This week sees National Rum Day (August 16) – a celebration of rum and distilleries across the country. Rum is a distilled clear alcoholic beverage which is a byproduct of sugar production. It can also be made directly from sugar cane juice. After the fermentation and distillation process, most rum ages in wooden oak barrels.
Here is a selection of rums off the beaten track you might be inspired to pick up…
Foursquare 13 Year Old:£74.95
The sixth release from the consistently Award-Winning Foursquare Distillery in Barbados – highly regarded, and highly collectable. A Single Blended Rum (to quote the Gargano Classification): literally a blend of pot still and column still marques produced at the distillery, pre-blended before maturation.
Discarded Banana Peel Rum: £30.90
A fruity, sweet rum which features a base of Caribbean rum, (originally used to season empty whisky casks at William Grant and Sons) before being blended with an extract made from banana peels. Rumour has it that it tastes like liquid banana bread!
Rumbullion!: £38.95
Rumbullion! is a cockle-warming spiced concoction, based on the kind of rich, full-bodied rums the seafaring fraternity would have enjoyed centuries ago. At the core of the blend is high-proof Caribbean rum, to which was added Madagascan vanilla and zesty orange peel finished with a handful of cassia and cloves and just a hint of cardamom.
Project #173 Smoked Chilli Rum: £19.95
The quality rum that lies at the base here has been flavoured with a fiery chipotle chilli maceration and cherry wood smoke! The result is a gentle, building heat that runs alongside big, fruity, rum and capsicum notes. A savoury spin from the Project #173 gang, it’s got us in a BBQ frame of mind. We can imagine sipping this neat, over ice, while we burn our sausages. Or mixing with cola for a Cuba Libre with a kick!
Secret Distillery #9 Fiji 20 Year Old:£99.95
A rare bottling from Fiji is from a mystery producer, but has been tipped to be really well received. Heavy pot still Rum produced from molasses. Very distinctive in style. Matured for twenty years in ex-bourbon cask, American white oak. It spends the majority of time in Fiji, with a short spell in the UK prior to bottling.
Depth Charge Roasted Coffee Spiced Rum: £25.95
Venture into the deep, with the darkened decadence of roasted coffee thanks to this caffeine-charged edition of Depth Charge Spiced Rum. Infused with vanilla, Persian lime, cinnamon, cardamom, and mandarin, the addition of roasted coffee makes this a superbly tasty sipper served straight up with a cube of ice or splashed in cola, and it’ll make a splendid addition to the armory of the creative cocktail mixologist.
Signature Blend #2: £30.95
The second Signature Blend from That Boutique-y Rum Company is made from a combination of particularly rich Guyanese rum and some funky Jamaican rums, resulting in a flavour profile you’ll want to return to again and again. Luckily, you’ll be able to do so, as the Signature Blend series will be continuous releases from the Boutique-y bunch.
Goslings Gold Rum: £26.45
A balanced blend of pot still and continuous still distillates, the majority of which have been aged around five years. Goslings Gold is a great easy-drinking Bermudan rum, suitable for mixing in cocktails or drinking straight over ice with a slice of lime.
Signature Blend #1: £25.95
The first Signature Blend from That Boutique-y Rum Company. Developed with Pete Holland (of off The Floating Rum Shack fame), this treat is made with a combination of unaged rum from Martinique and some bold dark rum from Jamaica. It makes a great Daiquiri!