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Words by LargeUp Crew, Photo Courtesy Uncommon Caribbean/SBPR—
We’ve been waiting for the “rum renaissance” to happen for years. A day when our stateside contingent can walk into any pub or club and expect to find the same level of choices as our whiskey- and vodka-drinking friends. Or at least something more than the Captain Morgan, Bacardi and Malibu—with the occasional Appletons or Mount Gay sighting—we encounter at most stateside nightspots and watering holes.
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
A couple weeks ago we brought you word of Appleton Estate’s Jamaica Independence Reserve, a 50-year, $5,000 bottle of rum produced to commemorate next month’s 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence, which parent company J. Wray and Nephew claims to be the most mature rum on the market. Not to be outdone by their Jamaican rivals, Angostura is producing what it says will be the world’s most expensive rum to commemorate Trinidad’s own 50th anniversary, happening three weeks after Jamaica’s big day on Aug. 31. T&T’s top rum brand will produce only 20 500-mL bottles of Legacy by Angostura, which will retail for TT$160,000, or $25,000 US—about $1,200 a nip. Awoah.
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
Ready to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th? Got a spare 5 grand US in your pocket? Appleton Estate is celebrating Jamaica’s half-century of independence with what surely qualifies as one of the world’s most expensive rums. According to parent J. Wray and Nephew Co., the 50-year-aged Appleton Estate Jamaica Independence Reserve will be the oldest rum currently on the market worldwide. We just wonder if anyone will actually be drinking the stuff come Aug. 6. With only 800 bottles set for production, and earmarked for sale at high-end international liquor shops and duty-free vendors, we hope some Jamaicans will get a taste, not just foreign investors and collectors. Alright, who’s chipping in on a bokkle?
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Words by Eddie STATS Houghton—
Fools have been making moonshine from different forms of sugar since caveman days but the particular process of fermenting molasses–making alcoholic gold from the by-product of industrial sugar refining–was invented by plantation slaves of African descent, most likely in Barbados. That makes rum one of the Caribbean’s truly distinctive contributions to world civilization alongside steel drums and daggering. Like many of these other innovations, Rum didn’t take long to conquer the rest of the world. In the 1700s rum was so in demand that it was accepted in place of gold as a universal currency and may have actually caused revolutions from America to Australia. In fact, whether or not he grew hemp in his backyard, it is a matter of historical record that founding father George Washington curried votes in his run for president with open bars on a rum-punch called Bumbo. If he’d been Irish his nickname woulda been “Bumbo Red.” Bim! But anyway, on to the list…
