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
Review: Angostura White Oak Rum
Angostura White Oak Rum is the number one selling rum in Trinidad and Tobago. They currently produce several rums for themselves and they also create rums for several others. Some of the other Angostura rums include a 3 year old, 5 year old, 7 year old, 12 year old, and their 1919 rum. The Angostura company got its start in 1824 when Dr. Siegert perfected the formula for aromatic bitters in Angostura Venezuela. By 1875 they moved the company to Trinidad. Angostura White Oak rum is made with Caribbean molasses, pure island stream water, and a proprietary yeast that ferments for 48-72 hours. The rum is continuously distilled in column stills and then aged in American White Oak barrels previously used to age bourbon. Read more
Review: Montanya Platino Rum
Montanya Platino Rum is one of three rums crafted in Crested Butte Colorado at an elevation of 8909 feet. Karen and Brice Hoskin founded the company in 2008, and on January 1 2016 the distillery and tasting room became 100% wind powered. The other rums include Oro a 1 year old gold rum, and Exclusiva a 3 year old double barrel rum that is only available in Colorado. Montanya Platino is crafted with non GMO sugar cane grown at the Lula Sugar Farm in Belle Rose Louisiana and pure mountain spring water. Champaign yeast is added and the rum is fermented for 7 days and then distilled in a 100 gallon all copper Alembic pot still imported from Portugal. The rum is aged for 1 year in American white oak barrels previously used to age Stranahan’s Whiskey for 2-5 years and then Montanya Oro Rum for 1 year. The rum is filtered through coconut husk charcoal filter to remove the color. A touch of Colorado Rocky Mountain honey is added before it is hand bottled. Read more
Review: Cruzan Estate Diamond Light Rum
Cruzan Estate Diamond Light Rum is one of three rums in their Distillers Collection. It is named after the original sugar mill that began crushing cane in 1760 at the current site of the Cruzan Rum Distillery. The rum is triple distilled in a five column continuous still and is a blend of rum that has been aged in American Oak Barrels for between 5-12 years. The rum is then charcoal filtered for a smoother cleaner finish, and to strip away the color. Read more
Review: Cana Brava Rum
Cana Brava Rum was introduced by the 86 Co. in 2012. It is crafted at the Las Cabres Distillery that was first erected in 1919 as a sugar mill. In the mid 1990’s Don Pancho and Carlos Esquilvel discovered and then reopened the neglected warehouse that came with a copper column still that dates back to 1922. Don Pancho was a Master distiller and Minister of Rum for Cuba for over 35 years before moving to Panama. Cana Brava is named for the wild sugar cane that grows surrounding the distillery. Cana Brava starts with locally grown sugar cane that is chopped and crushed for the cane juice. The juice is boiled to crystalize the sugar leaving behind the molasses. This molasses is diluted and fermented with natural pineapple yeast. The rum is distilled through five continuous stills. The first four stills are copper plated and the last is 100% copper and brass. After cutting the rum to 75 ABV it is aged for 18-24 months in new American oak barrels. It is then removed from the barrels and cut to 49 ABV and then aged in used American Whiskey barrels for 12-24 months. This rum is then blended with older rums for consistency. Finally the rum is triple filtered. A carbon filtration is followed by a Millipore cellulose filtration and then a cold filtration before bottling at 86 proof. Read more
Review: Rubi Rey Rum
Rubi Rey rum was created by Bacardi and all indications are this rum is no longer being produced, so availability is limited. It is handcrafted in small batches and the rum is aged and mellowed in white oak barrels on the breezy coast of Puerto Rico. Rubi Rey is then filtered for clarity and single barrel finished before bottling in Jacksonville Florida at 86 proof in a very distinctive red bottle. Read more