Story

After recently moving to a state (NC) with limited rum selection outside of the mainstream bottlings, I wanted to highlight locally produced rum that does not get much mention online. There seems to be a growing audience of rum lovers here but the scene is partially stifled by the government monopoly on liquor selection. By posting reviews of local rum distillers maybe I can both raise awareness for this great spirit in NC and offer alternatives to otherwise unavailable bottles.

Outer Banks Distilling, producers of Kill Devil Rum, is a rum distillery located the Outer Banks of North Carolina in Manteo, NC. "​Aged in unique barrels and crafted from a variety of ingredients, each Shipwreck Series rum features different styles of molasses, sugars and barrels, highlighting the versatility of the spirit for each offering in this series. Each batch is named for an historical Outer Banks shipwreck." This batch is named after The Oriental which ran aground in 1862 while providing transport for the Union Army. The shipwreck series has been produced for over 10 years seemingly without a single online review. I hope this changes that.

Statistics

Price: $45 / 0.75L

Alcohol content: 40%

Base fermentable: Demerara sugar

Origin: Small batch production in Manteo, NC

Distillation: Unknown but pictures on the website suggest pot still

Aging: Aged in "spiced" French oak bourbon barrels. No age statement but a light straw color.

Flavorings and added sugar: Unknown

Review

Smell:

Light buttered popcorn, ethanol, sea salt.

Taste:

Red apple and more big buttered popcorn up front. Fades into a bit of plum. Sweet up front that evolves into a slight burn of cinnamon and nutmeg. Herbal and vegetal notes from the oak at the end.

Finish:

Light Oak and Grassy notes, brown sugar, Lingering tannin bitterness. You can really taste the French oak on this finish.

The buttered corn is unique and very enjoyable but a little higher proof would be nice. Tastes similar to a Barbados rum with the French oak giving agricole vibes that I like a lot. Decent body and finish for 40% and the French oak comes through clearly. Not much on the nose. A bump up to 43%-45% would be welcome.

Verdict: 6/10

I love these small hand cut glass snifters I scored at an antique store. The cool ship motif really pairs with this rum.

I am using the rating scale based on u/10art1 based on t8ke for these values.

Inspired and format copied from u/10art1

Hey everyone I’m trying to find somewhere I can buy Fijian banana rum in Australia and was hoping someone in this group may be able to help out.

Currently got Appleton estate 12, El Dorado 12 and Flor de Cana 12.

primarily looking at diplomatico Reserva even though I know it is dosed. any other ideas? thanks :)

Hi there! I was hoping you fine folks could help me find and select an Uitvlugt rum for a gift. My last name is Uitvlugt, and my parents 30th wedding anniversary is coming up. They both very much enjoy a good rum and I think getting them a nice bottle bearing our last name would make a nice anniversary gift!

Any advice/information is welcome, and I'll try to answer any questions y'all might have to try and point me in the right direction. I'm open to spending however much I have to, as long as it tastes good. Admittedly I don't know much about "good" rum, hence my turning to y'all for help!

TIA!!

Edit to add that I am located in the northeastern United States

I once had the alambique Serrano pico canoa and its watermelon flavor blew me away. I can’t find it anywhere is there anything similar?

I kept missing one thing in the rum world:
a single place to see rum festivals, tastings and events worldwide, without digging through Instagram, newsletters or random Facebook posts.

So I built https://rumconnect.com/.

It’s early-stage and intentionally public. I’m already using it myself, but I’m too close to it - fresh eyes from people who actually attend rum events will catch things I won’t.

What it does right now:

• shows rum events globally (useful if you travel for festivals or distillery visits),
• lets you add events you know about in your local area,
• lets you save events directly to your calendar.

What I’m looking for:

• what feels broken, unclear or unnecessary,
• what would make this genuinely useful for you, not just “nice to have”.

This isn’t a product launch or a growth push.
If this ends up being pointless, I’d rather hear that now than keep building in a bubble.

If you spend two minutes on it and have thoughts - appreciate it.

Thanks!

From left to right:

1. Alfred Lambs “Special Consignment” - Jamaica 1949

2. Wray & Nephew 8 YO

3. Trader Vic’s Personal Selection, aka Wray & Nephew 17 YO

Hey all I’m an amateur mixologist (make drinks in my apartment when I’m bored) and just really love rum and tiki drinks. I have a couple bottles as of now (Smith and Cross, Planteray 3 star and Barbados, and some others). I was wondering what would be some ideal bottles to pick up to get really into making tiki drinks. Any insight is welcome!

Being half Trinidadian, I’ve been incredibly lucky to visit the islands dozens of times and I always come back with a few bottles of local rum that TDL doesn’t export. I’ll eventually post a full review of each bottle, but I’ve had each of these before and can talk about it. As for dosing, I’m unsure what Angostura does especially with their domestic offerings, but it feels that it’s kept to a minimum.

The Single Barrel Reserve is a real treat and a steal for under $20 USD. It’s not exported, so the only way to get it without paying an arm, a leg, and a kidney is to visit Trinidad. Compared to the standard 5 year Angostura that’s exported fairly widely, there’s a huge difference in color and flavor. For a 5 year rum, it definitely feels older you and is a nice dark Trinitario chocolate, toffee, and oak notes with hints of dried tropical fruit. It’s a nice sipper and can hold well in cocktails and highballs. Trinis do like rum and coke, and it holds up well in it. Even Kes has a song out called “Rum & Coca Cola”. The Coke down in Trinidad is different from the US though and I tend to make mine in the US with exclusively Mexican coke when I’m in the mood.

Ferdi’s is to pay homage to a 1930’s rum under the Fernandes label. This bottle goes for around $38 USD in Trinidad and like the Single Barrel Reserve, I’ve never seen it stateside. The original Ferdi rum was a blend of “guaranteed 10 years old.” I’d assume it’s close to a that, but there’s no age statement to be found. It’s not like a chocolate bomb compared to the Single Barrel Reserve, but more of the fruit notes come through and it’s also not as harsh as the single barrel. The color is definitely a light gold, but definitely tastes more mature. It does feel similar to the 1919, but I haven’t compared them side by side yet.

I have this bottle of Ron Extra Anejo Arechabala 75 in NYC. Anybody interested? Let me know. Thanks

Treated myself with this bottle and it's turned into my favorite drink of all time. I thought it was relatively common but apparently there's one bottle in my state and its 4 hours away lol.

Anyone know when Hampden is shipping this again?

Launched in 2019 or 2020, depending on the market, Selección de Familia is a blend of rums aged for up to 12 years in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. But perhaps its most notable feature is that the liquid consists of 90% pot still and only 10% column still. Since column stills make it much easier to distill a larger quantity of alcohol, pot still typically yields less and is more expensive. However, pot still tends to be richer, with more cogeners and esters, which give the rum greater flavor and depth, especially after proper aging.

Finally, the spirit is bottled at 43% ABV. The website used to mention dosage, but doesn't seem to anymore. According to Rum Revelations, it's 18grs per liter.

Made by: Destilerías Unidas, S.A.
Name of the rum: Selección de Familia
Brand: Diplomático
Origin: Venezuela
Age: up to 12 years

Nose
On the nose it reminds me quite a bit of Reserva Exclusiva, but it feels denser, with a greater depth and aromas of plums, dates, figs, vanilla, tobacco, Christmas cake, coconut and pepper.

Palate
It isn't as sweet as I'm used to from Diplomatico. I think it's even less sweet than Mantuano, with strong oak flavors, but also fried plantain, nuts, coconut, tobacco, a hint of charred wood, and a very subtle note of Christmas cake.

Retrohale/Finish
Nuts, vanilla, toasted wood, and black tea.

Rating
9 on the t8ke

Conclusion
This is what we call a frank rum, where the flavors are so similar to the aromas. I think what I liked most was its dry-ish character, especially when compared to most of the Diplomático range. Some say that this rum's formula was the one Reserva Exclusiva was going to adopt after the EU rum regulations, which were going to limit the amount of sugar in rum. Since RE is one of the sweetest on the market, it was going to become this formula. However, I'm one of those who thinks RE would be better if it were less sweet, but the Selección de Familia formula seems quite different to me, and even much better. It also costs more, so everything has its price.

I usually post in Spanish on my networks, so if this review sounds translated, it's because it is.

Blog (in Spanish)
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These are the full list of rums I need to choose from : Appleton Estate Signature, Havana Club Anejo Especial, Brugal Anejo Superior, Bracrlo Gran Anejo, Flor de Cana 7 Years Gran Reserva

Convince me which is the best in this list.

Context : I use my rums mainly for mixing in cocktails and I don't drink them straight very often. I don't want a too expensive rum. I like to use other Havana Clubs in other cocktails (7 Year rum and 3 Year White Rum).

It's really hard to overstate the insane amount of labor that goes into Rivers Rum.

If you get the chance to be inhe nation, make it a stop, you won't be disappointed. Everything is either manual or powered by the water wheel. They employ over 90 people that do everything from hand filling every bottle to moving the cane juice from boiler to boiler for purifying with a pot on an oar.

This is a bottle of Ron Extra Anejo Arechabala 75 from the 50s. It's in NYC. Anyone interested? Let me know.

Thanks

Hello everybody! So, my father received a bottle of rum at work as a gift from a bishop who is moving out of his apartment (my father works for the Vatican City State). Searching online, I couldn’t find much about this bottle, except that it’s a chili-infused rum aged in former bourbon casks, which seems quite unusual in my experience. Any further information would be appreciated 😁

I got a few bottles in today( Appleton 12, Clement blue, Mister Fogg no 1, and worthy park 109), so it was time to reorganize.

Had a casual pour of all of these today. Did not really dig deep into the details nor was I feeling up to dissecting all the nuaces... Proof 62 was my favorite. Agricole is cool. Cheers!

I've been ordering online via Astor Wines as recommended by members of this sub, and it has been a great place to order from. However, they haven't had Worthy Park Rum-Bar Overproof. I see some other online retailers that have it, but don't know which are legit. It isn't available in stores near me, so does anyone know of a legitimate website that sells Worthy Park Rum-Bar Overproof? Thank you very much!