I have to say the Rum Show is easily one of my favourite rum events out there, hence why I’m doing my best to experience it every year. This year I was there both days, one of them enjoying the event to the fullest and the other just working the bar on site on behalf of Trailer Happiness.
This was the 4th Rum Show, with the first one being an online session during the Covid period. Once again the event took place at the Glaziers Hall near London Bridge and it featured over 350 different rums. The schedule was as it follows:
- Friday 5th of July: 12:00pm to 4:00pm open for trade/industry and 5pm to 9pm open for the general public;
- Saturday 6th of July: 12:00pm to 6:00pm open for the general public.
As mentioned above, Friday I was there for both the trade and the public sessions as a representative of the Outlier Distilling Company – for those that don’t know, I work for them as a part time Brand Ambassador. Luckily for me, Ian (the distiller of Outlier) was very keen on working the stand and introducing people to his rum that it allowed me to freely enjoy the rest of the show… well, I did do my part by bringing people over. While I’m on the subject, Outlier also launched their very first single cask rum during the event (which was also my first tipple of the day) – Millions of Peaches. This was a 3 year old rum aged exclusively in a Sauternes cask and it was easily one of the highlights there as it sold out almost instantly (just a bit of bragging).
Now enough advertising, let’s carry on! One of the neighboring stands was Doug’s Scratch Distillery rums and, while he brought only one release (his single cask) he also had a collection of unreleased single casks on the table. It was like a massive preview of what’s to come, and I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to them – a few keywords of what I experience would be: Bananas, ashtray and delicious English oak. Also it’s always a pleasure to talk rum to Doug!
Next I couldn’t just walk past without saying “hi” to Lewis and try some DropWorks rum. On the stand they were teasing the release of their aged rum which was an amalgam of various casks blended together and it offered a very easy, but not boring, drinking experience. He also had some extras under the table, out of which one particular wine cask, while still young, really caught my attention. They were also teasing a little label and brand update, but I’ll leave that to them.
After I took a break from the English rums to visit Paul at its agricole stand and, to my surprise, he offered me a sample from a very special bottling of Chateau Depaz Les 100 Ans which was created from 3 different vintages (2011, 2013 and 2016) in order to celebrate 100th anniversary of Chateau Depaz. A very beautiful blend, very elegant, yet spicy and tropical.
Next I visited Kit from Ninefold and I have to say, his new unaged overproof, Merchant Parrot, is quite a beast. In addition to that I also tried the tinniest sample from a potential future release from him as well and it has a lot of potential. Back to agricole, I sampled some Rhum St Barth and all of the expressions were very approachable.
After a little break I went to the larger room where there were brands that were, let’s say, bigger. I head to the El Dorado stand to try their single stills bottlings and I was surprised with a sample of their new High Ester Blend – it isn’t as intense as the name suggests, but it still packs quite some flavour. I also got to taste an Appleton 8 Year that was finished in a Single Malt Scotch Whisky cask – it was curiously fruity.
The Whisky Auctioneer stand had some interesting offerings, but some of them were well oxidised – the Caroni was delicious though! I also tasted some premium drams from Santiago De Cuba and Clement thanks to Tommy and Ashera.
This is where the trade session ended, so after some food and a couple of pints with some of the rum crew, I went back onto sampling. The very first stop was Abingdon Distillery with their Maple Cask rum. It was like a guilty pleasure, but delicious nonetheless.
Next I had to try some of that new Black Tot 2024 as well as the new Foursquare Equipoise, both of which are absolutely fantastic and I know a lot of rum lovers are looking forward to get their hands on them. Many thanks to Mitch and Peter! Mount Gay also had some intriguing offerings, with their new Coffey Still and Eclipse Navy Strength expressions.
After this it was mostly socialising for me as my palate, and probably my alcohol resistance, was wavering. I still had to try the new Havana Club The Whisky Exchange exclusive bottling which, like last year, it did not disappoint. I also dabbled in some of their 15 year old and, as a bonus, their 2023 Tributo which was surprisingly enjoyable.
Fantastic event, very well organised and very enjoyable. What I like about Rum Show is that you can find hidden treasures in the form of small brands you might’ve not heard of and I really respect that. There are a lot of small rum distilleries out there that deserve more exposure. Once again there were a lot of great people and rum enthusiasts that share the passion for the cane spirit. Will definitely come back next year!
Some more photos I took:
Cheers!