For the first time in 5 years, I did not publish a daily countdown for the Best Rums of the Year. I did however compile a list, and this is my reveal of the Rum Howler Top 50 Rums of 2016.
Every year when I publish my annual list I receive emails wondering why certain rums were left off. It always boils down to the same two answers.
- That particular Rum just wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of the spirits on the list.
- That particular spirit was not made available for me to taste and access in time for inclusion.
On the first score, I make no apologies for my rankings. Just because some other publication or a particular marketing campaign says that such and such a rum is the Elixir of the Gods, that doesn’t make it so. I trust my tasting sessions. I do not trust marketing hype.
If you are wondering how your favourite rum fared this year, Here is my Rum Howler List of the Top 50 Rums of 2016:
Rum Howler Top 50 Rums of 2016
Just in time for Christmas giving!
Chimo!
Two years ago when Campari purchased J Wray & Nephew, they terminated the Appleton Estate Rum sales team in here in Canada. Then early last year they also terminated the long-term contract of Michael Delevante, aka the Rum Doctor. This meant that after 50 years of service as Rum Master and Rum Blender for Appleton Estate Rum, the Rum Doctor was able to team up with some of his old collaborators, and together they are bringing to the market an aged Florida Rum.
The Noxx and Dunn 2-4-5 Rum they created is made from a blend of 100% Florida sugar cane molasses pot and column distilled spirit. These rums were aged for 2, 4 and 5 years in the sub tropics (in Florida of course) in once used bourbon barrels. Importantly, no flavouring and no colour were added. The colour and flavour of the rum in the bottle is completely natural and derived from the ageing process.
Start with the Egg Yolks
Just about every friend of mine who has visited this the Dominican Republic has a vivid tale to tell of their amazing bus ride to the distillery, and another tale to tell of how much fun it was to sample the Brugal Rum. Brugal Titanium Rum is a triple distilled premium white rum produced primarily for the domestic market (and in parts of Europe) as a high-end cocktail spirit meant to compete with ultra premium Vodka.
It was during this time that Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum became a relatively famous cocktail rum. In fact, the rum is called for by name in many of Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber’s tiki recipes. The rum is a 100 % Guyanese rum blend with rum distilled and aged in Guyana. It is currently bottled in Canada by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) for the brand owner Mosaiq.
The Rum Howler Blog 