Review: Toppers Caribbean White Rhum
Toppers Caribbean White Rhum is crafted with blackstrap molasses, reverse osmosis water sourced from the Caribbean sea, sugar, and a special yeast blend. The rhum is column distilled and charcoal filtered before bottling at 80 proof at the 6000 square foot Toppers Distillery in St Maarten. Topper’s is best know for their line of flavored rhums that were first crafted by Melanie Daboul in her home kitchen. These flavored rhums where first served as a complimentary after dinner drink at the two restaurants she and husband Topper Daboul own on the Dutch side of St Maarten. Because of customer demand these rhum’s were soon bottled for sale. I first discovered this brand through Broudy’s online website, and with a flavored rhum linup that includes flavors like Mocha Mama, Banana Vanilla Cinnamon, Coconut, and White Chocolate Raspberry I was hooked. First the bad news, Toppers is no longer available at broudys.com. The good news is Toppers Rhum is now available at Total Wine and More. I’m anxious to see if Toppers Caribbean White Rhum lives up to the high standards set by their flavored rhums. Read more 
Review: J Wray Silver Rum
J Wray Silver Rum was launched June 2016. It is made at Jamaica’s number one rum producing distillery in the oldest continuously operated rum distillery in the Caribbean. Rum has been made at this site since 1749. J Wray Silver Rum has replaced Appleton White Rum in the Campari America product portfolio. I have been told J Wray Silver is not just a change in name and packaging. The rum is crafted using a different recipe. J Wray Silver is made from molasses created from sugarcane grown on the New Yarmouth Estate located on the Vere Plains of Clarendon. J Wray Silver is a blend of pot still rums and column still rums that are aged and then slowly filtered through special charcoal filters. Read more
Review: Bear Creek Silver Rum
Bear Creek Silver Rum is crafted at the Bear Creek Distillery in Denver Colorado. The distillery is named for the Bear Creek. With it’s headwaters at the base of Mount Evans, one of Colorado’s tallest peaks, Bear Creek flows east and eventually joins the South Platte River near Denver. The distillery currently creates 3 whiskey’s, 3 rums, and 2 vodka’s. Each spirit is produced from grain to bottle. Bear Creek Silver Rum is small batch distilled from a wash of evaporated cane juice in a German built copper hybrid Kothe pot still. Each bottle is hand signed and batch numbered. Read more
Review: Crusoe Organic Silver Rum
Crusoe Organic Silver Rum is hand crafted by the husband and wife team of Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew at the Greenbar Distillery. Tru Organic Vodka and Gin, Slow Hand Organic Whiskey and IXA Organic Tequila are also crafted by this team. Greenbar was the first legal distillery in Los Angeles California since prohibition. The Crusoe name was inspired by Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe Silver is made with organic molasses fermented slowly with white wine yeast and double distilled in small batches. The rum is micro oxygenated, a technique used by California wine makers to mellow out their tannic reds. This process replaces the traditional barrel aging and charcoal filtering Caribbean distillers use to make their silver rums. Read more
Review: Naked Turtle White Rum
Naked Turtle White Rum was launched by Diageo in 2012 to compete with Bacardi. It is distilled five times with sugarcane molasses and the pristine water of the Virgin Islands, at the same St. Croix distillery where Captain Morgan is made. The Naked Rum Company thinks that rum, like life is best enjoyed naked. That’s why Naked Turtle Rum never touches the inside of an oak barrel. Naked Turtle has a partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, a group that works for the long term survival of the sea turtle. Read more
Review: Havana Club Anejo Blanco Puerto Rican Rum
Havana Club Anejo Blanco Puerto Rican Rum is one of two rums created by Bacardi under the Havana Club label. Havana Club Rum is an iconic rum first produced in Cuba by the Arechabala family, who started making rum in 1878. In 1934 they registered the Havana Club name. Prior to the Cuban Revolution Bacardi and Havana Club where the Coke and Pepsi of Rum in Cuba. Since then Bacardi moved to Puerto Rico and Havana Club was confiscated by the Cuban Government. Havana Club rum has been sold globally except for the US, since 1994 when a 50/50 ownership deal was agreed to between the Cuban government and Pernod Ricard, the worlds second largest spirits company. Havana Club Anejo Blanco is based on the original recipe personally transcribed and sold to Bacardi as part of an agreement between the two family companies. Pernod Richard disputes the validity of Bacardi producing rum under the Havana Club name, and this has been tied up in US courts for years. A final verdict is expected in 2017. Until then Bacardi can still produce and sell their version of Havana Club in the US. Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum is made from the finest sugarcane molasses, distilled and aged for 1 year in oak barrels. Each barrel of rum is filtered and then blended together before it is then aged for at least 2 additional months in oak barrels before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Old New Orleans Crystal Rum
Old New Orleans Crystal Rum was introduced in 1999. It was the first rum created by the Celebration Distillation Company at a former cotton warehouse. When the company received their distillers license in 1995 no one else in the continental US was making rum. The brand was started by artist James Michalopoulos who’s artwork appears through the back of each bottle. Old New Orleans Crystal rum is crafted with molasses sourced from Thibodaux Louisiana and is made from locally sourced Louisiana sugar cane. The rum is small batch distilled in 500 gallon batches in a combination pot and column still, and charcoal filtered before bottling unaged at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Bayou Silver Rum
Bayou Silver Rum was released in 2013. It is one of four rums crafted at the Louisiana Spirits Company in Lacassine Louisiana. The others include their Spiced, Satsuma, and Select Rums. Each is made from 100% Natural unrefined Louisiana cane sugar and molasses. After fermenting with a proprietary yeast the rum is distilled in a copper pot still. Triple filtered pure water is blended with the rum to reduce to 80 proof. Read more
Review: Botran Reserva Blanca Rum
Botran Reserva Blanca Rum was introduced in 2012. It is made with sugarcane grown in the southern coast of Guatemala, a country home to over 30 volcanoes. The juice extracted from the first pressing, called virgin honey, is slowly fermented. After the rum is distilled it is aged under the Solera system in the mountains of Guatemala in American white oak barrels previously used to age American whiskey. The rum is taken to high altitudes with cooler temperatures and away from sound and light. The cooler temperatures limit the rums evaporation. The rum is then charcoal filtered to remove the color. Read more
Review: Selvarey White Rum
Selvarey White Rum was introduced in 2014. It is co-owned by three brothers and Bruno Mars. After years of searching they finally selected Master Distiller Don Pancho Fernandez to craft their rum. Don Pancho was born in Cuba. His first job was cutting sugarcane in the fields next to his father. He would later become a Master Distiller of Havana Club Rum, and the Cuban Minister of Rum. After falling in love with a women from Panama he moved and built his own distillery, Las Cabras, from scratch in a small town called Pese in Herrera Province. Panama’s premier sugarcane region. Locally grown sugar cane is used to create grade A molasses. A natural yeast derived from pineapple is blended with the molasses and pure Panamanian mountain spring water. After fermentation the rum is distilled in a four column copper still built in 1922 by American Copper and Brass Works. The rum is aged in American oak barrels previously used to age bourbon. A blend of three year old and five year old rum is used in crafting Selvarey White Rum. After blending, the rum is carbon filtered to remove the color but not the flavor. Read more