Going Dutch (Rum-Crazy) – Denizen Merchant’s Reserve, Zuidam Flying Dutchman, and Tres Hombres Republica Dominicana

I started this past week with no Dutch rum in my collection and ended it proudly possessing three very different bottles from the Netherlands, each with a great story to tell. Wait – rum from the Netherlands you may be thinking? It’s not a big stretch to associate the Dutch with rum given that they had a long history of colonization in the Caribbean during the 1600s right alongside the English.

When Mrs. Wonk told me she was headed to Germany and Amsterdam for a work trip I immediately started researching what sort of goodies she could bring back that I can’t easily get here in the United States. I got some great advice from the fellow members of the Ministry of Rum Facebook page and assembled a “Things to look for” guide for her. After getting a pointer from the bartender at Door 74 in Amsterdam, she went to Le Cellier in Amsterdam where she was able to reach me by phone – She read bottle labels to me while I rapidly researched what she was finding. Among the finds were two unique rums.

First up is the Zuidam Flying Dutchman Dark Rum No. 3. Zuidam is an artisanal distillery in the Netherlands that produces a prodigious number of different spirits, including genever, whiskey, rum, and liqueurs. Seriously, check out their product line on the website – They make every other distillery look like slackers. There are two Flying Dutchman rums – No. 1 is a white rum while No. 3 has been aged for a minimum of 3 years. I can’t rave enough about the Flying Dutchman. The bottle is absolutely stunning – I can’t stop picking it up and admiring it. As for the rum, it’s tripled distilled, then aged for a minimum of three year in (quoting the label): “Olorosso Sherry, PX casks, and new American oak.” An interesting choice to go with New American Oak. The taste is sublime – It reminds me strongly of cognac. Not overly sweet, this is a fantastic sipper for rum wonks who are past their Zaya phase. At about 25 Euros, this rum is a total steal. Buy as much as you can when you see it.

Next is the Tres Hombres XV Anos, Republica Dominicana ed 05 2013. The Tres Hombres story is that of three men who make yearly visits to the Caribbean on their boat, seek out interesting rums, and then bring the rum back to the Netherlands on a long sea voyage. The ship is an old German wooden fishing ship that the three Tres Hombres converted into a square-rigged sailing cargo vessel with no engine. Without and engine the journey of the rum from the Dominican Republic to the Netherlands took five months. Part of the claim is that the months at sea, with the rum sloshing around in the barrels, adds to its character. I’m still trying to figure out if what happens to the rum once it reaches the Netherlands – Is it simply bottled or does more happen?

Each year Tres Hombres puts out a different rum. For my bottle, edition 5, the rum originated in the Dominican Republic from Oliver and Oliver Internancional, a distillery who’s products aren’t readily available directly in the US. However, Oliver and Oliver also sell rum to other companies that rum wonks have likely heard of including Atlantico and Vizcaya. The rum has been aged for 15 year using the solera method. While not quite as sweet as Vizcaya or Ron Zacapa, the XV Anos has a dark, mellow character that reminds me of them. At 65 Euros the XV Anos a bit expensive but still a fairly good value given the character of the rum and the story behind it. If you’re a rum collector and you see this bottle, grab it.

My final Dutch rum arrived via FedEx rather than thanks to Mrs. CocktailWonk. Denizen is a an American brand made by a Dutch rum blender. Up till now, Denizen has been known for their white rum, a blend of rums from Jamaica and Trinidad, both well-known rum origination points. More recently, Denizen has released their “Merchant’s Reserve” rum, which has caused quite a stir among tiki-aficionados. The Merchant’s reserve is a mixture of Jamaican and Martinique rums, aged for eight years.  The Jamaican portion is a blend of Plummer pot stilled rum from “Worthy Park, Hampden, New Yarmouth, and Clarendon”. This may mean nothing to most folks, but as someone who worships at the altar of Jamaican Funk and Smith & Cross rum, I couldn’t be happier to read those words. The martinique rum component is unusual in that it’s not an agricole style, which is usually what people think of when they think of Martinique rums.

The reason Denizen Merchant’s Reserve has attracted tiki-wonk attention is that beyond just the funk, it’s said that the Jamaican and Martinique rum blend was picked to replicate the holy grail of Tiki rums, Wray & Nephew 17, which the Trader Vic’s 1944 Mai Tai calls for and which hasn’t been available for decades. Once my Merchant’s Reserve arrived I immediately set out to create the 1944 Mai Tai as faithfully as I could.

Update: The above paragraph is wrong, but leaving it here for historical sake. For a much more accurate overview of the Merchant’s Reserve, see this post.

CocktailWonk’s Pretty Darn Close 1944 Mai Tai

1 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
1 oz Clement VSOP Agricole
0.5 oz Clement Creole Shrubb
0.5 oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
1 oz Lime juice

From what I’ve read, the Jamaican funk esters don’t stand up terribly well to long aging – Smith & Cross is a fairly young rum. The Merchant’s Reserve at 8 years has definite funkiness similarities to the Smith & Cross but it’s more subtle. On the other hand, with the additional aging the Denizen is smoother. I can happily sip or mix this rum. It’s not what I’d serve to somebody as their introduction to rum and it’s not particularly sweet, but if you enjoy the many different incarnations of rum, or if Tiki authenticity is important to you (and it should be) grab a bottle or two of the Denizen Merchant’s Reserve. It’s starting to roll out in the US, and at $30 it’s a solid addition to your rum collection. The blog “A Mountain of Crushed Ice” has a nice review with even more background on it.