Father's Day is just around the corner, and getting him a bottle of fine spirits is undoubtedly one of the best options. In the last two issues, we recommended whiskey and cognac for everyone, which was warmly welcomed by everyone, and this issue recommends 10 rum to everyone.
Rum, compared to distilled spirits such as brandy and whiskey, has the same history, the same complexity of flavor, and the same variety of types, but it is far less popular than whisky and brandy. The value of rum is grossly undervalued! A bottle of rum for a few hundred yuan has no less taste and flavor than XO-grade cognac.
-Brugal 1888 Ron Gran Reserva Familiar
40% ABV for $45. From the Dominican Republic, Brugal & Co. Distillery) was founded in 1888. Made from fresh cane juice, distilled twice in a copper still, then matured in American white oak bourbon barrels for 8 years before being transferred to Oloroso barrels (hand-picked by George Espie, wood master of Eddington), aged for 6 years, with dark amber hues accompanied by aromas of milk chocolate, roasted coffee and dried apricots. The wine is full-bodied with aromas of cherry, raisins, cinnamon, strawberry, caramel apple and candied oranges with a long aftertaste. He has won 93 points for Wine Lovers, 93 points for the Ultimate International Spirits Challenge, and a gold medal at the 2017 Global Rum Masters.
- Appleton Estate 8 Year Old Reserve
43% ABV, priced at $33. Originally from Jamaica, it was relaunched in 2020 in a brand new package to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Appleton Manor. Distilled in pot and column stills, the wine is matured for 8 years and has a creamy and sweet taste with taffy apple, cinnamon, crystalline ginger and soft oak spices.
--Mount Gay Black Barrel Double Cask Blend
43% ABV for $41. Hailed from Barbados, the brand dates back to 1703 (said to be one of the oldest rum distilleries in the world). Released in 2020, the wine is distilled in pot and column stills, first aged for 3 to 7 years in American bourbon barrels, mixed and continued to mature for 6 months in heavily charred bourbon barrels with complex roasted oak, warm spices, apple and orange notes. On the palate it is balanced and bold, with spices and juicy fruits with hints of sweet caramel and creamy vanilla.
- Eminente Reserva 7 Year Old
41.3% ABV for $54. Originally from Cuba, released by the world luxury brand LVMH, it is based on 100% Cuban sugarcane produced for up to 22 months, fermented for 25-30 hours, distilled and barreled for 7 years, giving off the aroma of freshly ground coffee, roasted almonds and cocoa. On the palate there are vanilla, soft smoke, ginger, plum and rich coffee notes with a long aftertaste.
——Plantation XO 20th Anniversary
40% ABV for $58. From Barbados, made from sugar cane, distilled in pot and column stills, aged in Bourbon barrels, then transported to Charente, France (the owner of the cane plantation rum, the hometown of Pierre Ferrand, a brandy producer), transferred to small French oak barrels for a second maturation for 12-18 months, with aromas of creamy vanilla and molasses, the taste of dried fruits brought by the cognac barrels with chocolate, vanilla, preserves, The flavors of banana and pineapple blend perfectly. On the palate it is rounded with notes of oak vanilla and baked spices in the aftertaste. He won the gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Black Tot 50th Anniversary Rum
54.5% ABV for £110. Made from a blend of rum from Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad, this rum comes with hints of licorice, vanilla bean, lime juice, dark chocolate, brandy, boiled pear and mint with hints of roasted nuts and sweet bananas.
— Diplomatico Ambassador
47% ABV, priced at $244, from Venezu, created by Tito Cordero, one of the world's top blenders, matured in Bourbon barrels for at least 12 years and then finished 2 years in PX shelly barrels, with rich brown and sweet scents and warm flavours of spices, tobacco and dates. This luxurious rum comes in an elegant wooden box with an 18-carat gold finish.
- Ron Zacapa Centenario Solera 23 Anos Rum
40% ABV, priced at $36, from Guatemala, the 23 in the name represents the upper age limit for this mixed rum, from 6 to 23 years, similar to the sherry's aging system, Sorrera Solera. Made from virgin sugarcane juice, the wine has a hint of mahogany with hints of sweet caramel, vanilla, cocoa beans and creamy candy. The palate is filled with sweet notes of honey, raisin fruit and apricots, which are complemented well by notes of oak, coffee, leather and tobacco. The aftertaste was just right, and finally there was a faint caramel flavor. This rum was named first by Chicago's famous beverage testing agency with a score of 97 points, and has won five consecutive gold medals in international rum competitions, and was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame.
—Foursquare 2007 Single Blended
59% ABV, priced at $90, from the Foursquare Rum Distillery, is a blend of molasses rum distilled from a handmade copper distiller and a traditional two-column still, matured for more than 12 years in first-fill, refilled and third-filled bourbon barrels, in a strong, dark amber color with aromas rich in cream caramel, charred sage, whole spice, vanilla beans, pipe tobacco. The entrance has a velvety texture with hints of sweetness and spices, as well as notes of caramel, charred cinnamon sticks, whole spices, nutmeg, sage, butter toffee, and a hint of fennel and oak. The aftertaste is medium long and warm with more oak and baking spices.
— El Dorado 21 Year Old Special Reserve
43% ABV, priced at $109, from Guyana, launched in 2002, the wine is full-bodied, delicate and of unique quality. Dorado rum is also known as "the liquid gold of Guyana". El Dorado (the legendary name of an Indian chief) blends rum for 21 years, two of which: Enmore distilled (wood Kofi distiller Wooden Coffey Still) and Versailles distilled (wooden single-pot still Sungle Sooden Pot Still), the only wooden distiller in the world that can be used. All mixed rum is aged in oak barrels at temperatures of 30°C-34°C for at least 21 years.
Dasu: WSET (International Wine and Spirits Education Foundation) Advanced Accreditation, SMWA (Scottish Single Malt Institute) Advanced Accreditation, dedicated to the education and promotion of wine and spirits. Welcome to follow.