Review 208: Mount Gay Extra Old

Review 208

4/4/14

Mount Gay Extra Old Rum: 43% abv

Background:  KCM has done multiple reviews on Mount Gay Rum, a Barbados distillery which tends to produce great value-per-dollar rums for the masses. Although Mount Gay Eclipse isn’t your sipping rum, the brand is still reputable. So what happens when you go up in the range? Mount Gay Extra Old is the middle range rum that offers a little bit more quality for a few more dollars. Interestingly, Mount Gay is a double pot still distilled rum, aged in ex-American whiskey white oak barrels. The Extra Old, in particular, is a blend of 8 to 15 year old rums. Extra Old is proofed modestly, as most rums are, but it is a slight improvement from the standard offering. Let’s look at if this premium bottle warrants a premium price.

Straight

Nose: The nose shows off a more clearly balanced rum aroma than you would find in other bottlings. A mixture of fragrant floral notes, strong maple, and a prevalent molasses make this a beautiful nose. Vanilla bean and banana also add mellow soft notes to the scent. There is a light spiciness to the rum, but it is mostly lost to the sweetness. Ripe apple, strawberry, and a slight pomegranate all add to the complexity of the nose, which continues to be a very pleasant experience.

Arrival:  The arrival struggles to pull out a lot of flavor. The molasses comes out strong the arrival, with a small hint of caramel and apple as well. The arrival contains slight spiciness, and a little bit of oakiness, but fails to make it noticeable. There is also a little bit of cookie dough flavor in the arrival as well.

Body: The body really takes on notes of apple and caramel, as well as vanilla and doses of cinnamon and nutmeg. The spice blend in the body is very intriguing and enjoyable, coupled with a nice, balanced sweetness. This is where this rum truly becomes enjoyable. The confectionary notes from the arrival carry into the body as well.

Finish: The age in the rum starts to show a little more in the finish, with ripe fruit notes, thick oak flavor, and a complex balance. The ripe banana comes through very heavy in the finish, with ginger and cardamom being immediately noticeable as well. There is no shortage of vanilla, with a little bit of a confectionary flavor as well. The finish provides a slightly sugarcane-like vegetal note, contributing sweetness and slight bitterness.

Final Comments: This is a fantastic statement by Mount Gay. It does balance the sweetness of a rum with some subtle complexity you would hope for. I would speculate that an extra 3% would throw this over the top in terms of flavor, but it still does a great job of differentiating the brand’s range. This is a great sipping rum, and for the reasonable price it offers, we would encourage this one. That beings said, it doesn’t offer all of the complexity we would want, but it doesn’t necessarily need to. The biggest accolade this rum has is the level of balance it has. Worth a try.

 

Why you’d buy it: This is a good rum for a good price, and you’re looking for a sipper.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You are severely anti-gay, and the thought of buying a gay rum makes your bible cringe.

Score:  9.0/10

Review 172: Captain Morgan Sherry Cask Finish

Review 172

8/11/13

Captain Morgan L.E. Sherry Cask: 35% abv

Background: And here we are, revisiting Captain Morgan. It might seem like a huge jump in quality from our regular reviews, but it is always nice to review the basics. Captain Morgan is currently owned by Diageo, and was brought to market in 1944. Probably the most well-known rum in the states, Captain Morgan rum is actually named after Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh privateer. Captain Morgan actually started being produced by Seagram Company, but was bought by Diageo in 2001. There has been rum produced in both Jamaica and Puerto Rico, but the stuff you’re probably used to slamming down came from Puerto Rico most likely. Captain Morgan is distilled spirit from Molasses and spends some short time in oak barrels to give it some life. What makes this unique is that it spends some time in a sherry barrel. So is that good or bad? Well, pre-emptively, we can tell you rum is sweet, and so is sherry, so it could either blend well, or be sickeningly like drinking sugar. And not to be overly critical, but you would think that if Captain Morgan was going to make a limited edition bottling, they would kick up the abv to more than a pathetic 35%. We did buy this, however, because it makes for a good experiment. So here it goes: Where has all the rum gone?

Straight

Nose:  The nose starts off with a nice, custardy fruitiness, vanilla and sweetness up front. The smell of vanilla is pretty overbearing up front. There are some hints of cinnamon you’ll catch up front. There is also a slight waxiness that comes through on the nose. This is an odd first in the KCM tasting notes history, but it’s fairly direct. There is some anise present in the nose, as well as some slight ginger and subtle lime. There is a definite strawberry/blueberry note present in the nose, with some orange sherbet and modest melon flavors as well. There is some confectionary flavor to it as well. 

Arrival: There is some definite honey flavor that comes out initially in the arrival, with a smooth sweetness throughout. There is some gentle, soft fruitiness akin to fuji apples and sweet berries, followed by a definite creaminess. There is a definite sugariness that comes through in the arrival. It is definitely sweet, but weirdly enough, it is a light sweetness, not much like the rich, overburdening flavor that you would expect out of a fortified wine.

Body: The body comes up with succulent black cherry flavors, some sweet berries and left over orange and cream flavors, along with subtle hints of vanilla and honey, without every getting too far into the sherry territory. This was probably not a nutty sherry cask, and it probably had minimal exposure, because the raison and nutty characteristics we become so fond of simply are not present. It is still sugary, lots of molasses present. This is very much similar to the arrival, and in this sense, you get what you get. It isn’t a very dynamic rum. What becomes unique about the body is a slight presence of anise and spice.  

           

Finish: The finish, which doesn’t hold much of a presence in the grand scheme of things, holds the most spiciness, but retains the sweet notes of before. The anise and some cinnamon comes through the most here, but the finish is fairly abrupt. It doesn’t last very long and besides the slight sensation of alcohol, you have forgotten what you drank. You might feel like you just brushed your teeth with the refreshing, almost fluoride-like flavor that hangs in the back of your mouth.

With Water

Nose: The nose, after adding just a slight drop of water, is even bigger in the fruity, vanilla, floral, and slight anise spicy notes. It is such a potent, but not off-putting nose, you would honestly want this as your car scent mirror tag. Other than the prominence of the nose, it doesn’t feel like much changed here.

Arrival: Although most of the notes have remained present here, and we aren’t noticing any new ones come out, it seems like there is a slightly better balance now in this one than before.

Body: The body is very much the same as the arrival, with a better balance, not much else is going on.

           

Finish: The finish is very similar, although it seems a little more dry and astringent than before.

Final Comments: Not bad…pretty clean and fairly interesting. It is unique and without water, it is pretty easy to drink, and it does everything you might want out of a rum. We are not huge fans of Captain Morgan, but what they’ve accomplished here, at $20, is pretty damn impressive, for lack of better terms. There is not a lot of dynamics to the rum, but we enjoyed it for a good sipper. This is also a good rum to experiment with, since it is so unique.

 

Why you’d buy it: You’d like to try something different, or you just want something good to mix with.

Why you wouldn’t: You are REALLY looking for something of high quality in the rum world.

Score: 8.25/10

KCM Onsite Report #2: Journeyman Distillery Tasting

KCM Onsite Report #2

4/19/13

Tiffany’s Wine and Spirit Shoppe/Journeyman Distillery

Overview: You might say that KCM hasn’t done a great job of talking about the Michigan distillation scene, and you’d be right. We are rectifying that, starting today, with some onsite reports of distilleries, tasting, and shops and stores where you can find good stuff. Over the summer, we hope to build on these and visit some different places. Today though, we’re going to do a hybrid and talk about Journeyman distillery AND about a place called Tiffany’s. Let’s start with the distillery.

Journeyman: Journeyman Distillery is a new business, not more than two years old, coming out of Three Oaks, MI. Three Oaks is so south-western, it may as well be Indiana. Journeyman, as we’ve said, is a pretty young distillery and they’re still learning some very valuable childhood lessons, but that hasn’t stopped them from jumping into the market with tenacity and vision. They currently have two column stills, one of which is a brand new addition to a second facility, and are aging their spirits in a variety of barrels, including some bigger barrels that they are looking to hold onto for a couple of decades. They have acquired some popularity in the surrounding area, and we hope to help them on their journey (no pun intended there) to success. One thing Journeyman is doing right is experimenting, with ideas like oak-aged gin and cabernet barrel-aged whiskey. So we attended a tasting at Tiffany’s and we’re going to report our finding on a number of their spirits, albeit it will be a general summary, not the detail we generally produce.

Ravenwood Rye: 45% abv

We started with the rye whiskey they produced, naturally being produced in column stills. The rye content in the mash is 60% and the other 40% is all wheat content, which will typically offset the harshness of rye whiskey. There was no mistaking this whiskey’s intentions, because one could easily taste the confused sweetness and underwhelming rye character in the flavor. There was a prominent honey, candied sugar, and vanilla content to this particular whiskey. There was ironically not much rye content to this whiskey, which made us a little disappointed. This is an easy drinking spirit, but it unfortunately didn’t taste like a rye whiskey should, and that’s why we buy rye whiskey.

Score: 7.25/10

Road’s End Rum: 45% abv

We decided to jump to the clear spirits. In particular, silver rum was next in line. We should mention that unaged rums generally don’t contain a large amount of complexity and are purely influenced by the molasses or sugarcane extract used in distillation. The spokesperson for Journeyman told me the rum was distilled with blackstrap molasses, and distilled by a Jamaican technique. The rum itself is pretty fresh and pure, with a mixture of sweet notes and slight bitterness, with a thick mouthfeel, and a very subtle spiciness in compliment. In all honesty, we were happy with this as a new make spirit, so we are excited what the benefits of aging does to this rum.

Score: 8.25/10

Bilberry Black Hearts Gin: 45% abv

You may notice that KCM hasn’t reviewed gin in our year of existence. Well that is partially because none of the panel is all that particular to gin, and partially because most of our stock lies in Scotch. Gin tends to be overpowered by the botanicals that are used for distillation; the primary ingredient of gin is typically juniper berries, which have very bitter and piny tasting characteristics to it. This gin is unique in that way, because, as the name implies, the star of the show is actually bilberry. Some of the ingredients include anise, coriander, lemon and cinnamon. This is not your typical gin then, with a complex list of balanced notes, not over-dominated by the typical pine qualities that gin has. This gin isn’t super dry, but it isn’t overtly sweet. It is a perfect start for what gin should be.

Score: 9.0/10

Barrel-Aged Bilberry Black Hearts Gin: 45% abv

Well now, here is where things get good. Something that has not been touched by a lot of distilleries is aged gin, and here we have some. And it really takes the best of both worlds, without a doubt. This helps the already well balanced gin get some complexity from the oak barrels, and really adds some dimension. It is my deepest hope that we see more things like this. I’d love to see more age to this gin and how it can change the spirit. This is not a mature spirit, and the addition of oak-induced flavors does not completely cover that, but it shows great potential for Journeyman to stand out for something incredible. You will find some vanilla notes, some spiciness, and a hint of herbal notes coming out in the gin. Highly recommended.

Score: 9.25/10

Buggy Whip Wheat: 45% abv

On the other end of the spectrum, this particular bottling represents a good experiment gone dull. We love the thought of new types of whiskey being bottled, and you do not see a lot of 100% wheat whiskies on the market, but maybe there is a good reason for that. This whiskey, although smooth and sweet, lacks complexity and is truly boring. You might, if you are a mixer or a rocks drinker, love that. We do not love that, and it is disappointing. This isn’t poorly made spirit, but it isn’t well made whiskey.

Score: 6.75

Featherbone Bourbon: 45% abv

We are going back and forth, I know, but honesty is our first priority. This bourbon produced some funny reactions at the tasting, where people exclaimed that the plastic cups were adding flavor to the bourbon and that it was spoiled. Folks, bourbon doesn’t really spoil like a glass of milk. In fact, the plastic tasting glasses were not off-setting the flavor. This is just a unique bourbon, and boy did we like it. At KCM, we have tried a number of bourbons, and few of them jump out as being truly away from the back. This particular one, with immense leathery notes, some nuttiness, big wood, and some tasting notes you would attribute with more mature whiskies, did more than just pose as a good entry into the American whiskey market. This whiskey showed that Journeyman can produce something different, although their range of whiskies might be a little under-developed in some areas.

Score: 9.0/10

Silver Cross Whiskey

Alright. Last one of the night. Well it is as I’m typing, and it was as I was drinking. This is an underlying message that hopefully Journeyman Distillery grabs onto. I don’t remember much about this whiskey, and I don’t care much about it. I remember it not being very distinctive, and although it had some small complexities to it, it was rather boring. We were not in the mind to rate this one.

Score: ?/10

Conclusion

At the beginning of this short novel, we told you Journeyman is a new distillery in the micro-distillery scene. This presents some challenges and makes it difficult to produce cheap quality spirits without going bankrupt. A new start up is akin to starting up a car company: lots of capital investment and not much return for years and years. Journeyman seems to be over this initial turbulence and charging ahead boldly with quality spirit production. For this reason, it is understandable for Journeyman to have their feelers out, trying to understand where they fit in the market. What we don’t want is for them to become a jack of all trades, master of none. It will be interesting to see how they evolve, but we as consumers should try to be patrons of businesses like these, who are working hard to make a name for themselves. KCM believes Journeyman Distillery is a worth investment and we should support the products that stand out.

~K

Review 124: El Dorado 12 Year

Review 124

12/18/12

El Dorado 12 Year: 40% abv

“Aged”, “Anejo”, “Old” rums, turns out, sort of carry their own category. The reason I provided several monikers for these kinds of rums is because the term “aged” can be misleading. Although rums don’t have to be aged (some countries require at least 1 year of aging), a lot of them are. This is a different kind of thing from an “aged” rum, you see. This one, in particular, is 12 years old. This sounds like a bottom shelf single malt Scotch age, but don’t think of this anything but very good. And not many rum producers tag an age statement on their bottles, and we really like this practice: it encourages quality. 

On to El Dorado. If you’re looking for a rum producer to provide you with a good variety of rums, this could be the place to look. El Dorado, from Demerara, produce a multitude of rums. Their ranges are the luxury cask aged, fine cask aged, connoisseur range, superior standards and specialty products. We are reviewing the 12 Year Luxury Cask Edition, which means the cask itself owned a Maserati before being filled with rum. The more you know. If you want to go older, El Dorado even has a 25 year old rum but you might need to sell your car to buy it. 

Okay, all this talk about the distiller, and not the rum. But let’s just take ONE more second to discuss the finer details of this rum. The 12 Year is aged in bourbon casks for 12 years, but even more interesting is the blends that make it. There are three stills where this rum hails from and one of them is called the Port Mourant Double Wooden Still. Yes, this rum was distilled from one of the last two remaining original wooden stills in the world. So that is an interesting fact. Let’s move on. 

El Dorado 12 year is a fantastic rum, but let’s find out more about it. On the nose, there is a balanced composition of sweetness and spiciness. There is a fresh sugarcane smell, coupled with sweet molasses, and includes more smells of oak, honey, caramel, apple, cinnamon, vanilla, slight grain, banana and coconut. This is a different, rather complex smelling rum, and if all you have been drinking is Captain Morgan, this will throw you off of your seat. This smell does have a slightly alcohol-like presence to it. There is no doubt to it, although this strikes as some surprise given its mile, if not disappointing alcohol content. 

The arrival begins with a simple, gentle, sweet arrival of vanilla, caramel, molasses and even some melon. It’s probably the most disappointing, eventless part of the rum. But don’t worry, the body comes to the rescue with complexity. There is a big raisony note in the body, with sweetness attributed to honey and agave, and plenty of notes further. These include grapes, mint, fresh herbs, molasses, vanilla, orange, honeydew, and nutmeg. After adding some water, there is an oaky presence adding in mild spices and ginger, with a better blend of flavors.

The finish closes with that same raisony, honey-like flavor, but there is more of a sherry-like presence. There is confectioner’s sugar, grapefruit, ginger, mild pepper, agave, orange, peark skin, citrus, and slight dryness. This changes slightly in balance after water, and there is the addition of enhanced apple and tropical fruits.

So this is a relatively complex spirit. If you are asking if it is worth what it demands in cost, then we’d quickly say without a doubt. The problem is that Appleton Estate 12 Year still exists, and we think Appleton has outdone themselves, and outdone El Dorado. That does not make these two rums the same, and it is easy to tell how one would enjoy them both, or prefer the contrasting flavors. This rum is not overly dominant in any particular fashion and even goes so far to become better balanced after some water. Next time you see it, give it a try and see what we mean. 

Score: 9.0/10

Review 123: Pampero Aniversario

Review 123

12/17/12

Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva: 40% abv

We are talking another quick look at rums today, and for that we have all the way from Venezuela, Pampero. Now, these marketing folks always like to piss me off with their stupid marketing nonsense, but I guess we’ll start with the facts. Venezuelan rums tend to be rich rums, and this little guy is no exception. This rum was bought purely because it comes in a leather satchel, and we’re always suckers for packaging. Now Pampero might not be a big player in the world of rums, but it certainly is unique, and at a reasonable price, deserves a second look. Unfortunately for it, it is shredding against the big dogs like Appleton Estate, Mount Gay, and El Dorado. 

It appears as if some marketing monkeys have compared this rum to having better complexity as a sipper than Cognac or Scotch, so here’s my five minute rant. Complexity is not defined by what the spirit is, but rather the quality of the spirit and the craftsmanship involved. Pampero does have some things to be said for it, but I can think of a number of Scotches that would leave it to the dust. Therefore, let’s not compare apples to oranges, and stick with the fact that this is indeed a good rum. 

And it is. Let’s look at what we found in it: On the nose, there is a huge creamy molasses note right up front, with cocoa, maple wood, nutmeg, gingerbread, banana, apple, strawberry, caramel, powdered sugar, honey and vanilla all being present. This is a relatively complex nose, but the theme here is sweet. It certainly contrasts the rums we’ve had in the past, so that’s good. 

When you start tasting this thing, you realize that the sweetness in the nose isn’t just made up. And rich it is. This is certainly a sipping rum, because there’s nothing else you could do with it. Interestingly, the arrival is big, and provides you with cinnamon, molasses, caramel, sugar, cream, mint and even some raisons. It is complex and up front, and it doesn’t make you wait. The body contains a big sherry raison taste, and keeps up with the molasses. The dark sweet notes of caramel, nutmeg, maple, and vanilla keep the body full, with additional notes of cherry, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, banana, coconut, and mint. 

The body is busy, but not impossibly complex. The finish is dark, and has the most prominent presence of raisons and sherry, but keeps most of the notes of the body, with some powdered sugar and honey to add. And granted, this is not a bad thing. This rum is different and unique and, if enjoyed slowly, is an easy smooth sipper for anybody who enjoys a sweeter rum. As we reviewed this one, we grew into it a little more. It takes understanding, but even for those who don’t particularly seek the sweeter of rums, this can be enjoyed. 

Score: 8.5/10

Review 120: Gosling's Black Seal Rum

Review 120

12/15/12

Gosling’s Black Seal Rum: 40% abv

We got back into the rum bandwagon and it certainly has been a while. This is Gosling’s  dark rum, and if you look at our first mixology post, it is the feature ingredient in the Dark N’ Stormy. Just like the mixed drink, this rum comes from Bermuda, and unlike Kraken it is not a spiced rum. But how does it compare? Well we can tell you first hand. 

On the nose, you start off with complex notes of wheat, cane sugar and brown sugar, molasses, allspice, slight anise, nutmeg, ginger, herbal notes, mild vanilla, mint, and  maybe even some coriander. The nose is pretty unique and spicy, and it was surprisingly enjoyable at this price point. The arrival provided big sweetness, with honey, caramel, cinnamon, and ginger. 

The body continued some of these notes with ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, honey, caramel, molasses, sweet fruits, mint, and allspice. After the addition of water, this body becomes mellower and sweeter, but does not lose its flavor. The finish contains brown sugar, molasses, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, slight bitterness, an undertone of sweet fruits, and mint. As you might be able to tell, this is a fairly complex finish, but is comprised of many spice notes. Overall, the finish evens out with a slight splash of water. 

Here are some general notes about Gosling’s Black Seal Rum for you. This rum is not terribly fruity, but contains a good mixture of sweetness and spiciness. The finish is dry in this, and a small amount of water will definitely smooth this rum out, as well as taking away a bit of the edge from the peppery bitterness of the finish. This rum is exactly what makes a Dark N’ Stormy a Dark N’ Stormy. This is a cheap rum, which makes it a great buy for the value, but the question becomes whether or not this competes with Kraken, at a very similar price point. The short answer is no. Kraken will probably be the better buy, but if you like the character of this better, or the bigger sweetness, this will not do you wrong. 

Score: 8.5/10

Review 80: Appleton Estate 12 Yr

Review 80

7/3/12

Appleton Estate 12 Year Extra Old: 43% abv

Appleton Estate is a one of a kind rum distillery from Jamaica. They have several different rums in their collection, including a V/X, a Reserve, a 12 year, and if you’re lucky to find them, a 21 year old and a 30 year old rum as well. The latter two are certainly not regular production. Appleton Estate ages their rum in barrels which had previously housed Jack Daniels, which tends to be a unique addition to the Appleton flavor. What we’re reviewing today is their 12 year old rum, which is very affordably priced at around $30 a bottle in Michigan. 

We don’t normally bring up prices in the reviews, because it biases things, but it is certainly a bargain in this case, no matter what light you look at it in. So let’s get into this a little bit. Are we just talking this one up, or is it really the spirit we’re talking about? On the nose, you will get a complex array of flavors, which range in spiciness and fruitiness, with some sweeter notes as well. Spiciness includes cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, giving a nice balanced complexity of spices. The nose is rich and smells syrupy, but has a surprising burn to it that you normally don’t get out of a rum. One can also pull out notes of apple, but also interestingly banana and coconut. There is a dark chocolatey note, with vanilla, caramel and molasses to add to the complexity. Overall, this nose is incredibly complex and fantastically balanced. 

This is very encouraging, so without any cliffhangers, here’s the taste. In taste, we have an apparent oakiness, where the Jack Daniels lets you know it is in the rum with a semi-subtle presence. The rum has cereal grain notes to it, like rye and wheat, but it just keeps coming. The nutmeg and ginger are evident in the body, but are joined with a fresh mint taste on the arrival. Then those classic dark tastes of rum come in, like molasses, maple and toffee. The taste is also very complex, well balanced, and provides a great amount of flavor to it. The finish stays around a while too. 

There is a long finish, and gives you more fruits! Notes like cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and raisons evolve through the taste into the finish. There is a slight bitterness, but a sweetness of powdered sugar as well. The odd note in the finish is a subtle presence of agave, generally overpowered by the more powerful cinnamon note. The mint note also revisits us from the arrival. There it is. All the things to be said about this rum. Here’s the thing: is it as great as we made it sound? The best way to describe it is that we could find no flaws in the rum. Thus, we cannot mark it down for no flaws. And there it is. 

Score: 10/10