It’s been another great year for rum. It continues to grow in popularity, as more and more people around the world continue to appreciate the quality and diversity of cane spirits. We’ve tried almost 130 rums this year from all over the Caribbean and the wider world, and while the choices were extremely difficult, the following rums have emerged as the year’s best. Here are the Rum Awards for 2013.
Rum of the Year
As always, this one was a hard-nosed battle, and the winner was actually one of the last rums we tried this year. Simply put, we didn’t see this coming. Bacardi’s new limited-production Facundo Collection is named after the brand’s founder, Don Facundo Bacardi Massó, and it’s a new level of premium rum-making for the company; the Facundo Collection Exquisito, a blend of rums between seven and 23 years old finished in sherry casks, is a superstar. There were strong finalists in the Zacapa XO from Guatemala and the El Dorado 15 Year from Guyana. But this Puerto Rican product was the best rum we tried all year, and we knew it the moment we tasted it: perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness and spicy character, and the smoothest finish of any rum we tasted. Congratulations to the Bacardi Facundo Collection Exquisito, Rum Journal’s 2013 Rum of the Year.
Rhum Agricole of the Year
Boy, was this a difficult choice. As rhum agricole grows in popularity in the West Indies and the world (particularly the United States), distilleries continue to step up their games. That’s nowhere more true than Martinique’s Rhum Clement, which continue to take its production to a new level, led by this year’s winner, the Rhum Clement 6 Year Grand Reserve, a spectacularly smooth but smoky rhum, equally at home neat or — yes, even for a rhum agricole, on the rocks.
Best New Rum
This was one of our easier choices. The brand-new Papa’s Pilar Dark, a rum made in partnership with the estate of legendary adventurer Ernest Hemingway (and named after his famous boat), was a leading contender for Rum of the Year as well. It’s a solera blend of rums as old as 24 years from all over Central America and the Caribbean, aged in bourbon barrels and port wine casks, then finished in sherry casks. And it’s a stunner. What a debut for a rum we know will be around for a very long time.
Best New Rhum Agricole
Guadeloupe’s Rhum Damoiseau is poised to make a mark in the US, and to do so it’s launched Damoiseau VSOP, a rum aged in former bourbon barrels aged for a minimum of four years. Its flavour profile is delightful — slightly sweet, with hints of cappuccino, dried fruits and marzipan. A terrific rhum agricole.
Best White Rum
White rum has to be versatile, able to mix in any number of different cocktails (beginning, naturally, with the Cuba Libre). And if it can be sipped on the rocks, well, that’s a bonus. Happily, that’s becoming increasingly true of rums in the white rum category, including this year’s winner, the Brugal Especial Extra Dry White Rum out of the Dominican Republic.
Best White Rhum Agricole
You can drink it sec, but there’a a major requirement for a white rhum agricole — it has to make a terrific ti’ punch. And this year, no rhum paired better with fresh limes and sugarcane than Guadeloupe’s Rhum Bologne Blanc, a truly outstanding white rhum agricole.
Best Value Rum
It’s currently only available in Trinidad and Tobago (something we certainly hope will change soon), but Angostura Single Barrel Reserve is the best value rum anywhere — period. It retails for about $18, but it rivals almost any rum you can think of.
Best Spiced Rum
All year, we tried to find spiced rums better than last year’s winner, the Siesta Key Spiced Rum out of Florida. We did not succeed. The small-batch spiced rum made in Sarasota continues to amaze.
Best Flavored Rum
There were a number of strong contenders in this category, from Hawaii’s Koloa Coconut Rum to the always-solid Barbancourt Pango Rum. But the winner was a new entry from Grenada by way of Miami — Uncle Luke’s Rum, the passionfruit-flavored spirit released by the Florida hip-hop legend.
Best Overproof Rum
There are a few natural contenders in this category, mostly out of Jamaica — J Wray & Nephew and last year’s winner, Rum Fire. But this year, it didn’t get any better than the Sunset Very Strong Rum out of St Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s a powerhouse, to be sure, but with the late-stage smoothness an overproof desparately needs.
Best Bottle Design
The Rummy goes to RL Seale out of Barbados, which wins with its delightfully original “leaning” bottle. Oh, and it tastes pretty good, too.
— CJ