Danny Walker and Liam Hirt started making gin in a basement in Bristol and named it the Psychopomp Mycrodistillery. They rapidly expanded and created the Circumstance Distillery where they are making grain spirits and… rum! Circumstance Distillery opened in early September last year and is equipped with a 1800L pot-column still hybrid that is very versatile.
Their rum, the Circumstantial Cane, it’s the very first Bristol distilled rum and was released in April this year with a limited run of 375 bottles for the first batch. South American molasses left to ferment for 3 weeks using mead yeast and distiller’s yeast – one website also mentions the use of dunder. The distillation takes place in the pot still and the 4 plate column and then is aged for 2 months in first fill ex-Bourbon cask filled with charred British oak spindle. After the ageing it goes through a second distillation process using the pot and its 12 plate rectifying column. The second distillation is quite odd, but I’ll assume it’s to get rid of the color while retaining some of the maturation flavours.
The 1:4:3:1:2 refers to the production process mentioned above, all the Circumstantial bottles have one and you can find the complete code on the Circumstance Distillery website.
It’s bottled at 45% ABV free of any additions, now let’s taste some English rum.
On the nose there’s a lot of flavour. Margarine, single cream, pink grapefruit, pink pepper and green tea. It has funk to it and I’m loving it! White cacao liqueur, bananas, acetone, printer ink and leather with hints of stinky cheese. Smells really savoury.
On the palate it’s a bit mellower. Freshly baked bread, tons of citrus – predominantly grapefruit zest and orange, vanilla, hints of anise and biscuits. Lemongrass, mango, glue, brasso, pine tree, tomato juice with a slight pepperiness. There’s a lot of flavour but the finish is medium-short with vanilla and ethanol.
A very pleasant surprise from Bristol, makes a delicious Daquiri and it’s easily one of my favourite “white” rums out there. Makes a nice change to try an English rum that was actually distilled in England and it’s not filled with spices. Looking forward for the second batch if there’s one!
Circumstantial Cane score:
Flavour/taste: 56/70
Value for money: 15/15
Transparency/purity: 15/15
Overall: 86/100
Cheers!
One thought on “Review: Circumstantial Cane – Batch 1”