Review: Rum4U - Blog post by Allan Bjerreskov

The new, independent Danish bottler Rum4U has released their first bottles with an ambition to spoil the country's rum nerds. These are four highly potent bottlings that I have been allowed to stick my tongue and nose into. Read on to find out if you should do the same.

Blog post by Allan Bjerreskov

Rum4U is started by three guys from Jutland, Denmark, Lasse, Brian and Kim, who in their own words set out to "create and offer a unique experience for rum enthusiasts". The core of that experience is to let you taste the raw distillate alongside the finished aged rum. So when you buy one of Rum4U's single cask bottlings, you also get 5cl of the raw distillate so you can taste exactly how the barrel aging has affected it. As one of the founders, Lasse Bjørklund, explains: "We thought it would be fun to also be able to taste the pure raw distillate alongside the finished rum, so you could experience how the rum develops. And then we wanted to create our own unique rums. We would develop our own recipes and source the purest distillates. We would experiment based on our experience with different barrels and aim for the perfect result."
As a geek, I think this is an excellent idea. Unfortunately, I've only had the opportunity to taste the aged versions. But many points here for the idea of including a small sample of the raw distillate.

It also goes without saying that this idea cannot be implemented with 20 years gammel rom. So the rum in the four bottles I've tasted has only aged between 6 and 21 months. That might scare the average consumer off a bit - but the trick is that Rum4U uses very small barrels of only 40 liters - in several cases even brand new barrels. When a distillate ages in a small 40-liter barrel, it has much more contact with the wood compared to a standard ex-bourbon barrel, which typically holds 200-250 liters. Likewise, the impact from the wood in brand new barrels is much more intense than from used barrels. So young rum can have a lot of character despite short aging. According to Lasse Bjørklund, this is exactly the effect Rum4U was looking for: "We had to think creatively and realized that if we used small barrels (40 liters), we wouldn't have to wait half a generation for the aging, as it would go relatively quickly in these barrels. From there, the hunt was on to find the right barrels that we thought would add just the right amount of flavor to the raw distillates."

In general, short maturation is a growing trend in rum. As popularity increases, there is a need to get rum to market faster, so many producers are experimenting with new ways of aging to avoid waiting 15-20 years for a satisfactory result. In Rum4U's first series, we're talking about four very potent rye distillates, so let's test whether the short maturation has worked as intended.

Guyana Skeldon
Skeldon is a brand from Demerara Distillers Limited in Guyana. Skeldon rum is coveted and has been popular among rum enthusiasts ever since it graced some of the first legendary Velier bottlings. Rum4U's version has been aged for 21 months in a brand new American oak barrel and bottled at 64.8%. Naturally without any added sugar, color or flavor. This applies to all four rums in this review.

Aroma: The first thing I notice is the typical Skeldon notes of English licorice, cane sugar, raisins and caramel. In just 21 months, it has managed to develop some barrel character in the aroma. It finishes a little dusty, and from the smell, I would have guessed that the rum was somewhat older.

Taste: The high alcohol percentage is clearly evident. Licorice, tobacco and raisins are what immediately fill the mouth. It tastes good, and it's more untamed than other Skeldon I've tasted. Whether this is an advantage is a matter of temperament. The young age is more evident on the palate than on the nose, and personally, I think the Skeldon distillate could have benefited from a little more influence from the cask. But it's still a really nice glass - created in just 21 months.

Barbados W.I.R.D .
For many, Barbados rhymes with Foursquare. Perhaps more figuratively than phonetically. But there are several other distilleries on the island - one of them is the West Indies Rum Distillery from the capital Bridgetown. From there comes this rum, which has spent 18 months in an ex-Oloroso sherry barrel before being bottled at 60.4% alcohol by volume. WIRD has both column and pot stills. Here we are dealing with a potstill distillate with an ester level of 50-100.

Aroma: My nose senses cocoa, coffee beans and cola. There's a faint sweet note from the sherry cask, but I don't find it overpowering by any means. Once the rum has been allowed to sit in the glass for a while, the aroma changes profile and becomes more medicinal in its expression with hints of pepper and spices.

Taste: I was quite surprised to find cinnamon so prominent in the flavor. Notes of spice cake are also mixed in, and the alcohol takes up a lot of the flavor. A lot of rums from Barbados have distinct cask notes on the palate, and in my opinion, this is not the most obvious distillate for a short maturation. But it's interesting to see what a more untamed Barbados rum can do.

Jamaica New Yarmouth
New Yarmouth is not so well known in Denmark. They are behind the white Wray & Nephew Overproof rum, which many have probably tasted in cocktails. But their aged distillates have become sought-after among nerds since Compagnie Des Indes sent an ester bomb of a different world to the Danish market a couple of years ago. New Yarmouth makes rums with up to the permitted 1600 esters. Rum4U has taken a rum with a mark (HM) of 500-700 esters and aged it in an ex-bourbon barrel for 19 months. The rum is bottled at 60.2% alcohol.

Aroma: A classic New Yarmouth profile pours from the glass. Most of all, it smells like someone has turned the baker's best rum balls into something that can be bottled. There are also notes of overripe fruit and glue, while I also detect some grassy undertones. The latter must almost be because the distillate is still quite young. A super delicious scent that I could easily stick my nose in for an entire evening.

Taste: Flamed banana, burnt butter, heavy Jamaican funk and the classic New Yarmouth acidity. The most surprising thing for me is some balsamic notes in the aftertaste that I don't remember tasting in a New Yarmouth bottle before. It's really delicious, and here's a distillate that clearly doesn't need years of love in a cellar before it's ready to drink. There is, of course, more complexity in the long-aged New Yarmouth bottlings I've tasted - but not THAT much more. This distillate is so flavorful in itself that it would probably have to age for a very long time before the notes from the cask become dominant. At just over 60%, it strikes a nice balance between challenging wildness and drinkability. If you are only going to buy one bottle from the series, I would recommend this one. However, it's in stiff competition with...

Jamaica Hampden DOK
With the final bottle in the series, we turn up the esters and alcohol. If you're a fan of Jamaica rum, you probably know that DOK is Hampden's highest mark, which means that we're dealing with a high-potency distillate containing 1500-1600 esters. In other words, the highest allowed in Jamaica. The alcohol level is also well above the sister bottles in the series - 79%. To tame some of the Jamaican wildness, it has been aged for six months in a Madeira cask. Lasse Bjørklund says that they chose this particular DOK distillate because the raw distillate itself contained a bit of sweetness.

Aroma: Again, the profile is recognizable if you have smelled DOK before. And still have your sense of smell to repeat the experience. Flamed banana, sour candy, Jamaican funk and a hint of sharpie are the immediate impressions I get. It's not as fermented on the scent as I've experienced DOK before. At the same time, you also sense a sweetness from the Madeira cask.

Taste: There is, of course, a lot of power. But I don't sense that we are about 20% higher in alcohol strength than the NY bottling. It is most obvious in the way the rum dries out the mouth that we are so high up in the percentages. My expectation of fermented fruits is met more by the taste than the smell. They mingle with a little licorice and a subtle sweetness. You can find out how much is from the raw distillate and how much is from the Madeira dish if you taste them against each other. This tastes incredibly good. However, I can tell it's a fairly young distillate. Due to its strength and ester level, it explodes in the mouth and lingers for a long time. But the aftertaste doesn't develop much. Still, it's a fun ride while it lasts - and as long as your taste buds can handle it.

From concept to price to aging, there's no doubt that Rum4U is for the geeks. And it's great that in a small country like ours, there's room for a start-up that's all about making something for the few rather than something to please as many palates as possible and generate as much revenue as possible. Cheers to that!

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