In 2012, Caribbean Journal’s Rum Journal first launched the Rum Awards — a unique celebration of the best rums of the year.
And after seven previous incarnations, the annual Rum Awards morphed into a full-fledged rum event in St Barth, the recently-concluded Caribbean Rum Awards, now an annual event on the Caribbean’s most exclusive island that will be held in Gustavia Nov. 10-15, 2020, held in partnership with the Saint Barth Rum Festival.
But the tradition of marking our favorite rums of the year remains, now called the Best Rums of the Year, part of our quest to celebrate and elevate rum, a spirit that continues to change — both in the glass and in the minds of consumers.
Indeed, it’s remarkable how much the rum world has evolved since we began the Rum Awards back in 2012 — there’s a new, welcome focus on premium and ultra-premium rums, on classification, on quality, and, perhaps most happily, an even greater appreciation for rhum agricole of the French Caribbean.
Rum still faces an uphill battle — to win the hearts and minds of consumers who still think rum is best off drowned in sea of coke.
But the size of that market is a declining one, as more and more people begin to appreciate the wonder of the Caribbean’s most famous export.
This year’s edition of the Best Rums honors rums in a diverse range of categories, from the Best Rum and Best Rhum Agricole of 2019 to the coolest bottle design and the best rum bar in the Caribbean.
Our 2019 judging was conducted, as usual, at Empire Social in Miami, with a team of rum experts tasting an enviable group of world-class rums, whittled down from several hundred sampled by the Rum Journal team over the course of the year across the Caribbean.
Here are the best rums of 2019.
Rum of the Year 2019: Goslings Papa Seal Bermuda Rum Every year, it gets more difficult to choose our favorite molasses-based rum of the year. But this year, we came full circle, returning to the brand that first took home the crown in the inaugural Rum Awards back in 2012: Bermuda’s Goslings. The company’s newest ultra-premium expression is exquisite, a luxurious, hand-bottled expression that is the best rum Gosling’s has ever made. A mix of pot and column-still rums brought to the Atlantic region and aged in Bermuda for more than 15 years in ex-bourbon barrels, it’s simply a world-class rum, and a new triumph for one of the hemisphere’s most venerable rum brands.
Double Gold: Ron Barcelo Imperial 30 Aniversario (Dominican Republic)
Gold: Zafra 30-Year Rum (Panama)
Silver: Samaroli Caribbean
Bronze: Chairman’s Reserve 1931 (Saint Lucia)
Rhum Agricole of the Year 2019: Rhum Neisson Vintage 2003 Cuvee Sacha, Martinique For lovers of Rhum Agricole, Martinique’s Rhum Neisson holds a special place in their hearts. The boutique distillery on the shores of Le Carbet has long produced some of the most artisanal, rarefied, complex and out-of-this-world agricole expressions, and continues to set the standard for agricole in general, both its white and aged expressions. Indeed, it was even the first rum company to produce certified organic rum. And master distiller Gregory Vernant’s newest cuvee, the Sacha, named after his son, is a masterwork, a 2003 vintage that’s a full-proof, single-cask stunner.
Best New Rum of 2019: Admiral Rodney Royal Oak, Saint Lucia We’ve long adored Saint Lucia Distillers, the iconic distillery in Roseau, Saint Lucia, which continues to produce some of the Caribbean’s most interesting and creative molasses rums. This year, though, they raised the bar with a trio of new rums under the Admiral Rodney brand. Our favorite? The “middle” rum, the Admiral Rodney Royal Oak, a blend of twin-column Coffey-still rums from seven to 12 years aged in ex-bourbon barrels. In a word, it’s a marvel, and it almost redefines what’s possible from a column still rum. It’s velvety, it’s luscious and it’s almost unimaginably balanced.
Best New Rhum Agricole of 2019: La Favorite Privilege pour Lulu, Martinique Set on the outskirts of Fort-de-France, there’s just something magical about the raw, visceral La Favorite distillery. And La Favorite continues to put out magnificent expressions, from cane-specific whites to an increasingly impressive range of rare and small-batch bottlings. Lately, the brand has been putting out releases to honor specific figures in its history, and the “Lulu” celebvrates Lucienne Dormoy, the mother of the owners of the distilery, with a spectacular blend of rums aged between 10 and 20 years in oak barrels.
Best White Rhum Agricole of 2019: Rhum Bologne La Coulisse, Guadeloupe There trend of so-called “parcellaire” rums, or rums made from cane grown on a specific parcel of the plantation, continues to grow. And now a trend that began in Martinique has expanded to Guadeloupe and arguably the island’s signature white rum: Bologne. Their newest expression, Bologne La Coulisse, is a breathtaking, bold but refined white rum made from black cane grown on one of the oldest areas of the Bologne plantation — bottled at 60 degrees.
Best Spiced Rum of 2019: Clifton Estate Rum, Nevis Spiced rum is an increasingly competitive market, as consumers continue to demand authentic, naturally-flavored rums that are more than just ingredients in a run-of-the-mill cocktail. Enter Clifton Estate, the first true rum brand from Nevis that has quickly become a full-fledged Caribbean favorite. The handmade, small-batch rum gets its flavors exclusively from natural ingredients added to a two-year-old aged rum that adds up to a truly elegant experience. It’s a taste of Nevis, and a new standard for spiced rum in the Caribbean.
Best Gold Rum of 2019: There remains some confusion about just what a “gold” rum is, but the market has decided that. For years, a gold rum is a lightly aged rum, one that is neither an unaged, nor a particularly aged rum, somewhere in the middle, the molasses equivalent of a VO or ambre rum, sippable but also at home in a cocktail. While the market has been dominated by gold expressions from powers like Puerto Rico’s Don Q and Bacardi, the upstart Island Company Rum is the new leader. It’s an eminently drinkable, wonderfully mixable rum from Trinidad that’s smooth, clean and most at home while enjoyed on the deck of a boat somewhere.
Best Overproof Rum of 2019: Rum Fire, Jamaica Jamaica’s Hampden Distillery, which is in the midst of a renaissance, is putting out some rather interesting expressions, most notably its namesake Hampden aged rums (which continue to be very popular among collectors, particularly since partnering with the legendary Luca Gargano and Velier ). But when Hampden first launched its own rum brands in the local market in 2011, it did so with the brilliant Rum Fire, a high-ester overproof rum bottled at 63 degrees. If you’re looking for a brash, unapologetic, adventurous overproof rum, this is the one for you.
Rum Company of the Year: Rhum A1710, Martinique Yves Assier began with a small plantation and a dream, but in just a few short years Martinique’s Rhum A1710 has become one of the most beloved small-production rums on earth. With an artisanal operation where the rum is still cut by hand and a hybrid column still, A1710 is putting out some of the most interesting expressions in the world of rhum agricole, with an almost endless array of limited-release bottlings (and even an organic rum). On an island where rum is king, A1710’s success in a short time is a remarkable thing — one that will only get more exciting with the release of its first-ever aged rum, the Cheval Bondieu, released earlier this month.
Best Bottle Design of 2019: Longueteau Genesis Black, Guadeloupe Guadeloupe’s Rhum Longueteau has been churning out new releases at a breakneck pace in recent years, but their most interesting is also their most beautiful. The Genesis series, a 5000-bottle release of ultra-high-proof blanc and amber rums, comes in a gorgeous rectangular bottle, and the Black edition is stunning, with a pink design that’s as striking a rum bottle as we’ve seen in years.
Rum Bar of the Year: The Rhum Room, St Barth Simply put, there’s no rum bar like this anywhere on earth, much less the Caribbean. Proprietor Christopher Davis’ speakeasy-style bar hidden away in downtown Gustavia, St Barth has the most impressive collection of fine rum of any bar in the hemisphere, and a world-leading portfolio of rhum agricole. Stewarded by an expert team of bartenders from the Quarter Kitchen & Cocktail Lab, it’s the undisputed rum bar leader, and second place isn’t really close — it’s a global destination rum bar. Period.