Recently there was a debate at Tales of the Cocktail. The debate centered around “When is rum not a rum?”.
Basically it was a discussion between those who add sugar (and/or other additives) and those who are very much against the practice. This got me thinking about a subject which is very close to my heart.
Santiago de Cuba is a Cuban rum brand named after the city of Santiago. A green mountain range named “Sierra Maestra”, the golden sun and the Caribbean Sea characterise the landscape around the city of Santiago. The landscape can be found in the brands logo.
The Cuban rum distilleries came into existence in the middle of the 19th century. One of the largest distilleries is located in Santiago de Cuba. The secrets of producing rum are passed on from generation to generation through the “Maestros Roneros”.
Hailing from Jamaica comes Koko Kanu. Which is a first on this site as its a flavoured, rather than a “Spiced” rum. Distilled by J Wray and Nephew it certainly should have a solid rum at the heart of it.
In the UK Malibu is without doubt the most popular Coconut “rum” but at only 21% it falls massively short of what can be labelled a rum. In reality it is little more than a Coconut and rum liqueur. Like Koko Kanu it also has a decent base rum as it is produced at West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) home of Cockspur Rum. The Malibu brand (12 flavours now available worldwide) is owned by Pernod Ricard.
Clairin Casimir (batch 2) hails from the Douglas Casimir Distillery in Baraderes, Haiti. The Clairins (Vaval and Sajous) are series of three different Clairins from three different distilleries all on Haiti. Exported from Haiti by Velier for the European market.
Clairin is a spirit distilled from sugar cane juice rather than molasses. It is technically very similar to rhum agricole. Due to the relatively lo-fi nature of the distilleries and their traditional methods clairin is much less refined and more “raw” than most rhum agricole.
Rum-Bar Rum is a brand which is part of the Rum-Bar Brand family.
They have two types of rum; Overproof and Gold, plus a Rum Cream Liqueur and even a Vodka all from the Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica.
Rum-Bar Rum is the original core product and is in the Overproof Rum Category.
A direct competitor for the more established Wray & Nephew White Overproof. Similarities between Rum-Bar White Overproof and Wray & Nephew are immediate – both use the colours of the Jamaican flag – Yellow, Green and Black and come in tall clear bottles which display the crystal liquid inside.This offering from Worthy Park has a slightly more contempory feel to it. The Rum-Bar branding and the Worthy Park emblem are striking and give this rum its own clear identity.The rum is currently available in the UK in 200ml bottles at Tesco (who also stock Wray & Nephew) and online from Ashanti drinks.
J Wray and Nephew’s White Overproof Rum is highly acclaimed and widely available just about everywhere.
Further down the ABV scale J Wray and Nephew also bottle this entry level Jamaican Appleton Rum. Like the Special Appleton Jamaica Rum this is not bottled as part of the Estate series and as a result does not benefit from the wonderful stubby bottle treatment.
White Jack is a rum produced by Westerhall Estate. It is named White Jack as it is actually another celebrity tie in. None other than Jack White of The White Stripes commissioned this White Overproof rum.
Okay that’s a lie but it’s safe to say that when I tried to “Google” some information on White Jack, I got far more results about the Top Hat and Trilby wearing front man of the American Lo-Fi Garage Rock duo than I did about White Jack!
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