Review: Pyrat Rum Cask 1623

Posted by Arctic Wolf on October 20, 2012

Pyrat Rum Cask 1623 is, according to the Pyrat Website, the flagship brand for Pyrat Rum. It is constructed from aged Caribbean stocks, some of which are reported to be up to 40 years old. The brand is owned by Patrón Spirits a company created in 1989 by John Paul DeJoria, and Martin Crowley. The company does not own a distillery, rather they act as a third-party company sourcing what they believe to be the best stocks for their products and blending them according to their own formulas. There is always a bit of secrecy surrounding these private blends, but perhaps I can shed a little light on the production of Pyrat Rum.

Pyrat Rum was previously bottled by the Anguilla Rums Company. However there has been a recent change. When I was in Guyana earlier this year, I was given a tour of the Diamond Bottling Plant owned by Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL). During this tour, I was told that Pyrat Rum had just installed their own private bottling line within the Diamond plant. Pyrat Rum, I was told, is primarily a Demerara rum blended and bottled in Guyana. (A small portion of this blend is from rum sourced outside of Guyana). I was able to witness the Pyrat Rum bottling line in operation during my tour of the Diamond plant. I was also told that a portion of the Pyrat blend is produced on Demerara Distillers’ High Ester Still. This is a functioning John Dore Still which is capable of producing intense flavours within the distillate. If you have sampled any Pyrat Rum you have probably noticed a very different flavour profile.

I was able to acquire a 3/4 full bottle of the Pyrat Rum Cask 1623 from my good friend Lance Surujbally (of Liquorature). I put the rum though the paces of my Review Methodology and here is an excerpt from the resulting review.

“… The flavour of the rum is just as intense as the nose. It is that candied sweet aroma of orange and apricot brandy which dominates the rum. I also taste some nice vanilla accents, some spicy tobacco underneath, and just a little butterscotch. You either like this, or you do not. I have to admit that I am torn …”

You may read the full review here: