Plantation Rum SOTM April 21

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.