Rum of the Year 2015

Bythefatrumpirate

Rum of the Year The Fat Rum PirateRum of the Month has been a feature which we ran on the site from January to October. Rum of the Year 2015 its logical conclusion.

Rum of the Month gave a solid selection of 10 very good rums, which I hope people took the time to seek out if they hadn’t already tried them.

Which led me to one of the sticking points I had about producing a list of Rums of the Year.  As the site has only been live since early 2014 and only really getting a noticeable amount of hits since the December 2014 re-vamp, it seemed a little daft for me to recommend a list of rums.  A lot of you have probably been buying these rums for years and years.

In 2015 I tried likely in excess of 150 new rums.  When I say new, I mean new to me.  Many of these rums had been available for a long time.

So as 2015 drew to an end I thought the best way to a Rum of the Year and to keep the series going over a number of years, would be to give the award to a rum which had not been available until 2015.

Which obviously cuts the field down quite a bit but at the same time, I hope gives you all the option of trying something new.  Rather than being told to try something you have been drinking for years……..

2015 was quite an interesting year for rum.  Diageo and Bacardi Global seemed to go after each others slice of the pie – Captain Morgan White rum was introduced as a direct competitior for Bacardi Superior and Bacardi responded by trying to pinch some of the Captain’s Spiced Gold clientele with their Red Spiced Rum Carta Fuego

Bacardi also bought out the “premium” rum brand Banks (Joseph Banks not the Guyanan, Banks DIH) and the Bacardi story continued with the news that US and Cuban relations were cooling and finally the US might get the real Havana Club rum in the US rather than Bacardi’s frankly rather petty “rip-off”.

Moving away from the global giants the US rum scene continued to thrive with more and more new brands popping up all the time.  To be fair few of these have reached our shores so I can’t really comment.  However brands such as Richland Rum and Brinley’s seemed to go from strength to strength.

In Europe the independent bottlers continued to become more noticeable and influential.  Velier diverted from their aged Demeraras to introduce some unaged white Clarin’s from Haiti.  Compagnie des Indes arrived on the scene from France and immediately got a lot of acclaim and attention for their particularly excellent 16 Year Old Barbados bottling, amongst others.

Moving closer to home the UK Spiced Rum market took a very strange turn with English Spirit Distillery, who are responsible for Old Salt Rum working with a number of producers to make some very interesting pot still spiced rums.  Brands such as Matugga, Bushtea and Old Amazon all benefitted from the Copper Pot Still based in Cambridgeshire.

Remaining in the UK the first rum distillery was opened in Scotland.  Dark Matter Spiced Rum was the first result from this micro distiller with more due to come in 2016!

Foursquare Port Rum Finish review by the fat rum pirateSo as you can see 2015 was a busy year and I’ve only really scratched the surface.  After careful consideration we decided to opt for a rum which you may only be able to get for a very short period in 2016.

A limited edition bottling from an iconic Caribbean distillery with a price tag which didn’t mean it was available only for a select few.

Step forward Richard Seale of Foursquare Distillery as thefatrumpirate.com Rum of 2015 is the excellent Foursquare Port Cask Finish.

A rum which should not be missed!  Limited Edition and a briiliant example of how to impart flavour to a rum with skilful blending, good cask management and inventive finishing.

 

 

 

 

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  • An Interview with Helena “Tiare” Olsen (A Mountain of Crushed Ice)

    Bythefatrumpirate
    As part of my recent interview series I felt it was time to interview one of my contemporaries.  As a blogger since at least 2008 and a keen writer and rum enthusiast long before that I felt that Helena “Tiare” Olsen would be fitting interviewee.
    As you can see from Helena’s detailed and interesting responses this was a particularly good choice!  Enjoy. (Apologies for the slightly cluttered appearance here – WordPress is playing funny buggers with me I will endeavour to sort it out!)
    TIARE
    1. Tiare – You are well know in the Rum and mixology community.  Your blog takes a slightly different take on things, to many other Rum Blogs.  Do you think your blog’s slightly eclectic style is what has garnered it so much attention?  Something a little bit different perhaps.  Your 3 part article on Demerara rum was a very interesting and impressively researched read.

    I really have no idea….my story is this – my blog has always been about 4 things – what my old headline did say – Rums, Tiki drinks, Cocktails and Spirits. I write because I enjoy it and think it`s fun and I`d be bored if I wrote about the same thing all the time…

    Cocktails and mostly tiki drinks was what I wrote about the first year, back in 2008 and then due to my at the time, membership of the Cocktails and Spirits Online Writers Group (CSOWG, which was made of 25 booze blogs) I started to review products and it was not only rum back then.

    Since rum is my passion I have gravitated more and more towards just rum over the years and tiki drinks does have a connection with rum, since historically tiki drinks always (but not exclusively) have been made with rum.

    Also since I have blogged the Tales since 2009 it has naturally evolved to blog whatever other rum or tiki event I might be able to attend. So yeah, it´s not just about one thing I write.

    The bottom line on my blog is always rum and tiki, the rest like other spirits, other cocktails, bitters, mixers, syrups, bar tools, tiki or rum books etc are circling around it but most of the things circling around it are in some way connected to tiki….

    For example, writing about how to make a passion fruit syrup….because a lot of tiki drinks using it. But you would probably not see me write about how to make a lavender syrup because that is not used in tiki drinks as far as I know but belongs to classic and modern cocktails.

    To sum it all up – if you visualize my blog as as “sun” named “Rum and Tiki” and around it are all the little ”planets and stars” called “other spirits, mixers, events, bartools, bar books” etc circling….and most of those are in some way or another connected to the Rum and Tiki Sun!

    That`s my little blog universe!

    2.  As a rum reviewer I’ve noted that you have reviewed rums from time to time but you’ve never really rated any rums in any kind of scoring system.  What are your favourite rums currently? (List any amount of rums in any order you wish)

    Well, I want to make my reviews in my own personal style, in a little “lighter” way if you wish…I don`t want it to be “framed” by “how it should look” but rather just be free spirited about it and so I don`t really use any set outlook…

    And like the old saying goes, “my favorite rum is the one currently in my glass” is sort of true…but there are some rums that will always be my favorites and in no particular order…these are the Demeraras, Caronis and Rhum Agricoles from Velier, then the same types from Silver Seal, Samaroli…

    The rums from Foursquare Distillery are solid, and I like the Lost Spirits rums, Rougaroux, the Agricole rums…not even gonna go into which ones because they are so many….there´s a lot of rums that I like.

    If we shall talk about rum styles instead of brands, my first prèference are the Demerara and Jamaican rums because of their strong full bodied flavors and I prefér heavy pot still rums the most and I mostly prefér my rums strong because with a bit of higher proof I think you get more flavor and punch, and that is especially good for tiki drinks.

    3.  Your love of Demerara rum is well documented.  Alongside your current favourite rums. Is there a Holy Grail in the case of a rare and hard to find Demerara that you are longing to try? Or a Demerara you have sampled but never been lucky enough to get a bottle?

    Oh yes there are Holy Grails…for example the Velier Skeldon -73 and -78….those are legendary rums which I haven`t been able to try yet and samples seems very hard to find…

    Two other Holy Grails I have tried but not yet been able to get a bottle of are also from Velier…it`s the UF30E another of those impossible to find rums and the1980 Damoseau – which is not as hard to find but unf very expensive.

    And then we have the Holy Grail of the Holy Grails of all rums…the vintage 17 year J Wray that went into Trader Vic´s Mai Tais…..I`d love to try that one, at least once in my life, for historical research…I want to know how the Mai Tai tasted back then…

    4. And your most disappointing Demerara experience?

    Actually I`m not sure…I can´t recall anything specific.

    5.  Is there a style or specific rum that you cannot abide? I have a few (Bundaberg and Bacardi Black to name but two)

    Artificially flavored rums….rums that have a chemical after taste, rum that tastes more like vodka than rum….rums that are cloingly sweet..rums that are stripped of all their natural flavours by too much filtering to make them “top shelf”. I like rum that tastes like real rum.

    6.  I’m not sure how Hawaiian blood you have, so how exactly did you get into Tiki? And what do you and so many find so intriguing about Tiki?

    pukapunchI been a fanatic lover of the tropics and especially Polynesia since I was a child and when I was in my teens I read every book about the South Seas I could find, everything from authors like Louis Stevenson,Thor Heyerdahl, Bengt Danielsson to the Book of Puka Puka, reading about those islands and their culture and history. And since the Tiki culture borrows a lot from the South Seas, like drink names, decor, tikis etc the element is there and the tropical feel is there.

    When I was around fifteen I made my own “tropical concoctions” with absolutely zero knowledge about cocktail mixing…I was dreaming about white beaches and palmtrees…and colorful drinks. About two years ago I did bartend at a big party together with my youngest son (who is a bartender) and the host of that party was one of my childhood friends. 

    She had put up big sized copies of photos of her life from her childhood and until that day,and there was one picture there with me at the age of sixteen? sitting in a bamboo chair dressed in a blue Aloha shirt holding a tropical drink in a hurricane glass with several other tropical drinks around me on the floor…haha so I think my obsession with tropical drinks actually started there…

    Now tiki is not just full with South Seas ingredients, it´s a lot about the Caribbean too in that that`s where the drinks came from and about ten years ago or so, back in 2007 I started to surf around to find more about tropical rum drinks and that`s when I stumbled on the Tiki Central web site where I discovered the Tiki culture and found it was right up my alley.

    Shortly after that I also discovered all the other booze blogs that were out there and the Ministry of Rum Website where i started to learn about rums – and rums and Tiki goes together since historically most of the Tiki drinks are made with rum.

    I also have a vague memory from when I was very young and went to the island of Mallorca outside of Spain and went to what has to have been a tiki bar because I remember I was stunned by all the tropical decor and statues and stuff at that place and I remember I had a drink called “Mai Tai”…….

    I find tiki intriguing because of many reasons, one is that I love the tropical vibe, I love Polynesia, the Caribbean, I love tropical rum drinks, tiki is fun, colorful, crazy, entertaining, relaxing and it´s an escape to warmer tropical places….

    7.  And on the flipside is there any facet to Tiki culture that frustrates or annoys you? Do you think Tiki gets the recognition it deserves?

    The only flipside I can think about is if tiki bars and such are ignorant to the actual culture of the Polynesian Islands (which btw has nothing to do with the faux Polynesian tiki culture) and doesn`t respect it not thinking about what things they are using and how they are used.

    As for recognition I see the Tiki culture getting bigger and bigger…the worse it is in the world the more people need to “escape”………

    8.  On your blog you have noted the ideal way to make a Mai Tai and a Zombie.  As a complete novice when it comes to cocktails, particularly Tiki mixology could you recommend any easy to make cocktails that look and taste impressive?

    Well, you got it already, the Mai Tai, it`s simple yet perfectly balanced and it looks and tastes impressive when done right.

    9.  Have you any of your own cocktails (or something in the making) which you are particularly proud of?

    The best one of my own might be the “Pineapple Delight” which I have re-named to “Hala Kahiki Punch”. Hala Kahiki means pineapple in Hawaiian. Here´s the recipe:

    Hala Kahiki PunchTIKIDRINK

    Core one big nice pineapple to use as drink vessel and save 6-7 pineapple chunks for the drink.

    In mixing glass add:

    The pineapple chunks – and muddle them with 0.25 oz (7 ml) each of orgeat and cinnamon syrup

    Juice of two fresh limes

    2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc, 50-55%

    2 tblsp fresh honey cream-mix

    Float J Wray overproof rum

    Jamaican Ting to top

    Shake hard, strain and serve in the pineapple with crushed ice. Float the JWray and top with a little bit of Jamaican Ting. Garnish with 2 pineapple leaves and a cherry. 

    Honey Cream Mix

    Equal parts Sugar, unsalted butter and liquid honey

    Add to pot, heat carefully and stir until it gets creamy.You want a smooth creamy sauce. Let cool slightly to room temp. The problem with honey cream mix is the milk solids from the butter that forms when the mix gets chilled so add the ice last to the shaker and shake hard and quick.

    10.  Which mixologists/Tiki specialists do you must look up to and who’s recipes do you use most often?

    Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic, Jeff Berry, Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. Buhen of Tiki Ti, Martin Cate, Jason Alexander, Daniele Dalla Pola.

    Who`s recipes I use the most? that gotta be Donn Beach and Trader Vic. But there was also this bartender Mariano Licudine who worked for Donn Beach and later at the Mai Kai creating a lot of drink recipes that were surely heavily influenced from his time with Donn Beach.

    11.  Any books on Tiki you could recommend to beginners?   

    All Jeff Berry`s books! start with them, they contain both history, tidbits and drink recipes!. Then we have Sven Kirsten`s books “The Book of Tiki” and Tiki Pop”  

    12.  It’s Negroni Week this week (1st – 7th June 2015).  Not strictly a rum cocktail but what would your recipe be?

    1 oz. Rum Nation Jamaica
    1 oz. sweet vermouth
    1 oz Campari
     
    Stir and serve with ice and a wedge of lime.

    13.  Finally.  Do you think rum gets the recognition it deserves in the wider spirits community? Is rum forever to remain in the shadow of whisky?

    That remains to be seen….as long as there´s no set regulation for rums as for what they should be allowed to contain, something similar to the AOC of Martinique that they have for rhum agricole to ensure quality, it´s gonna be hard for real rum to get the recognition it deserves. And there`s not enough real rums out there in comparison with for example whisky/ey.

    For more Rum and Tiki adventures follow Helena  A Mountain of Crushed Ice.

  • Bristol Classic Rum – Caroni 1997

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Bristol Classic Rum Trinidad 1997 rum review by the fat rum pirateThe latest release from Bristol is this (near) Cask Strength effort from the Caroni Distillery.  Bristol have released a good few Caroni rums over the past few years.  Including their 1974 effort, which I have sadly yet to review.

    Amongst these I seem to remember a Cask Strength Caroni which was possibly released for the Danish or European market only?

    John Barrett has wavered to popular opinion and has decided to offer this 1997 Caroni at near to Cask Strength.  As a result there are less bottles of this than there would normally have been.  John prefers to bottle at around 43-46% ABV.

    At around £140 this is not cheap but bare in mind this is a 18 year old rum.  It was distilled in 1997 bottled in 2015 and released in late 2016/early 2017.  The ABV is a fiery 61.5%

    Unlike the Providence Estate Caroni I reviewed last year this has been aged entirely in ex Bourbon Barrels.  It has had no finish or second maturation.  It is noted on the rear of the bottle that this is small batch.  A one off release

    It is also noted that this is a HTR (Heavy Type Rum) from column distillation,  which Caroni have become most famous for. 

    Presentation wise you get the usual stubby Bristol bottle complete with cork enclosure and silver wrapping over the cork and neck.  A storage tube is provided and the label is a slight departure from the usual Bristol presentation with a couple of graphics of sugar canes and the skyline of the City of Bristol is depicted.

    I first tried this at the Boutique Rum Fest in London back in October 2016.

    Bristol Classic Rum Trinidad 1997 rum review by the fat rum pirateThe first thing I noticed about this rum was how dark it was.  Much like the Velier “Heavy” Caroni’s.  It is a very dark reddish brown.

    The nose is strong and pungent yet sweet and fruity.  It’s very complex.

    Rich sweet raisins, banana, that familiar Caroni twang of petrol and tar are present but do not dominate.  There is a lovely balanced oak which envelops the nose making it warming and very inviting.

    The rum just keeps giving you more the more you nose – toffee, dark chocolate, a hint of olives, some strong tannic red wine like notes.

    This is a big rum.  No mistaking.  At 61.5% ABV I was expecting something a lot more “boozy”.  However on the nose at least it seems very nicely balanced and is showing complexity rather than out and out strong alcohol fumes – -which I was kind of expecting to some degree.

    Sipped it surprisingly doesn’t need much water.  A few drops will do maybe bring it down to around 55%.  Everything that was promised on the nose is delivered on the palate.

    Again it has a sweetness which compliments the more aggressive or polarising aspects of Caroni rums in general.  The petrol and tar which is so common in Caroni’s is playing alongside rich fruity red wine notes, raisins and sultanas.  Each sip is sweet, rich and warming – it is still quite challenging (this is not your Barceló style column distillation).  It reminds me of Pussers in terms of its sweet yet aggressive nature.

    Now when I am talking sweet in terms of this review please note we are not in El Dorado 12 or 15 Year Old territory.  It is still a Heavy Caroni Rum – similar to the Velier 15 Year Old if you want an obvious reference point.

    Bristol Classic Rum Trinidad 1997 rum review by the fat rum pirateThere is so much going on with this rum I am not surprised John has left quite vague tasting notes on the bottle “fruit and wood on the palate the high spirit carries you to a long finish”. 

    The finish on this rum is exceptional – it is very long and very complex.  Oak, fruit, a nice warming burn a touch of tobacco and smoke.  It’s pretty much got everything you would want from a “heavy” rum.

    Despite the length of time since the distillery closed there is still a lot of rum being released.  From what I understand John was one of the first people (before Luca Gargano, I have read) to get his hands on stocks of Caroni.  He certainly got a winner with this 1997 vintage.

    If you like your Caroni the I can’t recommend this enough.

    A classic from Bristol Classic.   

     

  • |

    Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Port Cask

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Levy Lane Rum Co. Tamosi Port Cask rum review the fat rum pirateLevy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Port Cask. I recently reviewed the “regular” blend of Tamosi rum. This is pretty much the same blend with a Port Cask finish and a higher ABV. Should be good? We’ll sharp find out.

    As well as the regular Tamosi release, the Levy Lane Rum Co. have also got two “single cask” rums which I will be reviewing as quickly as I can.

    Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Port Cask is a similar blend to the “regular” Tamosi with a  higher Jamaican component. The make up of the rum is as follows

    8 year old Barbados rum (Pot/Column blend)

    6 Year Old Panama rum (Column still)

    and 3 unaged Jamaican rums (not totally sure of the Pot/Column ratios but the rums hail from Worthy Park, Hampden and Clarendon.

    This blend of rums was then rested in a Port Cask for 8 months in Europe.

    Tamosi is named after the Carib creator “Tamosi Kabotano”. This roughly translates as “Ancient one of the skyland”, who created the earth and everything upon it. The Carib people, who believed themselves also to have come from the skyland, found Tamosi to be an absent creator. Often leaving their pleas for help unanswered.

    No different to other “gods” then I guess……………

    Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Port Cask is now available in the UK from The Whisky Exchange, it retails at £69.95. It has been bottled at a higher ABV than the regular Tamosi and sits at 55% ABV.

    The rum is presented in an opaque bottle with a synthetic cork stopper to seal the rum. Presentation wise, it is similar to the regular Tamosi release. The rear label gives more information regarding this rum and Tamosi Kabotano. Levy Lane Rum Co have set up a website should you require further information. You can find it here.

    Levy Lane Rum Co. Tamosi Port Cask rum review the fat rum pirate

    For this particular release only 310 bottles have been produced. Ever since the release of Foursquare’s Exceptional Cask Port Cask release, the rum world have been very receptive to any rum in a Port Cask. So I wouldn’t “faff” about if you are hoping to pick up a bottle of this. I doubt they will last on the rum up to Christmas, Especially since it is now readily available at The Whisky Exchange.

    I’ve heard good things about this rum so lets crack on and get it poured in the glass…….

    The nose is light and quite sweet. At first nosing you’d perhaps think it was a Foursquare ECS finish. I doubt this is anything other than a compliment, bearing in mind how much I enjoy those rums………

    Some light oak notes mingle alongside notes of cherry, raisins and some red grape. The ABV makes itself known a little giving your nose a little twitch.

    Further nosing reveals the Jamaican influence with a nice layer of banana and a slightly medicinal “funky” note. Rather than overpower the Port influences this actually works nicely to add complexity to the nose.

    As far as the Panama rum is concerned you get a light airing of tobacco and some flowery notes but these are quite a way down the overall mix.

    Overall the Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Port Cask has a very inviting nose. This will really appeal to anyone who likes a Port Cask finished rum.

    Sipped, this rum rely belies its ABV. It’s still quite fiery but I don’t think you would think this was bottled at 55% ABV. It’s really quite mellow. Easy going and I’m finding far too easy to drink. Which to be honest how I have find quite a few Port Cask finished rums. Not many of these rums have lasted long on my shelf!

    The initial notes are sweet with a lot of the Port Cask. So we get lots of dark stoned fruits such as cherries, raisin and sultanas. As you progress onto the mid palate though the rum becomes a bit spicer with more notes of oak spice and some white pepper.

    As the mid palate progresses you’ll notice notes of liquorice and coca-cola. A touch of hazelnut and some praline. A touch of milk chocolate as you move into the finish. The Jamaican elements of this rum give it an extra edge as well giving just a bit more “bite” to the rum than pLevy Lane Rum Co. Tamosi Port Cask rum review the fat rum pirateerhaps, a straight Barbados/Panama blend would have done. It has a touch of “menace” that compliments the sweeter, smoother notes.

    The finish is a good length and has a nice warming “winter” like note. A bit like Christmas cake/pudding?

    This is arguably an ideal type of rum for this time of year. Ideal time for me to be reviewing it I think!

    This is a really great use of the Port Cask and I’ve got to say Levy Lane Rum Co. have made an excellent start, with this and the regular blend.

    Seems like really good rum blends are coming back in vogue………

     

  • Ron Montero Gran Reserva

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Ron Montero Gran Reserva Rum Review by the fat rum irateRon Montero is a rum producer from Motril, Spain. Ron Montero Gran Reserva is the premium end of their regular line up of rums.  They also released a “Super Premium” rum to celebrate 50 years of rum making the “Ron Francisco Montero”.

    In 1963 the Ron Montero distillery was founded by the Montero-Martin family.  The family had been cultivating sugar cane for three generations. Finally the owner Don Francisco Montero-Martin decided to produce rum.

    There is a lot of information to be found on the companies website.  Which is also translated into English. This has proved invaluable when researching this rum.

    Unlike many other producers (including many from the Caribbean) Ron Montero still cutivate their own sugar cane.  Cutting and processing the cane which produces the molasses they use in their rums.

    This molasses is then fermented for a period of 24 to 30 hours. Ron Montero then use a four column still set up to distill.  They use two different kinds of alcohol in their rums a 80% proof sugar cane “agua aguardiente” and a 96% proof alcohol (you might term this as neutral spirit).

    They also mention that they create a vacuum in the first column, which allows them to boil the alcohol at 65 degrees centigrade rather than 80.  As a result they claim that this produces a better quality rum.  I’m no scientist or distiller so I have no idea how feasible this claim is.

    Ron Montero then age their rum in 500 Litre Virgin American Oak barrels.  So if If I am understanding correctly this means that the barrels are brand new and have not contained bourbon previously.  I can only wonder that such barrels must be pretty expensive?  I suspect they really mean they have been used once for Bourbon but never for rum.

    The rum is then matured in a four tier Solera system. Similar to the one detailed at Santa Teresa in Venezuela.  Aware of the controversy regarding age statements in the rum world, Ron Montero do not employ age statements. They blend and bottle their rums when they feel they have the right flavour rather than the right age. This claim has also been made by Caribbean producers such as Mount Gay for their XO.

    Ron Montero’s rums are then blended and reduced down to 40% ABV. Rather than 37.5 or 38% which is quite common in the Latin World.

    As you can see from the production process Ron Montero are producing what would be termed a “Cuban, Latin or Spanish” style of light column distilled rum.  The level of detail on their website regarding the production has to be applauded.  Having said that I do have concerns with snippets about “secret formulas”.

    If you do travel to Motril (some cruise ships dock there) then there are free distillery visits in both Spanish and English most days.  I would contact them ahead of time if you wish to visit – they have a contact form on the site.

    In the UK a bottle of Ron Montero Gran Reserva costs around £30 and is bottled at 40% ABV as mentioned earlier.  It is imported by Amathus who have a great selection of rums in their portfolio.  In Spain the price is likely to be much cheaper.  I confess I can’t recall seeing any the last time I was in Spain but it was Benidorm, so probably not the best place to find anything authentically Spanish!

    The rum has no age statement but is presumably made up of rums older than the Ron Plata (White rum) and Ron Palido (Amber Rum).  These are also available – around £20-24 in the UK.

    So with out further ado lets move onto a tasting of what the rear label claims “considered by experts to be one of the best rums in the world”.

    In the glass the rum is a nice golden brown colour.  It has a very “typical” appearance so is likely coloured to ensure consistency.

    The nose is sweet and very Cuban in style.  It is very definitely a “Ron”.  Toffee, chocolate, cocoa combine with tobacco and leather.  It is reminiscent of Havana Club 7 though I feel it shows more balance.  It doesn’t have too much tar and tobacco.

    There is a quite refreshing hit of alcohol. I don’t get the feeling the rum has been sweetened or dosed to much.  It has a nice cleanness to it.

    Sipped Ron Montero Gran Reserva is very approachable.  Th

    Ron Montero Gran Reserva Rum review by the fat rum pirate

    ankfully it has a little more bite than “ron” from the Dominican Republic (particularly Oliver & Oliver products).  It is much fresher and vibrant than some of the heavily dosed Abuelo products.

    It delivers an initial sweetness – brown sugar and a little nuttiness.  This soon gives way to a nice smokiness – its quite a woody rum.  Definitely one you would pair with a cigar.  It’s very sippable whilst it isn’t particularly challenging – you can soon get to grips with its profile it is reasonably complex.

    The finish is a reasonable length though its not particularly strong.  After the initial mouth feel and mid palate the rum does become just a little on the thin side.  Maybe a slightly higher ABV might help with this.

    If you are fond of the readily available Havana Club rums in particularl the 7 Year Old then I think you would get a lot of enjoyment from this.  For its style it is well constructed and quite tasty.  It also works well as a mixer but it is best enjoyed on its own in my opinion.

    Likewise if you are looking for a drier more oaky “ron” to try this also may appeal.

    All in all this little known rum is pretty decent performer.  It’s certainly a lot better than some of the “ron” which sells by the caseload!

     

     

     

  • Lemon Hart 151 Premium Rum

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Lemon Hart 151 the fat rum pirate rum reviewOver two centuries ago Lehmann (Lemon) Hart was named an official purveyor of rum to the British Royal Navy, subsequently establishing the Lemon Hart Rum Company in London, England, in 1804.

    Whether Mr Hart ever intended a 151 Lemon Hart to become Tiki staple is improbable but this particular rum is the most iconic of Lemon’s legacy.  What is even more improbable is that the Lemon Hart Rum Company of late would be based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  That is however what has become of the man’s legacy.

    Rumours of the scarcity of Lemon Hart 151 first came along around 2012.  As far as I’m aware at this point in time (23/04/2015) no Lemon Hart rum of any description has been released since early 2013.  Whilst stocks are still available world wide it rather depends on your location as to how easily you can get a bottle.  Having short hands and deep pockets won’t help your cause.

    Fortuitously, I stumbled across ibottle of Lemon Hart White Rum in Ayia Napa (of all places) in the summer of 2014.  How long it had been on the shelves of said retailer was anyones guess.  I looked anxiously for the variants I really wanted (the 151 and the Dark) but sadly they had none!

    My experiences of “Overproof” rum has been quite mixed.  Whilst I enjoyed Smith & Cross (57% ABV) and Pusser’s Blue Label (54.5% ABV) I hadn’t quite got to grips with either Plantation Dark Overproof (73% ABV) or Gosling’s Black Seal 151 (75.5%).  As a kind of middle ground J Wray & Nephew White Overproof (63% ABV) had been pretty good but I was very reticent to try another 70+% ABV rum.

    The purchase of the Lemon Hart 151 was buoyed partly by the scarcity of the spirit but also the enthusiasm of Demerara lover and Tiki mixologist Helena “Tiare” Olsen over at A Mountain Of Crushed Ice.  Lemon Hart 151 rum review by the fat rum pirate

    The first thing I noticed about the Lemon Hart 151 was the lack of “aroma” coming from the bottle once opened.  As an import, the rum came with an unusual plastic screw top cap.  Upon opening the bottle I was expecting to be attacked by alcohol fumes.  This had been my biggest issue with the Plantation Overproof, it reeked of alcohol from metres away.  That is not an exaggeration.

    Whether it is the Demerara element (a little added sugar is in the mix) which contributes I’m not entirely sure but Lemon Hart 151 does not give off any kind of strong alcohol aroma, the way other overproofs can.  It cannot be smelled strongly from the bottle being opened and a glass cannot be sensed until you actually nose the spirit.

    Lemon Hart 151 is up there without doubt as one of the most sweetest smelling drinks I have ever encountered.  Nosing and tasting notes are often full of rich notes such as toffee, brown sugar, molasses, raisins etc.  I am going to give you the note which best describes this rum via a link.  I have not even prised open a jar of this delicious treat for at least 20 years but I can assure you that this is exactly what Lemon Hart 151 smells like.  Not the Golden Syrup but the Black Treacle.

    No doubt a lot my American readers are thinking what the hell?  It’s basically a more thicker, darker, more liquorice and toffee tasting Maple Syrup, without the Maple flavour.  Basically its liquid gold.  And its probably more harmful to you than drinking the 151 straight!

    Lemon Hart 151 rum review by the fat rum pirateWhich is where we will start after another nosing.  Yip still smells like deep dark treacle.  Great!  You can sip this but it burns like hell and it’s very much like trying to eat a very very hot curry.  It really is a bit of a fool’s errand to try and drink rum at such strengths.  If you do not wish to mix this rum in Tiki drinks or as I do with Cola then watering it down is the key.  A few teaspoons of water should bring it down to a more manageable level.  For those in warmer climbs a cube or two of ice left to melt might work well.  This should open up the spirit as well and release further notes.  To be fair the Lemon Hart 151 isn’t that complex so it really just allows you to enjoy the spirit minus the alcohol burn of a 75.5% Spirit.  The nose is still fantastic.  Lovely treacly toffee, rich toffee apple and intense candy floss flavours.  I bet even small children would enjoy smelling the glass after the rum has been drank.

    Lemon Hart 151 as a sipper? Not for me. Sorry.  As a mixer.  Well this is where it shines.  I don’t build very many complex cocktails.  It was something I have considered on numerous occasions but I have realised that there is more than enough variety to be hand in sipping and mixing various rums with cola and ginger beer.  I’ll stick to it straight or in a highball with lemon or lime.

    Mixed with cola Lemon Hart 151 makes a dangerously tasty drink.  If it wasn’t for the “Highly Flammable Liquid!” warning on the reverse of the bottle you could be mistaken for thinking you are drinking a 40% ABV rum.  Now before you think “ahh but you’ve mixed it with cola it’s bound to be like that”, think again because I have tried Gosling’s 151, Plantation Overproof and Coruba 74.  I can tell you quite honestly that even before you put your nose close to the glass in which they had been mixed with cola they reeked of booze!  Especially the Coruba.

    Lemon Hart 151 is a great overproof rum.  It knows how strong it is yet it seduces you with its rich treacle aroma.  It’s the devil in disguise if you ask me.  It’s no coincidence that it is blood red gold and black on the bottle.

    This certainly runs Pusser’s close as my favourite Overproof.  Great stuff.  If you see a bottle buy it!

    4 stars

     

     

     

  • Bardinet Rhum Negrita

    Bythefatrumpirate

    imageIn 1857 a young wine and spirit merchant called Paul Bardinet began blending and ageing the “tafia” (as it was called at the time) or sugar-cane alcohol, which arrived in Limoges, France from the far flung islands of the Caribbean.

    Legend goes that Bardinet worked on taming the firewater, which arrived on French shores with various blending and ageing techniques until he was producing something comparable to the Rhum Negrita which is now commonly available across mainland Europe.  In particular France and Spain.

    Negrita is a Spanish term of endearment to describe a black girl.  It is not intended to be offensive.  However, with slavery so intrinsically linked to rum production it does seem slightly out of step with current political thinking to have a “Negrita” so prominently a part of this rums marketing.  I don’t personally find this particularly racist or offensive but I can understand why some may find it so.

    Not only does Bardinet Rhum Negrita have a little back story going back to the 1800’s it also has historical interest for yours truly.

    In September 2010 I visited Torrevieja in Spain.  Bored with vodka and unable to get anything remotely Cider-like I decided to buy a bottle of Dark Rum.  At this stage I must point out that the only Dark Rums I was consciously aware of were Lamb’s and Captain Morgan.  I had dabbled on and off with Bacardi but had really tried little else.

    The Rhum Negrita was around 4Euros for a 70cl bottle back then.  The bottle I have up for review today was purchased for me by a work colleague (Craig Gabbatiss – I’m name checking him because I know he reads the site).  It is a 20cl bottle, slightly smaller than my usual sample sizes but plenty enough to reminisce about this rum.Bardinet Rhum Negrita Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    In all honesty, how good the Rhum Negrita actually was will have been lost on me back then.  It was drank in rather copious amount mixed with some local Spanish cola brands and whilst 3 or 4 bottles were consumed that week, I didn’t have the skill or capacity to recall what it tasted like.  I bought more so it must have been ok (or very cheap).

    Rhum Negrita is an Agricole rhum, hence the spelling.  This quite surprised me, as since first having it all those years ago I have not really enjoyed any Agricole Rhums.  Closest I have come is Barbancourt which is slightly different to Agricole Rhum despite being produced from cane juice rather than molasses.

    The presentation of Negrita hasn’t changed in the intervening years, it does look quite old fashioned.  However it does have some nice touches like the coloured screw cap and a little coat of arms type etching on the bottle.  Rhum Negrita is quite popular in Spanish and French supermarkets and is available in a variety of shapes and sizes.  It doesn’t state outright it is an Agricole Rhum (it does have “Appelation D’Origine on the front label) so it may well straddle the line like Barbancourt does.  Maybe a touch of molasses based distillate is lurking in the mix.

    Looking at the Bardinet website it is noted that they produce both a Gold and Silver Rhum Negrita and a spiced variant.  This is the gold version.  The rum has won awards at IWSC (International Wine and Spirits Competition) Silver 2013 and Bronze in the International Spirits Challenge.  Personally I don’t pay much attention to most awards.

    When poured Rhum Negrita is nice golden brown colour.  Without doubt Caramel has been added for colour.  It is lighter than it appears in the bottle when poured in the glass.  It has a very powerful nose.  Slightly vegetal grassy like Agricole notes but also has quite a strong pot still like element to it.  It’s got that Jamaican funk almost.  It’s not a hugely pleasant nose to be honest and is quite off putting in many ways.  It smells a little medicinal and is a little cloying almost syrupy.  It’s kind of like a kind of almost sickly sweet rotting fruit like aroma.  There is a lot going on in the nose but not a lot to recommend!

    Bardinet Rhum Negrita Rum Review by the fat rum pirateI guess I’m not really selling this rum.  I think we best move onto the tasting.

    As a sipper its pretty strange to drink.  The vegetal agricole notes come to the fore, leaving behind the Jamaican funk.  It’s actually quite strange bitter sweet rhum.  It has notes of marmalade.  Despite the relative rough nature of the rhum (I don’t know how aged it is but I suspect no more than 2 years) it has a fairly nice finish.  It’s quite hot but not at all sharp it certainly exits a lot more smoothly than it enters.  The finish is probably the best thing about this as a sipper.  All in all its not something I think many people would savour on its own.

    Which is just as well as even Bardinet market this a mixing cocktail style rum.  They have various cocktail suggestions on the website.  I’ll go for my baseline Cuba Libre cocktail and see how we get on with this.

    Rhum Negrita certainly mixes better than it sips.  The rough edges are still there with youthful grassy almost vegetal like flavours, almost savoury at times a little like green beans or peas.  However, Rhum Negrita is a little puzzling as like Barbancourt it does have a kind of Molasses like note to it as well.  It’s not thick and rich and treacly like the molasses heavy Myers’s or Gosling’s but it does definitely have an almost Jamaican dunder heavy feel to it.  It certainly reminds me of a Monymusk or Hampden rum.

    Rhum Negrita is actually really a bit of a bargain.  It’s not classy and refined like many Agricoles or even as silky smooth as Barbancourt but it does have its merits as quite a rummy mixer.  Despite being cheap supermarket rum it is a pretty decent rhum.  Certainly a cut above Captain Morgan or Lamb’s.  You feel you are drinking something authentic at least.

    It’s not outstanding by any stretch of the imagination but it offers a slightly unrefined yet authentic rum experience.  If you are in France or Spain it is definitely worth the few Euros it will cost you to try it.  It won’t blow you away but you will find a competent and really pretty complex mixer.

    It’s slightly better than average. Cheers Craig!

    2.5 stars

     

     

2 Comments

  1. Happy New Year! Bevvy was fortunate enough to try this at an ACR trade certification tasting earlier this year, and it’s a great choice! That was one of my personal favorites of the day.

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