Admiral Rodney 40% Royal Oak Golden Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. I’m not sure why exactly this is referred to as a limited edition, because it seems to have been a made into a permanent, premium part of the Chairman’s Reserve lineup for the last few years, but it’s not really important. What is important is the liquid in this bottle: The crown jewel of the St. Lucia Distillers collection, as far as I’m concerned. This is some absolutely lovely rum.

This is primarily a sipping rum. It’s presentation in what amounts to a decanter demands that it be enjoyed slowly and that it be showed off to friends. Presentation wise it has similarities to Angostura 1919 (another ACR rum). Taste wise it the Admiral would easily blow that ship out of the water. Some may turn their nose up at such things. I was fortunate enough to tr ia y the original Admiral Rodney long before I understood all things Pot and Column – I’ve always been glad I didn’t have such reservations about the rum. The original Admiral Rodney has long been a solid go to rum, when I want something not to challenging or aggressive. The 1931 is a very complex blend of both pot- and column-distilled rums between 6 and 11 years of age, aged in a combination of bourbon and port casks, and bottled at a more substantial 46% ABV (92 proof). As an extra X-factor, it also contains a notable percentage of sugarcane juice rum, distilled from the estate’s own sugarcane fields next to the distillery. The distillery refers to this as “agricultural rum,” distinct but related to the concept of rhum agricole, but presumably similar in character. This portion is effectively the most “Lucian” product the distillery makes, given that everything about the spirit hails from Saint Lucia.The Admiral Rodney line of rums is named for a British admiral (George Rodney) who took part in the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, a pivotal naval engagement between the British and French. Each of the three expressions in this line fittingly take their name from one of Rodney’s ships: Princessa, Royal Oak and Formidable, with ascending age statements and price tags. All three are exclusively column-distilled rums, which means they’re somewhat lighter bodied than pot-distilled rums or blends of pot and column distillate, as is found in the Chairman’s Reserve lineup. Regardless, these rums have some decent age statements, and fairly high price tags as a result. The rums in this blend are aged between 9 and 12 years. Maturation has occurred exclusively in Saint Lucia. So it’s a fully tropically aged rum. It has been produced on a Coffey Column Still. There are no Pot Still distillates in any of the Admiral Rodney rums to date.

I was able to taste four rums from SDL: Two from the Admiral Rodney line, and two from the Chairman’s Reserve line. With that said, let’s get to tasting. The finish is really good with a hit of nail varnish and a really nice weight of oak spices ginger and some lemon zest. This has a really nice balance all the way through it.The nose is quite minty – spearmint and a touch of menthol. Further nosing reveals some toffee and milk chocolate. Following on from this is a good weight of spicy and quite fresh oak. This is a quite vibrant and punchy rum. A touch medicinal. First up there are going to be 3 permanent releases in the Admiral Rodney rum range. This HMS Princessa is the least expensive of the line up. Admiral Rodney HMS Princessa is a blend of rums aged between 5 and 9 years. The rums in the blend come from Saint Lucia Distillers Coffey Column still. More specifically from the bottom plates of their 45 plate Coffey Still. There is no Pot Still rum to be found in any of these rums. I can hear groans of discontent amongst some enthusiasts already. A “Cask Collection” series is also planned and I will report on that when I get some more information.