Rumfest is a special time of year when we get together and celebrate all things rum with a weekend dedicated to sampling some of the newest and finest rums on the market.
As (self declared) veterans of Rumfest, we love looking out for new rums to add to the collection.
This year there were so many new rum hitting the UK it was hard to know where to start, however we’ve picked out 4 rums that we hope to be seeing much more of over the next year. Here they are in no particular order:
Tiburon Rum – Belize
We were attracted to this stand thanks to a Jack Sparrow lookalike walking around, taking pictures with rumfest visitors.
Tiburon rum is a molasses base rum aged in old oak bourbon barrels. The warm climate of Belize helps to gently mature the rum so a younger rum can display some of the same appealing characteristics of a much older spirit from other places on earth.
Their rum is blended from a variety of barrels of different ages and character and re-casked for a second maturation process.
What we loved about this rum was the smooth oaky flavour with a tropical vanilla undertones.
RRP: £40
Westerhall 7 Year Dark Rum – Grenada
We came across Westerhall Rum, and was very happy we did. The guys at the stand were kind enough to take us through their estate, starting with their 12 degrees double distilled charcoal filtered white rum. What struck us was that for a white rum, it was so smooth and easy to drink as a sipping rum.
From there we moved onto the 7 year dark rum which was our favourite of the whole family. It’s a medium bodied rum aged for a minimum of seven years and bottled at 40% by alc vol. Expect a unique robust flavour, aroma and texture, with the hints of spices along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. A perfect rum for sipping with a cigar.
RRP: £35
Matugga Golden Rum
A brand new rum Crafted in small batches in Cambridgeshire under Master Distiller Dr. John Walters, molasses from East Africa is fermented for seven days before being triple-distilled in 200-litre copper pot stills with swan neck condensers.
The heads and tails are precisely cut to ensure that complexity and smoothness develop with each successive round of distillation. Matugga Golden Rum is finished in uncharred English oak casks.
This is a rum that we thought had a lot of depth to it. Very smooth and enjoyable with a enjoyable finish on the rum, making it a lovely sipping rum. Something we think could go lovely with a cigar.
RRP: £40
Ron Barcelo Imperial – Dominican Republic
Not a new rum, but a rum we have only just discovered this year. aged Dominican rum distilled from Caribbean sugar cane, and is a blend of rums aged up to six years in used bourbon barrels.
Expect smooth and sweet notes of caramel, vanilla, with a splash of honey. It really is a smooth rum and can really see this pairing well with a few Dominican cigars (It would be rude not to). For the price point, it is definitely a rum needed for the collection.
RRP: £29
Of course there were so many other rums, that we loved however these are just 4 of them that we remembered to make notes on.
Was you there? Did you discover anything new? Let us know what rums you found.