Distillery Visit: Two Drifters Distillery (England)
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
2w ago
This is the 4th visit from my English rum distilleries tour I did towards the end of last year. Two Drifters is one of the more well known English rum producers and I do admire their commitment to their rum craft and sustainability. Two Drifters is one of the (slightly) bigger rum distilleries I’ve visited and it’s based in Exeter, Devon. It was established by husband and wife, Gemma and Russ Wakeham in 2019. The idea came to fruition while they were both working in Vancouver, Canada and it was born from their love for rum. The inspiration for the name came from the song Moon River performed ..read more
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My News: Outlier Distilling New Brand Ambassador & Twisted Arm Spiced Manx Rum Review
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
1M ago
I was first introduced to Outlier Distilling Company at the 2022 RumFest and their rum was easily my highlight of the event. Rick and Ian, who set up their distillery in a small milk shed on the Isle of Man, were very enthusiastic to talk about their products and I could tell they were very passionate about making quality rum. I’ve previously reviewed their Hurricane Overproof Manx Rum and their Manchester Rum Festival limited edition, Punk Croc. I absolutely love their rums and their “outlier” approach and that’s why I’m proud to announce I’ll be working closely with them and will officially ..read more
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Review: Idle Assembly Rum
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
1M ago
Here’s a rum I’ve never heard of until David Flint Wood, one of the founders of the brand, came in touch with me about trying it. After looking into it I saw it has a somewhat weird story behind it and, I have to say, I absolutely love it. According to their website (and also the back label) Idle Assembly Rum was inspired by the time David spent in Dunmore Town on Harbour Island in the Bahamas where he lived for almost 30 years. There used to be a sign at Harbour Island’s Government Dock with a list of rules and regulations, one of which was saying: No loafing or idle assembly. It seems Dav ..read more
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Review: Wild Oxen Pure White Rum
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
1M ago
It hasn’t even been 2 months since I posted about my visit at Abingdon Distillery where I announced that they will release a white rum for their core range and now it’s here. Time really flies I guess! I remember trying a sample during my visit and I know I enjoyed it, so let’s see how the final product will behave in my glass now. Jordan Morris, the owner and distiller of Abingdon Distillery, has been working on the recipe for his white rum for around 9 months before he settled on it. He tried a few permutations using various yeasts in combinations of molasses and Demerara sugar washes until ..read more
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Review: Distinct British Rum – No.41 & No.57
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
1M ago
Hannah Boon, a former sales manager for Diageo GB, launched Distinct Distillers in order to make a product that would challenge the norms (hence the name) while keeping it as sustainable as possible. I’ve first experienced the Distinct rums just ahead of my British Rum Expo event last year when Annie, their Head of On Trade, visited Trailer with samples in order to ask for feedback while their product was in its early experimental phase. Both Hannah and Annie joined the British Rum Expo last year, which was an opportunity for them to observe what other British rum distillers were doing. You c ..read more
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Review: Landlocked White Rum
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
1M ago
Here’s an English rum made near Milton Keynes by someone with hospitality and culinary experience. Luke and Fiona Garnsworthy established Three Counties Spirits Co. and started making rum in September 2023. Luke’s background as a chef helped him a lot when it came to create Landlock, a molasses based rum made from scratch at their distillery. The Landlock range consists of a white rum, a Navy strength rum and a few other flavoured offerings. They also make bottled cocktails such as Mojito or Pina Colada. Luke reached out to me to have a look at his rum and I agreed to write about his standard ..read more
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Review: Camikara 12 Year Old
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
2M ago
At last year’s UK RumFest I was working the Trailer Happiness cocktail stand, but that didn’t stop me from exploring my neighboring stands. One of those stands was Camikara who boasted a large sign saying “Pure Cane Juice Rum” so I didn’t think twice about trying it. Camikara, which translates as “liquid gold” from Sanskrit, is made by Picadily Distilleries, a company whose story starts in 1953 in Punjab. It was then when K.N. Sharma started Kedar Nath & Sons, a company that was dealing in liquor distribution. His venture continued by opening the Picadili Restaurant and Bar. Its success a ..read more
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Review: Foursquare 15 Year Old Private Cask Selection – Nickolls & Perks 225th Anniversary
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
3M ago
Happy New Year everyone! Once again I’m starting the year with a rum from Foursquare Distillery – some would say it’s good luck. This is a private bottling made by Foursquare for Nickolls & Perks. Nickolls & Perks are wine and spirit merchants based in Stourbridge, England and were established in 1797 making them the 1520th oldest company in the world. With this year being their 225th anniversary, the family-owned company decided to celebrate it by launching their very first private bottling – and who better to work with than a family-owned distillery. Foursquare Distillery in Barbado ..read more
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The Rum Barrel Awards 2023
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
3M ago
Extra extra! Read all about it, fresh off the presses! The 2nd edition of The Rum Barrel Awards is here! This is my way of showcasing my personal highlights of the year by adopting a spirit format competition with awards by category. As I was going through my scores I noticed this year has been absolutely outstanding in terms of quality rums and I can’t wait to shine a spotlight on them. One could say it was a magical year, hehe. Expect everything from great praise to drama and controversy… but before we get started, let me explain how this is going to go. There are 4 different main categori ..read more
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Distillery Visit: Abingdon Distillery
The Rum Barrel Blog
by Alexandru Sandu
3M ago
Earlier this year I visited a friend’s bar back in Oxford where we chatted all things industry and spirits – and, as you would expect, rum. I mentioned to him my love for British distilled rums and, as a coincidence, he told me he was approached by someone making rum in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. And so he put me in touch with Jordan Morris, the owner of Abingdon Distillery, and I managed to set up a distillery visit with him. Abingdon Distillery started as an idea while Jordan was working abroad in Hong Kong. He noticed the limited selection of gins out there and so he toyed with the idea of pote ..read more
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