Continuing my episodic pillaging of the TTB site for new releases, the list at the end of this post contains my curated picks for new rums which should be appearing on U.S. shelves and in your local watering holes later in 2016. I’ve previously written about searching the TTB site for recent label approvals; if you’re not familiar with the TTB and/or the label approval process, that post is a good place to start before diving in here.

To construct the list below, I query the TTB database, constraining the results to the past two months. I then exercise editorial prerogative to cherry-pick label approvals likely most interesting (in my opinion) to the rum community. The original list I harvested from the TTB for May and June was huge – almost two hundred approvals– and I’ve made sweeping cuts to bring the list down to the fifty or so here. Unfortunately, this meant eliminating all but one domestically produced rum. Not that there aren’t some good ones made here in the good old U. S. of A.,  but finding the worthwhile rums can be a needle in the haystack situation. Also, smaller distilleries may put out lots of rum, but they often have limited distribution. If you’re after domestically produced rums, it’s easy enough to construct a search on the TTB site, as I demonstrated in the aforementioned post. I also eliminated a few imported rums of dubious heritage and interest – typically silver or gold rums at 40 percent ABV from no-name brands, with no source given other than “West Indies” and without meaningful age statements.

Before getting to the highlights of the new rums, here are the standard disclaimers for my TTB lists:

Reader beware:  There’s no clear way to determine from a TTB label approval if it’s a new product or simply a small change to an existing product’s label. In some cases, producers submit labels for products that may not ever make it to the shelves for various reasons. In other cases, a release is very limited in nature, maybe only a few hundred bottles, and destined for a particular store or bar.

I make a best effort to filter out existing products with minor label changes, but I may miss a rum that’s already available. Please let me know if an offering on the list below is already on the shelves. Also, there is often a significant length of time between label approval and bottles appearing for sale. In short, just because you see it on the list below, it’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to purchase it.

New Rum Highlights

Plantation, the French producer, makes a splash on the vintage rum front with releases from Jamaica, Reunion Island, Belize, Guyana, Barbados, Panama, and Haiti. As usual, they’ve each spent the majority of their time aging in their source countries before being shipped to France for more aging in Cognac (and possibly other) casks. Of particular note is the Guyana (1999, fifteen years in bourbon, two years in “Ferrand” casks), that comes in at 56.3 percent, quite a bit higher in proof than most Plantation vintage releases.

Tiki fans will rejoice over a new addition to the Hamilton “Ministry of Rum” line: A 114 proof blend of Jamaican and demerara rum from Guyana, unsurprisingly dubbed “Navy Strength.”  Will it be the house rum of Seattle’s forthcoming Navy Strength bar? One can only hope! Also new from Hamilton, although not included in the list below, is a Pimento Dram liqueur that will go head to head with St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram.

El Dorado jumps into the ultra-premium market with a limited edition (600 bottles) Grand Special Reserve, celebrating fifty years of Guyanese independence. Although “50 years” appears prominently on the bottle, not all of the bottle’s contents is fifty years old. Rather, it’s a blend of rums between 33 and 50 years old, per El Dorado’s statements. Chip over at the Rum Howler Blog has reviewed it already. At over $3,000 U.S., this one may not appear on my shelves any time soon, unless Mrs. Wonk and I start buying Powerball tickets.

Fans of Dos Maderas rum should pay attention to the new Hard Water brand. Dos Maderas is a blend of Barbados and Guyana rums aged for five years in the Caribbean before travelling to Spain for additional aging in sherry casks, giving them a strongly sherried flavor. The two mainstream Dos Maderas expressions are known as “5+3” and “5+5.” When this month’s TTB search picked up two rums branded “Hard Water,” I was immediately intrigued as these two rums are also named “5+3” and “5+5,” and originate from Spain. This seems like too much of a coincidence. Unfortunately, the Hard Water label doesn’t provide any additional back story like the Dos Maderas labels do. I did learn that the importer of the high-end Dos Maderas Luxus expression is the same importer as Hard Water. This may well be a brand renaming in progress. Inquiring minds want to know!

More news on the independent bottler front comes from Scotland’s Duncan Taylor, Italy’s Samaroli, and a new brand, dubbed “The Exclusive Rums,” bottled by the U.K.’s Creative Whisky Company:

• The new Duncan Taylors are all cask strength and include a 2000 Jamaican Long Pond (must acquire!), a 1997 Caroni from Trinidad, and a Panama 1995 from the Don Jose distillery, which is also home to the Ron Abuelo line.
• The new Samarolis are lower in proof (mostly 45 percent), and hail from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, and Guadeloupe, with two expressions from Guyana. The back label on a few indicates only a few dozen bottles were made, so track them down sooner rather than later if any pique your interest.
• The Exclusive Rums’ starting lineup includes a 17-year Nicaraguan and two Caronis from Trinidad, all at cask strength. The Nicaraguan label doesn’t explicitly mention Chichigalpa, Compañía Licorera de Nicaragua, or Flor de Caña, but there’s no doubt that it’s from the same source. As for the two Caroni expressions, they join a veritable flood of similarly aged Caronis from other independent bottlers. Who’s buying all this Caroni? Asking for a friend.

Another country with no shortage of expressions from various bottlers is Panama. Every day, yet another Panamanian rum seems to pop up, despite only three high volume distilleries operating there. The new Panama Rum line has four expressions, aged eight, twelve, fifteen and twenty-one years. No clear indicator of exactly which distillery it is, but I’d slightly favor Varela Hermanos as the source.

Gunroom, a Swedish company that only recently debuted its Navy rum (a 130 proof blend from five sources), has branched out with a second expression. The Gunroom “4 Ports” is a slightly stripped down blend of rums from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, and Guyana, at a less throat-searing 80 proof. Like the Navy rum, the 4 Ports is very likely a blend from Amsterdam’s E&A Scheer, a fascinating operation I wrote about recently.

On the domestic front, the newly formed Rational Spirits/Lost Spirits merger has a follow on to their initial Santeria rum. The new rum, named “Cuban Inspired,” has the same moniker as Lost Spirits Cuban Inspired rum from a few years back but looks to be much different. For starters, it uses a much newer iteration of the Lost Spirits aging technology. Although the label approval says 46 percent ABV, Bryan has indicated that it may arrive in several different proofs.

And last, but certainly not least, there’s one very interesting new rum release headed our way that is specifically not included in the list below. A surprise announcement is planned and I don’t want to spoil anything–but you’ll know when you see it!

The list below includes a lot more interesting releases, including some cachaças. Do check out their TTB labels and let me know if you find anything else worth talking about!

To see more information about a particular bottle in the table below, simply click on the “Link=” in the appropriate row. The label imagery is always at the bottom of the page that comes up. Enjoy!

Brand Name	Fanciful Name	Origin	Notes	TTB ID
The Exclusive Rums	Nicaraguan	Nicaragua	17 year, ex-bourbon, 57.4%	Link=16153001000486
The Exclusive Rums	Caroni	Trinidad	19 year, 58.1%	Link=16153001000479
The Exclusive Rums	Caroni	Trinidad	17 year, 54.9%	Link=16153001000476
Augusta	Descansada	Brazil	Cachaça	Link=16092001000460
Duncan Taylor	Long Pond Rum 2000 Cask #76	Jamaica	13 year, 54.8%	Link=16153001000424
Duncan Taylor	Caroni Rum 1997 Cask #87	Trinidad	16 year, 55.1%	Link=16152001000647
Duncan Taylor	Don Jose Rum 1995	Panama	1995, 17 year, 54.4%	Link=16152001000637
AD Rattray	Caroni 18 Year	Trinidad	18 year, 55% (2 different casks)	Link=16118001000735
Don Reyes	Blanco	Dominican Republic		Link=16169001000089
Don Reyes	Anejo	Dominican Republic		Link=16140001000391
Plantation	Grand Terroir	Jamaica	2002, 42%	Link=16153001000156
Plantation	Reunion	France	13 year ex-bourbon, 2 year Port ruby finish, 46%	Link=16152001000441
Plantation	Single Cask Belize XO	Belize	6 year ex-bourbon, 2 year Ferrand, 43.1%	Link=16140001000033
Plantation	Single Cask Guyana	Guyana	15 year ex-bourbon, 2 year Ferrand, 56.3%	Link=16140001000032
Plantation	Single Cask Barbados 12 Year	Barbados	8 year bourbon, 4 year Ferrand, 44.1%	Link=16140001000031
Plantation	Single Cask Panama 8 Year	Panama	6 year bourbon, 2 year Ferrand, 44%	Link=16140001000029
Plantation	Single Cask Haiti XO	Haiti	8 year bourbon, 3 year Ferrand, 41%	Link=16139001000417
El Pasador de Oro	XO	Guatemala		Link=16120001000474
Rational Spirits	Cuban Inspired	South Carolina	46%, Lost Spirits aged	Link=16111001000437
El Dorado	Grand Special Reserve	Guyana	Blend of rums between 33 and 50 years, 43%	Link=16106001000406
Endless Summer	Endless Summer	Barbados	Silver rum, 40%	Link=16146001000505
Gunroom	4 Ports	Barbados	Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, 40%	Link=16139001000295
Dictador	Best of 1986	Columbia	29 years, 43%	Link=16049001000062
Voom	Blanc	Barbados	Silver aged rum	Link=16015001000436
Macroix	Ocho – 8 – Eight	Dominican Republic	40%	Link=16131001000347
Hamilton	Navy Strength	West Indies	Jamaica, Guyana, 57%	Link=16146001000408
Strong Water	5+3	Spain	40%	Link=16127001000435
Strong Water	5+5	Spain	40%	Link=16127001000434
Saint Aubin	Gold	Mauritius	column still, 2 years, 40%	Link=16098001000627
Saint Aubin	White	Mauritius	Column still, 50%	Link=16098001000624
Saint Aubin	Black	Mauritius	Column still, 3 years, 40%	Link=16098001000633
Sol Tarasco	Charanda Extra Aged	Mexico	40%	Link=16137001000225
Sol Tarasco	Charanda Silver	Mexico	40%	Link=16137001000217
El Tarasco	Charanda Extra Aged	Mexico	40%	Link=16137001000189
El Tarasco	Charanda Gran Reserva	Mexico	40%	Link=16137001000173
Uruapan	Charanda Silver	Mexico	40%	Link=16138001000131
Panama Rum	21 Year Grand Reserve	Panama	21 years, 40%	Link=16132001000673
Panama Rum	15 Year Special Reserve	Panama	15 years, 40%	Link=16133001000016
Panama Rum	8 Year	Panama	8 years, 40%	Link=16133001000014
Panama Rum	12 Year Special Reserve	Panama	12 years, 40%	Link=16133001000013
Ibituruna	Cachaca Carta Prata	Brazil		Link=16137001000193
Ibituruna	Cachaca Carta Ouro	Brazil		Link=16137001000185
Samaroli	1992 Jamaica Rum	Jamaica	Distilled 1992, bottled 2016, 54%	Link=16138001000059
Samaroli	2002 Demerara Rum	Guyana	Distilled 2002, bottled 2016, 45%	Link=16138001000029
Samaroli	1999 Trinidad Rum	Trinidad	Distilled 1999, bottled 2016, 45%	Link=16138001000023
Samaroli	2000 Barbados Rum	Barbados	Distilled 2000, bottled 2016, 45%	Link=16138001000019
Samaroli	1998 Guadeloupe Rum	Guadeloupe	Distilled 1998, bottled 2016, 45%	Link=16138001000017
Samaroli	1990 Demerara Rum	Guyana	Distilled 1990, bottled 2016, 45%	Link=16138001000049
Cache	Mamajuana	Dominican Republic	40%	Link=16117001000180