What an amazing year we had in 2019. Alongside continuing to improve our events we kept up our travel to try to find the best rum bars, rum cities, rum events and of course the best rums being released to the public. This year we also got to spend some time working in a small distillery which was amazing. It really helped to improve our knowledge and left us hungry to learn more on our quest to bring our RumCask family the best events we can!
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The below 3 are in the order of selection by Chet, Jaz and then Indy:
Savanna – HERR 57
Saturday 13th April, Parc Floral, Paris. The perfect setting for Jaz’s birthday (he does have amazing luck on the days his celebrations fall on!).
The flavour and profile keeps changing as it passes over your tongue and you really savour it. More fruits, some ripe, some sharp and a lovely warm coating spreads throughout your mouth.
A beautiful rhum that stole the show for me in 2019.
Pere Labat 59%
Back in April 2019, Rumcask were able to visit Europe’s biggest rhum festival in Paris and were amazed at the high quality of artisanal rhum! Definitely one of the most enjoyable events of the last 3 years! As you may be aware, I tend to give my vote to the r(h)um that has most impressed me this year.
As we all know that the usual suspects of Velier, Foursquare & Worthy Park tend to churn out ‘bangers’ each year! So, I have chosen my winner from a list of the most impressive rums I have tasted this year with the omission of the above three rum companies as I’m sure the rest of the panel will include them. So my shortlist is:
Cape Verde’s Vulcao
Australia’s Great River Ord OP 56.4%
St. Benevolence from Haiti
Montanya Aniversaria
SBS Jamaica (Hampden’s DOK finished in a Port cask)
SBS Mauritius (Grays finished in a Port Cask)
Whilst these rums have blown my mind, my 2019 RoTY goes to Pere Labat 59% – an unaged Agricole rhum. An amazing fruity but dry taste profile that will really resonate with UK high proof molasses drinkers – not overly green! An extremely delicious rhum made on Marie Galante, Guadeloupe which has a truly sweet terroir. Plus it was retailing in the UK at GBP 32, which is a true bargain! Get it while you can!
Saint James Coeur De Chauffe Rhum Blanc Agricole
This rhum agricole was brought to my attention by Stephen Martin the global brand ambassador of Rhum Saint James back in August at the German Rum Festival. A very fun event with a lot of unique releases. However this stuck out to me for two reasons. The main reason is the flavour profile. Incredibly fruity and floral with notes of the sugar cane, this was really very special. At 60% ABV I was actually stunned. I remember dragging a few people round to the stand and getting them to try it. A delicious rhum agricole that has become a main-stay in my house.
The second reason I chose this release is because of how it was made. Saint James are based in Martinique and they have a strict regulation on how products are made under the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) stamp. This product does not have that AOC stamp because they used a pot still and distilled through it twice. Both of these are not allowed under those Martinique AOC regulations. Have a look at this cheat sheet by Cocktail Wonk on the AOC regulations for more information on what you can and cannot do.
It’s an amazing release that goes against what is allowed under Martinique AOC regulations but my oh my is it ever tasty!
