Rum To Help Ease The Tax Pain

Named for a character in Charles Dickens’ “The Pickwick Papers,” the Pineapple Stiggins’ Fancy Rum began as a one-off collaboration between Alexandre Gabriel and cocktail historian David Wondrich. The demand was strong enough that Plantation made it a proper release. Pineapple rinds are infused with their Plantation 3 Stars Rum for one week, then pot distilled. The fruit is separately steeped in Plantation Original Dark Rum for three months. The two liquids are blended and the resulting Pineapple Rum is rested in casks for three months before bottling.

Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum is a blend of pot still and column still Bajan rums that are aged in bourbon casks for 3-4 years in the Caribbean. The blend is then finished in French oak casks at Maison Ferrand’s Château de Bonbonnet in the heart of the Grande Champagne district for 1-2 years more. Note: Formerly called Plantation Grande Reserve 5 Year.

Zaya Gran Reserva was previously made in Guatemala but is now produced in Trinidad & Tobago. This product formerly had an age statement of 12 years, but now the bottle simply has the number "12" displayed on its bottles. That number is to indicate that Zaya Gran Reserva is made from a blend of 12 rums which aged in medium-charred used whiskey barrels.

Domaine de l’Acajou on Martinique was purchased in the late 1880s by Homère Clément, who sought to produce rhum agricole after learning distillation techniques from brandy estates in France. Clément VSOP Rhum Agricole is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice in a single-column copper pot-still. It's aged a minimum of 4 years in a combination of new French Limousin oak and re-charred ex-bourbon casks.

Ron Abuelo is produced at Panama's Varela Hermanos S.A. distillery in Pesé. 12 Años is selected from rums aged in ex-bourbon and white oak barrels, which benefit from the effects of the tropical heat. It should be noted that the distillery was the first in Panama to stop the practice of burning sugarcane fields before harvest and are committed to other green/eco-friendly initiatives.

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.

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.

The Netherlands has a long history of distillation, dating back to the 1600s. In addition to the big names like Bols, craft distilleries such as Zuidam crank out an extraordinarily large number of spirits while retaining a reputation for quality. Master Distiller Patrick van Zuidam is considered one of world’s top distillers. The Flying Dutchman No. 3 is aged for at least three years in a combination of new American oak, first-fill Oloroso sherry, and first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry barrels. Note: This is not currently available in the U.S.

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.

This rum is produced from molasses and is unaged. It is infused with Bourbon Vanilla from Madagascar and Reunion Islands and orange peel and orchid leaves also from Reunion. The isle of Mauritius, where this rum is made, is also home to the pink pigeon bird where it is rare and endangered.