at $140. Which works out at around £/€78. It’s worth noting at this point, Australia is one of the most expensive places in the world to buy alcohol. Perhaps another reason why they do not export so much?

Anyway, lets move on from the history lesson. Shall we see if those Aussies know what they are doing? Or is all Australian rum as bad as Bundy?

In the glass we have a golden brown rum with a orange/copper hue.

On the nose, there is a very prominent note of tangerine/mandarin. Sweet fruity citrus. It’s very pleasant with notes of milk chocolate, vanilla, some light toffee. Oddly enough I’m also getting notes of prune juice? Interesting.

There is a little light spice, some notes of English Breakfast Tea. Slightly milky and some familiar notes. The orange and the chocolate smell a little like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Which is no bad thing. In the background there is just a hint of treacly molasses but its quite paired back – more like a golden syrup.

It’s quite an intriguing and unique kind of nose. It’s rum Jim but not as we know it…….

Well not quite, as we might know it. Sure it’s different but this isn’t confected nonsense like the likes of Papa’s Pilar. It still has a very rummy note amongst it. No additives used here. Definitely not.

Sipping Requiem Rum SS Ferret Australian Pot Still Rum, is a very pleasant, easy going experience. The notes of orange and chocolate, on the nose come through on the initial sip. It’s quite easy going and very, very easy to drink. It has a lovely hit of orange and dark chocolate. Please note this is a million miles away, however from the nonsense that is Pyrat!

The sweet chocolate and orange notes on the initial sip, gently move into a mid palate which has more of slightly bitter notes of tea and a very gentle slightly smoky note of tobacco and leather arm chairs.

Although this has been aged in ex-Port Casks it is not as sweet as some other Port Cask rums I have tried. Their is definitely an influence from the cask but this rum is not a typical example of a Port Cask finished rum. It’s different and unusual but very good……

The finish is light and easy going with notes of orange, chocolate and a touch of molasses. It’s light but at the same time has a complexity to it.

The best thing about this rum is its balance. It’s not overly boozy and has no off notes to it. At the right price this would be a wonderful every day sipper in the ilk of the the likes of Appleton 8 and Doorly’s XO.

Does Australia have better rum than Bundy out there?

Well this was real bonzer……