Devine Distillery 2018 Beekeeper's Reserve Honey Shine 1-Year

Devine makes a Silver and Amber, the silver is clear and the amber is, well, amber coloured. Interesting approach, fermenting honey into Mead and then distilling twice. Finished in once-used whisky barrels.
It smells immediately of rum and honey. Not sweet specifically, just nose of honey, clover, sightly floral. First sip is tasty, though with a strong alcohol feel. It doesn't *taste* strong, but the lingering mouth feel is that of a young strong rum. The honey comes out subtly, the bite lingers. I suspect this would mix quite nicely with light fruit juices. It's quite nice to sip, with a unique nose. I suspect it's been sweetened slightly with honey after aging, but it's a very pleasant drink.

On ice is even smoother. The bite is gone, which may happen with a few drops of water as well.

Very nice addition to my collection.

Tonight’s Rum, Beekeeper’s Reserve Honey Shine Rum. This rum come from Vancouver Island in British Columbia. They say: “Vancouver meets Barbados. We love Rum. Alas sugar cane doesn’t grow here in British Columbia; however we have some of the world’s finest honey. We fermented wild-gathered clover honey into a dry mead and distilled it twice in the style of a rich, elegant spirit. Crystal clear and full of spice, fruity, and floral notes in the style of a fine Caribbean rum.”

Well they lie right off the top, this Rum has a slight amber color to it. The nose, however, is all Rum. Orange, white pepper, clover flower and a delicate honey bouquet runs underneath it all. Lovely even. On the lips, it’s light, then over time becomes sharper. In the mouth it’s dryer that one might expect considering it’s made from local honey. I suspect that’s due to its start as a honey mead, then distilled into a Rum spirit. Flavours include nutmeg, chamomile, old mango and sour orange. I’d say it’s more like an agricole rather than a demerara as I expected. So if you like agricole Rums you might love this. For me, I still prefer a sweeter Rum. The finish is also dry with a bit of grassiness coming out. After several sips, I get more honey as my palate adjusts to the alcohol (42%).

Likely better served with sweet juice such as mango to offset the tartness. 6/10, but as I said, this would be higher if you like agricoles. Enjoy. #333 of 500.

Brewed locally to my province I had to try as Canada has very few locally made rums. The price is on the higher side and indicates this is local "Craft rum". I will say on the flavor you can tell there is honey and has a very unique and interesting flavor really no other rum I have had has. The viscosity is quite light however and alcohol taste is present at first sip. Not the smoothest rum but for a nice change up I was not disappointed.