Tastes

Im fortunate to live in an area that has access to a number of single cask selections from Privateer; this was a PM Spirits pick. I’ve always wanted to love Privateer, having grown up in the Boston area and knowing they make a rum particularly tuned to the bourbon palate, but this wasnt the bottle that won me over. No, falling first for funky Hampden, Beenleigh and Guyanese rums this just felt too subtle. It took some bolder Privateer releases, a 7 year molasses based rum and a cask strength queens share collab with PM spirits to hook me and when I revisited this bottle suddenly it clicked with me. Now I strongly believe this distiller stands up to the best Foursquare can offer. This particular bottle can be very bourbon-y with the new oak influence, but its unmistakably a rum with its excellent mouthfeel, coconut and anise notes. I started this bottle as a Privateer skeptic practically ready to write off the distillery and emptied it a die hard fan so excited to see whats in store for the future.

This review is for the “Why Rum When You Can Rye,” group pick from Rochester, NY Elite Barrel Pickers. I loved this first experience with both Grander and Panama rums. I was immediatelt impressed with how well this column still rum held up to the 3 year rye barrel finish. Im interested in trying a single barrel expression with less aggressive finishing but I’ve also heard great things about the Port finish so I’ll be in the lookout for that as well. A thoroughly enjoyable sweet but complex and oak-forward rum that I intend to keep a bottle of on the shelf.

A Single Cask Nation release of Beenleigh Rum is largely responsible for pulling me into the world of rum, it’s a funky dunder-bomb that I have not bottle-killed and reviewed yet. This release isn’t quite at that level, but captures a lot of that Australian magic. A heavy dose of Sharpie marker on the nose is always an indication I’m in for a good time and these high proof Beenleighs share that characteristic with aged rums from Guyana. So when I mention the ester-y funk think of that more than Jamaica. After that I get a nice burst of fruit followed up by bbq flavors that I associate closely with this distillery specifically. It takes water well and in my opinion needs a healthy splash and some time in glass to unlock. I was disappointed with this bottle initially before I took those preparations, but once I figured out the proper care and feeding it didn’t last long.

This is a nice entry point to the high-ester world of Beenleigh’s pot distilled rum. This particular release isn’t overly complex or challenging but you can still get a bit of the funk typical of the distillery (which uses a process similar to those made famous by Jamaican rum distilleries) Waves of vanilla extract pour out of the glass once it’s been sitting for a few minutes, but on closer inspection you can draw out the chemical-y hogo on the nose. Theres also a very sweet palate and cognac-influenced finish from the barrel finish typical of the bottler. I’m happy to have drunk this bottle and happy to move on to other things Beenleigh. I won’t be picking up a backup but will continue to grab any TCRL Australia releases I see out in the wild.