Whether you are a long-time fan of rum or spend your time in bourbon circles; chances are you have heard some rumblings about Privateer Distillery. The small, independent distillery located in Ipswich, Massachusetts is shining a light on New England’s (not so) proud history of rum production for what was the original spirit of choice in America.
This distillery has seen a wash of press over the last couple of years in publications such as Forbes, Imbibe, Whisky Advocate, and even had a live tasting done by none other than Fred Minnick. One of the individuals who are arguably responsible for the popularity of bourbon today.
Colonial America had as many as 200 distilleries at one point and all of which had a focus on rum production which was a major source of revenue for the East Coast. Molasses importation was mostly unregulated and saw little oversight.
That was until Americans began to purchase French molasses as oppose to molasses from British colonies due to the cheaper tax rates. This would eventually give rise to the Molasses Act of 1733. A tax act that would increase fees on molasses coming into the continental colonies made French and Spanish producers. The idea was to force Colonial America into buying molasses from the British or watch the New England Rum Industry crumble.
This would eventually be one of the driving factors of the Revolutionary War.
More on all of this another time.
Today I am going to take a look at one of their selections that is part of the Distiller’s Drawer series. A cheeky term that Privateer summarizes on their site as:
“When our founder, Andrew Cabot, traveled through the Caribbean to ponder rum’s future, he met a distiller that had a secret bottle tucked away in their desk drawer. It was the distiller’s proudest achievement, a special treasure pulled straight from the cask that was unsweetened, unfiltered, and unadulterated. Andrew tasted this exquisite rum and asked himself: Why would someone blend, filter, and sweeten away this unique treasure? Why can’t anyone outside a distillery taste rum like this?”
The bottle in question is Distiller’s Drawer #80. Aged exclusively in ex-rum casks (if I recall correctly, Master Distiller Maggie Campbell claimed that the casks were their rum casks). It is bottled at 50% abv and while there is no age statement on the bottle; I assume the rum inside to be around four years of age.
APPEARANCE
This packaging has to be some of my favorite to date. The texturized cream-colored label with tattered edging and the black embossed script gives you the feeling that you are holding something lost from another time.
The rum inside has a far richer color than you might expect for a spirit aged continentally in used casks. It makes me wonder if the barrels went through any additional re-charring before the new make went into the wood.
EDIT: Master Distiller Maggie Campbell got in touch with me and gave some addition information on this topic.
“The used rum cask were received by us new as 53 gallon number three char casks. They were filled with Rum for about 2 1/2 years for more youthful expression and then refilled by us. This is why you can see so much color- it is because the casks were used very briefly as opposed to older casks common to Rum that are often 5,7, or even 10 years old when they receive them and then used and reused.”
AROMA
When the nose is put to glass there is a quick pinch of alcohol followed swiftly the aroma of buttery toasted oak. The soft warmth of oak is broken up by a lovely chili spice that brightens the initial fatty aroma. That cut allows a beautifully sweet and floral note of mango to come through with custard, vanilla bean husk, and bananas foster.
PALATE
Toasted oak is the star on the palate as well. Not quite as developed as the nose, as there is a touch of Sulphur. Nothing off-putting, but it is there. Next, there is baked fruit salad, balsamic macerated strawberry, and kiwi.
BODY
Lactones still at work allowing medium-light buttery mouthfeel.
FINISH
The chili that was on the nose finds its way to the finish line. There is a subdues caramel that has been noticeably absent until this point. That richness rounds out the fruit just enough to keep everything from getting acidic. Finally, there is a touch a sea salt Hershey Kisses.
OVERALL
This is a wonderful, wonderful rum. It has all of the hallmarks of a well-crafted Barbados rum without trying to come off as a copycat. It is everything I have been looking for in rums from Louisiana. Even though this is an American rum, I actually could see this appealing greatly to the scotch crowd that is quickly any semblance of affordability. Especially if you enjoy something along the lines of Old Pulteney, Clynelish, or Oban. For $40 retail in the Chicago area, this is quite a steal.
