Extra extra! Read all about it, fresh off the presses! The 2nd edition of The Rum Barrel Awards is here! This is my way of showcasing my personal highlights of the year by adopting a spirit format competition with awards by category. As I was going through my scores I noticed this year has been … More The Rum Barrel Awards 2023
I’m a huge fan of the stuff that Beenleigh Distillery makes – in fact it’s probably the very first Australian rum I have ever tried. S.B.S Australia 2007 is one of my favourite rums bottled from them and it has one of the highest scores on my blog. That’s why I was excited to try … More Review: Velier Beenleigh 2015 vs Velier Beenleigh 2006
Here’s a rum I only got to try thanks to the benevolence of a fellow rum enthusiast and, well, the Rum Show. By the time I got to the Foursquare stand at Rum Show to say hello to Peter Holland I was already a bit… over-sampled – hence the not-so-good pictures, so I apologise about … More Review: Foursquare LFT White – Habitation Velier
Finally here! After the announcement at the Luca Gargano’s rum session at RumFest about a sherry cask aged Hampden, it finally hit the UK market a few weeks ago and it obviously sold out in a blink. Despite that, after a few searches, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a bottle and … More Review: Hampden Estate Pagos Sherry Cask
For those who don’t know, the RumFest was founded in 2007 by Ian Burrell, the Global Rum Ambassador, and it features an impressive collection of rums to taste, masterclasses, seminars, Caribbean music & food and so on. This year the event was like an oasis for plenty of industry staff and rum enthusiasts in this … More Review: UK RumFest 2021
Clairin Sajous is made at Chelo Distillery in Haiti by Michel Sajous. Luca Gargano of Velier is responsible for distributing various Clairins outside Haiti. Clairin Sajous uses sugar cane from the estate, the base material being cane juice. Fermented with wild yeast for around 7-10 days, pot still distilled and bottled without dilution – absolutely … More The Barrel Sample: Clairin Sajous 2015
Hampden Estate, nestled in the Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, was established in 1753 by a Scotsman named Archibald Sterling. It changed ownership a few times over the years – was owned by the Jamaica Sugar Company in 2003 and in 2009 was bought by Everglades Farms Limited owned by the Hussey family. Hampden is well known … More Review: Hampden Estate Rum 46% ABV
Part of the Habitation Velier range which consists of unique, pure pot still distillates from around the Carribean. As the name suggests, my sample of rum was distilled at Diamond Distillery, Guyana, in the legendary Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still. With a congener level of 537.59 gr/lAA, it’s molasses based, (wooden) pot still distilled … More The Barrel Sample: Port Mourant White – Habitation Velier
I kept postponing this as I decided I need a clear head and a good night’s sleep before I dive into these two, which never happens, so I might as well get on with it. The two new rums from Richard Seale’s Foursquare Distillery in Barbados showed on the UK market “just now”, a month … More Review: Foursquare Nobiliary vs Foursquare Plenipotenziario
The very first collaboration between Foursquare Distillery and Velier, Richard Seale and Luca Gargano. Molasses based, pot and column still blend, aged for 3 years in ex-Bourbon casks and further matured for 6 more years in ex-Cognac casks all in the tropical climate of Barbados. Bottled at 62% ABV with a limited number of 2400 … More The Barrel Sample: Foursquare 2006 – Velier