The Real McCoy Aged 5 Years. The Real McCoy is a rum brand with one of the few “honest” back stories. Indeed the commonly used term “The Real McCoy” was coined from the legendary rum runner Bill McCoy. Who smuggled rum into the US during the prohibition era. He never adulterated his product and as a result people began asking for “The Real McCoy” as a sign of a quality spirit.

With this in mind, it is perhaps no surprise that The Real McCoy CEO Bailey Prior teamed up with biggest (and brashest) name in non-adulterated authentic rum Richard Seale of Foursquare Rum Distillery, Barbados.

The rums in The Real McCoy range are definitely not second class hooch trying to cover their tracks with bogus back stories, fancy bottles and additives.

The Real McCoy range originally started out with a run of just 3 rums aged for 3,5 and 12 years. The rums and the one I review today, were all then bottled at 40% ABV. As well as expanding into other age ranges such as a 10 and 14 year old expressions and Limited Edition Cask Finishes, The Real McCoy are also experimenting with increasing ABV’s on their core product range. This rum I have seen at both 40% ABV and 46% ABV. So if you do decide you want a bottle of this, check the ABV against the price and double check you know what you are getting.

The Real McCoy Aged 5 Years is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rum from the Foursquare Rum Distillery, Barbados. All the rum is distilled, blended, aged and bottled on site. The rums distinguish themselves from some other Foursquare products in that they are aged solely in Heavily Charred ex-Bourbon barrels.

In the UK The Real McCoy is pretty easy to find. Some of the Limited Edition’s have been a bit trickier but the core 3,5 and 12 are usually easy to get hold of. You can still get this 40% Aged 5 Years from The Whisky Exchange. It is priced at £31.25 for a 70cl bottle. If you want the extra oomph then the 46% ABV, costs a few pounds more over at Master of Malt, where it is retailing at £38.95, again for a 70cl bottle. It’s also worth keeping your eyes peeled as on occasion the US 75cl bottles are imported. So you get an extra couple of units.

In the glass we are presented with a rum which is a rich deep golden brown. Quite vivid and inviting.

The nose is quite sweet and fruity. Sultana’s, coconut and some spicy vanilla are all present and correct on the first nosing. There is a slight char to the nose – which I like and adds a little depth. Very pleasant light notes of sweet shortcrust pastry and croissants. A really nice buttery quality as well like freshly buttered toast. Hints of honey and cinnamon.

It’s a very balanced nose with a really nice way. The charred aromas give it a bit more body which I quite like.

Sipped it is much spicier than the nose suggests. There is a fair amount of oak on the sip with some quite bitter notes. It’s pretty spicy with a lot of nutmeg and ginger. After a few sips it calms down considerably and you begin to notice the lovely balanced honey notes which work with the spicyness and zestiness of the casks to really give this rum a good balance.

The mid palate is particularly impressive, with a real complexity and a lot of flavour – Roasted peanuts and cashews, some orange and lemon peel, a really good weight of banana, coconut and vanilla alongside a slight honey note

This is both easy drinking but also quite complex and rewarding. Much like other younger Bajan rums such as Doorly’s 5, Old Brigand and Neptune. It is surprisingly good as a sipper.

So, it perhaps goes with saying that it works really well mixed. A rum and coke with The Real McCoy 5 Year Old is very pleasant. It has a nice weight to it – its a bit bolder than Doorly’s 5 Year Old. More in keeping with Old Brigand, in that it has just a bit more “oomph” even at 40% ABV.

Another great Foursquare product.