Rum Review: R. L. Seale's 10 Year Rum

Barbados: the defacto home of the original reference classic rum as we know it. God bless the Queen! And Mount Gay!

How do you rate R. L. Seale's 10 Year Rum (5 is best)?

5
12
75%
4
3
19%
3
1
6%
2
0
No votes
1
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 16

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Capn Jimbo
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Rum Review: R. L. Seale's 10 Year Rum

Post by Capn Jimbo »

R. L. Seale's 10 Year Rum: "A Modern Classic"

One of our most memorable experiences was meeting Richard Seale at Robert Burr's Barbadian rum tasting. Seale is the number one producer in Barbados and has committed his distillery to two objectives: (1) modernization and (2) integrity. He has achieved both. Richard led off the tasting with a bit of history and the process of rum making; he then announced that the rum tasting would begin with a "special rum" he'd brought just for the tasting. He advised that he would then ask three questions - anybody who could answer all three correctly would get a bottle of his Seales 10.

Nobody won.

The first question was "Is it cane or molasses based?". Most guessed molasses. Good so far. Second was "Is it pot or continuous stilled?". Most said it was pot stilled. Last question "What is it's age?". Guesses were from 4 to 7 years old. Seale then revealed the answer "It is a brand new, molasses based, continuous stilled rum that I phonied up with molasses, vanilla and some other things"!

His point: a lot of rum, more than you'd ever guess, has been altered with all manner of additives, flavorings, sugar, molasses, et al. Often age statements are based on a minor quantity of rum blended in with marketing more in mind. As Richard put it "They toss a teaspoon of 20 year into a barrel and call it aged".

His presentation was powerful and effective. Last he made clear two facts: (1) any rum he sells must be produced AND bottled at Seale's distillery and (2) every single drop of rum in the bottle must be the age stated. Accordingly, R. L. Seale's 10 Year is at least 10 years old. Every single drop. And now for the review:

Sue Sea:
I adore R. L. Seale's 10 Year. It's first aroma is of oak, citrus - especially orange - and it is toasty smoky. Later I picked up a bit of raisin, vanilla and almond. Seale's is medium bodied and smooth . And like all fine rums, is completely consistent with its aroma, with tastes of dark orange, light butter and a bit of butterscotch. It's almost like a caramel melting on the tongue. When you finally get to the finish it is dramatic! Hot and smokey but not peppery, not overpowering, extremely pleasant and extremely long lasting. The finish, though consistent with both aroma and taste is clearly the prominent feature, and this is a great thing. To me a great finish is the capper, the dessert, the thing that makes you want more. From aroma, to taste, to finish the Seales builds to a wonderful, dramatic climax.
Me: If you buy by bottle alone you have to own Seale'ss 10 Year and Batuque Cachaca. If you buy by quality, taste and integrity a bottle of Seale's 10 needs to be on your very short list, particularly in the Barbadian category. As Sue Sea so well puts it, Seale's 10 Year is a truly great sipper, a treat and is "a course in itself". Compared to Mount Gay Extra Old, Seales 10 is just as complex but more subtle, smoother and more approachable.

If you are so lucky as to run across this unique bottle, run quickly, grab it and buy it before someone else does. You won't be sorry.

Rating (out of 10): Sue Sea - 10, Jimbo - 9.
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Capn Jimbo
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Keep it up Richard!

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Keep it up Richard!

Richard Seale is a force to be reckoned with. If you've gotten this far you'll have appreciated his dedication, commitment to quality and honesty in bottling and advertising.

Turns out he knows a thing or two about marketing.

While Mount Gay Extra Old was dumping over 300 years of tradition and their wonderful, classic bottle design - and almost doubling the price of an already pricey offering, however good, to a mindboggling $50(!)...

Richard decided to lower the price on Seale's 10 Year Rum.

Now keep in mind that Seales 10 is his flagship rum, worthy of carrying the family name. And the only - I repeat only rum that I would pay $39 to own and enjoy. A very special treat, particularly as we are of the notion that world class rums are (and should) be available for $20 to $30, at the most.

His new price? $25! A tour de force. Again, unlike MGXO, who has now priced themselves out of the marketplace, Richard has positioned himself right in the thick of it insofar as most rum afficianados are concerned.

I predict he will sell a schooner full of this top-rated, pure rum. As well he should! Bravo!
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Boy, do we feel stupid...


We recently finished a bottle of Seales - on of our long term favorites - and like many of you, found it difficult to throw away one of the more attractive bottles in the market. So while I agonized and looked over the bottle before deciding my eye caught the small lettering that established Seales 10 as...

43%.

What! All these years and we hadn't realized that. Seales is so well done, so well integrated, so smooth that I suppose we just assumed it was 40%. How foolish we were. Any rum that is bottled at higher proofs deserves accolades and attention and we blew it.

Seales 10 is 86 proof. Sorry, friends...
da'rum
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Post by da'rum »

2x stupid?


*******
Capn's Log: Oops. double post, thanks. First mistake I've ever made, simply had to happen. Now readers will really be confused.
in goes your eye out
sleepy
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Just saying :D

Post by sleepy »

Ran out of RL Seale about a month ago, but bit the bullet and made the long drive to Total Wine to stock up, then stopped to see friends, food shopped, then headed home, put away, fed dog, ...

Finally! Back to the bottle. Rip the silly zip-strip, open and pour a bosun's tot. Mmmmm - great aroma - little sip, that's right, needs air.

So, I put it aside and allow my virtuous self a dessert treat - a Dove mini - a small cylinder of dark chocolate over vanilla or chocolate ice cream - yum. Not thinking reached and took a sip of the rum and YOW - great blast of aromatic spice! (So transient and such a pallet dolt - I think clove and allspice)

Yet another reason for me to love this rum - positive food-reactivity is my favorite feature of a good wine - now I can add my favorite rum to that rare group.
sleepy
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Yet another flavor

Post by sleepy »

I just went out to the porch on a frigid night (for Atlanta) for a smoke and a last half tot of this fine spirit ready for the usual leather and oak joy. But no, I was kicked the butt by a delightful smoky dying-oak-fire finish that went on and on. Maybe it was the wood smoke in the air on a cool night, but whatever, a new pleasure discovered in my favorite spirit.

Jimbo and Sue elegize the complexity of MGXO, but after a couple of years with Mr. Seale's finest, I am still occasionally surprised and delighted!
DiploMATTico
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wowsers

Post by DiploMATTico »

New to rum (seasoned singlemalt and bourbon maniac), new to this community and wow what I have learned by diving in to the forums.

Sugar added blew me away but seems so evident now that I reflect and taste my many sugar bombs in my collection. what a cheap tool adding sugar and flavorings are.

Soooo, I arrive at R.L. Seales. A bottle I have had for a month or so and was drawn to it time and time again. The reason is that it is exceptional! I am drawn to its richness and as some reviews put it dry qualities, similar to bourbon and scotch. no added sugar to muddy down real barrel aged nuances. you have to be patient with this rum to find its charms because they don't immediately jump out in your face. again like a good well aged whisky.

I also really like what he stands for in rum. Integrity with age and ingredients.

I can buy this for $18.98 at totalwine here in CT and I am marching my ass down there and buying 5 bottles. this has become my house rum. well above the quality you would get in scotch or bourbon at this price.
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Post by Dai »

Ah the Seale's 10 wonderful stuff I have a bottle opened shall doing some this weekend. If you get a chance try out the The Rum Sixty Six as well. Tried it all the rumfest good stuff as well.

Can also recommend the real mccoy 12 that was nice stuff as well, another product courtesy of Richard Seale.
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sleepy
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Post by sleepy »

Ah the Seale's 10 wonderful stuff I have a bottle opened shall doing some this weekend. If you get a chance try out the The Rum Sixty Six as well. Tried it all the rumfest good stuff as well.

Can also recommend the real mccoy 12 that was nice stuff as well, another product courtesy of Richard Seale.
Huh!?!?!?

Robert going for cutsie market names? Nah, Dorothy, say it ain't so!
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Sleepy, good questions...



Rum Sixty-Six has long been a staple at Foursquare, but doesn't seem to have imported, at least into South Florida:
http://www.rumsixtysix.com/store/asset/ ... ochure.pdf

But I believe you're referring to the "Real McCoy". This release, like "Tommy Bahama" were not distiller brands, but were made for third parties, so the name isn't Seales'. McCoy's faux story is that it somehow recognizes Bill McCoy, one of the more known of the rum runners. It's not a Seales' brand.
http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtop ... ight=mccoy
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Post by PassionForTravel »

So I'm having a hard time deciding if I like Doorleys XO better or the Seale's 10yo better.

What a great value both are.

One little annoyance with the Seale's is that the bottle is so dark that I have no idea how much I have left. Now normally that wouldn't be an issue except the closest Total Wine are about 90 miles away and I am only in that neighborhood about twice a year. Next time is February. Has anyone figured out a good way to see how much is left?

Ian
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Post by The Black Tot »

Buy two at a time. You'll always have a full bottle's warning to re-stock
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Post by edgarallanpoe »

I was finally able to get my hands on this and give it a try. Wow. Fantastic in every sense of the word. Great orange flavors and an absolutely epic finish...I swear the finish lasts so long that you begin to get impatient for your next sip. Hahah!!!

I am so glad I found this site. Thanks guys.
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Post by Beukeboom »

Finally opened the bottle of Seale 10-year that I got last month at Total Wine in Jacksonville (almost 4 hours away from where I live). I like it and find it to be an excellent rum which I can see being one of the most versatile rums on the market today.
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Post by Nomad »

From Foursquare in re RL Seale's rum
This classic rum helped put Foursquare on the map. Quintessential of the Barbadian style, it is a pot/column blend aged in ex-bourbon casks.
With the innovations in Doorlys and all the Foursquare special cask releases this gem has been missing some attention.
So how do we innovate, yet not tamper with a classic. New and improved, yet the same.
Simple.
Increase the proof.
Any fan of this rum will only rejoice if we water it down a little less. A great way for a classic to react to the latest demand of rum enthusiasts.
So we will move it to "export proof" of 46%. No change in supply price (but taxes will be a little higher).
This is what the greats do, take their already good product and make it even better. Bravo!
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