There are instructions to make rum drinks and a few recipes that are either inadequately explained or painfully obvious. I do enjoy spiced rum at times, and I'm awarding this one a 9 in my "spiced" rum category, as its the best I've ever tried thus far. Its actually head-and-shoulders any spiced rum I've ever encountered. I'll hold the coveted "10" in reserve, in case I ever find a spiced rum that trumps this exceptionally fine spirit some day. A blend of the very finest high proof Caribbean rum, to which was added creamy Madagascan vanilla and a generous helping of zesty orange peel. A secret recipe was followed, and the Professor finished his hearty tipple with a handful of cinnamon and cloves and just a hint of cardamom.”

The LIVE virtual tastings are carried out in the last week of the month. Please keep an eye on our socials for confirmed dates! It is unclear when the various alcohol distillates made their individual debuts; brandy probably first, in England, France or Italy; vodka and whisky later, in the Slavic and Celtic realms, but dates unknown. Some commentators (it would be unfair to scholars to identify them as such) hazily trace ‘evidence’ of alcohol distillation to the twelfth century and one writer states unequivocally, if without citation, that it “was invented in England in the 13 th century.” (Hirst) That does not mean, however, that distilled alcohol was much in evidence until much later. The same writer who traces distillation as a technique to the thirteenth century contends that “early in the 16 th century, distilled spirits were not widely available anywhere.” (Hirst) Bridenbaugh dates the development of the sugar culture on Barbados, as well as the expansion of sugar trading, a little later than the sequence outlined by Dunn and adopted here. Both studies of the English in the Caribbean are superb, and without recourse to a raft of primary sources, our choice must be considered arbitrary. In the glass (its impossible to see the rum in the bottle) the rum pours a very vivid reddish brown. The nose is very strong with wafts of orange zest – almost marmalade like. Vanilla is also present but is not the dominant note. Mixed Peel and a little Ginger and Cinnamon are also present. In strength if not in flavor, seventeenth century rumbullion probably resembled the ‘overproofs’ of as much as seventy-five percent or more alcohol available today. A seventeenth century Barbadian statute “stipulated that any rum that would not take fire from a flame without being heated had to be thrown away or the maker would be fined L100,” a considerable sum. ( No Peace 297)

Try a Rumbullion! Navy Strength Sample…

Spiced Rum’s that are suitable for sipping are few and far between. Sipping Rumbullion! is a very, very spicy experience. I have no doubt that this Spiced Rum has been produced from more authentic spices and flavourings than many commercially available Spiced Rums. Synthetic vanilla essence is miles away from this rums taste. It is very much like a very spicy orange drink – almost mulled in many ways. Spiced Ginger Orange is how it tastes. Cardamon is also present giving a slight “Indian Cuisine” type curried note. Despite all this, taken neat Rumbullion! does reveal the youthfulness of its base rum. There’s quite a lot of alcohol burn as well as intense spicing. I wouldn’t choose to drink this neat, maybe over ice at a push. The extra ABV in comparison to other Spiced Rums is very evident. Perhaps too much for a sipper. In a much cited anecdote, Ligon went on to add that an unfortunate slave (“an excellent servant”) sent to fetch rum from the “Still-house” hogshead to “the Drink-room” burned to death when he held a candle too close to the open cask. (Ligon 93) so strong a Spirit, as a candle being brought to a neer distance, to the bung of a Hogshead or Butt, where itt is kept, the Spirits will flie to it, and taking hold of it, bring the fire down to the vessel, and set all a fire, which immediately breakse the vessel, and becomes a flame, burning all about it that is combustible matter.” (Ligon 93) Broom also describes seventeenth century Barbados as “an almost mythical place, a fantastical, fertile island where fortunes could be made with virtually no effort. It soon became painfully fashionable.” (Broom 92) Visitors to Barbados did find the place ‘fantastical,’ but not in a way that Broom implies, and its was a fertile environment, particularly for the cultivation of cane, at least until the planters exhausted its soil. Otherwise his breezy contentions are wrong.

I didn’t find out what the base rum so I’m none the wiser. The information on the Spicing was interesting though. I didn’t pursue it any further as to be honest I can probably guess that it will be a fairly young Trini rum. For me I appreciate the authentic flavour of the spicings used but I have found myself only really able to mix this and when I do that I find the Cinnamon a little off putting. I think this is actually a pretty decent Spiced Rum but like Chairman’s Reserve Spiced it is perhaps just not to my own personal tastes. Fortunately it has quite a lot going on in the mix so unlike the Chairman’s it doesn’t dominate and take over the drink.

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They settled on sugar, and at some point or points during 1640 and 1641 several of them made the journey to Pernambuco in Brazil to learn from the Portuguese how to make it. They were fast studies. By 1643 Thomas Robinson could write that Bardados “is growne the most flourishing Island in all those American parts, and I verily believe in all the world for the producing of sugar…. ” (Dunn 61, 61n37) Evidence from the reliable Ligon bears out the notion of extreme alcoholic strength. He reported that Barbadian rum was There are a number of small mysteries about the introduction of sugar culture to Barbados, but the main outline of the story is clear enough.” Arawaks who accompanied the English had planted cane on the island during the first year of settlement, but neither they nor the English knew how to make sugar and in any event the plants failed to flourish. (Dunn 61) Early cultivation of tobacco and cotton on Barbados produced indifferent results: By 1640 its enterprising and ambitious inhabitants had determined that the island needed a new crop. (Dunn 61; No Peace)