Episodi

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    Happy holidays and New Year (in advance), everyone!

    In our fifth (!) annual Year in Review episode we take a look back at our favorite rums of the year in the following categories:

    Unaged molasses rum

    Unaged cane juice rum

    Aged rum (5 years or less)

    Aged rum (Over 5 years)

    “New to me” rum

    Best value rum

    Most surprising rum

    Overall rum

    Plus, we each throw in picks for Distillery of the Year and Bottler of the Year, along with another round of "Am I the a**hole for being lower on this rum?" and another classic rum-themed holiday tune from John Gulla.

    Have a listen, and let us know your favorites in these categories from the past year! Also, what did we miss? What were we too high or low on? We'd love to hear your takes.

    The List (Spoilers Ahead!)

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    Unaged Rum (Molasses):

    Will: Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum from Raising Glasses

    John: Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum from Raising Glasses

    Unaged Rum (Cane Juice):

    Will: Alambique Serrano — Cartier 30

    John: Alambique Serrano — Cartier 30

    Aged Rum (5 Years or Less):

    Will: Hampden Estate Great House 2024

    John: Ghana 2020 from Down Island Spirits

    Aged Rum (Over 5 Years):

    Will: Fiji 2012 Flag Series Rum from La Maison & Velier

    John: Cambodia 2016 Flag Series Rum from La Maison & Velier

    “New to Me” Rum:

    Will: O Reizinho Limited Edition White Rum

    John: The category of UK Rum

    Value Rum:

    Will: Shakara 12-Year

    John: Shakara 12-Year

    Most Surprising Rum:

    Will: Unaged Rum from Line 44 Distillery

    John: Ten To One Five Origin Select

    “Am I the A**hole?" Rum:

    Will: El Dorado High Ester Blend

    John: El Dorado High Ester Blend

    Overall Rum:

    Will: Alambique Serrano Blend #3: Matadiablo

    John: Fiji 2012 Flag Series Rum from La Maison & Velier

    Distillery of the Year:

    Will: Krassel Family Distillery (Alambique Serrano / Cañada)

    John: Krassel Family Distillery (Alambique Serrano / Cañada)

    Bottler of the Year:

    Will: Raising Glasses

    John: La Maison & Velier

  • Click here to watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

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    We're back with another entry in our semi-blind reviews series — but yet again with a twist! In this mystery sample edition, both of us have no idea what the identity of this rum is as we review it. Along the way, we offer our best guesses as to the rum's origin and key characteristics.

    This time, it's a 13-year-old rhum agricole from Isautier Distillery in Réunion Island bottled by Swell de Spirits.

    Rum specs:

    Bottler: Swell de Spirits

    Origin: Réunion Island

    Distillery: Isautier

    Base material: Cane juice

    Distillation: Column

    Age: 13 years

    Cask: Ex-Cognac

    ABV: 59.4%

    A special thank you to Rumcast patron Ben for providing the mystery sample.

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  • Click here to watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

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    In this episode, we went inside a brand new distillery in a rarely explored rum origin of the Caribbean — Dominica (not the Dominican Republic). Rosalie Bay Distilling is a unique operation that is producing rum from sugarcane juice supplied by 80+ local farmers, and contributing 100% of its profits toward conservation efforts that protect sea turtles, coral reef, whales, and more.

    We got to sit down with Kernean George (head distiller), Marcella Harris (conservationist and board member of Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization), and Brett Steigerwaldt (distillery advisor and head distiller at Lyon Rum) to learn about Rosalie Bay from a variety of angles, including:

    How a chance encounter at a Maryland rum distillery sparked Rosalie Bay Distilling

    A brief history of rum production in Dominica, and why it differs from neighboring islands Martinique and Guadeloupe

    Kernean's journey from not drinking rum to becoming a head rum distiller

    How Rosalie Bay developed its style of cane juice rum

    What it's like to source cane from 80+ local farmers

    The unique terroir of Dominica

    The dangers to sea turtles, coral reef, and sperm whales — and how the distillery funds efforts to protect them

    And much more!

    Links to things mentioned during the episode:

    You can order bottles of Rosalie Bay via Raising Glasses (it's also currently available in Massachusetts retail stores)

    Rosalie Bay's website

    Oceans Forward's website

    The Last Turtle documentary (available on YouTube)

    National Geographic's Secrets of the Whales docuseries (episode 4 features Dominica's sperm whales)

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    In this return to our Rumcast Guides series, we dive into Portugal's twist on agricole rum — Madeira!

    Madeira has been producing amazing cane juice rums for a very long time, but has only started becoming more well known in the broader rum world in recent years. So there's no better time than now to explore it!

    We take you through:

    A brief history of rum production and sugarcane cultivation in Madeira

    Their distinctive rules for rum production

    How their mythical "Chamber of Tasters" tasting panels for approving authentic Rums da Madeira work

    A look at each of the current Madeira rum distilleries

    Tastings of several Madeira rums from O Reizinho, Engenhos do Norte, Vinha Alta, and Engenho Novo

    On-the-ground reporting from a Rumcast correspondent who recently visited Madeira

    The reveal of a "Madeira Mystery" blind tasting

    And more!

    Related links:

    The official Rum da Madeira website

    Madeira Rum certification process PDF

    Madeira Rum organoleptic requirements PDF

    Our episode 55 interview with Peter Holland

    Our episode 73 interview with Richard Nicholson

    Secret Rum Bar's Madeira Rum series

    Fat Rum Pirate's Calheta rum review

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

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    Check out the Rumcast Patreon community for more bonus content like this!

    In this free edition of our monthly bonus Patreon episode, we taste through three highly anticipated new rums in La Maison & Velier's Flag Series:

    Cambodia 2016: an 8-year-old pot still rum from Samai Distillery (48.7% ABV)

    Jamaica 2015: a 9-year-old pot still rum from Worthy Park (60.4% ABV)

    Fiji 2012: a 12-year-old pot still rum from South Pacific Distilleries (64.5% ABV)

    Tune in for some background on Cambodian rum, our thoughts on each rum, some reflections on the Flag Series as a whole, a digression on Bob Dylan, and more!

    Note: These samples were provided to us free of charge, and with no promise of a review or episode like this.

    Have you tried any of these yet? Is there one you're particularly interested in? Shoot us an email or comment and let us know!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Want to see video of this episode? Click here to watch on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

    We're back with our semi-blind reviews series — but with a twist!

    In this mystery sample edition, both of us have no idea what the identity of this rum is before diving in headfirst for a review. Along the way, we offer our best guesses as to the rum's origin and key characteristics.

    This time, it's a 20-year-old rum from Trinidad Distillers Limited bottled by Compagnie Des Indes. Tune in to see how close we get!

    A special thank you to Rumcast patron Ben for providing the mystery sample.

    Have a listen and let us know what you think of this rum!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Want to watch the video version of this episode? Head to YouTube to watch and subscribe.

    Big news: we're buying a cask and branding, bottling, labeling, and releasing our own single cask rum! Throughout this process, we'll be taking you along on the journey as we conceptualize the rum, travel to the Main Rum Company in Liverpool to find the perfect cask, and do all the other stuff that goes into a first-time release.

    In this episode, we tackle our first creative challenge — coming up with a name for the brand / release! We discuss themes we'd like the name to capture, things we'd like to avoid, and then share ideas for names that we've brainstormed separately — including the bad, the ugly, and the...possibly OK?

    Have a listen and shoot us an email ([email protected]), comment, or message with your thoughts, ideas, or things you'd like us to throughout the process.

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

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    In this episode, we're excited to take you inside a very new emerging rum locale — Sicily, the Italian island where Distilleria Alma is bringing back sugarcane cultivation. Since 2021, Hugo Gallardo and his co-founders have been crafting cane juice rum from multiple varietals and bottling it under the label Mater Rum.

    We were lucky to try multiple bottlings of Mater and can confirm that it's worthy of your interest not just because of its interesting origin, but also because it tastes pretty damn good. So obviously we had to get the full story from Hugo!

    We discussed:

    The long history of sugarcane in Sicily (and why it disappeared)

    How the distillery almost ended up in the Philippines

    The ongoing evolution of Mater's production process

    The differences between the yellow cane and purple cane rums

    Rumors of additional Sicilian rum projects from heavy hitters of the rum world

    Sicily's unique environment and culture

    What kinds of Mater releases we may see in the future

    Bringing Mater to the U.S.

    And much more!

    Check out Distilleria Alma's website for more info on Mater Rum.

    Relevant links to the Jamaica Rum GI discussion in the intro:

    The Gleaner: New GI rum rules bar aging outside of Jamaica

    Rum Wonk: Jamaica's Rum GI Changes - Overview and Analysis

    Rum Revelations: Jamaica GI Rumblings with a French Twist

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

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    In this special mini-episode, we reveal the full results and official WINNER of the 2024 Rumcast Fantasy Rum Draft!

    You can view the official results totals here (Spoiler Warning, obviously).

    As always, THANK YOU to everyone who listened and voted, and a special shout out to our special guest participant this year, Arminder Randhawa of The Rum Revival.

    Be sure to follow Arminder on YouTube and Instagram!

    Special thanks to The Auditor Reviews for his draft grades article. Check it out here!

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Note: We need your help to make the most of this episode! Go to rumcast.com/vote after listening to help determine the winner of this year's Fantasy Rum Draft. Thank you!

    Want to watch the video version of this episode? Head to YouTube and subscribe: https://youtu.be/ZMT9r_GXk0w

    For the third year in a row, we're back with our annual Rumcast Fantasy Rum Draft. In this annual competition, we compete head-to-head to “draft” rums from the selection of a single online liquor store for 10 different rum categories. The goal? To create the superior “desert island” rum bar.

    Also, for the first time ever, we welcomed a guest to the competition! Arminder Randhawa from The Rum Revival joined us to duke it out for fantasy rum bar supremacy.

    Have a listen, and then head to rumcast.com/vote to help us determine the winner!

    As always, we'd love to hear what thoughts or questions this episode brought to mind for you. Shoot us an email or join us in Patreon for access to the Rumcast Discord community.

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Note: Watch this episode on YouTube for video of the whole interview!

    In this episode, we sat down with Nicolas Palazzi, the founder of PM Spirits. As a self-proclaimed "provider of geeky spirits" PM is an importer/distributor known for supplying the US with many sought-after rum releases thanks to relationships with brands like La Maison & Velier, Père Labat, Alambique Serrano, and many more.

    It was a fascinating conversation that touched on everything from visiting rum locales like Marie-Galante and Hampden Estate to the challenges of growing the rum category. We discussed:

    Nicolas's journey from working as an engineer in France to becoming a spirits importer in Brooklyn

    Blending rums at Hampden for an upcoming collaboration with Habitation Velier

    The magic of Marie-Galante rum

    Growing the Mexican rum category

    How Alambique Serrano has gotten so much early attention

    Authenticity in spirits

    Lessons from 10+ years bringing obscure spirits into the US market

    What he looks for when evaluating a spirits producer

    Why he will forever be known as Captain Cognac (despite John's attempts at new nicknames)

    And much more!

    Check out the PM Spirits website here.

    As always, we'd love to hear what thoughts or questions this episode brought to mind for you. Shoot us an email or join us in Patreon for access to the Rumcast Discord community.

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Want to see video of this episode? Click here to watch on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

    In this edition of our Semi-Blind Reviews series, we blind taste Rhum JM Fumée Volcanique (not to be confused with Rhum JM Terroir Volcanique), followed by the other two bottles in the distillery's new Atelier series — Jardin Fruité and Épices Créoles.

    These are all modestly priced, lightly aged rhum agricoles that bring something new to the table for Rhum JM.

    Have a watch and let us know what you think of these rums!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Note: Watch this episode on YouTube for video of the whole interview!

    In this episode, after a quick look at some of our favorite reactions to the Best Designed Bottles episode, we get the behind-the-scenes story of one of the year's most unique rum releases — the Holmes Cay Infinity Cask bottle.

    This bottle features a blend of exceedingly rare rums from 13 distilleries (five of which are no longer in operation). From 47-year-old Port Mourant, to 47-year-old rhum agricole from the closed Gardel distillery, to Caroni rums, to Hampden, Long Pond, and much more, it's a blend that began all the way back in 2003 as part of the Main Rum Company's infinity cask program — their own special blends of retained rum samples from some of their best casks.

    Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye took us through the whole backstory, including:

    How the opportunity to bring this rum to market came about

    The decision to release it in both 700ml and 200ml bottles

    Why is it $1,500? Is any rum actually worth that much? Is this just taking us into bourbon territory?

    What the rum actually tastes like

    How they unexpectedly lost a significant amount of the rum

    The packaging headaches that go into designing a custom box

    The differences between this cask and Main Rum's other infinity casks

    Some exciting upcoming Mhoba and Savanna releases

    And much more!

    We'd love to hear your thoughts on this release. Have a listen and leave a comment or hop into the Discord to let us know what you think!

    You can get more details on this rum on the Holmes Cay website.

    As mentioned in the intro, here are some of the worthwhile articles on eco-friendly packaging:

    Rumporter: Should We Do Away with the Glass Bottle?

    IWSC: Sustainable Spirits Packaging

    Glass Hallmark: How Is the Glass Industry Delivering on Lighter Weight Glass Packaging?

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Note: Watch this episode on YouTube to see all the bottles we discuss!

    In this episode we have something completely different — rather than talking about the rum in the bottle, we're talking about the bottle itself!

    We each selected our five current favorite bottle designs, considering a range of factors like bottle aesthetics, functionality, label design, stopper, and much more.

    As you may know, our tastes differ quite a bit, so things got spicy along the way.

    Let us know — what are your favorite bottle designs out there right now? What did we get right and wrong? Send us an email at [email protected] or a comment on social to share your takes!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • In this episode we sat down with John Hsu and Lorri Kern to learn all about their bold approach to bottling rum as the relatively new independent bottler Raising Glasses. This year alone, they've released rums from the Netherlands, Madeira, Ecuador, and other unexpected locales, which is all part of their willingness to try things other rum brands aren't doing.

    It was a great conversation that features multiple Rumcast firsts, including the first ever Rapid Fire Revenge Round (John and Lorri turned the tables and questioned us), the debut of an original song about rum (listen to the end for this one), and also a new segment in the intro where we take you inside the Rumcast Innovation Lab™.

    Additionally, we cover topics like:

    Standouts from John and Lorri's recent trip to The Whisky Exchange's Rum Show in London

    The promise of the UK rum scene

    Raising Glasses' "white whale" distillery they're trying to source a barrel from

    The pros and cons of their signature 375ml bottles

    Their philosophy when it comes to bottling rum

    Behind the scenes of their legendary April Fool's release, Atmôspheré

    The future of Raising Glasses

    Adventures in board gaming

    And much more!

    Like we mentioned earlier, you'll want to listen all the way to the end of this one for a special musical ode to an icon of the rum world.

    Check out Raising Glasses on their website.

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Want to see video of this episode? Check it out on YouTube and subscribe to our channel!

    We're back with another bite-sized episode in our Semi-Blind Rum Reviews series. This time, John braved the challenge of blind-tasting and attempting to identify Roulaison Overproof, a pot-distilled, molasses-based rum from Roulaison Distilling out of Louisiana. Along the way, we both share our overall thoughts on the rum as John tries to uncover its identity.

    Have a listen and let us know what you think of this rum!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Note: See the end of this episode description for the Hurricane Beryl aid links we mention in the intro.

    In this episode we revisited one of rum's iconic institutions from a totally different perspective from our previous episode (from over 2 years ago!) on it. We're talking, of course, about The Main Rum Company — keepers of E&A Scheer's boutique single cask program, and possibly the most extensive collection of single cask rum (excluding distilleries) in the world. You know all those great single cask releases from independent bottlers? A huge number of them came from Main Rum.

    To guide us through this deep dive, we spoke with Main Rum's Senior Cask Expert (what a cool title) Ian Hoyles. Ian spoke with us about:

    The art of matching the right cask to the right rum

    The crown jewels of Main Rum's collection over the years

    How exactly Main Rum's mysterious "infinity casks" are created

    Pushing the limits of aging

    How to know when a cask is ready for sale

    How Main Rum collectively assesses casks

    The rum world's most distinctive flavor profiles

    And much more!

    Go here to check out The Main Rum Company’s website.

    ***Hurricane Beryl Relief***

    As we mentioned in the intro, we reached out to friends in the Caribbean and were told that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) does impactful relief work across the region. They have set up a bank account for Beryl relief that you can find on their website here: https://www.cdema.org/index.php

    There is also an organization called Airlink that is coordinating with the CDEMA to bring relief supplies to the region. There are ways to donate online here: https://airlinkflight.org/responses/hurricane-beryl/

    John's colleagues at the university spoke highly of CORE, an organization they are currently working with that is bringing aid to the Caribbean as well: https://www.coreresponse.org/hurricane-beryl/

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • Want to see video of this episode? Check it out on YouTube and subscribe to our channel! https://youtu.be/8b99b-s4isg

    We're back with another episode in our Semi-Blind Reviews series — this time with a rum sourced from a region that came up quite a bit in our 100th episode a few months back: Ghana!

    From Down Island Spirits, this is a 4-year-old pot still cane juice rum sourced from Ghana's MIM Distillery. John shares his thoughts knowing full well what the rum is and Will shares his thoughts while having no knowledge of it other than its color in the glass.

    P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • In this episode, we sat down with John Georges, former master distiller of Angostura Rum / Trinidad Distillers Ltd. to discuss his 40+ year career in rum, all things Angostura, and much more.

    This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cachaça — Get 10% off any order at NossaCachaca.com with promo code RUMCAST.

    We discussed:

    The evolution of rum-making at Angostura over the years

    Angostura's involvement with Bacardi in the 1980s

    Why pot stills have yet to catch on at Angostura, despite a few attempts

    What changed in rum over the course of his four decades of making it

    Added sugar in Angostura rum

    Which blends Angostura did and did not add Caroni rum to

    The career path of a master distiller

    And much more!

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

  • In this episode, we chatted with Jason Paul Cox and Isidoro Krassel Jr. of Alambique Serrano and Cañada Rum — two exciting projects featuring cane juice rum from Mexico. Jason is the founder of the brands and Isidoro is one of the four brothers from a family that has been producing aguardiente de caña in Oaxaca's mountainous cloud forest for over 100 years.

    This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cachaça — Get 10% off any order at NossaCachaca.com with promo code RUMCAST.

    These are truly fascinating rum projects and we had a blast learning more about them. We discuss:

    What makes this rum different from other Oaxacan producers like Paranubes and Dakabend

    The Krassel family's unique approach to muck pits and high ester experimentation

    The vast range of profiles they can create thanks to their custom column still, pot stills, and dry and humid aging environments

    The challenges of harvesting cane and fermenting on the side of a mountain

    The making of Alambique Serrano's initial blends

    The unique design of the Krassel still, which Isidoro's grandfather invented

    A surprise reveal of their new 70% ABV rum, Cartier 30

    And much more!

    Also, a few links to stuff mentioned in the episode:

    Alambique Serrano website: https://www.alambiqueserrano.com/

    Cañada Rum website: https://www.cloudforestrum.com/

    P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.