By
George Brozowski
Rum
is a very interesting drink with a colorful and checkered
past. In some form or another it dates back thousands of years
but truly gained fame (or possibly better put, infamy) on
the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 17th century
where it was primarily distilled. From there it quickly spread
to Colonial North America where the first rum distillery was
established in 1664 on Staten Island. Very quickly the manufacture
of rum became early New England's largest and most prosperous
industry, go figure. On top of that, in those early years
of the republic, tobacco was one of the biggest exports so
in effect our country was actually founded on drugs and alcohol.
Sex and rock&roll would come next but not for many years.
In
order to support the demand all this rum distillation created
for molasses, a large workforce was required down in the Caribbean
on the sugar plantations. A trade between Africa and the Caribbean
and the colonies was quickly established and that was how
slavery came into being. No, it wasn't cotton that got that
slavery ball rolling it was actually rum. And of course rum
was the medium of exchange back then and typically a slave
could be purchased for roughly four gallons of rum.
Rum
also served as the engine of economic exchange in helping
fund enterprises such as organized crime, and military insurgencies
like the American Revolution and Australia's Rum Rebellion.
George Washington insisted on rum at his inauguration. Politicians
bought votes with rum and it seems like everyone was having
a rummy good time, except of course, for the poor slaves.
The
Royal Navy used to serve a daily ration of watered down rum
to all its sailors who called it grog. And when the pirates
of the Caribbean got their hands on rum, as we all know, all
hell broke loose. And now let's move forward a few hundred
years and get to the task at hand.
The Seralles family has been making rum in Puerto Rico through
6 generations spanning over 147 years so I guess they might
have this process down pat by now. The name of their rum "Caliche"
comes from a type of limestone found around their plantation.
The
Serrallés manufacturing process is characterized by
a multiple distillation system and carbon-active filtration
and ageing in white American oak casks. White rums are usually
not aged. Caliche uses the Solera System.
This is a 3 layer arrangement of casks. When using Solera
rum for production they take the maturate from the lower layer
casks, which are the oldest. Those casks are then refilled
with product from the casks in the middle layer. Maturate
from the upper layer is then used to refill the casks in the
middle to replace what was used and so on.
This
rum comes in an antique looking bottle made of rippled glass
and has a length of cord wrapped around its neck. The large
orange letters that spell out Caliche Rum
complete the theme. This rum is completely transparent with
no color picked up from being aged in oak. The nose is very
delicate for a rum. There is no alcohol vapor. All I really
get is an overall sweetness mixed with a vegetative sugar
cane like background and a hint of vanilla. On the palate
the sweetness comes forward followed by the vanilla and the
oak finally makes its appearance. All of this combines surprisingly
in a very delicately balanced mixture. The finish is unusually
smooth with just enough spice notes to make it interesting.
This
rum is smooth and complex enough to enjoy straight up or on
the rocks but we didn't stop there. In a mojito it manages
to maintain its presence without being overpowering and compliments
the sweetness of the other ingredients. In a daiquiri it's
a bit too laid back but still mixes well with the lime and
simple syrup. In those cocktails you might want to go with
a rum that's got a bit more bite and is less sweet but this
Caliche Rum still plays well with all those
other ingredients. I actually prefer it on the rocks all by
itself.
The
bottom line is that this is a very good and sippable rum that
is complex yet very smooth and well distilled and finished.
I would even qualify it as a super-premium rum based on its
taste profile. The real bottom line is its very affordable
price point. At only $20.99 per 750 ml bottle it's a steal
and a deal, go get you some!
Calliche Rum
Ingredients:
2 oz Caliche Rum
1 oz Don Q Coco Rum
1 oz Coconut Water
(Vita Coco and Zico work best)
1/4 oz Agave Nectar
Garnish: Dry Coconut Flakes
Procedure:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and shake
until chilled. Strain into an ice filled rocks glass. Add
garnish.
Click
Here for Super Summer Daiquiris with Caliche Rum
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
www.calicherum.com/