Review: Bayou Silver Rum   80/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on May 15, 2015

Louisiana Spirits was formed in 2011 with the stated aim to produce a world-class rum in Lacassine, Louisiana from Louisiana sugarcane.  By 2013 their distillery located a few miles east of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was producing a craft rum in what they call the largest privately owned rum distillery in the USA. They produce three rums, (a spiced, a flavoured, and a white rum) all of which have made their way into the Alberta market via Lifford Wines who distribute and market the spirit here in my home Province of Alberta.

Their white rum, Bayou Silver Rum, is distilled upon a traditional copper pot still using 100% locally (Louisiana) produced cane sugar and molasses. After distillation it is brought to bottling proof (40 % alcohol by volume) using triple filtered fresh water. The spirit is intended as a cocktail mixer or to be enjoyed over ice.

In the Bottle 4.5/5

The Silver Bayou Rum arrives in the tall rectangular bottle shown to the left. The label features an iconic image of a Louisianan gator which helps to identify the product as an authentic Louisiana Rum. To further aid us in identifying the rum as from the gator state, the bottle features a small embossing of the State of Louisiana just below the neck on the front of the bottle. The rum is sealed with a solid plastic cork which gives me that satisfying ‘pop’ when I open it.

I like the presentation, and I love how the owners of the rum are proud of the State where it is produced.

In the Glass 8/10

I poured a healthy shot of rum into my glencairn glass and began to examine it closely. The rum appeared to be crystal clear in my glass, and a quick tilt of the glass and a slow swirl revealed a light coating of rum on the side of the glass which coalesced into small legs which ran slowly down the inside of the glass back into the rum. In a white rum sluggish legs are usually an indication of added sugar, although in this case it may just as well be a reflection of the small copper pot still distillation. (A Copper pot still will usually produce a heavier distillate than a large column still.)

When I bring the rum to my nose, I notice a few new scents and smells which I have not encountered before when nosing a white rum. The aroma is filled with tropical fruit with a gentle layer of cane sugar melded within. Although the spirit in some ways resembles a ‘new make’ spirit more so than a finished rum, it carries very little astringency into the breezes above the glass. The full aroma and ‘new make’ character are not surprising as a copper pot still can generate far more esters and aromatics than a column still, and indeed, this spirit is ‘new make’ arriving in the bottle directly from the still with only filtered water added to bring the spirit to proof.

In the Mouth 48/60

The first sip reveals a bite which was not reflected upon the nose. There also appears to be a fine penetrating sweetness coming forward which reminds me very much of the flavour of sugar syrup. (I think the mystery of the slow sluggish legs has been solved.) Tropical fruit abounds and the overall flavour seems to match the profile of a tropical fruit flavoured rum (especially with the underlying sweetness) more so than a pure white rum. Either the copper pot still is bring forward intense flavour or we have a rum which is enhanced to some degree. As I sip, the ‘bite’ I encountered earlier does not disappear, but fortunately neither does it grow to be so intense that I am forced to stop. The rum is not quite a sipper, but we are close.

I decide to do a little mixing and quickly determine the rum is much more suited to Daiquiris and Mojitos than it is to a Cuba Libre. The abundance of tropical fruit in the flavour profile is well suited to mixing with lemon or lime.

In the Throat 12/15

The finish is relatively smooth, but also perhaps cloying to some degree as the sweetness seems to have intensified as I have been sipping. The tropical fruit flavours and the sweetness linger perhaps a little longer than they should.

The Afterburn 8/10

The positive here is that we have a very new and interesting flavour profile which works very well in tropical fruit cocktails. The negative is that this white rum does not play with cola very well and the standard rum cocktail the Cuba Libre (rum and cola) is not preferred. That’s okay, as there are plenty of choices out there which make a swell rum and cola, and I have started to become more inclined as of late to mix a daiquiri more often with my white rum than not. Bayou Silver Rum is a good choice for an interesting tropical daiquiri.

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

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Suggested Recipe:

Lemon Daiquiri

1 1/2 oz. Bayou Silver Rum
1/2 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 tsp. Simple Syrup (1:1)
Ice
Slice of Lemon for Garnish

Combine the first three ingredients into a metal shaker with ice.
Shake until the metal shaker chills.
Strain into a chilled  glass.
Garnish with the lemon slice

Note: If  you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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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)