Category: Spiced Rum

Tampa Bay Rum Company – Gaspar’s Rum

Monday, April 20, 2020 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

Located in the historic Ybor City neighborhood, a visit to Tampa Bay Rum Company is a delight, both for the rustic, festive atmosphere and to taste some fine rum samples. Your first stop is the appropriately decorated Buccaneer Bar, where proprietor Sam Meyers and master distiller Brad Bunn welcome visitors to their charming craft distillery.

entrance to Tampa Bay Rum Company Tasting Rom

entrance to the tasting room

Tasting Room Bar at Tampa Bay Rum Company

tasting the rums in the Buccaneer Bar

The Rum Distillery Tour

The tour continues behind the scenes, with a walk through the barreling area into an immaculate production space where we find large fermenting tanks and their big copper pot still with rectifying columns.

barrels of rum resting

Copper Pot Still at Tampa Bay Rum Company

the copper pot still

Tampa Bay Rum Company uses top-grade molasses from Okeelanta Sugar Mills in South Florida for their seven day fermentation. Brad specifies different types of yeast for each fermentation at different temperatures to achieve the proper variations. The reserve rum is distilled at a lower proof for a slightly heavier bodied distillate.

Award Winning Rum

Brad has earned a reputation as a masterful rum maker. His premium Gasparilla Reserve — aged exclusively in 57 liter Maple Syrup Rye Whiskey Barrels — won Best In Class Craft Rum in the 2020 American Distillers Institute competition.

The 80 proof spiced rum ($29.99) made with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, clove and allspice is delicious. The rums that sell best in the tasting room are Coconut, followed by Scurvy Lime ($29.99) which really captures the essence of the local Florida citrus crop. The 80 proof white rum ($27.99) is a delightful expression which shows off Brad’s rum-making skills. A newer edition is a Butterscotch ($29.99), based on the spiced rum base with the addition of two types of butterscotch extract to emulate the taste profile of butterscotch candy.

The award-winning Gasparilla Reserve aged rum ($39.95) bottled at 92% is available only at the distillery.

Visit Tampa Bay Rum Company

Drop in to the distillery and tasting room for tours ($12 includes Gaspar’s insignia glass) and rum tastings from 2 to 6pm, Wednesday through Saturday, or Sunday from noon to 4pm at 2102 East 4th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605. No reservations are required.

Call 813-284-5485 or send an email to: info@gasparsrum.com

Rum Sales

Consumers can purchase Tampa Bay Rum Company’s Gaspar Rums direct from the distillery or at select ABC Liquors, Total wine and other liquors stores in the Tampa Bay area. They also have online distribution through B21.

https://www.gasparillarum.com/

Brad Bunn and Sam Meyers

fermentation tanks at Tampa Bay Rum Company

tanks of molasses

the rum barrel aging room

Sam Meyers, Robert Burr and Brad Bunn

swag for sale at Tampa Bay Rum Company

Tampa Bay Rum Company in Ybor City

For more information about types of rum, see Rob’s Rum Guide tutorials.
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View insightful and succinct video rum reviews: Rum Minute YouTube Channel.
Taste The Best Rums: Miami Rum Festival and Rum Renaissance Tasting.
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Stroh 160 Overproof Rum

Thursday, October 11, 2018 / Robert Burr / 1 Comment

An unconventional product by any standard, Stroh 160 Overproof Rum is a unique spiced and flavored rum liqueur from Austria that defies categorization. Like Germany’s Rum Verschnitt, it’s made of neutral grain distillate, loaded with strong essences and rich rum flavors.

In Germany and Scandinavia, the traditional holiday comfort flavor profile makes it a favorite for celebrations, but you rarely see it used to make cocktails — or be forewarned — enjoyed straight.

Every rum has a purpose. At 80% abv, Stroh 160 delivers a robust and potent spirit popularly used as a key ingredient in festive punch recipes, representing warmth, friendliness and good cheer. It’s also mixed with black tea to create a traditional warm Jagertee libation popular for after-ski festivities in Europe.

Stroh 160 is used to flambé table-side dishes, but perhaps it’s most popular use is for home baking, like old-fashioned holiday fruit cake.

Stroh 160 Legacy

The rum’s secret recipe was first developed in 1832 by Sebastian Stroh. Like Jägermeister, this “inlander rum” is sometimes perceived as a powerful manly elixir representing a wistful bygone era of old European spirit making.

In a Scandinavian hunter’s cabin deep in the frozen woods, a shot of Stroh 160 might seem appropriate to provide a warm invigorating experience, but otherwise, it’s not advisable to attempt drinking it straight.

Stroh 160 Tasting Notes

The bold crimson vermillion color first gets your attention. Aromas of pound cake, butterscotch, assorted fruit jelly and baking spices belie its overproof nature. On the palate, an initial hint of cotton candy precedes a big explosion of overwhelming fruit flavors and high ester funk before the base of creamy butterscotch, vanilla, treacle and baking spices endure into the very long finish.

Stroh 160 Overproof Rum In The USA

In Europe, this product is known as Stroh 80, referring to the 80% alcohol by volume overproof rating. In the USA, the same rum is named Stroh 160 to underscore its 160 proof content. In simple terms, there is twice as much alcohol in this bottle than your average 80 proof rum, so a little bit goes a long way.

Among tiki enthusiasts, Stroh 160 has earned a reputation as a welcome component in Polynesian-style cocktails and topical libations that integrate a strong overproof rum into the recipe.

The 750ml bottle of Stroh 160 overproof rum sells for about $35.

http://www.stroh.at/en/

For more information about types of rum, see Rob’s Rum Guide tutorials.

To stay informed about news and updates in the world of rum, subscribe to Robs Rum Guide.

View insightful and succinct video rum reviews: Rum Minute YouTube Channel.

Experience the ultimate rum travel adventure: Rum Renaissance Caribbean Cruise.

Award-Winning Brinley's Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum from Saint Kitts

Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum from Saint Kitts

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

Among the best spiced rums on the market, and winner of many top awards, Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum is a four year old Guyanese molasses rum, aged in charred American oak barrels, expertly blended with real Madagascar Vanilla, Grenada Nutmeg, orange peel and clove.

At their production facility on the island of Saint Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean, each small batch is infused for two weeks to extract maximum botanical flavors from the exotic ingredients, before being expertly blended by seasoned professionals.

Shipwreck Spiced Rum Tasting Notes

Aromas of creamy vanilla with nutmeg and orange rind lead to clove and mild honey. On the palate, the sensation of bold vanilla delivers a base of creamy smoothness for the nutmeg and clove, balanced by orange peel at mid-palate.

The result is a best-in-class hand-crafted spiced rum that mixes perfectly with your favorite cola, ginger beer, fruit juices and citrus.

The Hidden Label Message

When you’ve finished the bottle, look for the hand-written message inside the label, dedicated to those aboard the British Troopship sank by the French Navy off the coast of St Kitts in 1782.

Shipwreck Spiced Rum Awards

Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum has earned many prestigious medals and accommodations over the past decade, including the 2018 International Rum Expert Panel “Best In Class” gold medal in the spiced rum category, as well as a prestigious gold medal from the 2018 Consumer Rum Jury.

Brinley Gold Shipwreck Spiced Rum is bottled at 36% abv. The 750ml bottle sells for about $25.

https://www.brinleygoldshipwreck.com/spiced-rum

For more information about types of rum, see Rob’s Rum Guide tutorials.

To stay informed about news and updates in the world of rum, subscribe to Robs Rum Guide.

View insightful and succinct video rum reviews: Rum Minute YouTube Channel.

Experience the ultimate rum travel adventure: Rum Renaissance Caribbean Cruise.

Lemon Hart Blackpool Spiced Rum from Guyana

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 / Robert Burr / 2 Comments

A dark, rich rum, Lemon Hart & Son’s Blackpool Spiced Rum is distilled, aged and blended at a single estate distillery in Guyana’s Demerara region.

4 Spirits Rum honors American servicemen

Friday, June 5, 2015 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

Dawson Officer established his 4 Spirits craft distillery in Adair Village, Oregon in 2010, creating hand-made 4 Spirits Rum in honor of fallen comrades lost in Iraq. Now, his artisanal 4 Spirits Rum expressions are gaining the attention of consumers and rum enthusiasts near and far.

4 Spirits Rum - Creating craft white rum and spiced rum in Oregon, Dawson Officer's 4 Spirits Distillery seeks to honor fallen war veterans.

The new 4 Spirits Craft Distillery in Adiar Village, Oregon produces artisanal white and spiced rum, honoring the service of military veterans.

Housed in a former U.S. Air Force building at Adair Village, the distillery also produces Webfoot and SlapTail vodkas for Ducks and Beavers fans.

Officer’s 4 Spirits Silver Rum is the first of three small batch releases in his new signature rum series. Initial aromas of fresh bread and yeast with a suggestion of sourdough leads to ripe banana, then subtle cherry and almond before a complex juicy fruity bouquet. A super soft sweet entry develops into pleasant juicy fruit on the mid palate and a note of banana candy before drying out with hints of pepper, fading into a warm lingering green apple finish. The 4 Spirits Silver Rum at 40% ABV in a 750ml bottle retails for $27.95.

The 4 Spirits Spiced Rum, at 40% ABV, is a delightful expression. Initial aromas of vanilla, banana, nutmeg and baking spices lead to a comforting apple cinnamon pie. On the palate, the sweet but smooth entry suggests wonderful desserts like banana’s foster with whipped cream, fruit cake and apple cinnamon tart. The 4 Spirits Spiced Rum in a 750ml bottle retails for $31.95.

Officer’s 4 Spirits Veterans Scholarship Endowment Fund at OSU (Oregon State University) in Corvallis helps military veterans get an advanced education.

The public is invited to visit 4 Spirits Distillery and sample their 4 Spirits Rum on Saturdays from noon to 5pm at 6040 NE Marcus Harris Avenue in Adair Village, Oregon.