I wouldn't say that I "prefer" unaged rums, but over that past 12 months I've certainly come to appreciate them. I have several unaged that I really enjoy as sippers - cane juice and molasses. I'd say they can easily be as good as aged rums and that it's the diversity of the category that is so entertaining
Springbank is a distillery that comes to mind. They have 3 different brands that come out of the one distillery and same stills: 1. Springbank - lightly peated, 2.5 times distilled 2. Longrow - heavily peated, double distilled 3. Hazelburn - unpeated, triple distilled
Great video! Love the enthusiasm and all the information shared in a clear and sophisticated way. Would love you to add comments about the impacts of where (tropics vs temperate climates) the rum is aged.
One thing that I noticed in my rum journey is that it's not the age but country or location that matter most to me. Also brand is important. I favor certain brands or locations because they agree with my taste buds and afterfeel.
You turned me round from paying absolutely no attention to white / unaged rum due to the Bacardi effect, to the point where that unaged Daq is my favourite cocktail, but I’m still looking at them as them primarily as mixers or cocktail bases but education keeps moving me forward 👍
I prefer lightly aged rums, 3 years and less. I like how the aging mellows out the rums, but I don't like flavors that wood imparts on the rum (reminds me too much of whiskey when I get the woody tastes).
Kind of comparing apples to oranges though aren’t we? I would agree with you that aging does not INHERENTLY make a rum better. And I have great sipping rums that are relatively young, belying the idea that “more age = better” that someone coming from scotch, say, would be likely to have. So it’s certainly not a linear progression, and especially when you factor in cost (El Dorado 25 MIGHT be the best tasting rum in the world but at $560 a bottle I’m sure as hell not finding out). But with that said, if I’m reaching for a rum to sip neat, it’s usually going to have some age on it - unless it’s agricole.
Watching this while sipping on Appleton 8 year old. 😊 Would you consider plantation 3 star unaged? I enjoy sipping that neat sometimes even though it’s usually used in a mojito
Ha.... now theres a Question. I mean we all think of it as unaged. It doesn't have an age statement. And it's a White Rum. However, it is a blend of Unaged Barbados, 2-3yo Trinidad, and i think it's a 10yo Jamaican. Now by most Rum definitions around the world, yes it is unaged becasue the youngest Rum in the bottle is Unaged. But it's also very unique that it just have a 10yo in it too. Albeit probably less than 5%.
With whiskey, ageing for X years in a cold climate is not the same as ageing for X years in a hot climate, ageing affects the whiskey differently for each and every country. On top of that, barrel size can affect certain aspects of ageing, but not others. On top of that there's blending and sourcing. Even if you say that the situation is simpler with whiskey, whiskey still gets enormously complicated in terms of ageing, so if rum is any more complicated then I think it's fair to say that older does not equal better. It's a bit like cars, are older cars better? Well it depends on the condition of the car, where it was made, who made it, how well it's been maintained, how manufacturing processes have changes, etc.
I typically find the older aged rums to be so oaky they almost remind me of a whiskey and bourbon. @ 2-3 years good for mixing, @5-7 years good for neat, higher than that and I may as well buy whiskey or bourbon.
The age number doesn't tell you much. How many barrels in the mix are first fill, second fill and so on. Type of warehouse and temperature and humidity. Bourbon is all new barrels so it's a different animal than Scotch. I drink young and old whisky depending on the experience I'm in the mood for. I prefer a younger whisky that's aged in high quality barrels. I prefer the 5 year Rums so far.
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I wouldn't say that I "prefer" unaged rums, but over that past 12 months I've certainly come to appreciate them. I have several unaged that I really enjoy as sippers - cane juice and molasses. I'd say they can easily be as good as aged rums and that it's the diversity of the category that is so entertaining
Springbank is a distillery that comes to mind. They have 3 different brands that come out of the one distillery and same stills:
1. Springbank - lightly peated, 2.5 times distilled
2. Longrow - heavily peated, double distilled
3. Hazelburn - unpeated, triple distilled
Scotch single malt can, and usually is, a blend of whisky from the one distillery-the age statement indicating the youngest whisky in the bottle!
Great video! Love the enthusiasm and all the information shared in a clear and sophisticated way. Would love you to add comments about the impacts of where (tropics vs temperate climates) the rum is aged.
I'm also on team "Keep your wood out of my rum!". Thanks for this video!
One thing that I noticed in my rum journey is that it's not the age but country or location that matter most to me. Also brand is important. I favor certain brands or locations because they agree with my taste buds and afterfeel.
You turned me round from paying absolutely no attention to white / unaged rum due to the Bacardi effect, to the point where that unaged Daq is my favourite cocktail, but I’m still looking at them as them primarily as mixers or cocktail bases but education keeps moving me forward 👍
I prefer lightly aged rums, 3 years and less. I like how the aging mellows out the rums, but I don't like flavors that wood imparts on the rum (reminds me too much of whiskey when I get the woody tastes).
Kind of comparing apples to oranges though aren’t we? I would agree with you that aging does not INHERENTLY make a rum better. And I have great sipping rums that are relatively young, belying the idea that “more age = better” that someone coming from scotch, say, would be likely to have. So it’s certainly not a linear progression, and especially when you factor in cost (El Dorado 25 MIGHT be the best tasting rum in the world but at $560 a bottle I’m sure as hell not finding out). But with that said, if I’m reaching for a rum to sip neat, it’s usually going to have some age on it - unless it’s agricole.
Watching this while sipping on Appleton 8 year old. 😊
Would you consider plantation 3 star unaged? I enjoy sipping that neat sometimes even though it’s usually used in a mojito
Ha.... now theres a Question. I mean we all think of it as unaged. It doesn't have an age statement. And it's a White Rum. However, it is a blend of Unaged Barbados, 2-3yo Trinidad, and i think it's a 10yo Jamaican. Now by most Rum definitions around the world, yes it is unaged becasue the youngest Rum in the bottle is Unaged. But it's also very unique that it just have a 10yo in it too. Albeit probably less than 5%.
@@StevetheBarmanUK agreed. Regardless it’s a very balanced rum. Maybe my overall favorite
With whiskey, ageing for X years in a cold climate is not the same as ageing for X years in a hot climate, ageing affects the whiskey differently for each and every country. On top of that, barrel size can affect certain aspects of ageing, but not others. On top of that there's blending and sourcing. Even if you say that the situation is simpler with whiskey, whiskey still gets enormously complicated in terms of ageing, so if rum is any more complicated then I think it's fair to say that older does not equal better.
It's a bit like cars, are older cars better? Well it depends on the condition of the car, where it was made, who made it, how well it's been maintained, how manufacturing processes have changes, etc.
I tend to choose my rum based on price and a budget of £50. Personally heavily aged tends to be expensive especially in scotches.
shouldn't go by price I had 35 pound s rums that's been better than 50 some very good rums in 30s 40 mark s
To add on. If you caught the Live a few weeks back, you’d have seen in a Blind Tasting, £35/£50/£75/£100 Rums…the £35 won!
@@StevetheBarmanUK exactly
I typically find the older aged rums to be so oaky they almost remind me of a whiskey and bourbon.
@ 2-3 years good for mixing, @5-7 years good for neat, higher than that and I may as well buy whiskey or bourbon.
100% AGREE 👏👏
The age number doesn't tell you much. How many barrels in the mix are first fill, second fill and so on. Type of warehouse and temperature and humidity. Bourbon is all new barrels so it's a different animal than Scotch. I drink young and old whisky depending on the experience I'm in the mood for. I prefer a younger whisky that's aged in high quality barrels. I prefer the 5 year Rums so far.