Rum Journal

Rum Journal: A New Classic from Martinique’s Rhum JM

 By Alexander Britell It was the first rhum agricole I had ever tried. And, instantly, rum was never the same. I was at a dinner at the Royal Riviera hotel in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat in 2006, when the waiter …

Rum Journal: The New Depaz VSOP

 By Alexander Britell Ever since I first tried the old Rhum Depaz VSOP, the one that came in the dark wine-style bottle, I was hooked. It was a great value rhum agricole, eminently drinkable but with serious complexity. It was …

Rum Journal: Martinique’s La Favorite Reserve du Chateau 2002

 By Alexander Britell There is a particular passion in the production of rhum agricole in Martinique. There is a thought, a contemplation, a level of sophistication that seems to transcend what you find in much of the rest of the …

LATEST NEWS

 It’s on the water. There’s sand. It must be a beach. While Roseau’s most popular beach bar isn’t actually on the beach, you might think so after a rum punch or two. This is the Hi-Rise Beach Bar, a lively …

 Another limited edition, another hit. The Hemingway Rum Company’s Papa’s Pilar Rum has debuted another limited-edition expression: Platinum Blonde. It’s remarkable to think about how far the company has come since it first launched in 2013 with its blonde and …

 It’s the first thing you see — the thing your eyes are drawn to — when you walk to the start of the ferry dock on Harbour Island in The Bahamas, a warm white-and-blue sign that says “Harbour Bar.” But …

 It’s hard to say precisely when cask finishing began in the rum world. Sure, over the years there were rums like Dos Maderas, which took Caribbean rum and then aged it for years in sherry casks. Then there was HSE, …

 While English Harbour Rum has become the signature cane spirit from the island of Antigua, you may not know that the founders of Antigua Distillery Limited actually hailed from the Portuguese island of Madeira off the coast of Africa. And …

st barth caribbean places

 By Alexander Britell As you sit inside the bar, you start by watching. Watching like the way you look at a monument or a sweeping valley – it is stationary but a thing that demands your attention, dynamic without moving. …

 Every island has a different taste. Sure, there are diverse rum offerings on every island (some more than others, for sure). But the more you travel the Caribbean through a glass of rum, the more each island’s peculiar taste profile …

 One of the most best (and most creative) rum shops in the Caribbean has just launched a terrific new experience: the chance to bottle your own rum. The L&L Rumshop on the island of Nevis, which is also home to …

 By Alexander Britell You’re in a far-off bar somewhere. Or even a bar in a major city in America. You order rum. What do you hear? “Well, we have Captain Morgan, we have Bacardi…” And that’s usually it. While the …

 By Alexander Britell There is no crowd here, just a few curious travelers, less than a handful of staff. The buildings wear the fraying wardrobe of time. But in the empty silence of an off day at River Antoine, the …

 By Alexander Britell There is an entry point for every rum aficionado. Seldom does a rum lover begin his or her journey in the world of rum with a rare agricole, or a limited-batch hidden-cask expression. There are rums like …

 Where does a rum begin? Is it in the yeast? Is it in the still? In the case of a rhum agricole, is it in the cane itself? But it’s just as important — if not more important — where …

rum awards

 It began in 2012 with an idea: to lift up rum. The aim was to celebrate the glory of rum, to honor the greatest rums just as wines and spirits and so many other categories are honored. Rum Journal’s Rum …

 By Alexander Britell Can a rum have a terroir? In Martinique, unlike the vast majority of rum-making regions around the world, rhum is made from the juice pressed from sugarcane stalks, not molasses, the latter of which is a by-product. …

 It’s the late afternoon in Grenada, and just about any rum would work well while bobbing in the sparkling waters of Grand Anse Beach, but this one is special. This is Westerhall 10XO, perhaps the best rum from Grenada (competing …

 

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