Rum Symposium Amsterdam

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 22 - El Dorado Special Reserve - 15 yo - 43% abv. Today I will be spending a bit of time with a old classic that I am sure many people reading this have tried. There of course will be a little bit of controversy around this rum, as it does contain added sugar. According to measurements from the Swedish Systembolaget and Johnny Drier, added sugar content ranges between 31-38 g/L. Let’s just say that this is a level of sugar that you will notice when

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 20 - Foursquare - Exceptional Cask Selection Mark VI - 2005 - 59% abv. In sticking with Foursquare’s spirit of Christmas and Forbes’ pick for best rum of 2018 (…and International Spirits Challenge (ISC) and International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) best rum producer…and…and…and...) I thought I should shed some light on a rum that lately frequents the pages of all rum groups including the Ministry of Rum as well as bars of rum lovers around t

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 18 - Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve - 45% abv. Today I am going to jump back to a rum that was released in late 2017, the Worthy Park’s Single Estate Reserve. A little background on one of Jamaica’s most prominent rum producers; Worthy Park Estate has been producing sugar cane since 1720 and its earliest on record production of rum was already in 1741 (although it was likely earlier than this). In 2004 Worthy Park’s distillery received a massive

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 13 - The Duchess - Barbados (Foursquare Distillery) - 13 yo - 59% abv. The newest of the releases from the Netherlands-based bottler The Duchess, this time from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. The rum was distilled in 2005 and was tropically aged for 11 year in ex-bourbon barrels before being shipped and aged for an additional 2 years continentally. It was bottled in 2018 at cask strength of 59% abv. and yielded 294 bottles. On the nose this

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 12 - Mezan Guyana 2005 - 40% abv. This Demerara rum (called Demerara due to the region of Guyana alongside the Demerara River where Guyanese rum is produced) is bottled by the UK-based independent bottler Mezan. These bottlers offer a wide range of expressions from around the world, releasing single distillery sourced rum. Their rums are non-sweetened, non-coloured rums often with a light filtration. This specific bottle was sourced from Demerara D

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 6 - Appleton Estate 15 yo - 43% abv. This limited release Appleton Estate rum, hailing from one of Jamaica’s main rum players, is a 15 year aged rum that was produced specifically for the Canadian market - Canada being Appleton Estate’s largest market. As with the majority of Appleton releases, this is a blend of both pot and column still. Typically when compared to other Jamaican funk bombs, such as Worthy Park and Hampden, Appleton produces a slig

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 5 - Duncan Taylor Single Cask Rum - Long Pond 2000 (15 yo) - 51.9% abv. Another rum hailing from beautiful Jamaica! This time from Trelawny Parish based distillery Long Pond on the northwestern coast of the island. As with the majority of rums hailing from this region, and this whole island for that matter (with a few exceptions), Long Pond releases some funk heavy high ester Jamaican rums. On a quick detour from the rum itself, Long Pond experienced

Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 2 - Ultimatum Rum Single Cask Selection - Fiji 12 yo - 46% abv. On the bottle it is stated that this rum is distilled at a “secret” distillery, however, there being only one operational rum distillery in Fiji, it is safe to assume that this rum has come from the South Pacific Rum Distillery. This pot still rum is bottled by Ultimatum Rum which is an independent bottler based in the Netherlands. It has been aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels, an

Worthy Park Cask Selection Series #5 - Port - 56% abv. Now down to the last of the 3 new Cask Selection releases from Worthy Park, one that I have heard only great things about, and the one that on my initial run-though of the bunch, was my favourite…Today it’s time for the Port cask finish. Bottled at 56% abv. and only 585 bottles produced. Again, as with the other cask selection releases, this has seen both American ex-bourbon barrels as well as a finish in ex-Port ca

Worthy Park Cask Selection Series #4 - Madeira - 58% abv. Following up on the Worthy Park Cask Selection #3 Sherry cask, today we take a deeper look at Cask #4 Madeira Finish! As with the other Cask Selections, this juice has spent time in both American ex-bourbon casks and then finished off in ex-Madeira casks. It is bottled at cask strength, which in this case is 58% abv. This round of bottling resulted in only 677 bottles, so get ‘em when you can! Now the fun part! - St

Worthy Park Cask Selection Series #3 - Sherry - 57% abv. I’m sure many people have seen these flashing across their screens recently, so I thought I would sit down with the first of the new series of casks selections from Jamaica’s wonderful Worthy Park. Traditionally, Worthy Park (and pretty much all Jamaican rums for that matter) are aged solely in American ex-bourbon barrels, as was also the case for Worthy Park’s Signature release that was bottled at 45%. However, r

Velier Caroni 2000 Millenium - 60.0% abv. Here we have CARONI! Petrol. Diesel. Oil. Lets just get those out of the way, because you know they’re there. Aside from these classical notes, I’m inclined to say bacon. There is a meaty smokiness that jumps out at me along with salt. Vanilla, maple syrup, leather and pipe tobacco. Liquorice root. Fruits are there, but they are dried and cured. Think raisins, dates and figs. Perhaps some plum with a hint of green apple? There

Velier Caroni 20 year (1996) 35th Release - 70.1% abv. This rum is BOLD! First thing that hits me is a fruitiness that is beyond what I expected from a Caroni at this age and proof. Pears and Green apples. Something distinctively sour. I was thinking sour strawberry or cherry, but possibly closer to rhubarb. This rum is also very spicy. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, white pepper…mix that with vanilla, chocolate and HEAVY fresh wet oak, and you’ve got yourself a delicious ap

Hampden Estate Pure Single Jamaican Rum - Overproof - 60% abv. Oh hell yes! I have been waiting to sit down with this one since I heard that it was going to be released! Hampden’s very own 7 year tropically aged overproof?! Expectations are high! The second the cork comes out of the bottle you can smell it across the room! Jamaica! High ester funk and gasoline. I normally don’t fuss about this but the colour is gorgeous. Deep golden orange and caramel. On the nose I imm

The Ultimate - Finest Rum Selection 2006 - 46% abv. This rum is a combination of a 3 year tropic aged Diamond (Guyana) together with an undisclosed aged pot still Worthy Park. Casks were shipped after aging to Amsterdam, where it was bottled in 2006. On the nose the first thing that hits me fruit. Firstly, you get whammed by sour green apple! Followed by tropical fruit; Pineapple, mango, papaya. Peaches and apricots. This slowly evolves into citrus notes, which to me are

Harpoon Jamaica rum - 73% abv. - From what I can find about this, it’s a barrel aged Jamaican rum. Can’t find age. No mention of dosing, although at its 73% abv. and the dryness on the nose, I’m guessing it’s pure. This is dark and heavy. I should also say that this goes for around 25€ for 1000ml....let’s see what it offers. The nose - Take some butter, throw it in a hot pan. Add brown sugar. Let this form a butterscotch. Add some bananas and caramelize for a few minut

Stolen overproof pot still Jamaican rum - aged 6 years - Hampden Estate - 61.5% abv. - Going with Johnny Drejer’s lead tonight and will dig in to the Stolen overproof. Firstly, before I get in to this, a brief background on how I came across this one. I had seen a few posts about this rum and always been intrigued, so when I got the opportunity to snag one while I was in San Francisco, I did so immediately. Once I posted a photo of it, I received a message from Johnny t

The Funk Jamaican Pot Still - 50% abv. - I have no problem declaring my love for heavy-funky-white-unaged-Pot-still-Jamaican-rums (I believe that should be one word). I have always praised Hampden’s Rum Fire and Worthy Park’s Rum Bar overproof. So, when I heard that another high-proof white beauty was coming out of Worthy Park, my hopes were high! I will do my best to not compare to other rums that I know and love and just describe what I find in my glass: The Funk? Ye

A funky and beautifully fruity nose. Mildly woody that gives off a slight scent of roasted bitter almonds. Pear and green apples are singing loud. Light vanilla and white chocolate notes. There is some citrus going on as well, although not lemon or lime, think more along the line of ripe grapefruit - rind and all. I want to write “finally”, but this wonderfully complex nose keeps on growing, however, I cannot move on from the nose without saying plastic. I just want to