Among Jamaican rum aficionados, two names hold almost mythical allure: Plummer and Wedderburn. They’re known as old, obsolete Jamaican rum marques from a glorious time when all Jamaican rums were chock-full of funky flavors and hogo. The main reason most…
Category: Cocktail Wonk
Mount Gay – Cornerstone of Caribbean Rum
Telling the story of Barbados rum–and of rum itself–is impossible without referencing Mount Gay. The distillery operations at its Barbados site are arguably the oldest and longest running in existence. Spanning nearly four centuries, Mount Gay has something to say…
The Gargano Files
In September of 2018, I sat down with Luca Gargano in London immediately prior to the Rum Tasting of the Century, celebrating the launch of Hampden Estate’s aged rum. We had a wide-ranging interview that covered many topics, resulting in…
The Cocktail Wonk Top Ten Stories of 2018
It’s an annual Cocktail Wonk tradition to holistically examine the last twelve month’s writings and pick the ten stories most deserving of highlighting and after-the-fact commentary. Looking back, the frequency of publications here slowed somewhat in 2018, but the topics…
Is Rum Made From Sugar, or Not?
A recently published “Rum 101” article caught my attention because it asserted rum can be made from sugar beets, as well as from sugarcane. This is simply not the case. While you can certainly make a distilled spirit using sugar…
Barbados Rum Cheat Sheet
Barbados is often referred to as the Birthplace of Rum. You can make the case for cane spirits appearing elsewhere before Barbados–for example, in Brazil a century or so earlier, or even in India–but Caribbean rum as we know it…
UK RumFest 2018 in Photos
The 2018 UK RumFest, back for its 12 iteration, once again brought together a stellar array of rum brands, industry leaders and hyper-enthusiasts to celebrate all things rum. I’ve off to more rum adventures in a few hours, so this…
Clairin Casimir’s U.S. Recall – A Deeper Look
On October 10, 2018, the New York State Liquor Authority caused a stir within the cane spirits community. The subject: A press release regarding Clairin Casimir, distilled in Haiti and imported to the U.S. by La Maison & Velier, is…
American Single Malt – The Next Great American Whiskey
When it comes to whiskey, most imbibers assume that categories like bourbon, single malt Scotch and Irish whiskey have been around since the dawn of time. However, the official, legal recognition of these categories is a relatively recent phenomenon. If…
Two Centuries in a Bottle: Drinking the Harewood House 1780 Rum
Every camera in the room is trained on a lone man struggling to open a rather plain brown glass bottle, unlabeled except for a paper tag around its neck. The red wax sealing the neck is not giving way easily…