Death of Rum Awards: 2014

Including details of our Weekly Rum E-Tastings. Join our happy group in tasting rums from home or even from your sailboat. Also important Events in south Florida and Awards from just about anywhere. Speaking of where, Wear Wearever wherever you go!
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Capn Jimbo
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Death of Rum Awards: 2014

Post by Capn Jimbo »

The annual death of rum fest t was recently held (it simply isn't worth spending a couple hundred dollars to taste thimblefuls of the SOS. For atmosphere - can't be beat. For commercial networking - that's the idea. But for rum tasting? Not so much.
Per Tiare:

"Agricole Rhum
Best In Class - St. Barth Chic
Gold - St. Barth Cool

White Rum
Best In Class - Ocumare Platino
Gold - Skottlander
Gold - Tanduay Silver

Premium White Rum
Best In Class - Diplomatico Blanco
Gold - The Real McCoy 3
Gold - Plantation 3 Star

Gold Rum
Best In Class - Diplomatico Añejo
Gold - Hampden Estate Gold
Gold - Koloa Gold

Aged Rum
Best In Class - Plantation Original Dark
Gold - Pussers
Gold - Appleton VX

Aged Rum, 4-8 years
Best In Class - Plantation 5
Gold - El Dorado 8
Gold - Abuelo 7

Aged Rum, 9-12 years
Best In Class - Abuelo 12
Gold - Real McCoy 12
Gold - Medellin 12

Aged Rum, 13-18 years
Best In Class - Pussers 15
Gold - El Dorado 15
Gold - Flor de Caña 18

Aged Rum, 19-21 years
Best In Class - El Dorado 21
Gold - Centenario 20

Premium Aged Rum
Best In Class - Don Q Gran Anejo
Gold - Ocumare Anejo Especial Golden Reserve
Gold - Plantation 20th Anniversary

Super Premium Rum
Best In Class - Mt Gay 1703
Gold - Ron Barcelo Imperial Premium 30th Anniversary
Gold - Centenario 25

Ultra Premium Reserve Rum
Best In Class - Brugal Papa Andres Special Cask
Best In Class - Plantation Guyana 2005
Gold - Plantation Jamaica 2001
Gold - Plantation Trinidad 1999

Dark Rum
Best In Class - Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum
Gold - Koloa Dark
Gold - Goslings Black Seal

Flavored Rum
Best In Class - Koloa Coconut
Gold - Admiral Nelson Vanilla
Gold - Blue Chair Bay Coconut
Gold - Selvarey Cacao

Spiced Rum
Best In Class - Bayou Spiced
Gold - Blue Chair Coconut Spiced
Gold - Blackheart

Overproof Rum
Best In Class - Plantation Overproof Original Dark
Gold - Rum Fire
Gold - Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum "
Ugh. The commercial bias is evident. And the alleged rums available?
"Abuelo 12
Abuelo Añjeo
Abuelo Centuria
Admiral Nelson's Spiced Rum
Appleton Estate 12
Appleton Estate VX
Arcane Delicatissime
Arcane Extraroma 12
Atlantico Platino
Atlantico Private Cask
Atlantico Reserva
Bacardi 8 Años
Bacardi Gold
Bacardi Mango Fusion
Bacardi Oakheart
Bacardi Superior
Barcelo Gran Añejo
Barcelo Imperial
Barcelo Imperial Premium-
-Blend 30 Aniversario
Barrilito 3 Star
Barritt's Ginger Beer
Bãvaro Grand Brut
Bãvaro Grand Noir
Bayou Silver
Bayou Spiced
Blackheart Spiced
Black Mamba
Blue Chair Bay Coconut
Blue Chair Bay Coconut Spiced
Blue Chair Bay White
Botran Reserva
Botran Reserva Blanca
Botran Solera
Brugal Anejo
Brugal XV
Brugal 1888
Brugal Papa Andrés
Bundaberg Double Barrel
Bundaberg Two Eighty
Bundaberg Blenders Edition 2014
Caliche
Carta Vieja Añejo
Carta Vieja Claro
Carta Vieja Extra Claro
Centenario 7
Centenario 9
Centenario 20
Centenario 25
Cubaney 25
Cubaney Centenario
Diplomatico Ambassador
Diplomatico Añeja
Diplomatico Blanco
Diplomatico Reserva
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
DonQ Añejo
DonQ Coco
DonQ Cristal
DonQ Gold
DonQ Gran Añejo
DonQ Limon
DonQ Mojito
DonQ Pasion
Dos Maderas 5+3
Dos Maderas PX 5+5
Dzama Amber Nosy-Be
Dzama Amber Cuvée Noire Prestige
Dzama Cuvée Blanche
Dzama Cuvée Blanche Prestige
Dzama Cuvée Noire
Dzama Vanilla 1 yo
Dzama Vanilla 3 yo
Dzama Vanilla 10 yo
Dzama White Nosy-Be
Edward Gunpowder
El Dorado 5
El Dorado 8
El Dorado 12
El Dorado 15
El Dorado 21
English Harbour 5
English Harbour 10
Flor de Caña Centenario 18
Flor de Caña Gran Reserva
Fresh Coconuts - Coconut King
Gosling's Black Seal
Gosling's Bermuda Gold
Gosling's Family Reserve Old
Gosling's Dark N Stormy
Gosling's Ginger Beer
Gubba Gold
Gubba Silver
Hampden Estate Gold
Izapa Platinum White
Izapa 13 Years
Izapa Seleccion del Maestro
Kalani Coconut Rum
Koloa Coconut
Koloa Dark
Koloa Gold
Koloa Spice
Koloa White
Kraken Black Spiced
Lost Spirits Navy Style
Medellin 3
Medellin 8
Medellin 12
Matusalem 15
Matusalem 18
Mt Gay 1703
Mt Gay Black Barrel
Mt Gay Eclipse
Mt Gay Extra Old
Ocumare Anejo
Ocumare Blanco
Ocumare Reserva
Oliver's Exquisto 1985
Opthimus 25
Opthimus 25 Malt Whiskey
Opthimus 25 Oporto
Origenes, Reserva Don Pancho 30
Origenes, Reserva Don Pancho 8
Origenes, Reserva Especial 18
Owney's Original
Papa's Pilar Blonde
Papa's Pilar Dark
Penny Blue
Pink Pigeon
Plantation 20th Anniversary XO
Plantation Grande Reserve 5
Plantation Guyana 2005
Plantation Jamaica 2001
Plantation Original Dark
Plantation Original Dark Overproof
Plantation Three Stars White
Plantation Trinidad 1999
Puntacana Club Esplendido
Puntacana Club XOX
Pusser's 3
Pusser's 15
Pyrat Cask 1623
Pyrat XO Reserve
Quorhum 30
Rhum St Barth Blanc Cool
Rhum St Barth Ambre Chic
Real McCoy 3 White
Real McCoy 5
Real McCoy 12
Rum Fire
Selvarey Cacao
Selvarey White
Skotlander Handcrafted Rum I
Tanduay Chairman's Reserve Intrigue
Tanduay Silver
Tanduay Heritage XO
Tiburon
Unhiq XO Unique Malt Rum
Viejo de Caldas 3
Viejo de Caldas Grand Reserva
Vizcaya Cask 12
Vizcaya Cristal
Vizcaya VXOP Cask 21
Wicked Dolphin Florida Spiced
Wicked Dolphin Silver
Ypioca Prata
Zafra 21"

Observations:

1. If these are the best rums in the world, we're in big trouble. But that's not news. What is news is the dominance of the SOS.

2. This fest is a major networking stop, and features a Trade Day for an alleged 4000 reps, who will be cutting deals left and right.

3. Note the absence of Richard Seale, Barbancourt, most cane juice rums, W&N cachaca et al. Note the presence of Lost Spirits, awarded in two categories and chosen to give a presentation on how to age rum in months using fast seasoning, fast dunder and fast aging using magic light, overripe bananas, air pressure but as of late without the oak stills that produced fungal cork taint.

4. The "awards" were really very predictable. They also illustrated the two class system of rums: those for the 1% and those for the rest of us. It used to be that age categories dominated, for example:

4-8 years
9-12 years
13-18 years
19-21 years

As if non-bonded aging was honest anyway. But with the shift to a two class system, we soon saw even more created (and assumably profitable) categories for the superrich...

Premium Aged
Super Premium Aged, and
Ultra Premium Reserved!

Good facking grief! Honest guys, over the last few years when I put forth the category of "Super Duper Intergalactic Premium Rum", I was only kidding. They aren't. Of course goal is simple: more categories, however ridiculous, mean more profit. Typically at such "competitions" you have to pay to enter. And one last note:

The Frozen Wonder is no longer listed as a judge. He must be planning his own fest.


Flat Ass Bottom LIne

You only need look at the multiple "winners": Plantation, Diplomatico, and El Dorado to know that sugar is King in south Florida. What's more impressive are the rums that stiffed this festival - which includes many of the best rums in the world. BTW, expect Lost Spirits to make have made a connection for some kind of distribution, and a last gasp effort to sell a fast aged, dark mahogany but months old mixer for - gulp - $45.

But lets get real. Since when is rum about quality anyway? Having just read the annual Whisky Magazine awards, the comparison and gap between whisky and rum becomes ever wider. And its not due to the whiskys...
da'rum
Minor God
Posts: 957
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:09 pm

Post by da'rum »

Rum is dead.

Long live the home distiller!
in goes your eye out
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