We have entered into the top 10 of my rankings of the Best Rums of 2015, and an intimidating 23-year-old masterpiece from Rum Nation (their Demerara 23 Year Old) leads us into the top 10. My favourite expression from Appleton Estate (the 12 Year Old) grabs the number 9 spot with a wonderfully complex 9 Year Old Agricole rum from Reimonenq (the only agricole Rhum to make my list) making it to number 8. Diplomatico’s sweet and succulent Reserva Exclusiva is always one of my favourites and one of the World’s most sought after rum’s the Zacapa XO (25 Year Solero) just misses the top 5.
Any of these rums would make a wonderful Christmas Gift for any rum aficionado.
Here are the next five wonderful cane spirits in my listing of the Best 25 Rums of 2015:
10) Rum Nation Demerara 23 Year Old
09) Appleton Estate Extra Old 12 Year
08) Reimonenq Vieux 9 Year Old Rhum (Distilled 1999)
07) Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
06) Zacapa XO (25 Year Solero) Rum
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You may read about and follow the Top 25 Rum Countdown here:
Incidentally, the word “rhum” is the French spelling for our English word “rum”. However, the differences between Rhum and Rum are much deeper than just a twist in spelling. This is because the french traditions of making rhum in the French West Indies differs from the Spanish and English traditions of rum production in the rest of the Caribbean. A major difference in the production of agricole rhum is that it is distilled from fermented sugar cane juice rather than fermented molasses. As well rhum agricole is usually single distilled to 70 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), and then brought to bottling proof (50 % ABV) after it is aged. These differences in production translate into a very different flavour profile, one that is more floral than molasses based rum.
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