My purpose as a rum blogger is to provide people with information and tasting notes about a rum brand for them to make an educated decision regarding purchasing the said brand. But sometimes that is not enough – the safest way to decide if you’re going to like something is to sample it yourself and what do you do when your local bar does not have the tipple you’re looking for? Well you can always turn to websites such as the Little Rum Box in order to get to try various brands while not making a dent in your wallet.
The people from Little Rum Box got in touch with me about reviewing their subscription service, and after having a quick look, I decided it’s worth going for it.
Little Rum Box it’s a small family business based in Plymouth that was launched in 2019 and it follows up on the success of its sister brand, the Little Gin Box. Owners Doreen and Warren were aiming to create an inexpensive subscription service that’s affordable and without any strings.
For £10 (which include p&p) monthly you get two different rum samples in 5cl bottles each month along with information cards that talk about the brand, offer tasting notes and a perfect serve. You can choose a fixed subscription for 3, 6 or 12 months – which can be quite a nice gift as well – or you can just go with the flow and get the rolling subscription that can be cancelled at any time. This service is available only in the UK at the moment.
If you do get to enjoy a rum enough you can use the 10% off code supplied by them to buy a full bottle from their online shop.
The boxes are letterbox friendly, plastic free and 100% recyclable along with the glass sample bottles. So far so good, now let’s have a look at the box they sent me.
The Rum Barrel’s take:
The May’s Little Rum Box comes with samples from The Salford Rum Company and Loaded Spirits in the form of Salford Honey Rum and Thirsty Toucan Mango Pineapple & Passion Fruit White Rum. They are both flavoured rums and, while they don’t offer too much information on their respective websites, I assume they are both made with imported rums that have been infused.
Salford Honey Rum
Molasses based (I assume), column and pot still distilled at a single (not-mentioned) distillery and blended using real Salford honey. Bottled at 37.5% ABV and flavoured with honey.
On the nose the honey flavour is intense. Honeycomb, vanilla, honey biscuits and toffee. Some floral notes such as rose and violet. It has a slight lychee undertone as well.
On the palate reminds me of a stronger mead. Cacao biscuits, Cheerios Honey, vanilla and some cinnamon. Violet liqueur and cappuccino. Finish is short with floral honey and raw cacao nibs.
An interesting combo, I do enjoy the honey flavour, although I find it a bit too overpowering and a little sickly. Also the finish is somehow bitter, but the sweetness is my main issue. The profile is nice, but if it had something to cut through all the rich honey it would’ve been great. Maybe a stronger base spirit could’ve helped.
Thirsty Toucan Mango Pineapple & Passion Fruit White Rum
Not much information at all available on this, just that it’s a blend of rums infused with mango, pineapple and & passion fruit flavours. Bottled at 40% ABV and fruit flavoured.
On the nose it does smell like one of those Tutti Frutti juices. Mango, orange, pineapple and strawberries. Passion fruit juice and a touch of grapefruit zest.
On the palate it’s… well, fruity. Pear, passion fruit, mango and grapefruit. Pineapple juice, bananas and raspberries. The finish is short with all sorts of fruits and a touch of bitterness.
I appreciate the fact that this rum isn’t too sweet, but it does have the profile of a tropical mess to say so. The flavour is there, but it reminds me of those cheap artificially flavoured fruity sodas I’d get as a child. Not a fan unfortunately!
Now, I do really like the idea behind Little Rum Box, but having have had a look at their online shop, 80% of the selection are spiced and flavoured rums – which makes sense considering what the market is like nowadays. I just wish they had some more serious brands/rums. This is not a service for the rum geeks, but it can cater very well to those that enjoy spiced rums or are at the beginning of their journey and want to try some more diverse things in order to figure out what they enjoy.
Again £10 per month including postage for 2x5cl rum samples is a pretty good deal, I just want to see more unflavoured offerings.
Cheers!