The 1st annual New York Rum Festival was held on September 30th. The event showcased over 40 rums from large, micro and boutique distilleries including producers from various countries in the Caribbean, South America and the United States. The event was produced by the Rum Lab which hosted similar events in Chicago and San Francisco.
The Fest was held at S. O. B.’s (Sounds of Brazil), a live music venue at 204 Varick Street in the SoHo district of lower Manhattan which was an appropriate venue to host a rum event since they specialize in Afro-Latino music acts.
The event had a good mix of styles of rum from various countries and with this overwhelming amount of spirits to sample, I stayed away from white Rums and fruity cocktails and focused on aged rums which in my opinion are some of the most underrated spirits in the world. It was a good crowd of people enjoying the afternoon sipping on rum.
Seminar: Don Q Rum Master Class with Jaiker Soto (Puerto Rico)
Añejo: 3-8 year old rums, amber with grassy and oak notes on the finish.
151°: 3-5 year old rums, grassy, oily nose, big hit of alcohol with some honey notes on the finish.
Single Barrel: 9 year old rum, light amber, closed nose, dry finish with oak notes.
Spiced: 3-6 year old rums, light amber, vanilla on the nose, subtle flavors with a hit of heat at the finish, 90°.
Gran Añejo: 9-12year old rums, light amber, unusual sweet cotton candy and chocolate on the nose with chocolate notes on the finish.
Some of what I sampled:
Lost Spirits (California) Navy Style Rum
Montanya (Colorado) Oro
Boukman (Haiti) Botanical Rum
Chairman’s Reserve (St. Lucia) The Forgotten Casks
Foursquare Distillery (Barbados) 2004, Criterion, Zinfandel Cask Blend
Mount Gay (Barbados) Black Barrel, XO
Plantation (Barbados) 20th Anniversary
Plantation (Jamaica) 2002
Denizen’s Merchant’s Reserve (Jamaica) 8 year
Rhum J.M. (Martinique) V.O., V.S.O.P.
Clement (Martinique) Select Barrel, 10 year
Brugal (Dominican Republic) Gran Reserva 888
Abuelo (Panama) XV
Parce Rum (Columbia) 8 year, 12 year
Flor de Caña (Nicaragua) 12 year, 18 year
Diplomatico (Venezuela) Mantuano Extra Aged, Reserva Exclusiva
Don Pappa (Philippines) Small Batch
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