Tag: Plantation Rum

Plantation Isle Of Fiji Double-Aged Rum

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

Designed as an homage to the exotic Fijian Islands, Plantation Isle Of Fiji aged rum presents a beautiful and alluring package featuring exotic flora and fauna of the region. The rum is made using traditional techniques and local sugar cane, then double aged in tropical and continental climates.

Fijian sugar cane is grown in rich volcanic soils by 22,000 local farmers, sun ripened to perfection before being cut by hand and transported to the cane crush. A vital economic crop, sugar cane and related industries are responsible for 9% of the country’s annual GDP.

Chairman’s Trophy Winner in the annual Ultimate Spirits Challenge tasting competition

Production Notes

Plantation Isle Of Fiji is sourced from the Rum Company of Fiji under the direction of Master Distiller Liam Costello on the island of Viti Levu. The rum begins with a rather long and warm molasses fermentation of four to five days. It’s then distilled in both modern column stills for floral, light, fruity character, and traditional pot stills offering heavier flavors and richer aromatics.

These rums are aged for two to three years in Bourbon casks in the tropical climate before a second maturation in French oak casks in the Southwest region of France. The resulting aged blend brilliantly assimilates the traditional Fijian style with the fine finishes reminiscent of the Cognac regions.

Awards and Accolades

Plantation Isle Of Fiji was the Chairman’s Trophy Winner in the annual Ultimate Spirits Challenge tasting competition held in Hawthorne, New York. With a score of 98 points, Isle Of Fiji was awarded the “Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation.”

Tasting Notes

Aromas of jackfruit and banana, molasses and yeasty bread precede hints of soft green apple, vanilla bean, tart berries and toasted oak. On the palate, a sweet entry of creamy vanilla custard and honey quickly leads to ripe exotic fruit and spices. The mixed fruit compote and spicy notes linger in the medium long finish.

This rum represents a good value, excelling as an exotic component in tropical cocktails and punch recipes — similar to a fruity, funky high ester Jamaican rum.

The 750ml bottle of Plantation Isle Of Fiji aged rum, bottled at 40% abv, sells for about $25.

Plantation Isle Of Fiji web page
https://www.plantationrum.com/isle-of-fiji

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Plantation 5 year old artisanal rum from Barbados

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 / Robert Burr / 3 Comments

With a reputation for double aging fine Caribbean rums, the Plantation brand presents the latest expression of this superb blend of five year old rums from Barbados.

After optimal aging in the Caribbean, Plantation’s Barbados 5 Year Old rum is brought to the Ferrand Estate in France where it is further refined for several more months in small Cognac barrels.

Plantation 5 year old artisanal rum from Barbados is a great example of double aging, maturing first in Bourbon barrels in Barbados before traveling to France for a second rest in Cognac barrels.

Among the most popular expressions of Plantation rum, the Barbados 5 Year Old gets a second barreling in Cognac casks, delivering a fine aged rum at a very good price.

This popular 5 year old Barbados rum presents a medium golden amber color. A smooth and sweet entry leads to rich banana flambé with a hint of vanilla, ripe butter, coconut and dried fruit flavors. Lingering tones of banana fade into a medium dry, slightly spicy finish.

For a relatively young rum, this expression shows unusually rich flavor and complexity, a result of skillful barreling and blending. At about $20 a bottle, Plantation’s Barbados 5 Year Old rum is perfect for sipping neat or on the rocks. It also brings great tropical flavors to premium cocktails.

Plantation 5 year old rum from Barbados earned a Best In Class Gold Award in the RumXP International Tasting Competition at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival.

Cognac Ferrand is one of the world’s premier boutique producers of fine spirits and a leading architect of the artisanal, vintage and double aged rum movement. They produce limited-edition vintage rums from numerous Caribbean territories including Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Guadeloupe, Panama and Trinidad.

Cognac Ferrand has offices and production premises at Château de Bonbonnet in Ars, France and its brands are distributed in more than 40 countries. The brands available in the U.S. include the award-winning: Pierre Ferrand Cognac, Citadelle Gin, Mathilde Liqueurs, Plantation Rum, Landy Cognac, Cerbois Armagnac and Daron Calvados.

Plantation revives classic recipe with Stiggin’s Fancy Pineapple Rum

Tuesday, June 9, 2015 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

Stiggin’s Fancy Pineapple Rum is steeped in history. In Charles Dickens’ immortal Pickwick Papers, pineapple rum — a sipping spirit par excellence — features prominently as the favored drink of the esteemed Reverend Stiggins.

An Artful Infusion of Pineapple Rum

Plantation Rum has released a limited edition of their Stiggin’s Fancy Pineapple Rum, based on a character from a novel by Charles Dickens, aided by research from Cocktail Historian David Wondrich.

As a study in recreating such fanciful classic libations, Alexandre Gabriel, proprietor of Cognac Ferrand, with help from the spirits and cocktail historian David Wondrich, set out to revive this forgotten nectar. The result was a small batch of delightful liquid named Stiggin’s Fancy Pineapple Rum.

Gabriel and Wondrich relied on several ancient recipes to recreate it, and added a few traditional techniques from their own bag of tricks. The 1824 English Journal of Patent and Inventions and the 1844 Journal of Agricultural Society were their main sources of inspiration — along, of course, with Mr. Dickens. They infused ripe Queen Victoria pineapples in rich, aged Plantation Original Dark Rum for three months. Meanwhile, they macerated, also in rum, the bare rind of the fruit (where the pineapple’s essential oil chiefly resides) before distilling it, creating a bright pineapple essence to blend with the lushness of the infused Plantation rum. The result was stunning.

Stiggin’s Fancy Tasting Notes

On the nose we experience ripe pineapple and Madagascar vanilla, a good measure of oak followed by green banana, toasted coconut and pineapple hard candy with a mixture of citrus peel and dried fruit. On the palate, a buttery and oaken entry leads to big fruit, dominated by pineapple, then toasted coconut and cherry/almond notes before drying out mid-palate as the well aged Trinidad rum begins to shine through the fade to authentic pineapple.

Overwhelming Demand

Although his original intention was to create only 1000 bottles to share with rum fanatics and enthusiasts at the annual Tales Of The Cocktail convention in New Orleans, the overwhelming reaction created a demand that could only be satisfied by a greater production. A second batch was created and may now be available at select retailers in limited quantities.

A tip of the hat to Mr. Dickens and his loquacious character Reverend Stiggins, to cocktail historian Dave Wondrich and most of all — to Alexandre Gabriel and his production team at Plantation Rum for a uniquely delightful expression of rum.