Chairmans Reserve Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

The pot still rum in the blend is notable here, offering a punchy but not overwhelming hogo note on the nose, alongside notes of baking spice, burnt caramel, and some fresh-poured asphalt. That grittiness translates well to the palate, which comes across as a bit more austere and serious than the typical bottling, but which finds beautiful complements in the form of tropical pineapple and dark chocolate notes, both of which grow more intense as the rum develops in the glass. A lightly smoky character emerges with further time to coalesce, though it finishes with a note of banana and a pinch of spice. So began work and a Pot Still was commissioned – the distillery now has three. Around the same time the sugar cane fields, which had lain dormant since 1962, were re-planted so the distillery could use estate sugar cane again.

For this tasting, I lined up these three versions of my Chairman's Reserve in Glencairn glasses neat, all being 3% ABV apart from the next. This one is at 46% ABV, the Legacy is at 43% ABV, and the Forgotten Cask is at 40% ABV. As one would guess with decreasing ABV% the tastings got smoother with each decrease by 3%. Not fair, so then it became, "Here comes the water!" A few drops in each changed everything. The 1931 greatly improved but still had a strong after burn, and the Legacy dropped down to almost the ranking of my Forgotten Cask due to a bitter after taste. I still could not rank the 1931 higher than my top 3 rums, which all happen to be from Dictador.Finally, there’s spiced rum, which – as the name suggests – is made by adding various spices to a golden rum base. How should you drink rum?

Chairman’s Reserve Limited Edition 1931 is a tribute to the rum philosophy and craft established by our founder, Denis Barnard, when he established his distillery in 1931, which has become today one of Saint Lucia’s most cherished treasures, St. Lucia Distillers. Please use as detailed of explanations as possible in your submission to ensure judges full comprehension of your vision On the nose it is sweet and slightly floral with notes of pine cone and sweet soft toffee. This moves into wafts of vanilla, just a touch of hazelnut and some oak spice. It’s not a big hefty nose but it’s got a really nice balance to it. It’s approachable and there is nothing which is off putting. Nice notes of toasted pineapple and a bit of passion fruit also come to the fore. The presentation with the beautiful decanter style bottle and the colour scheme are very classy and everything points to a quality product. On the nose my initial thought were that it somehow reminded me of the funky smell of Appleton rums, which is not a bad thing. In the glass the colour of the liquid is of a beautiful dark gold. Over the years I have come to appreciated elevated ABV and the 46% ABV of this blend adds to the complexity of this rum and longs the finish. Very very smooth rum with absolutely no burn.

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The rum is quite a dark not navy or demerara rum dark but definitely darker than say a Mount Gay or Bacardi Gold. The extra ageing is noticeable. The front label has a painting of Laurie Barnard and the rear label lets us know this is a blend of rums created in his honour. If we are to export our rum we need to be different; to have the tools to make great rum the old way. A column still and molasses is one dimensional” On the sip, it is reminiscent of Chairman’s Reserve Original but it has an extra layer of refinement and complexity. The entry has a spicy, slightly grassy/floral note which again reminds me of pine cones and a touch of pot pourri. The vanilla comes through afterward taking you through to a mid palate which has a note of spearmint. It’s very fresh with a spicy hit of oak and some tobacco notes. The fruity notes come more in the way of coconut and some banana. Baking spices and notes of sweet shortcrust pastry. A group of finalists will be selected from each country to move on to Phase Two and will be notified on June 7, 2023. Shortly following this notification, they will receive a Chairman’s Reserve Spice kit which will include one bottle of Chairman’s Reserve Original Rum to use as their spiced rum base and one empty Chairman’s Reserve bottle to fill with their original recipe to return for judging. This round will conclude on July 31, 2023, giving you nearly two months to perfect your unique spiced rum. This portion of the competition will be comprised of two parts. The first part will be the creation of your original spiced rum. This part is worth 60% of the total score for phase two.

Just as with whisky, the flavour can vary considerably, based on a wide range of factors – from the raw ingredients used to local methods of production and ageing. In Jamaica, for instance, pot stills typically produce golden and darker rums, while in Cuba columns are usually used to create a lighter spirit. How much can I spend on a bottle of rum? MATURATION:Five and six year old rum is tropically aged separately by batch and still type in ex-bourbon barrels before being expertly blended. MATURATION: Aged separately by batch and type of still in ex-Bourbon barrels, then blended and rested in oak vats for an additional six months. Average age of the blend is 5 years. These are just suggestions, but we encourage you to, above all, be creative and show us how you would promote your own original spiced rum! Clearly, I’m quite sentimental about this rum but that is not without good cause. It’s the first rum I tasted where I thought “wow”. It’s an excellent rum. It’s sweet and fruity but has a bit of smokiness to it as well. For a 5 year old rum its quite complex. It can be sipped and it isn’t rough or harsh. There is a bit of an alcohol burn but even that is quite smoky and pleasant. To me this is what rum should be. To complain it isn’t smooth (many peoples definition of smooth is rum that has been heavily sugared). This is real rum done properly. It has the ACR (and whilst that doesn’t always mean its unadulterated – this definitely has no additives)The first phase of the competition will entail the submission of your spiced rum concept via this form. You must include your vision, inspiration, intended spice blend, ideal serve, and explain how and why you would want to promote this product in the beverage community.