Rum aging


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Rum Joe πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 2 ratings Author Posted 21 Jun '22

Hi, I'm new to the rum community.

I'm curious about the aging regulations. I have seen that the number on the bottle means the minim age of the rum within.

firstly, does anyone have some good links to videos/articles that explain the regulations of each country with regards to aging.

Secondly, is there any rum out there that is 100% a certain age or does every single rum contain more than one age?

thanks everyone! I appreciate the help.

bar la moura avatar image
bar la moura πŸ‡­πŸ‡· | 168 ratings Replied 21 Jun '22

no Joe, some producers do this but spanish style rum usual after that number you read solera, solera or criadera is their way to age rum, barrels are put like pyramid, they add rum in the barrel up and take first from the barrels on the bottom so solera for example is from 6 to 20 (and on the label you ll read 20 solera), and you must know that in percentage the more will be 6 years and the less 20 years aged (let s say just 4 or 5%), so you must pay attemption on what they put on the label, french style rum sometimes use vs, vsop, xo like for cognac (vs 2, vsop 4, xo 10 minimum years for cognac) but the years aged not always are same as cognac ... many times is good to check on the net how much a rum is aged ... a good brand put some specification for their products

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Rum Joe πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 2 ratings Author Replied 21 Jun '22

Thank you. I think I understand. So many different rums! I'm trying to figure out what I should go with. I've started with a 12yr Kirk and sweeney that I revived as a gift. It's really nice. Have to get use to having near haha.

Paul B avatar image
Paul B πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ | 472 ratings Replied 22 Jun '22

Rum Joe:

If you are coming from the bourbon or scotch world, it is diificult to pull oneself away from the concept of age statements on the bottles. One will never see a solera bourbon or a solera scotch. However, mass market blended scotches will never have age statements and one has to do a lot of digging to find out which single malts that they use in their blends.

Many will bad mouth solera rums from Spanish speaking countries, but this is one way to keep a consistent product year after year. However, some of them (such as Zacapa) are notorious for labeling the bottles wrong to fool us consumers. Basically, the Caribbean is broken down into British, Spanish, French, and Dutch (and I don't count Old Man Guavaberry from St. Maarten as rum).Β  Each of these locations have some good ones and some that one will regret buying. As for dreaming of the day when all will be revealed on the labels, that will never happen!!!! The only way to really know the truth is from reading these reviews. And above all, drink what you like.

And by the way, Kirk and Sweeney 12 Year was one of the very first ones that I tried almost five years ago. I liked it at first. Then after a few weeks, it tasted like shoe leather. I found that their 18 Year was a very good buy. Then they changed the entire line for the worse.

OdysseusUnbound avatar image
OdysseusUnbound πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ | 40 ratings Replied 22 Jun '22

Rum Joe,

Β 

I also come from the Scotch (and to a lesser degree, bourbon) world and rum is a whole 'nother ball game. Some countries and companies are stricter with regulations than others. Barbados and Jamaica are generally reliable with age statements indicating the youngest component in the bottling. Solera rums aren't bad per se, but many will indicate the "average" age or the oldest possible component. Again, that doesn't mean it's a bad rum, it just means it's a bit misleading. Zacapa 23 for example, is NOT entirely 23 year old rum. Take your time and enjoy discovering your favourites.Β 

Also, a scotch with an age statement is not "all one age"; the age statement, when present, simply represents the youngest component in the bottling. Glendronach is a perfect example of this. The distillery was mothballed for a while so there are bottlings out there which are much older than the age statement indicates, as the casks sat for a long time before being bottled. I know it's a bit off topic but you can read about it here if you're interested.

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Rum Joe πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 2 ratings Author Replied 22 Jun '22

Thanks for the info guys! It's a lot clearer now. Do you guys recommend any nice aged rums I can go to after I finish my Kirk and sweeney?Β 

Thanks!!

bar la moura avatar image
bar la moura πŸ‡­πŸ‡· | 168 ratings Replied 22 Jun '22

kirk & sweeney now have new series, instead of 12, 18 and 23, you have

reserva (12), gran reserva (18), gran reserva superior (23) and the very expensive XO,

i already have the gran reserva superior ready to be opened and to change the old 23

but not too interested because i hate dosed rum, a spanish styled (like K&S) easy to find

and clean (of sugar) and aged enough to be a sipper can be santa teresa 1796, flor de cana 18,

havana seleccion de maestros (the drier of those 3), those can be priced like the old K&S 18 ...

OdysseusUnbound avatar image
OdysseusUnbound πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ | 40 ratings Replied 22 Jun '22

Rum Joe,

There are plenty of accessible and affordable honest rums to get you started. I'd suggest Appleton 8 year, Appleton 12 Year, RL Seale, Doorly's, Real McCoy 12 to start. These have no additives and their age statements are true age statements.

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Rum Joe πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 2 ratings Author Replied 22 Jun '22

Very much appreciated everyone! Great community here wish I had started collecting a long time ago, I have so many questions but that's for another time.

thanks all

KI
Kieron wood πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 621 ratings Replied 23 Jun '22

When I started my journey of tasting over 5 years ago , I was obsessed with ages statements and the theory of the older the spirit the better ther rum ...

I learnt an expensive ( Β£50 for 50ml of El Dorado 1986 , check hydrometer readings for the Capn Jimbo's BibleΒ  )and hard way of tasting a 1980s bottle of Jamaica captain Morgan's ....tasted awful .

Some of my favourite rums now are completely unaged but have depths of flavours ...

Β 

If you want to explore age then ,Barbados and Jamaica are a great places to start but even then a certain single distillery blemishes the product with sugar ...

Me personally I now disregard any age statements and if Ita good rum , it's good rum .... You know the bad ones as they tend to paint the teeth ...

Have fun !

Β 

bar la moura avatar image
bar la moura πŸ‡­πŸ‡· | 168 ratings Replied 23 Jun '22

i totally agree with Kieron, many times is better a pot still or pot still and column mix than only column distilled rum, also very important the know how when aging, barrels used and so ... some times when a rum is aged many years the wood takes over ... plus we have a lot of producers exaggerating with dosing

KI
Kieron wood πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 621 ratings Replied 23 Jun '22

To explore some unaged flavour Joe try and obtain the Hampden 2021 rum show pack from the whiskey exchange in the UK ..Β 

Β 

This was a great exploration of what unaged rum can achieve ...

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Rum Joe πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ | 2 ratings Author Replied 23 Jun '22

Thanks for your help everyone! I'll check out some of these rums. Is there a better place for rum fans to chat more easily. Rather than on this forum?