Which aged Overproof rums do you have?

I have many overproof rums, these are my favourites in order: Caroni 1996 Trespassers 70.1% -> 94Velier WPM 63% -> 93Velier EMB 2010 62% -> 91Artesanal JNY Second Edition 500ml 65,7% -> 90Velier Hampden LROK 2010 6y 67% -> 87

I have no real desire for overproof rums (yet) and only have a few; - Plantation OFTD at 69% - Rum Nation Reunion 7yo at 60,5% - Smith & Cross at 57% - Isla del Ron Caroni (1997-21yo) at 52,5% so only overproof by an inch. I don't really like Plantation, I do like Smith & Cross and still have to open the Caroni and the Reunion.

vomi, Looks great, but I suppose they’re all quite expensive. How is your rating?

Harrie,  That’s not bad! I have also have some thoughts to buy and test the OFTD. About the Smith & Cross I think it should be a bottle for everybodys rum bar, it’s a fantastic rum especially when taking the price into account. I have rated the S&C 7+. How’s your rating of your Overproof’s?

I added my rating points, Velier WPM is available at expert24, sometimes for 80€. The EMB is hard to find but it's around 100€. The rest is sometimes available on the second market, JNY for 80€.LROK could be more than 100, but I got it for 85€ some months ago.

How does this one tastes? Isla del Ron Caroni (1997-21yo) at 52,5% I have the 89 version but haven't heard anything good about it. Maybe I better sell it then.

@ Stefan Persson; I rated S&C an 8 (7+ for the rum and an extra mark for the S&C having the guts to bring out this rum at this pricepoint). I still have to rate Plantation OFTD but that will get no more than a 4 or 5; the scent isn't half bad but on the palate nothing much escapes the raisin/charcoal overload. Even after a couple of minutes you still taste the charred wood in an unpleasant way. The others are not rated nor tasted yet.@ vomi1011; I can't say anything yet as the bottle is still closed (there is one rating though on RumRatings; https://rumratings.com/brands/11773-isla-del-ron-1997-trinidad). Hard to compare anyway for me as it is my first pure Caroni; all the others were part of a blend.

vomi, Great ratings, and the price isn’t that deterrent that I expected.

René, Great collection! The only one I’ve tasted is the GunRoom.

Great rums Rene. The 1997 Bristol is almost mild for 61.5%. A good one. Gunroom Navy is also a good and young WP. I like it also. @Harrie I know a review of the 89y. Maybe I keep it, because it's so special. 😄https://singlecaskrum.com/2018/05/24/caroni-light-style/

Some facts about Gunroom navy rum. It’s created by the Swedish company Renbjer & Magnusson and the distillates in the blend comes from Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica (maybe WP) and a fifth component from a secret origin.

There is clearly a WP in the Gunroom, because it's is very dominant, it's a young one <4y I think. Have you tried the "Nanny of the Maroons" 65.3%? It's also a young Ghana/WPE blend. It tastes special, not a usual blend.

vomi, No I’ve not tasted that one. Great to know that the Jamaican part in Gunroom navy rum comes from WP.

This one is also a good WP. It tastes like a WPM but is more sharp than the Velier. https://bestofwines.de/rum/jamaika/lluidas-vale/wp-lluidas-vale/wp-lluidas-vale-the-duchess-14-years-lluidas-vale-cask-38-the-duchess-humingbirds-2006.htm

I know the two WP Estates very well. Both are WPL, the younger is bright and sharp. The 12y is great, 89 points. It's rich and saturated, it has more heavy aromas like leather and older wood than the younger one. But WPM is a little bit different, they are not that fruity and more heavy. You get more wood, leather, wood lacquer. It's like you are drinking an old appleton or a Monymust EMB 2010 e.g.This Monymusk in the photo how does it taste?

Forgive a newbie question - aren't essentially all single cask rums bottled at cask strength "overproof" if "proof" for rum is 80? Or is "proof" the true gunpowder proof below which the gunpowder won't burn (110-ish), or some other definition?

@ Captain Lee; There is more than one definition around. Most common ones are that overproof starts either from 50% and upwards or from 57% and higher. For me I keep on to the first one so I consider any spirit with an ABV over 50% as an overproof spirit.

Proof was a definition in the royal navy for 57,15%. If the flame burns blue, then it's proofed that the spirit is not diluted. It's 4:7, means 57,15% is 100 proof.Proofed in US is 1:2, means 50% is 100 proof. Overproofed is more than 57,15% according to the english definition. The flame should burn yellow. I've never burnt overproofed rums, so I'm not sure about that.

I read that to check if the grog (rum+water in the early version, later some citruses were added) prepared by the sailors was not too strong (sailors used to cheat because they wanted to drink harder) the captain mixed their grog with gunpowder and ignited by focusing sunlight with magnifying glass. If only gunpowder burned than the abv of the grog was sufficiently low but if also the rum caught fire, further dillution was required. This was an everyday procedure in the Royal Navy.

The story that I read had it a little bit differently. The sailors were concerned about being cheated by the Purser (where the name "Pusser" comes from) - the Purser controlled ship's stores, and was given a budget by the government for purchase of goods needed on board ship, including food, alcohol, sundries, etc. Pursers could make personal profit by cheating the sailors and pocketing the difference, so they were universally viewed with suspicion but the sailors. The gunpowder "proof" test kudzu describes was to prove to the sailors that they were getting full strength alcohol rations, and not drink that the Purser had diluted to stretch supply and thereby profit.

As we should have expected these sea stories have many deviations. Thanks for clarifying the Pusser's name, I wasn't aware it was connected to the purser.

@Kudzey I've burnt Pussers 54 and 75. Both burns blue. So it makes no sense to burn a full proof with gunpowder. Because if it burns it is full proof or over proof, if not it is underproof. No mather there is gunpowder or not, maybe the color of the flame would make a differece?But if I would burn a underproof and it burns with gunpowder, what does it mean? Maybe it means it has the needed strenght to burn. That would confirm your statement, gunpowder was used to define a specific strength.On the other hand, would gunpowder burn with water? Maybe not. Does anyone have any gunpowder left? Mine went out, I had to calm the crows this afternoon😂

Captain Lee has described the Purser’s, nicknamed Pusser, role correct. But if I’ve got the correct info it was the sailors that checked that the Purser didn’t cheat them by drowning the gunpowder with rum whereafter they checked if it’s still ignited, if not wasn’t the Purser worth much.

Stefan, I still don't understand why they needed the gunpowder. Clairin at 49.3% doesn't burn, but a Detente at 51% burns (without gunpowder). What was the purpose of gunpowder?

I believe that they at that time thought that the gunpowder didn’t ignited if it was drowned in liquid with an ABV below a certain grade. Which of course is correct but I’m not the guy to tell what level that is. That’s why they called it Gunpowder proof, cause the powder wasn’t useless even though it was wet.

Aged overproofs are what I like, so I also have a number of them. Many of them I have not rated yet as I am still getting to learn them. Some of my faves so far: Foursquare Redoubtable - 61% -Barbados, molasses, Pot/column blend, 14 years ex-bourbon and ex-madeira casks Holmes Cay Belize 2005 - 61% - Traveller's distillery, molasses, column still, 15 years ex-bourbon casks XXX/6 - 67.2% - Mauritius, cane juice, column still, 10 years (8 in oak and 2 years in ex-bourbon) Black Tot 50th - 54.5% - multiple Tiptoeing gently into some Jamaicans and other higher ester expressions - still learning to like those! Any suggestions for beginner's aged overproof Jamaicans welcomed.

Captain Lee, I haven’t tasted any of them, but I’m sure that at least the Foursquare is great cause almost everything Richard Seale stands behind is great.

Here's a good discussion of "overproof". https://cocktailwonk.com/2020/03/begone-overproof-rum.html

I have read the article and like most of what I read of "Cocktailwonk", but this is none of the better ones. Of course, "Overproof" is not a homogeneous category, I think no one claims that. That as the author puts it, I think he underestimates us rum lovers, I am absolutely sure that we, the rum drinkers, know that there is a big difference between "Overproof" and "Overproof" depending on the raw material, distillation method, etc. Using the terms "Overproof", "Navy strength" and "Gunpowder Proof" is an old tradition in Europe and then mainly in the UK and their fleet. I am a person who cherishes traditions and I also happen to like "Overproof rum" regardless of category or subcategory.

Stefan - I agree - I like the terms also. Part of his point is that "Overproof" is not a very helpful way to categorize rums, in the same way that "light", "dark", and "black" are not very helpful. The rum lovers know this, but the general public shopping for a bottle of rum to make the Mai Tai at home that they had on vacation doesn't. So as far as labelling goes, I'm totally fine with it for branding or marketing. But also on the label I would like to see where it was distilled; type of still/s; where, in what, and for how long it was aged; ABV; ester marque; additives. Then we can compare apples to apples.

Poor information is a general problem when it comes to the spirit drink rum because it is so diversified and the reluctance of some producers to declare the content in a good enough way. The only thing we as consumers can do is boycott the producers who do not live up to our expectations. Another thing that would have been good would have been if organizers of rum festivals, rum cruises and similar events did not invite the producers who do not meet any form of minimum requirements.

Is it comparable to English Harbour Sherry or the regular english Harbour?

Vomi, I remember when I reviewed the Velier 2012 version I thought that it was quite much like the regular 5yo but much stronger and with a longer finish but today I would say that they both also is much more intense and complex as well. But I still would say that they both are unmistakable based on the English Harbour 5yo with some more aging and much richer in esters and congeners. I like them very much, but I also think that the regular one is a fantastic everyday rum at an unbeatable price.

Three more on the way; - Kintra Sample Eleven 1st SE (54,8%)- Kintra Sample Eleven 2nd SE (51,7%) - Kintra Sample Seventeen Pot Still Rum (60,5%) All of them ordered after trying the 'original' Kintra Sample Eleven. Apparently they hold some of the rum back every time they make a new batch, give it a different treatment for a year and bottle it at a higher ABV in a limited special edition. Despite the limited quantity their prices don't hit the roof; you just have to move fast when they come out (2nd SE in total 298 bottles). From the first I could only get a decent sample (60ml).

Vomi, I made a retest yesterday evening of both the 2012 Velier and the 2014 English Harbour since my thoughts above was from a tasting about two weeks ago. Now I would say that the EH is richer and more intense than the Velier.