Had a fantastic time up at Smuggler’s Cove for a special education session for Rumbustion Society members with self-proclaimed Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell on Thursday. These occasional sessions are available to Guardian-level Rumbustion members and above, so keep working on your SC rum list to have the opportunities to attend special events like this.
Burrell was there to mostly discuss Equiano Rum, where he has an ownership stake. The rum is an interesting combination of column-still rum from Mauritius from Africa along with pot/column distillate from Foursquare in Barbados where the rum is blended and bottled.
Equiano Original is an aged expression with the molasses-based Mauritius rum aged for 10 years in French Oak/ex-Cognac barrels and the Barbados rum aged for 8 years in ex-Bourbon barrels. Issued at 43% ABV and very easy to sip but since this blend leans more on the Barbados side it really isn’t that unique when sipping aside from the concept of an African/Caribbean rum blend.
On the other hand, Equiano Light is a much more interesting blend since it uses unaged cane juice-based distillate from Mauritius with a lightly aged Barbados rum. This is quite a bit more compelling in that this expression has majority Mauritius rum in the blend and the cane juice notes tempered by the molasses-based rum makes for a very easy to drink rum issued at 43% ABV. We were given welcome daiquiris at SC’s event and the rum worked great in that format. Sipping the Light neat, there are a complex set of flavors including a bit of cinnamon along with vanilla and fruit notes. Not “grassy” at all. I love it and you should seek this out for sampling or purchasing.
After the rum tasting event I headed upstairs for more cocktails and discussion with other patrons. See the photo of Woody Miller and me drinking Mai Tais. It was that kind of night.
