Review: Marauda Steelpan Rum  80/100
by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Published February 15, 2018

Marauda Steelpan Rum is produced by TerraPure Spirits located in North Charleston (South Carolina).

The Steelpan rum was apparently inspired by the steelpan music of Trinidad which evolved from the music created from steel drums (or steelpans) made from discarded steel barrels. This steelpan music is culturally linked to Trinidad but can be found throughout the Caribbean Islands.

Producing this rum begins with a 3-year-old column distilled rum from Trinidad. Added to the blend is a heavier 3-year-old column distilled Demerara rum from Guyana as well as a heavy pot distilled 3-year-old rum from Jamaica.

The final blended rums is apparently undergoes a rapid filtration process (a TerrePURE^® technology) which uses ultrasonic energy applied with oxygenation designed to complete chemical reactions which were unfinished in the in the fermentation stage. This patented TerrePURE^® technology has apparently been independently tested and shown to reduce the amount of harsh congeners (such as methanol, isobutanol, amyl alcohols, propanol, and free radicals) which is said to produce a smoother, more sophisticated spirit.

The Maurada Steelpan Rum is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle 4.5/5

Marauda Steelpan Rum arrives in the medium tall clear bottle shown to the left. The bottle is sort of a hybrid. It looks kind of like a wine bottle, and kind of like a stout whisky bottle. It is sealed with a wood topped cork and my bottle also has a plastic wrap which (I suspect) keeps the cork from drying out in dry climates.The opening at the top of the bottle includes a flat rim for easy pouring.

The label is a simple affair with a color scheme which is easy on eyes and easy to read. I note that a recommendation to “DRINK STRAIGHT” is included at the top of the label.

I guess I should test that recommendation.

In the Glass 8.5/10

When poured into my glass, the rum has a pleasing gold/amber colour in the glencairn glass.  When the glass is tilted and twirled we see that the spirit leaved a thickened film on the inside the crest of which releases medium-sized droplets which fall back into the rum as slender legs.

The initial nose is brings a combination of butterscotch, vanilla and almond combined with the obvious funk of the Jamaican pot still.

As the glass breathes I notice orange peel with touches of oak and sandalwood. A fruitiness is apparent as I receive impressions of canned apricots and banana. That Jamaican funk manifests itself with indications of resin and camphor with hints of cinnamon. There is an herbal quality which hints at grasses and menthol. The rum seems to bring a firm Jamaican character forward which is certainly a good start.

In the Mouth 48/60

The spirit brings a certain level of heat forward which is indicative of a young rum; however the heat appears controlled and does not cause any discomfort. The flavours I taste match up very well with the breezes above the glass; however, those flavours seems somewhat muted compared to the nose. This is  perhaps a reflection of the TerraPure filtration which has removed harsh conjenors, but also removed some of the stronger flavours as well.

I added a touch of ice to my glass. This eliminates that touch of heat I mentioned earlier, and the resulting rum is pleasant with flavours of cane, butterscotch, vanilla and almond. Over ice, the Marauda Steelpan Rum can be approached as a sipping rum; however much of the complexity exhibited by the nose has been compromised.

In the Throat  11/15

When sipped neat, the rum brings a very light burn to the throat after the swallow. This burn disappears with the introduction of ice to the dram. The finish is shorter than I would like, although pleasing flavours of vanilla and butterscotch linger as does a light herbal menthol characteristic.

The Afterburn 8/10

The front label of Marauda Steelpan Rum advises us to DRINK STRAIGHT. However, I would instead advise a small lump of ice to help with that light burn I noted after the swallow. The rum is much nicer over ice than it is neat. Truthfully, I would be more inclined to serve Maurada Steelpan Rum in a nice cocktail. This was understated this in the main body of my review, but the light Jamaican Pot Still flavours I encountered when sipping are a welcome addition to the cocktail glass. (I have a few recommendations below.)

My final score is 80/100.

Suggested Cocktails

You may (loosely) interpret the scores 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)