Review: Richland Single Estate Georgian Rum – Classic Reserve Single Barrel Select  (87.5/100)
A review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
December 11, 2020

As I was sampling the rum selection of World Class Spirits 24 Days of Rum 2020 Advent Calendar I encountered a rum on day 11 which was labeled Richland Single Estate Georgian Rum. It was quite good, in fact it was really good, and so I went to the Richland Rum website to find out more about it. However, when I checked the website out, there were several possibilities as to which rum this actually might be. It looked like it was a cane spirit they bottled as the ‘Classic’, but I wanted to be sure so I contacted the folks at Richland Rum to ask.

Stephen Oakley, their Marketing/PR Manager responded to my queries and gave me the following information regarding the Single Estate Georgian Rum:

“… What you are enjoying through the 24 Days of Rum is indeed our “Classic” Expression. It’s full label name is the “Single Estate Old South Georgia Rum- Classic Reserve Single Barrel Select”. We like to tell people that this rum is the one that all our other (Aged) Expressions are based off of. The Classic is always bottled as a Single Barrel, Single Batch, Single Estate Rum which means it is never blended and allows each barrel to impart its own unique characteristics into the rum’s aroma and flavor profile. Like all of our rums, the Classic is made from sugarcane grown on our farm at Richland Estate. Sugarcane is actually a native crop here in Georgia that had gone dormant for over a century before we revived the crop for making rum. We age the classic in NEW American White Oak Barrels (char #4) for upwards of 6-7 years; we have no time standards for aging- we allow the barrels to tell us when they are ready …”

I will begin my analysis of the South Georgian Rum with a look at the bottle.

In the Bottle 5/5

Too the left is one of the bottle shots sent to me by Stephen. As you can see the bottle and the label look really nice. It is a heavy based barrel shaped bottle with a medium long neck and synthetic cork closure (Stephen sent me separate pics of the cork closure). The label includes information such as the bottle and cask numbers and highlights that this is a Single Estate, Single Barrel rum.

This is a great bottle presentation!

In the Glass 8.5/10

Colour: Deep Copper

Legs: mid-sized droplets form at the crest dropping slender legs.

My first impression was that the Classic Single Barrel South Georgian Rum  presented itself in the glass much like an aged bourbon. The smells in the air are rich with oak sap and spice. I can sense impressions of graham wafers and honeycomb as well as vanilla, maple syrup and rich baking spices (allspice, nutmeg and clove). Walnuts well up underneath and the oak seems to continue unabated into the breezes.

In The Mouth 52.5/60

I really do believe I could put this in a line-up with a selection of well aged bourbons and it would stand up. The spirit is oaken with rich sap and tannins and just enough sweetness to balance the oak and spice. Pungent baking spices, both corn and cane syrup, honeycomb and vanilla all work their way into the flavour profile. Bittersweet chocolate oozes out when ice is added.

The rum is very good with enough depth and character that I can recommend mixing Old Fashioned Cocktails or sipping neat.

In The Throat 13/15

The Single Estate rum is light to medium bodied yet has a nice lingering oak and cane syrup finish. There is just a hint of bitterness int he finish which keeps the score somewhat in check.

The Afterburn 9/10

Any way to get a bottle up to Canada?

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)