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.

We're back with another episode in our Semi-Blind Rum Reviews series. This time, we swapped roles with Will as the blind taster and John as the rum selector. It turned out to be a quite rare rum — English Harbour 1981, a 25-year-old rum from Antigua Distillery Limited, bottled all the way back in 2006!

You can also view the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36qPUvfw5vY

Be sure to subscribe to us there as well for more video content!

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 each do a top 3 list of essential mixing ingredients that we think every rum lover should have in their home bar to better explore their rum collection —and to take their rum cocktail game up a few notches. Also, don’t miss our intro topic discussion debuting a brand new resource for the rum community we are excited to put on our website: a current list of geographically-based rum groups, clubs, or societies. We hope everyone will either find and join a local group in their area, or be inspired to create one if it doesn’t exist! Head over to rumcast.com/rum-societies to check it out.

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we talked to Dr. Frank Ward, an icon of Barbados rum, about his time as managing director at Mount Gay, the sought-after pot still rums released under the Mount Gilboa brand (and via various independent bottlers), his time as chairman of WIRSPA, the development of the Authentic Caribbean Rum marque, his thoughts on the Barbados rum GI, and more. Before the interview, we kick things off with a short new segment called Rerums in which we each revisit a rum we haven’t had in awhile and share our impressions.

Links from this episode:

The Authentic Caribbean Rum Marque

Matt Pietrek’s article on the history of Mount Gay, which contains further insights from Dr. Frank Ward

San Juan Artisan Distillers, the makers of Ron Pepón (Dr. Ward mentioned his experience consulting the distillery)

The Lone Caner’s review of Mhoba Rum’s French Cask Rum (mentioned during Rerums)

Friends of Rum Tennessee, the new rum society in Tennessee mentioned during the intro

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming in 2021.

In this episode, we take a look back at our favorite rums and rum-related experiences of the year, while also revisiting some of our top highlights from the Rumcast’s first year. Pour yourself a glass of something you fell in love with in 2020 and listen as we discuss:

Our personal favorite rums this year in the following categories…

Unaged rum

Aged rum

“New to me” rum

Best value rum

Most surprising rum

Overall rum

Our favorite podcast moments of the year in the following categories…

Favorite interview

Most surprising interview moment

Most awkward interview moment

And a few more surprises!

Note: The Hamilton Florida Rum Society Blend mentioned in the episode is 65% Guyanese rum from Demerara Distillers Ltd. (aged 3-5 years) and 35% Jamaican rum from Worthy Park (aged 1 year).

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming in 2021.

Rum enthusiasts may be used to seeing new rum brands launch with the aim of challenging misconceptions of the category and showcasing everything we love about it to a wider audience—but it’s unlikely you’ve seen one created by anyone with the unique background and experience of Marc Farrell.

Born and raised in Trinidad, Farrell attended MIT at the age of 16 before going on to graduate from Harvard Business School and become the youngest VP at Starbucks in the company’s history (with a few other interesting stops along the way). In 2019, he launched Ten To One Rum with the aim of showcasing not only Caribbean rum, but the Caribbean itself, to a wider audience that has often misunderstood both.

Ten To One started with two flagship rum blends, one featuring unaged rums from Jamaica and Dominican Republic, and the other featuring aged rums from Barbados, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. More recently, the company put out its first limited release, a selection of four single barrels of 17-year-old rum from Trinidad.

On this episode, we start by talking through some gift ideas for rum lovers before jumping into the interview with Marc, which covered everything from the intention behind the brand (and what makes it unique) to the rum itself, including topics like:

What rums were around during Marc's upbringing in Trinidad?

Caroni perception in Trinidad

The process of creating the rum blends that became Ten To One's flagship products at launch

What sets Ten To One apart from other rum brands and independent bottlers

What goes into creating a rum brand that's representative of the entire Caribbean rather than just one nation

Broadening people's perceptions of the rum category

The factors that make a brand authentic rather than contrived

Ten To One's new limited release: four single barrels of 17-year-old Trinidadian rum

And more!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Ten To One Rum Website

Spirits Flight Palate Development Tool

Rhum Barbancourt is a square peg to the round holes of rum categorization. It’s made with fresh sugarcane juice in a nation with historic ties to France, but it is not rhum agricole. It hails from Haiti, but there is a world of difference between it and clairin. Its production has aspects associated with all three of the colonial-based French, Spanish, and British categories. To get to the core of what makes Rhum Barbancourt unique, we sat down with the company’s new CEO—and fifth generation member of the family that started the brand—Delphine Gardère. We discussed:

The aspects of production that make Barbancourt distinct from other rums

Barbancourt’s relationship with the 3,000+ farmers that supply the distillery’s sugarcane

Delphine’s vision for the company, and the relationship between maintaining tradition vs. trying new things

What it means as a company to be an ambassador for Haiti

The importance of elevating women in the spirits industry and transitioning from a male-dominated environment

Barbancourt’s approach to aging with a combination of vats and different cask types

Bringing pot still production back to the distillery (and what kinds of releases it might yield)

And much more!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Netherlands Rum Society Facebook Group

Netherlands Rum Society Instagram

Maggie Campbell’s interview with Delphine Gardère for the Daily Beast

Watch Rhum Barbancourt’s livestream with WIRSPA and Zavvy.co

Rhum Barbancourt Website

Societies, groups, collectives—whatever you want to call them, communities that bring rum enthusiasts together, whether in person or online, are a big part of furthering rum education and driving conversations across the category. But what goes into actually starting one? How do you find people interested in participating and sustain excitement and involvement? And wait—how do you get to do all that cool stuff like private barrel picks from beloved rum makers around the world? As founder of the Florida Rum Society, Jay Cocorullo has experience with all of the above. We brought him on the podcast to share his experience growing the FRS, his tips for others looking to start local rum groups, the FRS’s work to bring a better rum selection to Florida rum consumers, barrel picks, and more. Oh, and as a long-time member of the FRS, John had a thing or two to add as well!

Note: This episode was recorded back in September. It’s been a hectic few months for The Rumcast, but we’ll be back with regular episodes soon!

Even if you’ve never heard of Amsterdam-based E&A Scheer, you’ve probably had rum that came from them. Or through them, rather. As rum blenders, they source rum in bulk from distilleries all over the world and create custom-made blends for customers who then sell it under their own brands. Walk down the rum aisle in your local liquor store and you’ll likely pass multiple brands who sourced their rum from E&A Scheer (Denizen is one of many examples you may be familiar with).

On this episode, we sat down with CEO Carsten Vlierboom and CCO Niels Benschop to discuss what it takes to source massive volumes of rum, how they work with customers to create blends, their views on the evolving rum landscape, and much more. Carsten and Niels also guided us through the process of using their rum blending tool to create our very own Special Hypothetical Rum Blend for Rumcast listeners!

Links:

E&A Scheer

E&A Scheer Blending Tool

Article: “The Most Important Rum Company You’ve Never Heard Of: E&A Scheer” by Matt Pietrek

Article: “Liquid & Logistics: Inside E&A Scheer, Master Bulk Rum Blenders” by Matt Pietrek

Article: “The Main Rum Company: Vintage Cask Valhalla” by Matt Pietrek

For this episode, we reached DEEP into the backs of our cabinets and pulled out a selection of rums we had long overlooked, neglected, or even forgotten about in our bars to see how our thoughts have evolved (or IF they have at all).

The rules were simple: it just had to be a bottle we hadn't tasted in at least two years.

Along the way, we discuss everything from market correcting Myers's Original Dark to John discovering (re-discovering?) one of the three best rums he's tried all year to packaging debates and more. It was a fun time, and we hope this inspires you to have your own back-of-the-cabinet adventure!

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 talked to Pepe Álvarez, founder of San Juan Artisan Distillers, the only Puerto Rican distillery making pot still rum from fresh sugarcane juice in a true farm-to-bottle setting.

You may recall we featured Pepe as one of three interviewees in an episode back in 2021, but we wanted to bring him back for a solo interview so we could take a deeper dive into what we both think is a super interesting distillery making great rum.

It was also a chance to speak more broadly about the new wave of craft rum distilleries that have launched in Puerto Rico over the past decade or so, opening an exciting new chapter for the island's rum industry.

We discussed:

Creating a new, unconventional style of Puerto Rican rum

The evolution of the distillery's sugarcane farming operation

How much help Puerto Rico's craft distilleries receive from the government's rum tax cover over relative to the big distilleries on the island

Ideas for leveling the playing field in Puerto Rican rum

Working with legends in rum like Frank Ward and Luis Planas

Learning to make pot still rum on an island where no one used pot stills

Deciding on bottling ABV

The broader craft rum scene in Puerto Rico

The perils of finding distribution outside the island

Upcoming blends and releases from San Juan Artisan Distillers

And much more!

Oh, and John decided to replace the rapid fire segment???

You can check out San Juan Artisan Distillers' website here: https://sanjuanartisandistillers.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.

In this episode, we sat down with Steve Jefferson, co-founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works, a distillery on Hawaii's Big Island that's putting their own spin on fresh cane juice rum. From growing their own heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane to sourcing and blending rums from around the world, they have a unique approach that's resulting in some pretty damn good rum. We chatted about:

Going from sailing around the Caribbean to starting a rum distillery in Hawaii

Working with a 30+ year veteran of Martinique rhum agricole on Kuleana's production process

The big gamble Steve made to acquire the 45 acres that became Kuleana's farm

Nerdy production and still design details

The current state of their aging program

How they plan to utilize the 35 varieties of heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane

Their relationship with Ko Hana on Oahu

Why Kuleana sources and blends rums from around the world in addition to distilling their own

Their connection to High West Whiskey

Their crowdsourced funding campaign

And more!

Plus, at the beginning, some rambling thoughts on John's travels in Italy, amaro, chasing the solar eclipse, and the impact of minor ABV differences.

You can check out Kuleana's website here (which also has a link to their funding campaign): https://kuleanarum.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.

With John on vacation, I flew solo on this episode to welcome Ben Inglis, distillery manager and co-founder of The Islay Rum Company, to the show to get the full story on his unique approach to Scottish rum.

If you listened to our Guide to UK Rum episode, you'll remember that John and I rated both of the Islay Rum Company rums we tried quite favorably, so we'd been hoping to talk to Ben ever since. We discussed:

How Ben convinced the Vintage Malt Whisky Company to back his vision of Islay's first rum distillery instead of building a Scotch whisky distillery

Scottish Gaelic pronunciations

The pressure that comes with putting the word "Islay" on a bottle of rum

Contending with the island's flavor profile expectations

Building out the distillery in a historic lemonade factory

Why getting a custom made double retort pot still was a must

Crafting their initial flavor profile

Experiments with long fermentation, native bacteria, yeasts, and more

Balancing inspiration with originality

What's aging right now? And when can we taste it??

And a whole lot more!

You can learn more about The Islay Rum Company here: https://www.islayrum.com/

Check out our episode on the wider UK rum scene here: https://www.rumcast.com/episodes/uk-rum-guide

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.

This week, we’re introducing a new episode format — the Semi-Blind Rum Review!

In these reviews, one of us will know the identity of the rum being reviewed and one of us will be going in with no information about the rum whatsoever, besides its color in the glass.

Our goal is to hopefully provide an unbiased and fun look at new(ish) rums you might be curious about. We'll also be publishing video versions to YouTube.

In this episode, we reviewed:

Shakara 12-Year Thailand Rum (the new release from La Maison & Velier)

ABV: 45.7%

Molasses

Column Distillation

Price: Around $50-60

Transcontinental Rum Line High Seas

ABV: 45%

Blend: Tropically aged Panama rum, unaged Jamaican rum, unaged grand arome rum from Martinique

Price: Around $30-40

As always, would love your thoughts on this episode format, and any takes you have on the rums!

Cheers!

This episode is sponsored by Wonk Press — Get 10% off Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith now through March 30 with promo code RUMCAST. Plus, Matt and Carrie will sign your book at no additional cost!

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 explore the impressive start of possibly the only independent rum bottler in Canada, Bira Rum. Founder Karl Mudzamba took us inside his journey from Zimbabwe, to playing professional rugby in New Zealand, to starting Bira in his current home of Vancouver, BC. Bira has hit the ground running with unadulterated, cask strength releases from Fiji and South Africa, with much more to come.

Along the way, fellow resident of Canada Ivar de Laat of Rum Revelations hopped on the call with us to chime in on the state of rum in Canada, from the options available to rum enthusiasts to the intriguing rums coming out of Canadian distilleries in recent years.

We discuss:

Karl’s rum origin story

The nuances of the Canadian rum market versus other parts of the world

Up and coming Canadian rum distilleries (yes — they exist!)

The all-night Bira ritual of Zimbabwe’s Shona people

Early lessons in launching a rum brand in Canada

How Karl landed on Fiji and South Africa for his initial bottlings

The quest for geeky unaged Fijian rum

Do sugary rums help introduce rum to more people?

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) as one of the world’s chief rum villains

What’s next for Bira

And much more!

To learn more about Bira Rum, check out their website at https://www.birarum.com/

Also, be sure to check out Ivar's website Rum Revelations at https://www.rumrevelations.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.

In this episode, we're back with a fresh entry in our Rumcast Guides series — and this time we're taking on the rums of the United Kingdom!

Over the last 12 years or so, the UK has seen an explosion of domestic rum distilleries, with the number now reaching over 25 (and counting). We set out to taste a wide selection of these rums to get a sense of the emerging category's characteristics, standout bottles, and notable distilleries, encountering everything from straightforward crowdpleasers, to long fermentation, dunder-charged flavor bombs, to unique profiles we hadn't encountered before.

Following an overview of the category, the episode is divided into four flights that cover nine different distilleries and 16 different rums:

(13:45) Flight #1 - Unaged Lower Proof Rums:

Ninefold Pure Single Rum (46%) (pot still, molasses, 3-4 day fermentation)

Sugar House White Rum (43%) (hybrid pot/column, molasses, 7-day fermentation)

Outlier Distilling Hoolie Manx White Rum (41%) (pot still, molasses, 10-14 day fermentation)

Scratch Faithful British Rum (42%) (pot still, molasses, around 14-day fermentation, use fresh and aged dunder)

Islay Rum Distillery Geal 2022 Inaugural Release (45%) (double retort pot still, molasses, 7+ day fermentation)

Retribution White Rum (44%) (pot still, molasses)

(59:19) Flight #2 - Aged Lower Proof Rums:

J. Gow Revenge Rum (43%) (pot still, molasses, aged 3 years in ex-bourbon and virgin oak, a blend of their HD and DS marks)

J. Gow Fading Light Chestnut Cask (43%) (pot still, molasses, aged in chestnut cask over 12 months, 14-day fermentation)

Ninefold Cask Aged Pure Single Rum (45%) (pot still, molasses, aged at least 1.5 years in American oak)

Matugga Golden Rum (42%) (NAS, pot still, molasses, 7-day fermentation, ex-bourbon casks)

(1:33:41) Flight #3 - Unaged Higher Proof Rums:

J. Gow Culverin TC Marque (50%) (Pot and column, molasses, 5-day fermentation)

J. Gow Wild Yeast Series #2 Kveik 2022 (62%) (molasses, double batch fermented for 7 days and 9 days with a triple blend of Hornindal Kveik, traditional Norwegian farmhouse yeast)

Islay Rum Distillery Ùine Mhòr (55%) (double retort pot still, molasses, long fermentations ranging from 4-6 weeks featuring the use of matured dunder, native bacteria, and two commercial yeast strains)

DropWorks Funk Drop Rum (63%) (double retort pot still, "sugar cane honey," 7-day fermentation featuring their "wild trinity" yeast, dunder, and addition of muck during distillation)

(2:08:13) Flight #4 - Aged Higher Proof Rums:

J. Gow Hidden Depths Vol. 2 2017 (51.2%) (cask strength, molasses, aged 5 years in ex bere whisky/OWC oak cask)

Ninefold 3 Year Old Single Pot Still TWE Exclusive (62.2%) (cask strength, molasses, aged 3 years in ex-bourbon from Woodford Reserve)

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 free bonus episode, we're releasing global rum ambassador and Equiano co-founder Ian Burrell's full interview from our 100th episode, which was full of interesting nuggets about the development of Equiano, rum education, where we can expect to see exciting new rums come from over the next several years, and much more! 

Also, we try to guess our way through a mystery sample provided by Rumcast Patron Kyle in DC, only to fail spectacularly.

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.

Without further delay, we're super excited to share our 100th episode of The Rumcast with you!

As we've hinted, this episode is special to us, and was really a labor of love. Rather than going with the typical format, we invited a dozen past guests to return for individual interviews where we looked back at how rum has evolved since 2019 (when we started working on the show), and where they think rum is headed over the next 5 years or so. You'll hear from:

Kate Perry of La Maison and Velier

Zan Kong of Worthy Park

Eric Kaye of Holmes Cay

Ian Burrell, the global rum ambassador and Equiano co-founder

Margaret Monplaisir of St. Lucia Distillers and the new WIRSPA chairperson

Lance Surujbally of TheLoneCaner.com

Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, the legendary author and owner of Latitude 29

Craig Nicholson of Worthy Park

Ed Hamilton of Hamilton rum

Carsten Vlierboom of E&A Scheer

Steve Magarry of the new Sydney Rum Distillery (formerly of Beenleigh)

Maggie Campbell of Mount Gay

We assembled highlights from those individual interviews into an episode that takes us through the major themes that came up, such as:

The emergence of "new" rum regions around the world (and which ones we'll be seeing more of)

The long-term prospects of all these emerging distilleries

The good and bad sides of premiumization, and whether rum can avoid the latter

New GIs we're likely to see in the future

The future of bulk rum sales and independent bottlings

What the acquisition of E&A Scheer means

And so much more that it would be impossible to list it all! 

We'd love to know what you think of the episode and what your takeaways and thoughts are — so please shoot us an email at host@rumcast.com and let us know.

And seriously — a huge THANK YOU to everyone for listening!

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.

This episode is sponsored by Wonk Press — Get 10% off Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith now through February 11 with promo code RUMCAST. Plus, Matt and Carrie will sign your book at no additional cost!

Music Credits for this Episode:

“On the Delta” by John Patitucci

“W. A. Mozart, Symphony No.38 in D major” by A Far Cry

“Cover Charge” by TrackTribe

“Djansa” by The Mini Vandals featuring Mamadou Koita and Lasso

“Momo Do” by The Mini Vandals featuring Mamadou Koita and Lasso

“Ratatouille’s Kitchen” by Carmen Maria and Edu Espinal

“Sleepy West” by JHS Pedals

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 host@rumcast.com 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.

Per tradition, we're back with our predictions for what will happen in the world of rum in 2024 — from trends, to releases, to new projects, and beyond. 

In the spirit of accountability, we also take a look back at last year's predictions for 2023 and grade how close each one came.

Have a listen and send us an email at host@rumcast.com to let us know your predictions for the new year!

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.

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

In our fourth 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, along with another round of "Am I the a**hole for not liking this rum?"

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.

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 went deep on the eight marks of Jamaica's Hampden Estate and the making of the recently released 8 Marks Collection with Peppie Grant (Tour Manager at Hampden), Daniele Biondi (Export Manager at La Maison & Velier), and Howard McCalla (Production Manager at Hampden).

Speaking with people from both Hampden and La Maison & Velier allowed us to get the full story behind the 8 Marks Collection, from the rum itself to how the release came together in the first place. We discussed:

How the idea for the 8 Marks Collection came about

Challenges in creating a unique product like this

The best ways to taste through Hampden's marks

How to approach blending marks together

Why higher ester level does not automatically make a rum more complex

What exactly is cane juice vinegar?

Whether certain marks are only made on certain stills or not

Hampden's rumored 3,000 (or even 7,000!) ester level rums

Why Jamaica limits ester levels in rum

The perils of the "high ester" descriptor

The upcoming aged version of the 8 Marks Collection

Hampden's future

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.

This episode is sponsored by Wonk Press — Get 10% off Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith now through December 10 with promo code RUMCAST. Plus, Matt and Carrie will sign your book at no additional cost!

In this episode, we set out to answer a surprisingly interesting question — which 80 proof rums are the best values? Which ones punch above their weight? Which ones should we not ignore just because they're 80 proof?

We selected a group of 10 popular aged molasses-based rums we had on hand and pitted them against each other in a head-to-head tasting bracket.

While it would be impossible to fit ALL the worthy 80 proof rums into one episode, we tried to select 10 that represent popular, widely available options around the world. And we're open to doing additional brackets with other 80 proof rums (or other types of rum) if you like this episode!

While we often pine for higher proof options, the reality is that 80 proof will likely remain the most common option for standard releases for the foreseeable future, so why not figure out which ones offer the best sipping experience for the money?

This turned out to be a really fun exercise that delivered several unexpected winners and losers along the way. At the end, there could only be one champion.

Here is the link to the article on 80 proof spirits mentioned in the introduction: https://vinepair.com/articles/80-proof-liquor-spirits-history/

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 got a full report of all the exciting happenings and new bottles showcased at UK RumFest, Whisky Live Paris, and other events across Europe from Chris Hassan Francke, owner of one of Washington, DC's premier spots for rum, The Green Zone. Chris took us deep into the rum festival scene in Europe from the perspective of both a rum fan and bar owner. We discussed:

First impressions of new releases like the El Dorado High Ester Blend, Worthy Park Overproof, Foursquare's second edition of LFT, and more

Other standout bottles from all events

The differences between these events and typical rum festivals in the U.S.

Noticeable absences from UK RumFest

His impressions of the many UK-made rums showcased at the event

UK RumFest vs. Whisky Live Paris — which is better for rum geeks?

Tasting Bacardi from 1905

The types of rum he most wishes existed for his bar

The new 100% rum bar concept he's working on in DC

The underground Richard Seale t-shirt economy

And much more!

Whether you're interested in upcoming releases, which rum events to attend, or designing a rum bar, there's a little something for everyone in this interview.

And as we mentioned in the intro, send an email to host@rumcast.com to let us know what some of your favorite rums of 2023 have been!

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 have a freewheeling conversation on a topic we've wanted to delve into for a long time — molasses production and the role it plays in rum! 

Maggie Campbell (Estate Manager at Mount Gay) and Zan Kong (Commercial Manager of Spirits at Worthy Park) lent their expertise and sterling personalities to guide us through the ins and outs of the sticky liquid that goes into making the overwhelming majority of the world's rum. 

Of course, we also discuss the new Mount Gay and Worthy Park releases that have been making the news recently — Mount Gay's first single estate rum and Worthy Park's new overproof expression.

Zan and Maggie both have firsthand experience working at distilleries that have their own sugar mills, which is quite uncommon in the world of modern rum production. This allowed them to guide us through a number of fascinating topics, including:

The incredible amount of work that goes into molasses and sugar production — and the unique skillsets it requires

The differences between all the various molasses descriptors we often see, from Grade A to Grade C to blackstrap to high test, and beyond

Worthy Park's decision to integrate cane juice into their rum-making process

The making of Mount Gay's new sugar mill (and what it allows them to do)

The concern level for the quality of modern mass-market molasses

Does "single origin" molasses make a difference?

How different types of molasses impact flavor in rum

And much more!

This episode is sponsored by independent bottler Raising Glasses. To check out (and order) their latest releases, visit 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.

For this episode, we asked our patrons to send in their top rum-related questions — and they delivered! We share our thoughts on:

What is presently the most underappreciated rum-producing country?

What rums do you always keep in stock?

What is your go-to daily drinker? (Go-to rum and go-to cocktail)

Now that you have been into rum for a while, have your buying habits changed?

If each of you were an independent bottler with no limit on cost, what is the one distillery you would want to pick a barrel from, and why?

If you could resurrect one now defunct rum, or now defunct distillery, which would it be and why?

How do you handle the questions like "I don't like rum, convince me", or "I drink Captain Morgan, what should I try next"? How do you recommend rum to tequila, gin, bourbon, and scotch people?

Can American rum go toe to toe with rum from other countries?

What developments do you hope to see over the next decade in U.S. rum distilleries located in sugarcane producing states?

What are some rum events on your bucket lists? And what rum events have you gone to that you do and, just as importantly, don't recommend to the community?

What is a way someone new to rum can learn about what is going on in the rum industry, new rums coming out, etc?

What is the weirdest, but most accurate, descriptor you've ever picked up when nosing/tasting a rum?

We plan to get to all of the remaining questions in a Mailbag Volume 2 bonus episode that will release later this month.

Episode Links:

Here is the GoFundMe for Daniel Regueira's (co-founder and distiller at Chicago Cane Cooperative) motorcycle injury recovery mentioned during the intro: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-daniels-motorcycle-injury-recovery

The Rumcast Guide to American 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.

In this episode, we sat down with Jason Zeno of Porchjam Distillery / Cheramie Rum to take us inside one of the most interesting up-and-coming American rum distilleries out there right now. Located in New Orleans, they're making a significant volume of fresh cane juice rum that's beginning to trickle its way into several markets across the U.S., and have some exciting aged releases coming up as well. We talked to Zeno about:

How he went from making whiskey for Beam-Suntory to making cane juice rum in Louisiana

Their long journey to finding a source of fresh cane juice

The perils of trucking fresh cane juice in from two hours away

The upcoming harvest season

Their multi-faceted approach to aging

Why they make 3 different types of cane juice rum

The broader landscape of Louisiana rum

The status of a regional designation for Louisiana rum

Winning over more drinkers for cane juice rum

Pearl Jam, somehow

And much more!

If you want to learn more about Cheramie, you can check out the interview Will did with Zeno back in 2021 for deeper details into their production 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.

Thanks again to all who listened and voted in our Second Annual Rumcast Fantasy Rum Draft — we reveal this year's champion at the top of this new episode!

After revealing the champion (and a bit of gloating from one of us), we get to our latest experiment: investing 6 inexpensive rums we normally would either overlook or outright reject to see if we could find some diamonds in the rough!

We each selected 3 rums under ~$20 that we had either never tried or couldn't remember trying and then put them through a series of tasting to see if we could find any pleasant surprises along the way.

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: After you listen, go to rumcast.com/vote to help us determine the winner! 🗳️

It's here! After a year of trash talk, victory laps, and hardcore preparation, the second annual Rumcast Fantasy Rum Draft has arrived.

In this annual competition, we compete head-to-head to “draft” rums from the selection of a single online liquor store for 11 different rum categories. The goal? To create the superior “desert island” rum bar.

Now, we need you to determine which of us did the best job.

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

We "drafted" rums for the following categories from a selection of 300+ rums currently available at Hi-Time Wine Cellars:

Unaged

Lightly Aged (1-4 Years)

Aged (5-14 Years)

Long Aged (15+ Years)

Cane Juice Unaged

Cane Juice Aged (Any Length)

Multi-Country Blend

Non-Caribbean

Overproof

100% Column

100% Pot

After you listen, head to rumcast.com/vote to access the complete list of picks, along with a link to our Fantasy Rum Draft Command Center if you'd like to have a look.

This episode is sponsored by independent bottler Raising Glasses. To check out (and order) their latest releases, visit 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.

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.

At long last, we speak to our first rum producer from Réunion Island! In this episode, we welcomed Marie Ferrand (Cellar Master) and Yann Auberval (Director of Marketing) to take us inside Isautier Distillery's traditions of both cane juice and molasses-based rums. We discuss:

The differences between the rhum agricoles of the Caribbean and Réunion

Why Isautier has long focused on both rhum agricole and rhum traditionnel (molasses-based rum)

The approach to aging that contributes to the rum's unique profile

How the recent partnership with La Maison & Velier came about

The differences between the LM&V bottlings and Isautier's typical releases

Marie's philosophy on rum blending

A walkthrough of their production process (and some experiments they're currently working on)

The story behind Rhum Charrette — the best-selling rum on Réunion that features distillate from all of the island's distilleries

And much more!

You can learn more about Isautier on their website: https://www.isautier.com/en/

This episode is sponsored by independent bottler Raising Glasses. To check out (and order) their latest releases, visit 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.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the dog days of summer are officially here. And if you're like us, that means it's the perfect time of the year for tasty rum cocktails that don't require much effort to make. So with that in mind, we picked out a handful of our favorite "lazy" recipes we've been experimenting with lately and walked each other through making them.

Some are variations on classics, some are riffs on recipes from talented bartenders, and some are just, well...their own kind of thing altogether. But they all have one thing in common—they're simple enough for cocktail amateurs like us to (usually) not screw them up.

Recipes are included below.

Give 'em a whirl and email host@rumcast.com to let us know what you think!

This episode is sponsored by independent bottler Raising Glasses. To check out (and order) their latest releases, visit their website: https://raisingglasses.com/

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Recipes

Corn and Oil with a Twist:

2 oz aged Barbados rum (43-46% ABV recommended)

1/2 oz JTD Velvet Falernum (or a touch less if you want it less sweet)

Hefty dropperful of Bittermens 'Elemakule Tiki bitters

Combine everything in a glass over ice and stir.

Not a Ti' Punch:

1.5 - 2 oz blanc Agricole or cane juice rum

A dash or two of Angostura bitters

One small ice cube

Combine first two ingredients in a Glencairn. Add the small ice cube and swish it around a bit.

Hat tip to Colton Weinstein of Liba Spirits for this idea.

Willis's Punch:

1oz Wray & Nephew Overproof or Rum Fire

2 oz pineapple juice

1/4 oz simple syrup (optional, but I think it helps)

Fever Tree Ginger Beer

Combine first three ingredients over ice. Top with ginger beer. Give it a stir.

This is a riff on Shannon Mustipher's Miss Ting cocktail. 

Might-Be:

2 oz lightly aged/filtered rum like Havana Club 3 or Bacardi Heritage

Owen’s grapefruit lime soda (3/4 cup)

Dash grapefruit bitters (Fee's)

Barspoon or two of 1:1 simple syrup

Sprig of fresh mint 

Muddle mint with simple syrup. Add ice, rum, and bitters. Top with grapefruit lime soda.

Angry Daiquiri:

2 oz Havana Club 3 (or similar)

3/4 oz fresh sour orange (naranja agria) juice 

1/2 oz simple syrup (1.5-1 semi-rich)

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain.

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 sit down with Mike Streeter, founder of Down Island Spirits — a brand that's part of the new wave of American independent bottlers hitting the rum scene over the last few years. We talk through all aspects of starting a rum brand (and sourcing great rum), including:

The hardest parts of becoming an independent bottler

Down Island's process for selecting what to bottle

How he arrived at Down Island's inaugural four selections

Sourcing from brokers versus directly from distilleries

The story behind Down Island's two newest releases from Brazil and Martinique

The style of Brazil's Epris Distillery

The unique effect of aging rum in amburana casks

His love of St. James Distillery

Overlooked amazing rum travel destinations

Getting into the rum importing business

What types of releases we can expect to see in the future

And much more!

You can learn more about Down Island at their website: https://www.downislandspirits.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.

At long last, we sit down to interview Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, decoder of the Zombie and scores of other classic tiki cocktails, author of books like Sippin' Safari and Potions of the Caribbean, owner of Latitude 29, and purveyor of multiple rum blends via his collaboration with Ed Hamilton. A true icon of the rum world!

We covered a lot of ground in our conversation, including:

His techniques for getting bartenders to reveal the secrets to classic recipes like the Zombie

The long lost rums of yore he wishes brands would revive

What's missing from modern rums

Exploring the shelves of legendary rum collector Stephen Rembsberg

The more recently available styles of rum he's particularly interested in

The pursuit of rums circa 2000

The making of the rum blends he created with Ed Hamilton

What it's like to build out a rum menu for a bar

The perfect taglines for rum cocktails

Which long lost recipes he's still pursuing

And much more!

Check out Jeff’s website here: https://beachbumberry.com/index.html

Check out Jeff’s books here: https://beachbumberry.com/publications.html

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 asked ourselves an interesting question: what gaps currently exist in rum brands' lineups that we'd love to see them fill?

We each privately constructed our own list and then revealed and debated our wish list rums in real time.

Have a listen and let us know — which of these rums would you most like (or NOT like) to see in the market? What ideas do you have for rums that should exist (but don't right now)? Send us an email at host@rumcast.com 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.

In this episode, we sat down with co-founder Elisandro Gonzalez Molina to learn all about Dakabend Rum — an aguardiente de caña made in the Sierra Norte region of Oaxaca in Mexico. We discussed:

The journey Elisandro and his cousin, Edgar Gonzalez Ramirez, took from building their own mezcal palenque and brand (Mezcal Tosba) over the last 20+ years to getting into rum production

The culture of aguardiente de caña and sugarcane in his region of Oaxaca

Dakabend's unique production process (which includes a continuous fermentation that never stops during harvest season)

The wider category of Mexican rum (and what the future might look like)

The history of sugarcane in Oaxaca

How the presence of Mezcal Tosba and Dakabend has impacted his hometown, San Cristóbal Lachirioag

The story behind the name Dakabend

Early experiments in aging Dakabend and what their aging program might look like going forward

And much more!

If you want to learn more about Dakabend and Elisandro, check out these links:

The 2014 episode of NPR's Planet Money that featured the story of Mezcal Tosba 

Mezcal Review's article about their trip to San Cristóbal Lachirioag (which has some info on Dakabend in addition to Mezcal Tosba)

The Dakabend 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.

In this episode, we sat down with Calbert Francis, global export manager for Antigua Distillery Ltd. to talk all things English Harbour Rum. 

Antigua Distillery Ltd. is interesting, as it doesn't fit neatly into the English/Spanish/French categorizations (and is a great example of why they're flawed categories in the first place). While some might expect it to be "English" style, there isn't a pot still to be found at the distillery—everything is 100% column (and the column is quite unique).

We chatted with Calbert about:

Antigua Distillery's Portuguese origins and the unique backstory behind the distillery (which dates back to the 1930s)

The birth of the English Harbour brand (and why it almost didn't get off the ground)

The distillery's unconventional modified column still (and what makes it different from other column stills)

The potential return of English Harbour's 25-year release

Experiments with high-congener rum production and atypical maturation that led to some of the distillery's most memorable limited releases

Carnival culture in Antigua

The difference in the local market and export markets' rum tastes

The evolution of English Harbour's cask finish releases

The additives question

What the distillery is planning for its 90th anniversary

And more!

Photo Credit: Prayitno Photography

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.