Dominic Roskrow - Rum - More than 100 of the world’s best rums

WEBSITE: www.ableforths.com

There are plenty of drinks authorities who think that rum is set for a place in the drinks spotlight. It has always been a favourite with bartenders because it mixes so well, but with many spirits drinkers turned off by the high price of single malt, there is a feeling that sipping and aged rums are ideally placed to take advantage of the desire for well made spirits with their own personality and with heritage and provenance. If there’s been a problem with the category it’s that the rules governing what is and isn’t rum are lax, and standards vary considerably across the sector. Rumbullion! Navy-Strength has no such worries. This version isn’t just greater in strength, it’s bigger in flavour, too. Cardamom and cloves join the orange and vanilla hit of its sister expressions.

Admiral Vernon’s Old J Tiki Fire

PRODUCER:LWC

AREA OF ORIGIN:London, England

VARIETY:Golden spiced rum

ABV:75.5%

WEBSITE: www.oldjspicedrum.co.uk

This super strength rum is ironically named, because Admiral Edward Vernon weakened the strength of the daily rum ration from its Navy Strength of 57.0% ABV. Navy Strength is the strength of rum needed for gunpowder doused in it to catch fire when lit. Any weaker ABV meant that the rum or gin had been diluted. Not surprisingly, the men weren’t happy with the change, and when they complained Vernon told them to add lime and sugar to make the weaker grog more palatable. That’s what’s happening here. Lime, vanilla and sugar mark out this rum, as well as a strong spicy note. Old J Tiki Fire is a high-strength version of Old J Spiced Rum, and the added strength means that Old J Tiki Fire makes its presence felt in a whole host of rum-based cocktails. Obviously not to be consumed neat.

Alnwick White Knight

PRODUCER:Alnwick Rum Company

AREA OF ORIGIN:Alnwick, England

VARIETY:White rum

ABV:37.5%

WEBSITE: www.lindisfarne-mead.co.uk/AlnwickRum

Alnwick – pronounced Ann-ick – is a small town in Northumberland, in the far North East of England. Offshore is Lindisfarne, an island that is home to monks, countless seabirds, and alcohol production, especially mead. The Alnwick Rum Company fits right in here, and has successfully made dark rums that are sold in the region in selected drinks outlets, and online. White Knight is the company’s white rum and, as there is a view that quality and niche white rums are becoming increasingly fashionable, White Knight ticks all the right boxes. White Knight is a white Guyanese rum brought down to bottling strength with spring water from the Northumberland hills. It is fruity, easy drinking and has soft toffee notes.

Angostura 1787

PRODUCER:Angostura Holdings Limited

AREA OF ORIGIN:Trinidad and Tobago

VARIETY:Premium dark rum

ABV:40.0%

WEBSITE: www.angosturarum.com

Different suppliers and producers take vastly different approaches to the marketing of rum, from pirates to parties, and from cheap and cheerful to classy connoisseur. Angostura is in the serious category. It points out that all of its rum comes from just one distillery in Trinidad, in the same way that a single malt whisky derives from one place, it says – only its rum is better. That’s obviously a big claim but taste this and you can see the company has an argument. This was released in the second half of 2016 and is 15 years old. You can taste the oak in the rum, and there are some impressive tannin and spice notes. There are some exotic and dried berry fruits on the palate, too, as well as toffee. A balanced, rounded and excellent quality rum.

Angostura Cask Collection No. 1

PRODUCER:Angostura Holdings Limited

AREA OF ORIGIN:Trinidad and Tobago

VARIETY:Aged rum

ABV:40.0%

WEBSITE: www.angostura.com

The Cask Collection is a range of limited editions entirely dedicated to rums that are matured in different types of casks. No. 1 Once Used French Oak is bottled at 40.0% and is the first rum that Angostura has matured in French oak casks. It is an exquisite, silky smooth and complex blend – created with a combination of techniques learnt from the Old World and perfected in the New World. Only 15 030 bottles of this rum were released so it may be difficult to find. A range of rums are matured for 10 years and then transferred to French Oak casks for another six years. The resulting rum is smooth and balanced with a soft silky finish.

Antiguo de Solera

PRODUCER:Santa Teresa

AREA OF ORIGIN:Estada Aragua, Venezuela

VARIETY:Dark rum

ABV:40.0%

WEBSITE: www.ronsantateresa.com

Considered by many to be the world’s best South American Rum, Antiguo de Solera is just that – an aged rum produced through a solera system, where rum is taken away for filling from the bottom of the solera, and new rum is added at the top.

The distillery is unique. It rehabilitates former gang members when they are released from prison, and gives them the means to work hard to turn their lives around – and it encourages them to play rugby, of all things.

The rum is extraordinarily complex and rounded, with notes of tobacco smoke, leather, dark chocolate and honey.

A world-class operation in all respects.

Appleton Estate 21 Year Old

PRODUCER:Gruppo Campari

AREA OF ORIGIN:Nassau Valley, Jamaica

VARIETY:Dark rum

ABV:43.0%

WEBSITE: www.appletonestate.com

The age on a bottle of spirits can mean various things. In the case of single malt whisky, the age refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle; even one drop of a young whisky and that is its age. But other spirits have looser definitions. Appleton Estate 21 Year Old, though, adamantly follows the single malt route, and contains rums that are at least 21 years old. Most of the rum was matured and the time in the oak gives some delicious tannin spice and oaky notes. But there are some exquisite flavours of vanilla, cocoa and orange. As a result, this is a fabulous sipping rum and doesn’t need mixing. It is described as ‘just brilliant’ by one leading online retailer.

Appleton Rare Blend 12 Year Old

PRODUCER:Gruppo Campari

AREA OF ORIGIN:Nassau Valley, Jamaica

VARIETY:Golden rum

ABV:43.0%

WEBSITE: www.appletonestate.com

Campari spent much of the second decade of the new millennium building a portfolio of drinks businesses, and earned industry respect by taking a hands-off approach, providing the necessary funds to allow the spirits makers to do what they do best – make great drinks. Appleton, based on an estate in the heart of Jamaica, puts a big emphasis on terroir (the whole environment a drink is produced in, including weather, geography, etc.), arguing that its rums are unique due to the sugarcane that it grows itself, and the limestone spring that supplies its water. Rare Blend 12 Year Old is a blend of different rums from the estate, most of them matured in 180-litre American oak barrels. This is smooth, sweet and not as oaky as you might expect, given the age of the spirits.