This week, Plantation Rum has announced a vintage, limited-edition collection of six rums from around the world. Named Plantation Birds of Paradise Collection, each of the rums was produced by Plantation Rum’s owner and master blender, Alexandre Gabriel in conjunction with a distiller in the country of origin. Further, the rums were distilled in the country of origin before being aged there for a number of years. Then after aging in their tropical climates, the rums were shipped to France to age further in a continental climate in French oak Maison Ferrand barrels.
In addition, the six Plantation Birds of Paradise rums are each bottled and packaged to showcase a bird native to each respective country. Moreover, production details are listed on each bottle including distillation details, age statement and location of aging. Two of the rums, Fiji 2005 featuring the red-throated lory and the Jamaica 2003 bottling featuring the hummingbird were released in the US in late 2020.
The Barbados 2011 vintage featuring the brown pelican is available now and the remaining bottlings will be released later this fall. This includes an Australian rum marking the first time the country has been featured for the brand.
Each of the Plantation Birds of Paradise vintage rums have an SRP of $80. See below for further details.
Fiji 2005 (Fiji Lory)
This vintage release features rum distilled in triple column stills at The Rum Co. of Fiji. It was aged for 14 years in ex-bourbon barrels in Fiji. Then the rum was recasked and aged for an additional year in French oak Ferrand cognac casks in the brand’s cellars in Cognac, France. Only 28 casks were produced and it was bottled at 50.2% ABV (October 2020).
Fiji 2005 /Photo Credit: Plantation Rum
Jamaica 2003 (Hummingbird)
The rum in this vintage release was distilled in double-retort Vendome pot stills at Clarendon Distillery. Here the rum got a long, spontaneous fermentation (two weeks) using indigenous yeast, and was made using vinasse and muck — a compost of distillation residues — all resulting in a high-ester heavy rum. It aged for 16 years in Jamaica in ex-bourbon barrels before further aging in Maison Ferrand French oak casks in Cognac for one year. Twenty-nine casks were produced and it was bottled at 49.5% ABV (October 2020).
Barbados 2011 (Brown Pelican)
This vintage rum was distilled at the West Indies Rum Distillery. Both column-distilled and Gregg Farm pot still rums were blended in its production. It was aged for 4.5 years in a “secret” room at WIRD in ex-bourbon barrels. Then it was shipped to France where it aged in ex-Maison Ferrand cognac barrels for another 4.5 years. Only 24 casks were produced and the rum was bottled at 51.1% ABV (available now).
Peru 2006 (Tunki)
This vintage rum was distilled in 2006 at the Cartavio Rum Company in multi-column and John Dore type stills. It was aged for 11 years in the cellars of the distillery in ex-bourbon barrels before being shipped to France and further aged in Maison Ferrand Cognac barrels for 3 more years. Just 21 casks were produced and the rum is bottled at 47.9% ABV (October 2021).
Trinidad 2009 (Scarlet Ibis)
This rum was distilled in 2009 at Trinidad Distillers Limited. The rum was continuously-distilled in multi-column stills before being aged for 11 years in the red brick cellars of TDL. Then the rum was shipped to France to further age for 1 year in Maison Ferrand Cognac barrels. There were 24 casks produced and the rum was bottled at 51.8% ABV (October 2021).
Australia 2007 (White Cockatoo)
This rum was distilled using pot stills at the Beenleigh Artisan Distillery, the oldest distillery in Australia. During the fermentation process, a rare yeast was used for the first 12 days. This was then followed by another 3 days using another yeast strain. The rum was then aged for 13 years in ex-bourbon barrels followed by another year of aging in French oak barrels in France. Only 21 barrels were produced and the rum was bottled at 49.3% ABV (November 2021).
Ready to grab a bottle from the Plantation Birds of Paradise Collection?
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