Alexandru Sandu

The Barrel Sample: That Boutique-y Rum Company – Mt Uncle Distillery 12 Year (Batch 1)

April 11, 2023

This is a sample from a That Boutique-y Rum Company bottling that is part of the Return To Oz range – this release consists of some limited-in-numbers rum expressions made in Australia. I enjoy these kind of bottlings as they offer the possibility to try rums that otherwise wouldn’t be available on the UK market. … More The Barrel Sample: That Boutique-y Rum Company – Mt Uncle Distillery 12 Year (Batch 1)

Review: Paris Rhum Fest 2023

April 9, 2023

I finally managed to attend one of the best rum events in the world, the Paris Rhum Fest. It was my first time which is quite embarrassing considering this year was its 10th edition. The opportunity was created thanks to the wonderful people behind Stauning Whisky and the Copperbay venues from Marseilles and Paris. We … More Review: Paris Rhum Fest 2023

The Cocktail Barrel #8

March 28, 2023

I have to say I love that I have this section for cocktails on my website – it just pushes me to come up with delicious drinks for my favourite rums and sometimes the result is simply chef’s kiss! Now enough bragging, let’s carry on with some drink recipes. As per usual if you’d like … More The Cocktail Barrel #8

Review: Doorly’s Rum Range

March 23, 2023

Foursquare Distillery is always praised for its Exceptional Cask Selection limited releases, but sometimes it overshadows their main continuous brand, Doorly’s. I have previously reviewed Doorly’s bottlings at various points in time so I decided to revisit the whole range and write a comprehensive review about their expressions. Doorly’s is an important brand in the … More Review: Doorly’s Rum Range

Review: Clement Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP (Limited Edition Packaging 2022)

March 16, 2023

International Ti’ Punch Day is here and if you follow Clement on the social media you would know they are at the forefront of the celebrations. I’ve already reviewed the Clement Canne Bleue where I’ve confessed my love for a good Ti’Punch so on this occasion I decided to have a look at this Clement … More Review: Clement Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP (Limited Edition Packaging 2022)

Review: Mermaid Spiced Rum

March 14, 2023

Another day, another spiced rum comes on the market. I might’ve mentioned this before, I’m not big on flavoured rums, but as a bartender I can’t ignore their importance and versatility, that’s why I will feature them here once in a while. The Mermaid Spiced Rum comes from the Isle of Wight Distillery as the … More Review: Mermaid Spiced Rum

Review: Cotswolds Treacle Rum – 2022 Batch

March 11, 2023

Every year during December I’ve come to look forward for a new Cotswolds Treacle Rum release. Cotswolds is an English distillery situated in, well, Cotswolds and their main focus are gin and whisky production. The rum was a little experiment that one of Cotswolds’ Senior Distillers, Leon, conducted under the guidance of the former Wray … More Review: Cotswolds Treacle Rum – 2022 Batch

Review: Foursquare Touchstone – Mark XXII

March 9, 2023

As a (London based) reviewer getting to write about a rum bottling before its official release in the UK is very useful and frankly, really exciting. On that note in my glass today I have the 22nd Exceptional Cask Selection from Foursquare Distillery which has yet to have arrived to the UK market. Not a … More Review: Foursquare Touchstone – Mark XXII

Review: Montanya Valentia

February 26, 2023

Montanya Distillers was established in 2008 by Karen Hoskin and the distillery is currently located in Crested Butte, Colorado. They make some great rums and they also engage in a lot of sustainability and other projects that aim to have a positive impact on the environment and local community. One of such projects was the … More Review: Montanya Valentia

The Cocktail Barrel #7

February 22, 2023

The Cocktail Barrel is back! I recently improved the format of the recipe page and I also got some more ingredients so you can expect more recipes to come soon! If there is a rum you’d like to see in a cocktail please get in touch with me! A rum Mint Julep is a favourite … More The Cocktail Barrel #7