(Image Source: Distilia)

When it comes to rums, there’s an element that you can’t really escape, and that’s the often cited influence of the Navy – this of course, is in reference to the days of the rum ration, where rum was procured by the British Royal Navy to be given out on the daily for those toiling aboard the ship (Why is it we don’t do that anymore? All I’ve got are some Ping Pong tables and I don’t even play Ping Pong.). This was more specifically called the “tot”, which lasted from 1850 to 1970, and was perhaps one of the greatest exercises in alcohol distribution in (at least) modern history. The acquired taste and appreciation for rum was widespread and allowed to spread as far as ships would take it. As a result you’ll see all sort of references in rums that would point at those fabled decades – “Royal Navy Rum”, “Black Tot Day”, “Gunpowder Proof”, “Navy Strength”, the such.

Rum rations were probably the biggest exercise in alcohol distribution in modern history - the British Royal Navy helped bring rums to wherever a ship could go to. (Image Source: Radio Canada International)

Yet, the Navy weren’t the only folks that had ships y’know – that’s right, the pirates were just as prolific. Remember, Blackbeard, Whitebeard, Lilacbeard? Alright, I made up the last one. But yes, you could imagine the taste of rum wasn’t limited to the palates of Navy crews, pirates were just as open-minded with their drinking preferences.

(Image Source: Distilia)

Today, we’re going to take a look at an interesting series from Distilia, which also runs Whiskymarket.com, and are retailers/independent bottlers of rums, whiskies and cognacs. The series follows the stories of several prominent characters from pirating history, and as such, is aptly named “The Golden Age of Piracy”. Distilia says that they’ve matched each single cask rum to the corresponding distinctive pirate personality – so we’ve got Blackbeard, Anney, Calico Jack, Charles Vane, Samuel Bellamy and Woodes Rogers. Today we’ll take a look at the first three.

Foursquare 2005, 15 Year Old, “Calico Jack”, 58% ABV

(Image Source: Distilia)

First up! Calico Jack – apparently a fashionista of the pirate world with his brightly colored clothes, who also appears to be the man behind the iconic skulls and crossed swords pirate motif. Perhaps in today’s age he would have been a fashion designer – robbing us with ridiculous prices and long waits. More on the rum – this one’s from Foursquare, the darling of Barbados, with over 10 years of tropical aging, a total age of 15 years old, bottled at 58% ABV.

Color: Honey Gold

On the nose: The classic Foursquare sweet sarsaparilla, cola fizz, licorice, root beer float, caramel, vanilla ice cream. Fragrant exotic wood and lacquer. Molasses abound, treacle, raisins and dates, brown sugar, gula melaka – real depth and richness.

Classic Foursquare tropical notes - cola fizz, gula melaka; but wait, something more refined here - lacquered wood, dried fruits, mangoes, desiccated coconuts, and banana cream pies.

This is fierce by the way, great warmth, with the initial hotness dissipating to reveal an intense bouquet of fruits. This gets fruitier, as one would hope with the best Foursquares - dried mangoes, dried pineapples, dried kiwis, butterscotch, desiccated coconut, banana cream pie.

On the palate: Starts off with heaps of brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, caramel, lacquered wood. This grows into something fruitier as the aromas suggests - candied apples and chocolate coated raisins, with sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg, tobacco, coconut flakes, espresso, cacao. It’s syrupy sweet but contrasted with a good amount of bittersweet acidity that gives it a good balance.

Lightly woodiness, but really good acidity here - dried orange peels, sour plums, mangoes, and a delicate nuttiness.

Finish: More woody and astringent, great acidity. Then dried orange peels, almonds, walnuts, dried sour plum, dried mangoes – fruity, nutty and slightly bitter. Medium length finish.

My Take

A spot on classic Foursquare – a good serving of everything the Barbados gem is known and loved for – it’s all here. Perhaps most striking is that this expression features great balance between the flavors, well harmonized, with not one of the dimensions overwhelming the mix. Very rounded in that sense! This one tends to a slightly older spectrum of Foursquare – more on old wood, dried fruit, with more acidity, versus the younger juice which tends to be fresher and slightly more grassy. A good show of well-aged refinement that doesn’t become victim to too strong a cask influence. Good start!

Caroni 1999, 21 Year Old, “Blackbeard”, 65.7% ABV

(Image Source: Distilia)

We’re on to Blackbeard! Probably the most famous of the lot of pirates, and supposedly known to strike fear with his thick, long and black beard, and what else would he be paired with than Caroni? Caroni obviously the now closed distillery that is known for its heavy styled rum and became victim to a real sugar situation in Trinidad that made rum production uneconomical. This one’s 21 years old, bottled at 65.7% ABV.

Color: Deep Gold

On the nose: Very greasy and dirty, the very definition of the Trinidadian Heavy Rum. More on olive brine, diesel, motor oil, synthetic, truffle oil, new leather – exceptionally squeaky.

Turns sweeter, caramel, apricots, black plums, raisins, sarsaparilla, Bundaberg root beer, tobacco, potpourri, essential oils, dark chocolate, honey, simple syrup, cotton candy, candy cane. It’s at once confectionary, aromatic, lots of dark fruits, and also tropical.

The rich earthiness leads with aromatic dark chocolate, tobacco leaves, honey, and then a more bitter soil and burnt wood.

Earthy – soil, burnt wood, vetiver. Keeps evolving and opening up, very complex and well balanced, a real symphony of notes. I swear I could nose this forever. Keeps getting deeper, sweeter and more aromatic.

On the palate: Super greasy, this is a complete follow on from its aromas – olive brine, vinegar, tar, grease, petrol, shoe shine, plasticine, nail polish remover, acetone, camphor – real dirty heavy styled rum.

Tarry, greasy, plasticky - the definition of heavy rum! More on aromatic burnt wood, grilled lemon citrus, gamey smoked meat and burnt ends.

It fragments into more unusual dimensions - Palo santo burnt wood, chalky, salty. It also gets substantially more umami – salted fish, smoked meats, meat oils, gamey meat, fat, lard. And then flashes of citrus, grilled lemon, rosemary, lamb fat. All throughout, a noticeable bitterness of burnt ends, wood char, burnt metal.

Bittersweet flavors of cacao, burnt and dried tropical fruits.

Finally it turns sweeter, treacle, bittersweet cacao and fruitier as well, grilled pineapple, dried mango, burnt tropical fruits.

Dirty martinis, more umami notes of miso, and then vinegary.

Finish: Long, lots of tar, olive brine, umami miso, dirty martinis, gets a lot more saline and vinegary. Synthetic notes abound. Dirty but crisp.

My Take

This was an incredibly complex example of the famous Trinidadian Heavy Rum – all the tar and so much more. The aromas and the taste profile had multitudes in its layers. The aromas are constantly evolving and developing far beyond what is the usual style of Caroni’s. On the palate, it was sharp, striking, hot, acidic, but given time, it reveals much more. It traverses every profile from saline and umami to becoming sweeter.

If you have a chance to try this, prepare for an incredibly intense rum on both the nose and palate, but give it time to open up and as it mellows, is incredibly rewarding. An eclectic mix of acidity, salinity, sweetness, bittersweetness – a Caroni that punches above its weight.

Enmore 1992, 29 Year Old, “Anney”, 58.1% ABV

(Image Source: Distilia)

Now, last but not least, the Enmore – a Demerara classic. This was paired with the pirating character, Anney, who was known as a ruthless female pirate who was well-respected. What’s always interesting about Enmore is that unlike rums from elsewhere, this is made in a wooden still, which is quite incredible when you think about it – heating distillate in a wooden still is akin to cooking in a wooden pot. But alas, the magic of Guyana’s Greenheart wood which is a native wood that locals use for cooking, giving off a characteristic wood and char note. This Enmore is a whooping 29 years old, bottled at 58.1% ABV.

Color: Burnt Amber

On the nose: It’s a blast of vegetal herbaceousness cooked to a boil! Vegetable stock, consommé, bouillon cubes, beef bourguignon – incredibly rich with such depth! Black tea, old wood, soil, tobacco leaves, menthol, ivy leaf cough syrup, mint jellies – tannic, woody, but at the same time refreshing and aromatic.

Consomme and bouillon give a rich, deep vegetal stock and meaty profile. With more on mint leaves, and then the classic more acetone shoeshine and grease note. This follows with more tannins from black tea, licorice, and finally a sweeter cane sugar and cola flavor.

This is yet another dirty, heavy rum – shoeshine, grease, wood lacquer, old leather, burnt rubber, licorice, camphor. More on brown sugar, cane sugar, gula melaka, maple syrup, cola syrup, sarsaparilla. Bittersweet, herbaceous, heavy, evocative, just what you’d expect.

On the palate: Intense, rich, yet vibrant – this one’s a real mouthful. Initially waves of espresso and brown sugar, alongside a deep menthol herbaceousness and woodiness. A profound earthiness of wet soil, vegetable roots, freshly cut Cuban cigars, sautéed buttered Shiitake mushrooms, red miso. A real blend of rich earthy sweetness.

Bittersweet espresso, woodiness, charred wood, all intertwined with a minty herbaceousness. More umami notes of sauteed mushrooms, red miso and tau sar piah - an Asian beloved pastry of fermented mung beans.

There’s a strong woodiness and light smokiness or char but interestingly, none of the usual accompanying astringency or tannins. Underlying the sweetness and wood char, there is a slightly salty and butter taste that is reminiscent of a beloved local Asian pastry made of fermented mung bean called tau sar piah (“tau sar” meaning fermented mung bean, and “piah”, pastry). The texture is medium-bodied, definitely lighter than the notes would have you believe, but sufficient that it keeps the show going without ever getting too heavy-handed.

Lots of wood char, but it gets sweeter with Manuka honey and granulated sugars, but only with sprinkles of sea salt, and then more umami again, with Korean Doenjang - a staple made of fermented soybeans and brine.

The finish: Medium but goes out with a bang, a last burst of wood char, granulated sugars, Manuka honey, a splash of sea salt, and the umami depths of bean paste, more specifically Doenjang, a Korean staple made of fermented soybeans and brine.

My Take

This was yet another well-selected bountiful Demerara – with all the great complexity that we know and love from the Guyanese treasure. You have all the lovely brown sugar and baking spices that are so approachable and inviting, balanced against the woody char that you get from the use of a wooden still, yet neither overpowers the other, demonstrating a good amount of balance. Like the Caroni before, this one is another heavy style rum so expect a whole lot of intensity and complexity with a stronger dirty note of tar and grease which takes some opening up, but as before, give it time and you’ll be handsomely rewarded.

(Image Source: Distilia)

Final Notes 

That’s for Distilia’s Golden Age of Piracy series (short of two parts of the series), but from the three tasted, all of which have shown great selection from Distilia and have been incredibly high quality and have lived up to their respective hypes, coming from distilleries that have no shortfall of exceptional expectations. Each of them uniformly demonstrate their respective house style with great aplomb and in some cases, overdelivered. Personally, the Caroni was the winner for me, serving up so much more than the classic Trinidadian Heavy style, and punched far above its weight.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot