Review: Brinley Gold Lime Rum
Brinley Gold Lime rum is one of six flavored rums made in St Kitts, the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere, by the Brinley family. They have been crafting rum since 2002. The rum is column distilled and aged for four years in oak bourbon barrels. It is then infused with natural Tahitian lime juice before being bottled at 72 proof. While I still find Brinley Gold Lime rum on the occasional liquor store shelf, it no longer appears on the Brinley web site, so availability is limited. Read more 
Review: Appleton White Rum
Appleton White rum is made with molasses from sugar cane grown on the Appleton Estate in Jamaica, a unique stain of yeast, and soft spring water filtered by the limestone hills of the Cockpit Country. Rum has been made at this site since 1749. After fermentation the rum is small batch distilled in a copper pot still and a column still. It is blended and aged two years in oak barrels previously used to age Jack Daniels Whiskey, and then filtered through special charcoal filters. Read more
Review: Cruzan Blueberry Lemonade Rum
Cruzan Blueberry Lemonade rum is set for release in April. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle a little early. It is one of 16 rum flavors they create with rum distilled in St Croix with tropical rain water and high quality molasses. The Nelthropp family has been crafting rum for eight generations since they launched the Cruzan brand of rum in the early 1800’s. They use a five column distillation process before aging in oak barrels. The rum is shipped to Florida where natural blueberry and lemon flavor is added before bottling at 42 proof. Read more
Review: Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum
Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum was introduced May 2009. It is one of 15 flavored rums they create in Puerto Rico. They start with molasses and a single strain of yeast, Le Levadura Bacardi and ferment for 30 hours in closed fermentation tanks. After fermentation the fermented rum is divided with some column and some beer distilled. They are aged separately in lightly charred American white oak barrels previously used to age bourbon. Once mature the rums are blended and filtered through a mix of charcoal made from tropical woods and coconut shells. It is then infused with natural flavors including strawberry and dragon fruit before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Don Q Cristal Rum
Don Q Cristal rum was introduced in 1978. While Bacardi is the worlds best selling rum, DonQ is the best selling rum in Puerto Rico, where both are produced. Don Q began distilling rum in 1865, but after a decades long absence in the US, they re-launched the brand for US distribution in 2006. It is made with the finest molasses, fresh volcanic mountain water from the Rio Inabon, and a unique strain of yeast kept active and in use for over 75 years. After fermentation the rum is distilled five times before being aged 1 1/2 to 5 years in American White Oak Barrels. After blending, it is charcoal filtered before bottling on site at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Bacardi Superior Rum
Bacardi Superior rum is the worlds best selling rum. The company got its start in 1862 when Don Facundo Bacardi Masso purchased a distillery in Cuba for 3500 pesos. They continued to create their rum in Cuba until 1960 when their distillery was seized as part of the Cuban revolution. Since then they have been distilling their rum in Puerto Rico. It is made with molasses, purified water, and a single strain of yeast, Le Levadura Bacardi. After a 30 hour fermentation in closed fermentation tanks the fermented molasses is divided with some column still and some beer still distilled. Each is aged separately in lightly charred American Oak Barrels. Once mature the rums are blended and filtered through a mix of charcoal made from tropical woods and coconut shells before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Captain Morgan White Rum
Captain Morgan White rum was introduced February 2014. After creating a dozen or more spiced rum options, Captain Morgan takes aim at the white rum market leader, Bacardi. Could this have something to do with Barcardi’s 2011 launch of Oak Heart Spiced rum? It is made in St. Croix with sugarcane molasses and it is distilled five times. It is then aged in white oak barrels for over one year and filtered to remove any color. Read more
Review: Cruzan Black Strap Rum
Cruzan Black Strap rum is one of 23 rums current crafted in St Croix by the Nelthropp family who have been distilling rum there for 250 years. The distillery is now operated by the eighth generation of the Nelthropp family. The classic dark Navy rum is the inspiration for creating Cruzan Black Strap. It is distilled five times to remove the heads and fusel oils before aging in oak barrels. Read more
Review: Cruzan Citrus Rum
Cruzan Citrus rum was introduced in 2002. It is one of 15 rum flavors they create with rum distilled in St. Croix with tropical rain water and high quality molasses. They use a five column distillation process before aging in oak barrels. The rum is shipped to Florida where natural lemon, lime, and grapefruit flavor is added before bottling at 70 proof. Read more
Review: Don Q Pasion Rum
Don Q Pasion rum is one of four rum flavors they craft in Puerto Rico. The others include Coco, Mojito, and Limon. They start with crushed sugar cane that is boiled in order to extract the crystallized sugar. What remains is molasses that retains about 50% of the sugar from the cane juice. Fresh water sourced from the Rio Inabon, which runs through Puerto Rico’s volcanic mountain region is added to the molasses along with a unique strain of yeast. After fermentation it is distilled five times and then aged 1-1/2 years in American white oak barrels. It is then charcoal filtered before natural passion fruit flavors are infused. The finish product is bottled on site at the distillery at 60 proof. Read more