Review: Lamb’s Classic White Rum 78.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (AKA Arctic Wolf)
Published June 08, 2022

In Canada, Lamb’s is one of the most popular rum brands. This brand traces its history all the way back to 1849 when Alfred Lamb opened his wine and spirits business in London. His original Navy Rum is reported to have been a blend of 18 separate rums from various parts of the Caribbean.

During World War II, the Alfred Lamb & Son premises on Great Tower Street were unfortunately a casualty of enemy bombs. One of their major competitors, White Keeling Rum Merchants suffered the same fate, and as a result in 1946 both Alfred Lamb & Son and White Keeling Rum Merchants moved to 40 Eastcheap, London where they joined with Dingwall & Norris who were already located there. The triumvirate became the company known as United Rum Merchants.

The Lamb’s brand was licensed for North American production to Corby Distillers in 1952 and since that time Lamb’s rum has bee part of the Corby portfolio of spirit brands. (Halewood Artisanal Spirits hold the license to bottle the brand in Europe, Africa and Asia.)

In North America, the main portfolio of Lamb’s Rums includes, Lamb’s Classic White Rum, Lamb’s Spiced Rum, Lamb’s Palm Breeze, and Lamb’s Navy Rum (which is sold both at 80 proof as well as an overproof 151)

This is the review for Lambs Classic White Rum sold at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In The Bottle 4.5/5

As stated in my preamble, Lamb’s is one of Canada’s most popular rum brands. One of the reasons for this is the competitive price, and the other reason is the attractive bottle display. Although the labeling has changed over the years, the distinctive hexagonal tall long necked bottle is seen by most as an upgrade over the cylindrical counterparts on the economy shelf at most retail vendors. As you can see, the Lamb’s bottle is attractive, as is the professional label with the strong fonts and colors which are easy to read. The bottle holds true to the bartender’s creed being easy to store on the bar shelf, easy to grab and hold, and most importantly easy to pour. The plastic screw cap on the bottle is much preferred over those pressed on metal caps I still see on many other bottles. All in all, the presentation is quite nice considering this is an economy brand.

In the Glass 8/10

Colour: Just a hint of amber. All rum sold in Canada must be aged for a minimum of one year (even traditional white rums) so this hint of colour must be a remnant of the aging process which was not completely removed when the rum was filtered to almost clear.

Nose: A very mild sweetness of cotton candy, banana peel, citrus zest, and light sandalwood spice. As the glass breathes we note a light winding grass-like note and perhaps hints of almond and vanilla.

The notes are typical for white rum with no undo harshness or astringency.

In The Mouth 47/60

The rum has a lively mouthfeel as a touch of alcohol spice and heat warm the palate. There is a light butterscotch sweetness which provides a counterbalance, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that I would be encouraged to enjoy the rum neat. I also taste a mild sweep of vanilla and impressions of banana, orange peel and peppery citrus zest.  The rum seems to be exactly what it is meant to be, an economy offering meant for mixing cocktails. I would suggest that daiquiri style cocktails suit the rum better than rum and cola.

In The Throat 11/15

Lamb’s Classic White Rum (as I indicated earlier) is not meant for sipping. It is just a little too lively and leaves a vague Tequila-like aftertaste in the mouth with peppery alcohol spice and a vegetal grassiness which lingers.

The Afterburn 8/10

Lamb’s Classic White Rum is an economy offering. As such it is pretty much what it is meant to be; a white mixing rum which can be found at a good price which will make good cocktails. My overall score of 78.5 recognizes the cocktail potential of the rum and if you prefer daiquiris to rum and colas, there is no reason not to have a bottle of Lamb’s on hand.

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

2 oz.  Lamb’s Classic White Rum
3/4 oz.  Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Ice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)
Lemon Peel garnish

Add all the ingredients into a metal shaker
Shake until the outside begins to frost
Pour into a cocktail glass
Garnish with some lemon peel zest.

And please remember to enjoy responsibly; my aim is to help you choose better drinks not to help you choose more drinks!!

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

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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)