As the rum category has grown in recent years, so, too has the number of what we like to call “aftermarket” rums — that is, rums brought from the Caribbean and bottled or branded somewhere else — sometimes losing a bit of their identity in the process. 

That’s not to say many (most, even) of these rums are not wonderful — but there is nothing like actually going to the Caribbean and sampling the spirit in its native habitat — tasting what people drink and the brands they enjoy in the way (and in the bottle) that they drink it. 

And the more you do that, the more you begin to develop an affinity for certain rums. 

Repeated trips begin to shape your taste, pointing you to a certain local favorite that becomes your regular when you’re traveling there. 

And as a veteran of countless trips to the Dominican Republic over the years, I can say confidently that my go-to rum when in the country is Ron Barceló (a rum producer whose history dates back to 1925) particularly the brand’s Barceló Imperial. 

In a hotel bar or a beachfront eatery or a market, it’s the one I always gravitate toward, a very fine rum at an always agreeable price point. 

And, happily, it’s broadly available in the United States, too.  

For a long time, it was the signature Barceló expression, an eminently drinkable, complex expression with a delightful, nutty finish not overly dry like some of its competitors within the country.  

What’s also special about Barceló is that it’s a single-estate rum — the cane the company uses is grown on-site. 

And while it’s not technically a rhum agricole (a designation that is reserved for sugarcane-juice rums of the French Caribbean), it is made from sugarcane juice, not molasses, the only rum in the Dominican Republic to do so, as Rod Simmons, US Brand Manager for Barceló, confirmed to me. 

That all adds up to a unique rum in a country that is one of the Caribbean’s rum-making leaders.

About a decade ago, though, the company raised its game, however, with something very special: the Barcelo Imperial Blend 30 Anniversario.

The rum, which was, at the time, a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Barceló Imperial, is an ultra-small-batch rum, with just 600 bottles made each year for the United States market. 

The rum is aged first for 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels before another two years of aging in French oak casks. 

In effect, this is the flagship, the pinnacle of Barceló.

So what’s it like?

There’s an earthy aroma of chocolate orange, leather, pepper and tobacco. 

The flavor profile is marked by coffee and cardamom, port wine, black pepper and a strong note of salted caramel. 

This is a well-rounded, interesting rum, with an elegant, luxurious finish that just seems to keep going, an endless sugarcane journey. 

And then there’s the bottle, and its wooden bottom platform, are elegant and ceremonial, adding one of the most important criteria for any luxury rum: every time you open the bottle, it’s an event. 

Plainly, this is a grand rum.

But more importantly, it’s a reminder of why to love rum from the Dominican Republic.

Rum Journal Rating

95 Points

For more, visit Ron Barceló.

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British Airways will soon be serving Barbados with year-round, daily flights out of London Heathrow, Barbados tourism officials confirmed this week. 

The year-round daily flights will launch Oct. 17, according to Barbados Tourism Minister Lisa Cummins. “For more than 15 years, Barbados has been engaging British Airways on the re-establishment of London Heathrow as the gateway to Barbados, following the retirement of its Concorde service. We are thrilled therefore to see this finally come to fruition as it opens the door for us, quite literally, for growth opportunities in cities and continents that were once out of our reach.”

Cummins said the flights would also help improve connectivity across the UK. 

“Post-COVID-19, with British Airways seeing the contraction of various routes, the opportunity presented itself for this service and we were determined to secure it,” the Minister said. “Understanding the challenges currently faced by our industry, it is critical for us to be both smart and aggressive with our growth strategy, and this represents that.”

British Airways will be operating the route on Boeing 777-200 aircraft. 

The flights will supplement daily flights from London Gatwick, which will run from Oct. 2020 through April 2021. 

“The U.K. continues to be our primary source market. In 2019, Barbados reported record arrivals from the U.K.—234,658 arrivals of the destination’s overall 712,945. We therefore expect that this addition will bring us even more favorable results as we look confidently ahead to our future,” Cummins said.

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Right now, more than ever, we all want to be in the Caribbean.

There’s that feeling of the Caribbean that we want; that spirit of the Caribbean with which we so desperately want to engage — to experience its wonders, its beauty, the love of its people. 

But while a number of destinations in the region have reopened in some form for visitors, many others remain restricted or closed. 

In other words, right now it’s not as easy as it used to be to get to the Caribbean. And so what we seek is a gateway, a window, a portal. A way to get there in spirit. 

And, naturally, that brings us to rum. 

Few spirits manage to capture the essence of a place, of its character, its energy, as rum. Every rum is a journey of its own to the Caribbean, even if for a fleeting moment or a few savored sips. 

We’ve long extolled in these pages the transportive power of the spirit, its ability to take you somewhere else, to a far-off beach bar, to the smoke-filled seats of a Lolo, to a dimly lit rum bar; to the deck of a boat. 

And that’s particularly true with flavored rums. 

While Rum Journal of course focuses on the art of fine aged rums, we happily acknowledge the place and import of flavored expressions — rums without pretense — they’re rums that are designed to take you somewhere fun. 

That brings us to one of the newest flavored rums on the scene: Rude Bwoy. 

The Rude Bwoy brand, the brainchild of James Larson and Patrick Mitchell (whose family has been in the Caribbean for almost half a millennium), who took their rummaking knowledge and tradition to Florida’s The Point distillery and produced a range of spirits including a terrific new coconut rum. 

The coconut expression of Rude Bwoy, which gets its name from the early days of ska music in Jamaica (a “rudie” is a mate or a friend), is stronger than the average flavored rum at 35 degrees, and is made, Wright and Larson tell us, from exclusively natural ingredients. 

So what’s it like?

Rude Bwoy Coconut has an aroma of confectioner’s sugar and coconut husk. 

The flavor profile is marked by coconut, vanilla, cane stalk, white pepper and citrus peel. 

The comparatively higher proof gives it a bold edge – but it’s remarkably balanced. 

Most coconut rums have that unwelcome veneer of artifice; this doesn’t – it tastes real, it tastes fresh, and authentic and even a bit complex. 

It’s great on the rocks or in a cocktail, but it even works neat; plainly, it’s the best coconut rum we’ve tried in a long time. 

Or, as one of our tasters noted, it’s like “the beach in a bottle.”

And right now, that’s exactly where we want to be. 

Rude Bwoy Coconut Rum

Rum Journal Rating: 90 Points 

For more, visit Rude Bwoy. 

— CJ

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