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Posts from the ‘Rum’ Category

2
Aug

Review: SelvaRey Coconut Rum

SelvaRey Coconut Rum was released June 2021.  It joins the previously reviewed SelvaRey White, and SelvaRey Chocolate Rum.  Brand owner Bruno Mars also launched SelvaRey Owner’s Reserve made with a blend rums aged from 15 to 25 years.  SelvaRey rum is made at Las Cabras Distillery in Panama.  Master Distiller Don Poncho grew up cutting sugarcane in Cuba and quickly rose through the ranks at Havana Club.  While on a mission from the Cuban government to help the Panamanian rum industry he fell in love with a local women.  He left Cuba and with Carlos Esquivel built a distillery in the Panamanian jungle in a warehouse originally built as a sugar mill in 1919.  The rum base is made from cane sugar grown in Pese Panama.  The cane sugar juice is collected and cooked to separate the crystalized raw sugar from the molasses which is cooked to a grade A molasses standard.  The molasses is fermented with a proprietary strain of wild pineapple yeast and after distilling, the rum is aged for 2 years in American white oak barrels.  Coconut essence is infused before bottling at 60 proof. Read more »

18
Jul

Review: Koloa Kauai Gold Rum

Koloa Kauai Gold is one of 8 rum varieties crafted by Koloa Rum Company in Kalaheo Kauai.  The others include Kauai White, Dark, Spice, Coconut, Coffee, Cacao, & Reserve 12 Barrel Select Aged Hawaiian Rum.  The first batch of Koloa Kauai Rum was distilled in 2009.  Hawaii’s first sugar plantation was established on Kauai in 1835 in Koloa Town.  Koloa Kauai Gold Rum is crafted from pure Hawaiian Tall Cane sugar cane, and rainwater from Mount Wai Ale Ale.  The spirit is distilled twice in a vintage 1210 gallon copper pot still with a copper column & condenser made in Kentucky in 1947.  Caramelized sugar is blended for color before bottling unaged. Read more »

6
Jun

Review: Malibu Watermelon

Malibu Watermelon was released April 2021.  It is one of ten varieties of Malibu Rum.  Malibu hopes to duplicate the success they enjoyed last year with the release of Malibu Strawberry Rum, and Malibu Splash.  Malibu Splash is a 5% alcohol sparkling malt beverage sold in 12 ounce cans.  These cans are sold in individual flavor 4 packs and 4 flavor 8 can variety packs.  Malibu Watermelon starts with a rum base made in Barbados at West Indies Distillery from molasses created with Caribbean cane sugar and pure water.  A proprietary yeast is used to ferment prior to distillation.  The rum is shipped to Canada where it is blended with watermelon liqueur and bottled at 42 proof.  Read more »

12
May

Review: Bumbu Creme

Bumbu Creme was recently released.  It is made from the Original Bumbu Rum base that is distilled in small batches in Barbados and blended by hand from select sugarcane grown in eight countries including Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, and Honduras.  Once extracted the cane juice is fermented with a yeast strain that dates back to 1840.  Bumbu is distilled using continuous stills and aged for up to 15 years in Grade A once used bourbon barrels.  Native Caribbean Spices are blended with the rum.  In crafting Bumbu Creme rich dairy cream is blended with the Bumbu Rum base before bottling at 30 proof.    Read more »

9
May

Review: Bacardi Tropical Rum

Bacardi Tropical Rum is the newest addition to Bacardi’s stable of flavored rum.  That list currently includes Limon, Lime, Coconut, Dragonberry, Pineapple, Mango, and Raspberry.  It is made from a molasses rum base.  The molasses is fermented with Le Levadura, a single strain of proprietary yeast, for 30 hours in closed fermentation tanks.  The fermented spirit is split.  Some is column distilled.  Some is beer distilled.  Each is aged separately in charred American White oak bourbon barrels.  Once mature the rums are blended and filtered through a mix of charcoal made from tropical woods and coconut shells.  Natural flavors are blended before bottling at 70 proof. Read more »

4
Jan

Review: Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum

Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum was released July 5 2019.  It is one of eleven spirits currently crafted at the Hard Truth Distillery located on 325 wooded acres in Brown County Indiana.  What started in 2015 as a small operation in the upper rooms of a pizza restaurant has grown to a 18,000 square foot state of the art distillery with Vendome Copper & Brass Works equipment.  The success of Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum led to the release of Hard Truth Toasted Coconut Rum Cream in September 2020.  Hard Truth Toasted Coconut starts with their white rum distilled from molasses and pure cane sugar as a base.  They distill the rum at a low proof to maintain the rich deep notes of molasses.  Hand toasted flaked coconut, cane sugar, and natural sea salt are blended before bottling at 42 proof. Read more »

9
Dec

Review: Blue Ox Coconut Rum

Blue Ox Coconut Rum is one of ten Blue Ox Spirits produced at Red Boot Distillery in Grimes Iowa.  Red Boot Distillery is a private labeling and co-packing company owned by Stuart Oxer.  Stuart also owns the Blue Ox Spirits brand and the Oxtails line of Canned Cocktails.  Blue Ox Vodka has been the best selling Iowa made spirit in the state of Iowa for the last few years.  Blue Ox is a value priced line of spirits currently available in 10 Midwestern states.  Blue Ox Coconut Rum does not list its ingredients on the bottles label or company website but it weighs in at 42 proof and is sold in 1 liter bottles. Read more »

16
Nov

Review: RumChata Peppermint Bark

RumChata Peppermint Bark was just released.  It joins RumChata and RumChata Limon in RumChata’s rapidly growing line of rum cream liqueurs.  RumChata Peppermint is available in a750 ml bottle or if you’d like to hedge your bet, a 100ml bottle of RumChata Limon and a 100ml bottle of RumChata Peppermint Bark can be found inside RumChata’s Holiday Gift Pack.  RumChata Peppermint Bark is made with Caribbean rum, real dairy cream, natural and artificial flavors and caramel color.   Original RumChata was introduced in 2009 and today it is the second best selling cream liqueur in the US.  Peppermint has long been a seasonal Christmas season flavor celebrated with everything from candy canes to peppermint mocha lattes.  Through the years there have been several chocolate peppermint cream liqueurs including Baileys With a Touch of Chocolate Mint and Saint Brendans Peppermint Bark Irish Cream. Both are no longer produced.  Read more »

13
Oct

Review: Plantation Isle of Fiji Rum

Plantation Isle of Fiji Rum is made from local Fijian sugar cane molasses and pure Fiji water at Rum Co. of Fiji Distillery.  This distillery has been crafting rum since 1980.  Two of the rum brands they produce are Rutu and Bati.  Plantation Isle of Fiji is fermented for 4 to 5 days and pot and column still distilled .  The rum is tropical aged in Fiji for 2-3 years in previously used bourbon barrels.  After aging, the rum sails to the Southwest of France for a second maturation in French Ferrand Cognac casks for one year.  Isle of Fiji is one of six rums in the Plantation Rum Signature Blends Series.  The others include Xaymaca Special Dry, Barbados 5 Years, Grande Reserve, Plantation XO 20th Anniversary, and Plantation Black Cask.  .  Read more »

1
Oct

Review: Owney’s Rum

Owney’s Rum is named for New York City Hustler Owen “Owney” Madden.  Owney backed boxers and opened speakeasies including the famous Cotton Club.  He made his biggest mark in bootlegging and rum running up the east coast during Prohibition.  In 2012 Bridget Firtle founded The Noble Experiment NYC, a boutique distillery in  Brooklyn New York.  Bridget crafts her reserve rum with Non GMO first boil sugar cane molasses, a proprietary yeast and filtered New York City tap water.  Premium 2 year old Caribbean rum distilled from fresh sugar cane juice in the Dominican Republic is imported and blended with the NYC Rum.  Once blended it is filtered to clear and bottled at 80 proof.  Read more »