Community Favorites: Aged Rums

This is a non-age statement rum produced in Venezuela with the original distillery dating back to 1938. Originally produced in 1963 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Industrias Pampero, Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva is distilled on a continuous column still from fermented sugarcane molasses and is comprised of rums aged 2-8 years.

During Prohibition, there was a wooden schooner known for smuggling rum from the Caribbean to the U.S; its name was Kirk & Sweeney and was finally seized in 1924 by the Coast Guard with its cargo full of rum. Kirk & Sweeney rum is produced at the Bermúdez Distillery in the Dominican Republic, a family-owned and operated distillery since 1857. The rum is aged for 12 years in new, lightly-charred, American oak.

Angostura 1824 is produced on the island of Trinidad from rich sugar cane molasses. Their rums are fermented for 48-72 hours and are distilled in continuous column-stills. Angostura 1824 is matured in first use, ex-bourbon barrels for a minimum of 12 years before being blended and recasked. It is bottled at 80 proof in Angostura’s trademark square bottle. 1824 is said to be the year that Dr. Siegert created what we now know as Angostura aromatic bitters.

Ambassador, named in tribute to 18th century distiller Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez, who was known as El Ambassador, strays a bit from Rum Diplomático’s usual style. They typically blend both column and pot still rums, but this one is a blend of 12 year-old 100% pot-still rums bottled at a slightly higher proof. On top of the usual ex-bourbon barrel aging, this one is given an extra 2 years in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. Note: It is presented in a swank wooden cask.

This is the Venezuelan distillery’s flagship rum, called “exclusiva” as a tribute to their 18th century founder Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez, who was always in search of exclusive flavors for his rums. It’s a blend of 12 year old copper pot-still rums made from both molasses and sugarcane honey, aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

Diplomático rums are produced in Venezuela at a facility that prides itself on its environmental initiatives as it practices traditional methods of rum production. This Reserva is made from rums averaging 8 years old. It's a dark gold-colored rum made from a similar composition of Diplomático’s blanco, with a 50/50 blend of molasses-based rum distilled in column-stills and sugarcane rums distilled in copper pots; it is aged in used bourbon barrels.

“Añejo” is actually somewhat of a misnomer for this rum. Though it has the appearance of an older marque, it’s actually the youngest in the brand’s range, using rums averaging 2 - 4 years old, slightly younger than their Blanco. It’s predominantly made from light rum made from molasses and produced in continuous column stills blended with heavy rum made from sugar cane honey (a dark syrup made by filtering and then boiling the water out of the sugar cane juice).. That is distilled in copper pot stills, then aged in used bourbon barrels.

Foursquare Distillery, located in St. Philip, Barbados, is one of the stalwarts of Caribbean rum production. This release, conceived by 4th generation distiller Richard Seale, is a throwback to a time in early rum production when rum was transported in used sherry and port barrels. In this instance, the rum, produced in a combination of column and pot stills, was aged 3 years in ex-bourbon barrels and an additional 6 years in ex-port barrels.

This rum bottling previously had no age statement, but was widely known to have been aged at least 10 years. This Bajan rum is distilled at the Foursquare Distillery and adds no sugar pre-bottling. The packaging must be noted as it is black glass and appears to be melting.

The El Dorado rums are distilled at the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) in Guyana from molasses sourced from 100% Demerara sugar. They have acquired quite a few different stills from closed distilleries on the island and use a combination of them for each marque. The 8 year uses four different types of stills including an Enmore wooden column-still and a two column-metal-Coffey still. The rum is blended and aged in ex-whiskey barrels.