Chairmans Reserve Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

BLEND AND MATURATION: A seamless blend of Coffey and pot still rums aged from 6 to 11 years in Bourbon and Port casks. The majority of the 1931 blend comes from traditional molasses rum, while the hidden spunk of the spirit is influenced by the inclusion of Lucian agricultural rum produced from fresh sugarcane growing in the fields adjacent to the distillery. So began work and a Pot Still was commissioned – the distillery now has three. Around the same time the sugar cane fields, which had lain dormant since 1962, were re-planted so the distillery could use estate sugar cane again. The pot still rum in the blend is notable here, offering a punchy but not overwhelming hogo note on the nose, alongside notes of baking spice, burnt caramel, and some fresh-poured asphalt. That grittiness translates well to the palate, which comes across as a bit more austere and serious than the typical bottling, but which finds beautiful complements in the form of tropical pineapple and dark chocolate notes, both of which grow more intense as the rum develops in the glass. A lightly smoky character emerges with further time to coalesce, though it finishes with a note of banana and a pinch of spice. The presentation with the beautiful decanter style bottle and the colour scheme are very classy and everything points to a quality product. On the nose my initial thought were that it somehow reminded me of the funky smell of Appleton rums, which is not a bad thing. In the glass the colour of the liquid is of a beautiful dark gold. Over the years I have come to appreciated elevated ABV and the 46% ABV of this blend adds to the complexity of this rum and longs the finish. Very very smooth rum with absolutely no burn.

The front label has a painting of Laurie Barnard and the rear label lets us know this is a blend of rums created in his honour. For this tasting, I lined up these three versions of my Chairman's Reserve in Glencairn glasses neat, all being 3% ABV apart from the next. This one is at 46% ABV, the Legacy is at 43% ABV, and the Forgotten Cask is at 40% ABV. As one would guess with decreasing ABV% the tastings got smoother with each decrease by 3%. Not fair, so then it became, "Here comes the water!" A few drops in each changed everything. The 1931 greatly improved but still had a strong after burn, and the Legacy dropped down to almost the ranking of my Forgotten Cask due to a bitter after taste. I still could not rank the 1931 higher than my top 3 rums, which all happen to be from Dictador.

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I have been looking forward to sample and review this rum for some time. My previous experience with Chairman’s Reserve rums consist of the “Original” blend (which I did not like), “The Forgotten Casks” (which I enjoyed) and the “1931 3rd edition” (which I did not care for as a result of the 12 g/L of added sugar in the blend).

If we are to export our rum we need to be different; to have the tools to make great rum the old way. A column still and molasses is one dimensional” Chairman’s Reserve Legacy is a blend of rums from the John Dore and Vendome Pot Stills and the Coffey Column Still. The rums vary in age from 7.5 years to 5 years old. The rums used in the blend are set out below. By the way, this one is comprised of at least 14 different rums with one of them being from sugar cane juice. The Legacy is blended only from four of these same rums. Extensive notes can be found on the gift box, which also serves to protect the bottle from getting broken in transit. Rum is loosely defined as any spirit made from sugar – either cane juice or molasses (a byproduct of sugar production). In practice, the vast majority is made from molasses, with golden and darker rums aged in oak to develop their unique characteristics. Most rum production happens in the Caribbean and Latin America, but it’s made right across the world – in Scotland, Thailand, USA, New Zealand, India and Mauritius, just to name a few. Does all rum have a similar taste?The first phase of the competition will entail the submission of your spiced rum concept via this form. You must include your vision, inspiration, intended spice blend, ideal serve, and explain how and why you would want to promote this product in the beverage community.