Each year the Caribbean Journal names its Rum Awards. Here are the winners for 2015. I think that you will find all of these to be very worthy of their awards. Congratulations to all of the winners.
Rum
of the Year: 1931 (Fourth Edition) By St Lucia Distillers
The Rum of the Year is
always the hardest choice to make, and this year was no different. More and
more producers are entering the market with serious aged rums, looking to
highlight how far rum has come, how many delicious, interesting rums are now on
the market. But one rum took top honors: 1931 from St Lucia Distillers. This is
the fourth edition of a small-production rum, but this year there was a twist:
along with a blend of several maturates, this year saw the inclusion in the
blend of St Lucian-grown rhum agricole, the first agricole to
be produced on the island since the 1930s. The result is something rather
astonishing: a velvety, voluptuous rum with a fascinating texture and a playful
but elegant flavor profile marked by tropical fruit, citrus zest, caramel,
dried mango and spice. This was the best rum we tried all year, and a simply
spectacular rum. Cheers to the 2015 Rum of the Year, 1931 By St Lucia
Distillers.
Runners
up: Mount Gay XO, Ron Santiago de Cuba 11 Anos, Flor de Cana 25, Papa’s Pilar
Limited Edition.
Rhum
Agricole of the Year: Rhum Depaz XO Grand Saint-Pierre
Another incredibly
difficult choice. The rums of the French Caribbean are, arguably, the most
“authentic” in the Caribbean — they have a real terror, a sense that one can
taste the region where they were made, thanks to a local, vertically integrated
process from cane to cap. But the best offering from the French Caribbean was
this: Rhum Depaz XO Grand Saint-Pierre. This agricole from the foothills of
Martinique’s Mont Pelee volcano is magnificent: ultra-smooth,
ultra-balanced and spicy, with notes of candied fruit, with a transcendent
finish. This is the second year in a row that Depaz has taken the top agricole
crown, and the reason is clear: they’re producing simply exquisite rums.
Runners
up: Rhum HSE XO, Rhum Damoiseau 8 Ans, Rhum Dillon XO.
Best New Rum: Afrohead
Long a house rum, this rum was born on Harbour Island in
the Bahamas but now is something far more regional, from Dominican molasses to
Trinidadian distillation. The 15-year variety is a terrific rum that earned a
lot of points for its wonderful drinkability and a feeling of authenticity. At
its roots, it still feels like a house rum, and that’s a very good thing.
Best New Rhum Agricole: Rhum HSE 2005 Sherry Finish Pedro
Ximenez
This is the most creative rum distillery in Martinique,
and one might argue in all of the Caribbean. HSE is the rum that really
pioneered the extra “finishing” process of rhums
agricoles, from finishing agricoles in malt whisky barrels to, more
recently Spanish sherry. The latest edition of the Sherry Finish saw an aged
agricole spending eight months in Pedro Ximenez sherry barrels, and the result
was a peppery but sweet rum with HSE’s signature power. A tremendous product
and one that makes us excited to see what they come up with next.
Best White Rum: Bacardi Facundo Neo
Two years ago, the new Facundo Collection took the rum
world by storm — the best rums Bacardi had produced in decades. And the
company’s Exquisito took home Rum of the Year honors. We’re glad to see that
the Facundo collection is still around, and the company’s Neo white rum
(actually a blend of aged rums that’s then charcoal-filtered) is, while
expensive, a new kind of standard for great white rum: smooth, elegant, crisp.
It passes the most important test of white rum with flying colors: you can sip
it.
Best White Rhum Agricole: Rhum Bologne
There are a few important benchmarks for a great rhum blanc. First, and most importantly, how
does it taste in a Ti’ Punch? And second, how does it taste sec, or neat? On both counts,
Guadeloupe’s Rhum Bologne is at the top of the class. Bologne’s 100-proof white
rhum agricole is a floral, sweet, energetic superstar. Guadeloupe remains one
of the world’s undiscovered rum capitals — but here’s hoping that changes.
Best Gold Rum: Don Q Gold
This is a tough category to judge, simply because the area
between young white rums and older aged rums is often filled with a Motley Crue
of rums. But Don Q has long been making some of the Caribbean’s best rums in
this category, and the Don Q Gold is no exception. While, like most gold rums,
it’s best off in a cocktail, this is a rum with a honey-sweet aroma and a
caramel-brown sugar flavor profile that makes it quite drinkable on its own.
Best Spiced Rum: Siesta Key Spiced Rum
The first time we announced the Rum Awards, a certain
upstart rum from Florida, not from the Caribbean, took the crown. Since then,
Siesta Key has swept the Rum Awards’ Best Spiced Rum category every year, last
year with its Distiller’s Reserve. And this year is no different, except that
this year we return to the rum that started it all: Siesta Key Spiced Rum, the
company’s flagship expression. It’s quite smooth, made from Florida sugar cane
and distilled in a copper pot still. It’s simple, rooted in natural spices and,
most importantly for a spiced rum, uniquely sippable. This distillery in
Sarasota has set a standard for spiced rums around the world, and has also
shown the world that America is producing some rather good rums of its own.
2015 makes it four years in a row. Cheers, Siesta Key.
Best Flavored Rum: Rhum Clement Mahina Coco
We were pleasantly surprised to this on the shelf in an
American city, because Clement’s Mahina Coco is absolutely lovely. A throwback
to the homemade punches you often find after dinner in the
French Caribbean, this is a fruity, creamy delight that’s a dessert on its own
—and an elegant digestif.
Best Overproof Rum: Sunset Very Strong Rum
St Vincent Distillers is quietly one of the Caribbean’s
underrated outfits, best known for Captain Bligh XO but also producers of some
significant Caribbean spirits. And none more robust than the aptly-named Sunset
Very Strong Rum. This is as strong a rum as you will find anywhere on earth —
but it’s also remarkably smooth. Bottled at 84.5% ABV, it requires some
courage. But that courage is rewarded with a remarkably smooth overproof
spirit.
Best Bottle Design: Rhum Damoiseau Rhum Vieux 8 Ans
The thing we love most about this bottle is that it feels
far older than eight years. It feels like something you find floating around in
the ocean, or tucked away in a corner of a centuries-old bar. Its green, flat
shape hearkens back to a different era, and that’s what rum is all about.
Rum Bar of the Year: Papa Zouk, Antigua
We were dismayed to learn that, last year, the venerable
Papa Zouk in Antigua had burned down. But through the charity and love of its
many patrons, the bar was rebuilt. It remains a Mecca of Caribbean rum, a place
that all rum pilgrims must visit and pay homage. Bert Kirchner’s “rum shop” on
the outskirts of St John’s has more than 100 rums, less than its heyday but one
growing quickly, in large part to frequent donations by customers. This is a
wonderful place, a wonderful rum shop and the best rum bar in all of the
Caribbean.
Read More at http://caribjournal.com/2015/11/06/rum-journal-the-rum-awards-2015/
I feel like this was a great group of winners against some very venerable competitors and I'm proud of all that were considered for the awards.
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