Mount Gay established in 1703 report that they are the oldest rum brand in existence. Which is arguable. What cannot be argued is that they are one of the top producers of authentic rum in the Caribbean.
Alongside Eclipse – Mount Gay Extra Old (Mount Gay XO or even MGXO) is their most recognised and most respected rum. A blend of Pot and Column molasses it is seen as a benchmark in the birth of true sipping rums.
Kill Devil are and ever increasing range of Independently bottled rums from Whisky bottler Hunter Laing. Unsurprisingly perhaps Whisky based online retailers such as The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt have been stocking their rums from the outset.
As a curious rum consumer and a lover of Independent bottlers I’ve found myself with a good few bottles and samples.
The El Dorado Rare Collection will likely need little introduction. This is a rum from the Enmore EHP (Edward Henry Porter – original owner of what was the Enmore Estate) Wooden Coffey Still.
Which is one the most heralded stills in DDL’s portfolio. It is capable of producing a number of different marques of rum from light to heavy and is featured regularly in both El Dorado’s and other independently produced blends.
Foursquare 2006. The first collaboration between Velier and Foursquare Distillery, Barbados. This will certainly not be the last. With Velier no longer issuing their acclaimed aged Demerara rums from DDL, Luca Gargano has began sourcing rum from other distilleries to release under the Velier banner.
Don Q Signature Release for 2016 is a Single Barrel rum from 2005. Don Q are amongst a number of producers who are making noises about “no addtives” in their rum. They freely invite you to test their wares as they know they have not added anything.
Despite this I still notice a lot of scepticism in the rum community concerning Don Q rums. Much of this based on the fact they produce multi column distilled rums. All I will say to those sceptical about their rums is try one, especially their Anejo or Gran Anejo.
In the first part of this series we touched upon how rums are labelled. I used an example to show how confusing it can be to determine a Premium rum.
Marketing and packaging play a huge role in what the end consumer buys. No matter who you are, you will encounter and be influenced by marketing at some stage. Even if you think you aren’t.
Another rum from the Kill Devil Single Cask range. This time hailing from Barbados. This bottling is identified as being from the Foursquare Distillery.
Due to a surge in releases and activity over the past 12-18 months. We have featured a number of Foursquares releases. It is likely that their key releases would have been reviewed as a matter of course, even if they weren’t as good as they are. Had I not enjoyed them as much as I did it is unlikely we would have featured as many Independent bottlings. Please note there are more to come as well.
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