Our Favorite Rums From March 2017

Built on Spike’s farm inside the Ord River Valley in Kununurra, Hoochery Distillery is a small pot distillery, and the oldest distillery in Western Australia. The distillery uses local sugar cane, water and yeast to make their Ord River Overproof Rum with a total distilling capacity of just over 50,000 bottles of rum each year. The rum itself is charcoal-filtered, with maturation in barrel that will go on to mature Spike's Raymond B Whisky. This tasting was completed using a bottle from Vat 35, bottled on 07/23/2015. Note: This is currently only available in Australia.

Colombia's national alcoholic beverage is Aguardiente. To them, it is an anise-flavored liqueur made with highly rectified rum. Antioqueño is the best selling Aguardiente in Colombia and in the world for that matter.

In the northwest region of Martinique is the home of Depaz family estate close to the city of Saint-Pierre. There the family cultivates the blue sugarcane used to make their rhum. The estate was founded in 1651, and after being destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902, it was rebuilt by the Depaz family in 1915. The family produces their products at such a high standard that they have earned the coveted Appelation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) designation for excellence. The Rhum is aged in custom oak casks and blended using no additives, a condition of their AOC award. Depaz Blue Cane Rhum Agricole is released in limited batches at 90-proof for the U.S. market.

Taconic Distillery's Hudson Valley facility produces primarily bourbon and other whiskeys. The single rum, like all their spirits featuring a label with Copper, the family foxhound, is made from molasses, aged two years in bourbon barrels, then their own rye barrels. It is cut to proof with estate spring water.

Boca Loca (“crazy lips”) is distilled from organic fresh-pressed sugarcane and slightly aged in Jequitiba barrels before being charcoal-filtered. It is bottled at 80 proof and available in the US and several countries around the world.

Bacardí's Facundo collection honors the legacy of the company's founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. Eximo, "to free," is intended to symbolize the company's desire to create rums "unrestricted from rules and conventions." Breaking down the bottle design, the sun rays symbolize the ones that can be seen on the floors of the company's offices, while the "X" refers to the minimum age of the rums contained within (10 years). A blend of medium and full bodied rums is combined to age in cask, a process which sets this release apart from its other rums which are aged, then blended.

Pango derives its name from the mixture of pineapple and mango that gets blended with the aged rhum. There are also some unspecified spices added in, and the aging period, spent in French Limousin oak casks, is also unknown. As with Barbancourt's entire lineup, it's made from sugarcane juice and double distilled.

This rum is produced in Boston at the GrandTen Distilling which also produces gin, whiskey, and a variety of liqueurs. Their rum is made from blackstrap molasses and is distilled in copper pot stills. Wild New England yeast is used for the fermentation process. The rum is aged in charred, American oak for two years.

St. Petersburg Distillery sets out to create spirits that celebrate its home state of Florida with labels that reflect the vintage appeal of the Sunshine State. Old St. Pete uses small-batch, pot-still rum mixed with high quality spices. It's released at a slightly higher proof to hold its own in cocktails.

This rum is distilled from fermented grade A molasses, but on the second distillation, maple syrup is added. The maple syrup is also locally sourced (Cumberland, Wisconsin). Roaring Dan is named after Dan Seavey, a pirate in the Great Lakes who infamously stole a schooner named the Nellie Johnson back in 1908 which was loaded with lumber. He was able to board the ship and got the crew drunk before throwing them overboard. When finally caught, he claimed he won the ship in a poker game.