Westerhall Estate Superb Light Rum

Westerhall Estate is situated on the Caribbean Island of Grenada.  Since its inception it has existed in various guises.  Presently Westerhall Estate blend and bottle their range of 6 rums.

Prior to this the estate has been an agricultural estate farming bananas, coconuts, limes and cocoa.  It has also processed sugar cane, at one point it even had its own small distillery.

I frequently get confused with all the different Caribbean Islands and the various rums produced by each island.  In the case of the rum up for review today Westerhall Estate Superb Light Rum (SLR) I have certainly done my homework!

Luckily Westerhall Estate have a very informative website which has helped my greatly.  One of the causes of my confusion was the SLR.  Namely Sunset Light Rum which of course is produced on the island of St Vincent (by the same people behind the wonderful Captain Bligh XO).  Which bears no resemblance to Grenada (in terms of name anyway) nor does the rum, which is white bear any resemblance to Westerhall’s Superb Light Rum.

Along with Clarke’s Court, Westerhall dominate domestic sales of rum on Grenada.  As the website alluded Westerhall Estate pride themselves on producing high quality rums.  The Westerhall Estate Plantation and Vintage rums are highly regarded by those who have sampled them.  I won’t give away too much as to the contents of this review by revealing if I will be seeking them out just yet……..

I was able yet again to procure a bottle of SLR for £21.  The bottle is 75cl and the rum clocks in at 40% ABV.  The bottle is a standard bar bottle and has a rather cheap metallic screw cap once you have taken off the black seal which covers it.

The presentation of the rum is pretty standard with a map of Grenada and a brig on the rear.  The front and rear label give some non specific information regarding the rum being “distinctive” and “mellow” also its aged in oak which is hardly a surprise!

The rum makes little pretence it suggests it can be enjoyed “straight up” but I don’t really feel Westerhall are aiming at the sipping market.  On Grenada the rum is available in various bottle sizes from 50ml upto 1750ml.  It’s predominantly really a mixing rum with the other rums in the brands portfolio taking the centre stage as mixers.  The rear label also gives a recipe for a Spice Isle Rum Punch further evidence of its use as a mixing rum.

When poured into a glass the SLR is indeed a light rum.  An almost straw coloured light golden colour.  The nose on the rum is light with notes of vanilla and a little sweetness.  I won’t say brown sugar as its lighter than that.  It’s a very Bajan like nose.  Slightly muted but with enough interest to make you delve deeper to explore.  It has nice slightly honeyed nose.  It all seems well blended and nicely put together.

I’ve been unable to determine the ages of the rums within this blend.  My hydrometer tests have revealed that the rum does have some additives, possibly sugar.  Which suggests that once blended the rum is rounded off a little to ensure consistency from batch to batch.  They probably don’t always use all the same rums in each blend. This is a reason many producers have shyed away from age statements as they cannot always determine what age rums will give the consumer the flavour they expect year in year out.

Despite the additives the rum is to my palate still pretty young.  I would estimate that the oldest rum in this blend is likely to be around 3-4 years with the majority being around 1 year to 18 months.

As a sipper the rum shows its youth.  It is quite fiery and gives quite a lot of alcohol burn.  The sweet honey flavour is still present but it is short lived and gives way to a medium finish which is mainly spice and alcohol.  An ice cube or two will probably temper this but as a sipper there isn’t enough flavour or ageing to offer a very complex sipping experience.

I’m not adverse to mixing my rum nor am I alien to rum and cola.  Any regular readers will know this by now.  I believe in reviewing a broad cross section of rums and as many people the world over do enjoy a good rum and cola I will endeavour to help them find the best one!  (Whilst enjoying the search thoroughly myself!)

With that in mind lets do some mixing.  The SLR sits very nicely alongside a little cola and squeeze of lime juice also fires it up another notch.  The rum is flavourful enough to cut through the cola and give you a very nice rummy taste.  Despite the initial sweetness of the nose, SLR is very well balanced.  Not too sweet with enough molasses like flavour and even a nice aftertaste of good oak ageing. It also has some spicy undertones which are once again, just right.

As a mixing rum Westerhall Estate’s Superb Light Rum is a very solid alternative to the more popular Bajan or Cuban mixing staples.  It isn’t quite as flavourful as the dunder and ester heavy Jamaican’s but it would be a nice change for someone who enjoys the lighter Spanish style rons or the Bajan style.

A good solid mixer and certainly worth a try at the price.