Devon Rum Co was established in March 2020 and is located on Island Street in Salcombe, Devon. Despite the company’s name, they source their distillates from Jamaica and Guyana to which they add Devonian spring water that comes from Start Point, 10 miles away. Their range consists of 4 expressions: Gold Rum, Premium Spiced Rum, Honey Spiced Rum and Black Spiced Rum – so 3 spiced offerings and 1 without spices.
Despite the “Gold Rum” and “Black Spiced Rum” monikers, Devon Rum Co is not yet selling any aged spirits, instead they use caramel to enhance the colour and even the flavour of the product. This just goes to prove once again that looking at rum from a colour perspective is very much a slippery slope. They have told me they are not ashamed about the addition of caramel, but yet there’s no reference of it on the label or their website. I’m aware this is a common practice, especially for young brands, but it is still deceiving to a degree – although I do appreciate the fact that they told me upfront.
It’s worth mentioning that the company is a carbon negative producer and their bottles are 100% plastic-free and recyclable.
As I said their Premium Gold Rum is blend of unaged rums from Jamaica and Guyana, more exactly Worthy Park Distillery and Diamond Distillery.
Devon Rum Co Premium Gold Rum is molasses based, distilled in both pot and column stills and unaged. Bottled at 40% ABV with caramel added.
On the nose it smells dark. Caramel, toasted biscuits, printer ink and ripe bananas. Black tea, rubber and stone fruits. It has some layers to it considering it’s unaged. Gherkins, faint liquorice and dusty cardboard. Lime peels, stemmed ginger and yellow apples.
On the palate once again it has that dark profile. Caramel, ripe banana, charred oak and black tea. Black pepper, dark chocolate, ripe pineapple and a hint of pickle juice. Reminds me of Navy style rums, the caramel flavour is quite strong. Liquorice, nutmeg and some maple syrup. The finish is medium with bitter caramel and some tropical fruits.
As I said, it’s reminiscent of Navy rums, but it also has tropical fruity notes that make up for it. That being said, the finish is too bitter for me. Maybe if the caramel was dialed down a bit, the complexity of the Guyanese and Jamaican distillates would shine through more. Not a bad tipple, but the balance could definitely be better.
It’s priced at £37 which is a little more than what I’d be willing to pay for – if it had the genuine notes that come with oak maturation, then it might’ve been really good value for money, but right now I can’t really give it that.
If you’re more into spiced rums, then I could recommend you try one of their Miniatures Taster Gift Set which contains 50ml minis of their Premium Spiced, Honey Spiced and Black Spiced rums – that way you could sample, pick a favourite, and then commit to a full bottle.
Devon Rum Co Premium Gold Rum:
Flavour/taste: 46/70
Value for money: 11/15
Transparency/purity: 12/15
Overall: 69/100
Cheers!