The Highest Scoring Rums From January 2017

The aged variant of Mt Uncles Platinum Sugar Cane Spirit, Iridium is aged for 4 years in hogshead American oak barrels 2000-feet above sea level. The sugar cane comes from the Arriga Sugar Mill behind the distillery while the rum is distilled in the 1500-L copper pot-still named “Helga”. Crafted by distiller and owner Mark Watkins, the Iridium Gold Rum saw a release in 2012. Note: Availability limited to Australia.

Established in 2008, this rum was the flagship rum of the Stone Pine Distillery. A now limited edition bottling from Cask 1, the rum is aged in first-fill Serbian oak barriques and is made with local Australian molasses. Each bottle of the rum is individually numbered, with only 294 produced. This tasting was completed using bottle number 245 from Cask 1 (and named Founders Rum). Note: Availability is extremely limited and found only in Australia.

Nestled in Queensland, Tamborine Mountain Distillery first began in 1993, when married couple Michael and Alla Ward decided to start experimenting with distilling. Opening their doors to the public in July 1998 with Alla as their distiller, they produce a variety of spirits and liqueurs. First produced 5 years ago, their Gold Rum is made from local molasses and sugar cane from Beenleigh. Aged for 4 years in an American oak barrels. Note: Available only in Australia in 500ml sized bottles.

Mount Uncle boasts being Northern Queensland first and only distillery, with the name coming from the mountain the distillery rests against. Using as much local and endemic ingredients as possible, Mount Uncles Platinum Cane Spirit is made from sugarcane syrup, and also filtered through Cairns Tablelands volcanic rock for clarity. Note: Availability limited to Australia.

Hailing from the Kimberly region of Western Australia, Canefire Rum starts with sugar cane grown from the Ord River Valley in Kununurra. From there, it is harvested into an unrefined sugar, brewed with high quality yeasts, and refined again to remove the unwanted phenols, methanol and fusel oils. Canefire rumsare all Australian-developed, grown, owned, made and bottled in Western Australia. Availability limited to Australia.

Beenleigh’s Port-Barrel Infused Rum is a limited edition line from the Australian Icon, with the release simply a chance to offer the public something outside the box and tap an untapped market. Aged for seven years, the rum spent the first five of those years in American oak barrels and the final two in ex-port barrels. Using the same local molasses from Rocky Point Sugar Mill that Beenleigh uses in all their products, the Port Barrel may at one time become a fixture product for the Beenleigh line. Note: Availability limited to Australia in 700ml sized bottles.

As the name indicates, the rum is copper pot-distilled, using a still known as "The Old Copper”, the only one of its kind in Australia. As Beenleigh says, it was modified a long time ago by “an old German Guy”. After the distillation, it is aged in ex-brandy vats, before being finished in charred American oak barrels for a minimum aging of two years in total. It is crafted with local ingredients. Sold in 1L-sized bottles with availability in western US (at 40% ABV) and in 700ml-sized bottles (at 38% ABV) in Australia.

Opened by Bev and Ian Glen, Stone Pine Distillery was conceived with the dream of being the first micro-distillery in the Bathurst area. With a background in the alcohol trade, their dream is slowly being realized. The Dead Man's Drop rum is named after the Ribbon Gang, an Australian gang made of some 80 escaped convicts from the Bathurst area in 1830. Ten members of the gang were captured after a prolonged shoot-out, and hung on the 3rd of November, 1830. Available only in Australia.

Sea Wynde is a blend of pot-still rums from Guyana and Jamaica. The blenders select casks from both countries which they blend and bottle in small batches in an attempt to achieve a British Navy style of rum.

Using their Superior Light Rum as a base, Green Island produces their Spiced Gold expression. The spice blend that they use is not disclosed. This molasses-based Mauritian rum is available for sale in the UK and other European markets.