Often shrouded in mystery and tall tales, terms like “dunder” and “muck” are catnip to rum enthusiasts who crave the magnificent, high ester, funky rums from Jamaica and elsewhere.
Continue reading “High Ester Rum Production with Vivian Wisdom”Tag: jamaican rum
Geographic Indication Fast Facts
In the spirits world, Geographical Indications, or GI for those who are conserving syllables, have recently been in the forefront of many nerdy conversations. This is especially true in the rum community. I’ve written extensively about certain rum-related GIs and have noticed that there’s a lot of confusion about what a GI is—and what it is not—as well as what it accomplishes.
Continue reading “Geographic Indication Fast Facts”Unraveling Plummer and Wedderburn Rums
Among Jamaican rum aficionados, two names hold almost mythical allure: Plummer and Wedderburn. They’re known as old, obsolete Jamaican rum marques from a glorious time when all Jamaican rums were chock-full of funky flavors and hogo.
The main reason most aficionados know these names today is thanks to Smith & Cross, the gateway Jamaican rum for many people. Its dark blue label proudly declares, “PURE POT STILL – PLUMMER & WEDDERBURN.”
Similarly, Bristol Classic Rum and Velier have issued rums labeled as VRW – Vale Royale Wedderburn. Undoubtedly, the Wedderburn name is still out there in common use.
But what exactly do “Plummer” and “Wedderburn” mean?
Continue reading “Unraveling Plummer and Wedderburn Rums”The Unabridged Jamaican Rum Geographical Indication – aka Jamaica’s rum rules
In an ongoing effort to disprove the good-intentioned but flawed “Rum has no rules” sentiment, a number of rum experts have repeatedly and forcefully worked to shoot it down. Specifically, by highlighting actual legal documents defining exactly what the “standard of identity” is for various rum producing countries.
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Plantation Honors Legendary Rum Collector, Recreates Historic Jamaican Rum, Announces Rum Research Facility
While Plantation’s 2017 West Indies Rum Distillery purchase has received the lion’s share of recent press about the brand, the deal also granted them one-third ownership in the Jamaican Long Pond and Monymusk distilleries. Plantation has been strongly emphasizing the Jamaican lately: The high profile Xaymaca blends distillates from both distilleries, while the latest Extreme Series (No. 3) comprises two very long aged Long Pond marques. At a private dinner during Tales of the Cocktail 2018 in New Orleans, Alexandre Gabriel unveiled yet another exotic Jamaican release – a limited edition rum, for a good cause, as well as some very surprising news for rum collectors.
Jamaica’s Long Pond Rum Distillery Damaged by Fire
According to the Jamaica Observer, Jamaica’s Long Pond rum distillery has been severely hobbled by a fire. The historic distillery, known for its classic pot stilled Jamaican rums adjoins a sugar cane factory and cane fields. Reports are that a fire in the cane field spread to bagasse (dried cane plant mass) and eventually to buildings holding tanks of rum and the fermentation area. Luckily, no one was hurt.
UPDATE: 7/25/2018 – See end of story for updated information from Ferrand. What immediately follows here is the original story.
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