Rosemullion Distillery Gold Rum
Rosemullion Distillery Gold Rum. Over the past 5 or so years there has been an explosion of rum being produced in the UK. I’ve covered quite a bit of it. Some rum being marketed as “British Rum” is actually Caribbean rum that is either being re-distilled or having spices, botanicals and/or flavours added.
It is then being sold as a “British” product. A few producers are also bending/ignoring EU regulations and producing “rum” made from sugar beets and or rehydrated sugar cane juice.
Fortunately a number of producers such as Sugar House, J Gow and Ninefold are leading the way up in Scotland distilling their own products from imported molasses. Sugar Cane simply won’t grown in the UK. The Caribbean climate we do not have.
Further down in the UK Penderyn are producing Siddiqui rum in Wales and distilleries such as English Spirit, Two Drifters, Portsmouth Distillery and Unconventional Distillery are leading the way in terms of production in England. Over in Northern Ireland Copeland and Killoween Distillery have also began producing their own rums.
Rosemullion Distillery is set in the rural Cornwall countryside, near the Helford River. The distillery was established in 2018. They currently produce Award Winning Gin and Rum. They have 3 rums in their portfolio and a number of different gins.
Rosemullion produce their gin and rum on a bespoke Copper Pot Still. Their spirits are extremely small batch. Producing just 100 bottles per batch.
Today I am reviewing their Gold Rum expression. This is 100% Pot Still rum. The Gold Rum has no age statement. Obviously with the distillery being 3 years old, unlike some Central/South American “distilleries” the age of the rum is in keeping with that.
Rosemullion have advised that they age the rum in American Oak Barrels. They age to a taste profile but typically they age the rum for around 18 months. They do have more aged stock put away for future releases, which will have an age statement. Rosemullion Distillery Gold Rum is reduced to bottling strength of 43% ABV with pure Cornish spring water.
You can pick up a bottle at the distillery’s own shop for £36 for a 70cl bottle. In terms of presentation the rum is presented in a very nice rounded bottle, with a heavy glass base and a very chunky cork stopper, with the Rosemullion Distillery logo on the front of the bottle and on the Cork Stopper.
Each of the Rosemullions rums come in the same bottle. They are differentiated by the label which is attached to the neck of the bottle. The rear gives details of the batch number and bottle number. I have batch RG10 and bottle number 12.
So with that I think that is pretty much all the information we should need for now. Besides which I have their other 2 rums to review as well so I need to keep somethings back to make those reviews interesting. No one wants to read the same thing again I’m sure.
In the glass, unsurprisingly the rum is a lovely golden colour. I cannot see any signs of any caramel colouring. The appearance looks natural.
On the nose Rosemullion Distillery Gold Rum has notes of caramel, toffee and vanilla. I’m also getting notes of Banana Bread, pineapple and a touch of a perfumed note. It’s not quite as molasses heavy as some other UK based rums.
It’s a nicely balanced nose and has a nice integration with the American Oak cask – so you get a nice hit of bourbon-esque vanilla notes and a nice array of spices and some nicely aged oak notes. All in all it’s very inviting.
Sipped Rosemullion Distillery Gold Rum is remarkably smooth and quite easy going. For such a young rum I really wasn’t expecting something quite so well rounded and balanced.
The initial sip gives an inital hit of spicy oak and some bitter dark chocolate. This is followed by a burst of sweetness – some sweet banana and pineapple and a touch of red apple. On the mid palate the rum becomes quite sweet with some icing sugar and vanilla mingling with the lightly spiced oak.
I really wasn’t expecting too much from such a young rum in terms of a sipper. Although as I have touched upon earlier it isn’t particularly heavy in terms of molasses it does have quite a weight of caramel and toffee running through the sip.
Finish wise the rum has a medium finish, which has a surprising lack of “burn”. In fact overall for a rum less than 2 years, this really is very gentle and easy going. All the flavours and notes of this rum are really nicely integrated. You get the feeling this has been produced with real care for what they are doing.
The finish is a nice mixture of toffee and oak spice. Hints of vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. All in all as sipper this is surprisingly good. The relatively easy going
nature and the 43% ABV could put this firmly in the “every day sipper” mould. Certainly a couple of glasses of this after work are proving very popular with me anyway…….
As the review alludes to this rum has a lot of “classic” rum flavours. The notes I have used are quite “stereotypical”. That said I think they do reflect how this rum actually tastes.
As a result in terms of a mixer this Gold Rum works really well with mixers such as cola and ginger beer. The caramel/toffee notes work nicely alongside those mixers and the oak spices give a nice depth to a highball.
To be fair though I really didn’t mix this rum too much. It just felt a bit of a waste.
Quite looking forward to trying some of their more aged rums going forward but this is a really great start.
Rum 970 Agricola de Maderia Reserva Ans 6 Anos. This Agricole style rum was produced at the Engenhos do Norte (North Milling Company) Distillery, on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Which is (unsurprisingly) more famous for being the home of Madeira wine.
The aromas on the nose are best described as fortified – huge wafts of port, sherry and tannic red wine. It’s pretty intense stuff. Despite the port and sherry notes it isn’t overly sweet. There is quite a lot of oak which combines with more familiar aged agricole notes to balance the overall experience.
A while back I reviewed a Royal Navy rum from prior to Black Tot Day. I was able to do this by buying a sample from The Old Spirits Company.
o you have in the drinks industry?
I enjoy the contact that I have with clients. Our shared enthusiasm provides me with momentum to further develop my business. I also exhibit and speak at trade shows like BCB, Imbibe Live, Boutique Bar Show, Prague Bar Show, Perfect Serve, Bar Institute and for the first time this July, Tales of the Cocktail.
Generally speaking I don’t open bottles unless they are earmarked for a tasting or do not have a label or are otherwise unattractive in some way, such as if they have a low level or are really dirty. A 1950s Wynand Fockink Cherry Liqueur was a recent eye opener; the Dutch have always made such fine fruit cordials and this brand has recently been resurrected by Lucas Bols who bought them and used their stills to make their own products for many years.
These days I am drinking Navy Flagon Rum from the 1950s at 57%, pretty fabulous stuff undiluted and just enough time has passed to take the edge off. Also, 1930s St. James from Martinique, same classic square bottle back then and magnificent quality – the scent is so heady; if you close your eyes it’s not too hard to imagine that you’re standing in the middle of a cane field.
Velho Pescador Extra Premium Cachaca Aged 5 Years. Velho Pescador is actually a Weber Haus product. I was unaware of this. As a result of this my sample has remained untouched for a couple of months – as I had so many to try. I had not heard or seen of Velho Pescador before. My bad!
The mid palate takes you through a variety of flavours from sweet vanilla ice cream to spicy wood and some traces of cinnamon and tart-tartin. Maybe some Crème Brulee whilst we are on the French theme.
Foursquare Dominus. Dominus is the Latin word for master or owner. The rum is noted as being “Master of the House” on the rear label. This convention continues the theme of similarly named rums from Foursquare such as Tryptych, Principia and Criterion. It is worth noting that such “fancy” names are quite common in the whisky world. The likes of Ardbeg are well-known for their curiously named bottlings.
attend, I have been lucky enough to get my hands on samples of latest the Exceptional Cask Series’ rums. So I will review them over the next couple of weeks. I was also unable to attend a tasting in (surprise, surprise) London which was held a few weeks back. It’s a good job this blog isn’t run off the back of freebies or reports on free tastings, as it would be pretty sparse! (Not to mention boring)
As with many Foursquare rums it’s not so much about picking out individual flavours – it’s more about the overall balance and general “feel” of the rum. When you have tasted a good few rums you do start to get a “feel” for a rum – sometimes even from the nosing. It’s not a particular skill it is just something you will notice the rum you drink. It really is that simple. The more rum you sample and taste neat the more you will notice over time. I see a lot of people proclaim a rum is the “best in the world” when they have only had 5 or 6. Best in “their” world maybe.
The Duchess Trinidad Rum Aged 21 Years hails from the iconic and now defunct Caroni Distillery. Despite the length of time since the distillery closed – way back in 2002, we are still seeing casks of rum being released by Independent bottlers from the late 1990’s.
cork. The cork beneath is a chunky synthetic affair. I really like the artwork on these releases, though the differing coloured fonts can make some parts more difficult to read than others.
a tinge of vanilla. The initial tobacco heavy entry quickly moves to a sweeter mid palate full of these fruity flavours. The overlay of smoke, tobacco, tar and nail varnish make this a very complex and rewarding tot.
