Last month I attended the launch party for Anne Bonny which took place at Laki Kane in London. It’s needless to say I had a great time enjoying their drinks and, to top it off, everyone was gifted a tote bag which contained a full bottle of Anne Bonny – hence why I decided to talk about it here.
Anne Bonny was created by Jean-Sebastien Robicquet, the man behind Ciroc Vodka, and it’s distributed in the UK by Paragon Brands. As you might have guessed, the brand was inspired by the legendary 18th-century Caribbean pirate, Anne Bonny.
The rum base is a blend of distillates from Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Reunion Island – I will assume the Reunion component is cane juice based as they describe it as “French tradition”. For the spices they are using vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a couple more which remain a secret. These spices are put in an ex-Bordeaux cask filled with overproof Jamaican rum and left to age for 6 months before being blended with the rest of the rum components.
Anne Bonny Spiced is molasses and cane juice based, column still (and maybe pot still) distilled and aged for an unspecified amount of time in barrels. Infused with various spices and fruits for 6 months and bottled at 40% ABV – I’m unaware of the sugar content.
On the nose it’s quite sharp and aromatic. Peach nectar, green apples, cocoa biscuits and vanilla. Creole spices, aniseed, cloves and floral honey. The spices seem well integrated and not too overpowering. Smoked almonds, wasabi, brownies and plums. Maple syrup, cinnamon and some oregano.
On the palate it’s a little sweet as well. Muscovado syrup, anise, vanilla and cocoa biscuits. Cloves, marmalade, prunes, almonds and nutmeg. It has a layer of herbaceous flavours. Raisins, ginger, oregano and cola. The finish is short to medium with warm spices and brownies.
While it retains the classical warm spices present in most spiced rums, its profile is a bit more different, probably due to the rum base. It is quite enjoyable although just a little sweeter than I would’ve liked it to be.
It can be found at £37 which is more than I’d personally spend, but at the same time I am not a spiced rum fan, so others might appreciate it better than me.
Anne Bonny Spiced score:
Flavour/taste: 47/70
Value for money: 13/15
Transparency/purity: 15/15
Overall: 75/100
Cheers!