Words by Colin Hampden-White
Oak aged spirits are having their hay day at the moment and with good reason. There are very few other drinks which have such depth of flavour, smoothness of texture, history and expertise in their making and passion in their drinking. We wanted to compile a few here which we are particularly fond of and can be found easily. These are luxury rums, exhibiting the best characteristics of a spirit coming into its prime.
Old Man Rum Expression 1
A genuine world first in terms of its taste, age, provenance and character, this rum has been created by an exquisite union of seven peerless rums from Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica. The youngest rum in this exceptional, cask-strength blend is 25 years - the remaining six rums range from 26 to 33 years of age. If you’re into the best of the best, then this one is definitely for you.
ABV: 57%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £3500
Black tot 40 year old rum
Following on from the Black Tot Last Consignment, this range continues to shine a spotlight on extraordinarily old rums with the Black Tot 40 Year Old. A Demerara rum distilled back in 1975 in Guyana, matured for four decades and bottled at 44.2% ABV. Safe to say that this ought to be astonishing, and with rich flavours of liquorish, black olives, black treacle, cigar box and spices we know it is. For those who like a little savoury with their sweet, tuck into this.
ABV: 44.2%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £1495
Dictador 2 Masters 1972 Glenfarclas
The folks at Dictador teamed up with Glenfarclas over in Scotland for this 2 Masters release! The rum itself was distilled in 1972, and after a few decades of ageing was transferred to Port casks for its first finishing period. Its second finishing period was spent in Scotland, where it rested for seven months in a single third fill sherry cask which previously held 2002 vintage Glenfarclas. It was finally bottled at 45% ABV in a release of 378 bottles, each of which bears the fingerprints of both Dictador master blender Hernan Parra, and Glenfarclas production manager Callum Fraser. A special rum for Scotch lovers, this hits the spot.
ABV: 45%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £850
Havana Club Triuto 2019
It's the 2019 release of the wonderful Havana Club Tributo! This is the fourth release of the special rum, and which was launched at the 2019 Habanos Festival in Cuba. Created by three generations of maestros del ron Cubano, with each master selecting a rare aged rum base from various decades. Finally, these three rums were then blended with a rum which spent many moons in French oak, and bottled at 40% ABV. Only 2,500 limited bottles were released, handsomely presented with wooden presentation box. For a perfectly balanced rum from Cuba, this is hard to beat, so if smooth is what you dig, then grab a shovel.
ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £350
The Last Caroni 23 Year Old 1996 Full Proof
Here we have a very special release of Caroni rum, dubbed The Last Caroni because it's made from Velier's last remaining stocks from the distillery. The expression is made up exclusively of heavy rums, a vatting of 24 casks matured in both Guyana as well as Trinidad and Tobago. It's all been bottled up at full proof, a burly 61.9% ABV. Old for the bold and those who like it big and bold.
ABV: 61.9%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £390
Malecon Seleccion Esplendida 1976
A 1976 vintage rum from Panama's Malecon and its Seleccion Esplendida range. Malecon take plenty of influence from Cuban rum production methods, so don't be surprised to find similarities between this ones and your favourite Cuban rums. Intensely flavoursome stuff, as you'd expect from such a lengthy maturation with flavours of Roast chestnuts, honey, tobacco leaf, old oak and new leather, waxy orange. Mellow is this rums middle name, and we love mellow rums, if you do to, then this one will slide down nicely.
ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £434.96
Hampden 17 Year old Berry Brothers
With a surname like mine, I couldn’t resist including a rum made on an estate named after my own family. Hampden estate rum is well known for its fruity estery flavour profile and this expression is no different. There are more expensive Hampden Rums on the market, but this is one of my favourites. The Hampden Estate on Jamaica was around at the same time as Berry Brothers in the 1700s, so it only seems fit that the rum comes from Berry Brothers. I’m passionate about fruity rums and if you are too, then this is one not to miss.
ABV: 58.1%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £87.32
If you enjoy rum, but are looking for a more reasonable price point, Aidy can point you in the right direction with his Four Stunning Rums From Around the World.