The Original Dark expression from Plantation has had a little bit of a revamp! It's now made with aged rum from Trinidad and Jamaica, which then blended together and aged further in Cognac casks, which should impart some fruity richness to the expression...

A fantastic treat from the Plantation range originally created by the company's cellar master Alexandre Gabriel and drinks historian David Wondrich for Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in 2015. To make it, they infuse the rinds of Queen Victoria pineapples in their white rum for a week then distil it, and infuse the fruit of the pineapples in dark rum for three months. These are married together and left to age in casks for three months. Pineapple deliciousness galore!

Also, if you're wondering about the name, it comes from the character Reverend Stiggins in Pickwick Papers, whose favourite drink was 'pineapple rum'.

Nose: Honeydew melon, cola cubes and a hint of Jamaican ginger cake. Pineapple notes are authentic, but not overblown.

Palate: Spiced molasses tart and crumbly shortbread. Pineapple lends juicy and slightly earthy elements. Cassia spiciness develops.

Finish: Vanilla, lemon, mango and spearmint.

A superb-looking decanter bottle of XO rum from Barbados, aged in bourbon barrels before being shipped to France for a secondary maturation in Cognac casks from the Ferrand house. The result is a well balanced rum with a remarkably long finish, with a palate of chocolate, banana, coconut and mango. Now this is some very good stuff.

Nose: Hints of spicy oak on the nose, with guava, a little desiccated coconut and dried banana. Buttery.

Palate: Spiced, creamy palate entry, with sweet vanilla notes and caramel. Oaky spices.

Finish: Caramel. Toasted oak.

Plantation 3 Stars is a crisp, tasty white rum made by blending spirit produced in Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados. Some of the rums in the blend are aged, though their colour is removed via a process of carbon filtration.

Nose: Hints of dried coconut and guava. A little honey too, and soft spice.

Palate: Spiced palate entry. Creamy vanilla custard, fresh sugar cane honey and even a hint of agave.

Finish: Floral finish. Zinging spices.

This 100% pot still Jamaican rum made with a blend of spirits from Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries, which Maison Ferrand now owns a third of after purchasing the West Indies Rum Distillery in 2017. Master blender Alexandre Gabriel created the Xaymaca (pronounced zay-muck-uh) brand, which is the original name for Jamaica that the indigenous Arawaks, who inhabited Jamaica well before Columbus set foot on the island in 1494, gave it. Xaymaca actually means 'land of wood and water.'

Tasting Notes: Carmalized banana and syrupy pineapple lead among drying herbal notes and prickles of brown spices. 

Plantation Rum Pineapple Smoky formula is an original rum with exotic and smoky flavours. This unique rum is the result of a collaboration between Plantation Rum and the Irish distillery Teeling. Hand-peeled Victoria pineapple peel is first infused for a week with Plantation 3 Stars white rum.

Limited to just 24 casks, the exclusive Trinidad 2009 expression was chosen from the cellars of Trinidad Distillers Limited by Alexandre Gabriel, Plantation Rum?s Master Blender, and Andrew Hassell, General Manager and rum historian at West Indies Rum Distillery. The next destination is already very eagerly awaited.

Continuously distilled in multi-column stills, Plantation Trinidad 2009 also stands out for its maturation process. This new limited edition benefited from a signature double ageing process inspired by a 300-year-old technique updated by Alexandre Gabriel, an authority in the art of ageing. This ancestral method is inseparable from the identity of Plantation Rums.

This superb rum was first matured for 11 years in 200-litre ex-bourbon casks in the Trinidadian distillery?s cellars, built entirely of red bricks and particularly admired by Alexandre Gabriel and Andrew Hassell. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, the bricks make it possible to maintain a cool temperature and, as a result, to exert greater control over the ageing of the cane Eaux-de-vie. Plantation Trinidad 2009 was then treated to an additional one-year ageing period in Javrezac, in France?s Charente region, in 400-litre French oak barrels from Maison Ferrand.

ABV 51.8%

The essence of Plantation Rum Original Dark is the wealth of its palate and its technique of double aging. Plantation Original Dark comprises the elegant rums of Trinidad which are distilled then aged in their tropical climate in the Caribbean in American oak barrels under high heat before traveling to France. Once in Europe, the House cellar master decides on less ?high esters? for the Trinidadian rum and blends in old rums from Jamaica (15 - 20 yrs.) This end result finishes like sweet nectar but also adapts beautifully to classic cocktails made with dark rum such as the Mai Tai or Daiquiri.