The latest news from Jamaica's long and winding GI process. www.rumwonk.com/p/jamaica-ru...

Tasting Sail No. 2, the second limited-edition of Planteray’s Navy-style rum. To my palate, No. 2 dials back the fruitcake spices of No. 1, replacing them with more Demerara and heavy Trinidad notes. All in all, I find the No. 2 closer to the flavors I associate with the RN flavor profile.

Super fun tasting episode with @rumwonk.bsky.social. We puzzle over my Grandma's tiny bottle of 1970s Captain Morgan, talk Jamaican rum history, and compare my bottle to a modern Jamaican bottling. Watch the video or read the transcript at the link, or listen in on your favorite podcast app! 🍸

A follow-up to my earlier story. An Equiano co-founder and large shareholder appears to have purchased the brand's assets, beating out a rival bid from another co-founder. www.rumwonk.com/p/equiano-ru...

There's more to the recent Equiano news than you may have heard, including an Uncle Nearest connection. The latest from my Rum Wonk newsletter. www.rumwonk.com/p/equiano-ru...

"...the 2nd Adjusted Formula was a necessary accommodation, rather than an improvement on his original rum iterations ... Why use an understudy when the star performer is available?" Some deep thoughts for this year's Mai Tai Day. www.rumwonk.com/p/mai-tai-ru... #maitaiday

What was London Dock rum—and why did it matter just as much as the Navy’s daily tot? A chapter excerpt from the new book, "The Rum Never Sets" explains. www.rumwonk.com/p/london-doc...

Book 14 of 2025: The Tequila Ambassador V.O. by Tomas Estes. I tried to find the 2012 version around 8 years ago to no avail, and this is a beautifully expanded version put out by @rumwonk.bsky.social WonkPress. www.wonkpress.com/products/the...

El Dorado's new PM/DHE release blends Port Mourant and Diamond High Ester marks. While PM isn’t high ester, DHE goes up to 7,000 gr/hlAA of esters. It follows El Dorado’s previous LBI/DHE blend. Bottled at 51.7% ABV, the PM asserts itself first, then the DHE mark roars to life with a long finish.

“Jamaica rum” once said it all in drink recipes. But today, with every producer making a variety of different rums, it’s time to break down the common substyles seen in practice. See link to the Rum Wonk article with more details below - or use the QR code! www.rumwonk.com/p/jamaica-ru...

The American Distilling Institute asked me to write about the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados for their Distiller Magazine. An overview of the distillery's history, with a particular emphasis on what's new in 2017. distilling.com/distillermag...

Land Ho! We’re excited to share the arrival of our new book, The Rum Never Sets: 300 Years of Royal Navy & London Dock Rum, by me and Alexandre Gabriel. An epic quest to uncover the untold truths behind three centuries of Royal Navy and London Dock rum. www.wonkpress.com/products/the...

"The Source will be available to select global markets starting July 2025 and priced at $70,000 USD." Well, now we know. 😊  www.prnewswire.com/news-release...

Hey NOLA friends! Or folks in New Orleans later this month for whatever reason... 😊 Come see me at the Arnaud's French 75 Bar on July 21st between 7 and 9 PM. More details in the post graphic!

So... here's a very interesting US TTB label approval: a (minimum) 51-year aged Appleton. 100% pot still, 62% ABV and 700ml. The label says "One of 25 Decanters" but that may just be for the US market. Appleton is teasing a July 15th launch, and pricing isn't known, but surely will be $1000+.

As the Community Envoy for the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers' Association, I get to interview the folks making the Caribbean's best rums. In our sixth episode of WIRSPA's Rum Makers series, we chat with Marc Paul, Angostura's distillery manager. Link to watch: youtu.be/GsWOA0ZEj9M?...

My latest Rum Wonk newsletter story takes readers behind the curtain of independent rum bottlers, with some surprising twists. This infographic, which John Hsu of Raising Glasses created, is just the tip of the iceberg. See RumWonk for the full story: www.rumwonk.com/p/why-does-t...

My latest on the Rum Wonk Newsletter. Additives in rum are a controversial topic. In this post, I present the regulations of 24 key rum-making regions regarding the matter. This infographic here is just part of the full story here: www.rumwonk.com/p/rum-additi...

Wray & Nephew’s “Edwin Charley Proprietor’s Collection" from 2005. The four rums are: ‘Foundation’, ‘Transformation’, ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Virtue’. The slender 700ml hand-blown Venetian glass bottles contain glass statuettes inside. Each symbolizes one of the steps in the rum-making process.

While Appleton Estate and 1749 are nearly synonymous, the brand itself only dates to 1944. The brand was registered in the US in 1945, as seen here. The earliest use in Jamaica was 1944. While "Appleton" previously appeared on Wray & Nephew labels, Appleton was a descriptor, not the brand itself.

Sugar Mill Rum first appeared in Jamaica circa 1961 and was the first column distilled Jamaica rum promoted as such. Jamaica's rum makers realized that they could no longer avoid using column stills. The brand's ownership is murky, but a 1972 W&N report suggests it owned the brand.

Loved Matt's latest newsletter! Keep your agricole rhums out of my Mai Tai, please!

My latest from the Rum Wonk newsletter. How the meaning of "Martinique rum" changed over 50 years, why many tiki bartenders don't realize this, and (finally) a new rum that may be a reasonable sub in golden era recipes. www.rumwonk.com/p/essential-...

Reason #11,843 to not trust AI generated answers. (As if you needed more.) There are plenty of beloved recipes that use an ounce or more of Angostura. For the answer, i.e., "nope", see this Cocktail Wonk article: cocktailwonk.com/2019/10/too-...

The confusion about what constitutes a "column still" isn't just an idle curiosity. It can affect spirts competition results, and who gets a medal. My latest on the (always free) Rum Wonk newsletter. www.rumwonk.com/p/when-is-a-...

A peak into the insanity of shipping companies. These are the charges to send a 9 lb. from New Orleans to the UK via UPS. If we'd walked into the UPS store as a retail customer, we'd pay $323! But since we have a UPS account, it's "only" $60 -- less than 20% of what retail customers pay. (1/2)

It's an almost daily question in the rum groups, "Where are the best places to buy rum in the Caribbean?" My latest Rum Wonk posts address the topic in a two-part series, including tips on getting it all home and duty-free limits. www.rumwonk.com/p/good-place... www.rumwonk.com/p/good-place...

Make ours the same.... (1948 advertisement) Coruba wasn't always a Wray & Nephew brand. However, the brands rum has been made by W&N since 1962, and the company was acquired it in 1965. The new Jamaica Rum Fans FB/IG page is sharing Jamaica content on the regular now.

NRJ’s most recent release is “MSR,” distilled in 2007 and aged for 17 years. MSR refers to a column-distilled mark made at Clarendon. Although the MSR mark’s ester levels are listed as less than 10 gr/hlAA, the flavor is classic long-aged Jamaican—anything but lightweight. Bottled at 55.1% ABV.

Now in my Top Ten list of “Days” I won’t be celebrating.

For those with a keen interest in the Jamaica Rum GI and the issue currently before the courts there, you may have seen recent stories presenting the J. Wray & Nephew position. This recent article presents the perspective of National Rums of Jamaica. jamaica-gleaner.com/article/focu...

"...Jamaica rum was suited for washing off the feet of horses." Smack talk from the Barbadians in a 1951 Barbados Advocate article. Elsewhere, “The English people were surprised when they drank Barbados rum and found that they did not have to go to the drug store and buy themselves a mouth wash.”

In advance of the forthcoming Wonk Press book on Royal Navy and London Dock rum, some rare video footage of a Royal Navy rum ration issuance during Operation Mainbrace (1952). Sorry, no sound in this one.

“Mount Homosexual Eclipse,” “Havana Membership Especial,” and “Cruzan Aged Darkish” are among the examples of “Reasonably Aged Rum” in a new article, “The 9 Important Tiki Rum Types – A Newbie’s Information” 1/3

Short answer: no. But some folks keep trying. www.rumwonk.com/p/is-sorghum...

Perils of a Publisher #394: Google Ads stopped showing one of our products (without notification) because of "promotional text" in the item image. The item image is the actual cover of the book. FFS Google... get your shit together.

Solera Shouldn't Be a Dirty Word in Rum - The latest for my Rum Wonk newsletter. Solera aging of rum is often demonized by enthusiasts, but the issue is misleading age representations, not solera. Also, some rums utilizing solera without age-related controversies. www.rumwonk.com/p/solera-sho...

No worries. When we need this data later, I’m sure we can just ask the Russians nicely for it. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/u...

Fun Fact: Democrats are wearing pink tonight as a symbolic protest against people who want them to do something meaningful

After a short break to gallivant around France, the Rum Wonk Substack is back with more nerdy thoughts. The infographic here is the quick hit. The full story is here: www.rumwonk.com/p/rum-not-al... And if you like what you're seeing, give it a subscribe. It's free!

The Democratic party needs to immediately appoint and support Shadow Cabinet Secretaries able to give press conferences and issue statements every single day.

No “both sides” here from The NY Times…

Really all you need to know about how useless and cowardly US “mainstream” media has become.

trying to remember that we truly do not know what tomorrow brings. for instance you can shoot your puppy and write about it and it seems like your political life is over but next day you’re running Homeland Security in a cowboy hat and lip filler

Absolutely this.

For a really great history of the Mount Gay brand, be sure to check out this post from @rumwonk.bsky.social , who was my guest from the last episode, tasting that La Mauny rum. I’m not going to repeat all that here when he’s done it so well. 12/

Rum History in Photos. Column stills at Vizcaya distillery in Cuba, owned by Jose Arechabala S.A., best known today for founding the Havana Club brand in 1934. Date unknown, but presumably prior to the mid-1950s. #rum #cuba #cubanrum #havanaclub

Rum history in photos. Fermentation tanks at an unspecified Martinique rhum distillery circa 1936. From a text by Désiré Kervégant.

A crash course for some, a refresher for others. My latest on the Rum Wonk Substack sets the record straight on the "secret sauces" of Jamaica rum. Use the QR code read more, or visit: www.rumwonk.com/p/jamaica-ru...