The Rumcast

In this episode, we welcomed Carsten Vlierboom of E&A Scheer back to the show to discuss the single cask side of the business—The Main Rum Company. If you've ever enjoyed an exceptional independently bottled release, there's a good chance it was sourced from Main Rum.

We dug into not only what they have in their aging warehouses, but what actually goes into managing such a large selection of rare and limited rums from all over the world. How do you know when to sell a particular cask? How do you decide which location to age each cask in? Which casks would Carsten most want to bottle for himself? And what exactly is an "infinity" cask?!

You'll hear all this and a whole lot more.

P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get cool extra stuff? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

Relevant Links:

Check out The Main Rum Company’s website here

Listen to our previous episode with Carsten about E&A Scheer here

For more background on The Main Rum Company, read Matt Pietrek’s article about it here

In this episode, we look back at the top 6 things we’ve learned about rum after recording 50 episodes of The Rumcast! Plus, we kick off the show with a special announcement—we’re launching a Rumcast Patreon so we can start doing more fun things with the Rumcast community and make the show even better!

To join the community and support the show, go to: patreon.com/therumcast

THANK YOU to everyone for listening!

In this episode, we chat with Jacklyn Broomes (Agricultural Manager) and Maggie Campbell (Estate Rum Manager) about all things agriculture and sustainability at Mount Gay (along with a few hints at what to expect from the estate rum program in the future).

Topics covered include:

How Jackie and Maggie both ended up working at Mount Gay (and a closer look at each of their roles)

The vision behind Mount Gay’s agriculture and estate rum programs

How Mount Gay intends to use their sugarcane and the molasses that comes from it

Why sustainability should be more than a buzzword to rum enthusiasts

How to balance doing something totally new at a distillery with such a long history and established styles/traditions

The life of luxury enjoyed by the estate’s pampered honey bees

The other crops you might be surprised to find growing on the estate (it’s more than just sugarcane)

What to watch for next from Mount Gay

Relevant Links:

Get a closer look at the estate on Mount Gay’s Instagram

For a bit of Mount Gay history, check out our episode with former managing director Frank Ward

Per the discussion in the intro, here are links to several rum festivals around the world:

Miami Rum Congress

UK Rum Fest

Rum Fest Berlin

New York Rum Festival

Miami Rum Renaissance Festival

Chicago Rum Festival

California Rum Festival

In this episode, we go head to head trying to construct the perfect rum flights in three different categories: Caribbean rums for beginners, Caribbean rums for intermediate rum drinkers, and non-Caribbean rums. Along the way, we discuss and debate what makes a good flight, the pains of our toughest cuts from each category, and more.

Relevant Links:

Check out Will’s article on Cheramie Rum (mentioned in the intro) here

In this episode, we talked to Mitch Wilson of Black Tot Rum about the brand’s origins in British Navy rum, moving beyond the blends of the past, their unique approach to rum blending, and much more! Topics discussed include:

How to define navy rum or navy style rum in the first place

Misconceptions and myths about navy rum

The making of Black Tot’s blends

The importance of transparency in rum blends

Black Tot’s unique “solera” blending component

What you might find right now in Black Tot’s aging warehouse

What’s coming next from Black Tot

Relevant Links:

Get the full breakdown of each blend at Black Tot’s website

“Setting the Record Straight on British Navy Rum History” from Cocktail Wonk

“The British Navy’s Rum Vatting System: An Inside Look” from Cocktail Wonk

In this episode, we talked to Justin Boseley, founder of Dead Reckoning Rum, one of the first (if not the only) independent bottlers in Australia. Justin has also imported rum into Australia for over a decade through his company La Rumbla Imports. Between the two roles, he’s had a front row seat to the evolution of rum in Australia in recent years, where everything to the imported products available to the actual rum being made in the country has changed dramatically. We discuss:

The difference in Australia’s rum scene now versus the past

How working on billionaires’ yachts led him into the rum business

What it looks like to come up with your first handful of releases as an independent bottler

His philosophy on rum blends

Australia’s unique aging environments

Why celestial navigation is cool as hell

How the pandemic motivated him to go from importer to independent bottler

Getting creative with cask finishes and secondary maturations

What to watch for from Australia’s recent boom of new rum distilleries

Upcoming Dead Reckoning releases

And more!

Relevant Links:

La Rumbla Imports website (Dead Reckoning releases can be found here)

The Fat Rum Pirate’s review of Dead Reckoning Mutiny

The Fat Rum Pirate’s review of Dead Reckoning The Sextant

Australian rum distilleries mentioned:

Husk Distillers

CAVU Distilling

Lord Byron Distillery

Requiem Rum

Devils Thumb Distillery

Yack Creek Distillery

Beenleigh Distillery

After revisiting the past in episode 44, we look to what the future holds for rum in 2022! Each of us looked into our non-existent crystal balls and made three rum-related predictions we believe will come true this year. Tune in for highly scientific prognostications on release trends, transparency, and even rum names.

Somehow it’s already time for our second annual year in review! As per tradition established one year ago, we take a look back at our favorite rums and podcast moments of the past year. Grab one of your favorite drams from 2021 and look back on the year with us as we discuss:

Our personal favorite rums this year in the following categories…

Unaged rum

Aged rum (4 years or less and over 4 years)

“New to me” rum

Best value rum

Most surprising rum

Overall rum

Several of our favorite podcast episodes and moments (and a couple ideas on what we’d like to do in 2022)

And a big surprise courtesy of the hidden musical talents of John Gulla

In this episode, Richard Seale takes us through the story behind the new high ester rum from Foursquare, and the larger vision for the Barbados distillery’s journey into cane juice rum production.

We discuss:

Where the idea to make a high ester rum at Foursquare came from

The production process used to make the rum (and why he chose to make it a blend of molasses-based rum fermented with cultured yeast and cane juice-based rum fermented naturally)

Why Richard isn’t a fan of “high ester” as a descriptor for this rum (but has accepted it)

What the future of high ester and cane juice rum production looks like at Foursquare

The humbling experience of natural fermentation

Richard’s view on the importance of S. Pombe yeast (and the myths that distort its perception)

The evolution of the Barbados Rum Experience, a collaboration between Foursquare, Mount Gay, and St. Nicholas Abbey

The doctoral scholarships that RL Seale and Company is funding for Barbados rum history research at the University of the West Indies

And a whole lot more!

Relevant Links:

Check out the Barbados Rum Experience here

Get more details on Foursquare’s investment in Barbados rum research at the University of the West Indies here

For more discussion of S. Pombe, see Richard’s article titled “Yeast in Rum,” and our interview with Stephen Shellenberger of Boston Apothecary

In this episode, Stephen Shellenberger takes us on a deep dive into Boston Apothecary, his rum and spirits-focused blog that has become one of the largest digital repositories of historic research on rum production.

We discuss:

The origin story of Boston Apothecary

The historical significance of Rafael Arroyo, and why Stephen is so fascinated with his work

What’s the deal with “rum oil,” the aromatic body that Arroyo prized above all others

Stephen’s presentation on grand arome rums at Lallemand and WIRSPA’s Alcohol School conference in Jamaica

Fission yeast in rum

And a whole lot more!

Relevant Links:

Check out Boston Apothecary here

Here’s the “Top Ten Blog Moments in Rum” article mentioned in the show (a great starting place for exploring the blog)

All of Arroyo’s available works online in one place

Arroyo’s “The Aroma of Rum,” an excerpt from which is read during the show

Stephen’s presentation on grand arome rum (with annotated commentary) from Alcohol School

Further reflections on the Alcohol School presentation

Another view on fission yeast from Richard Seale that is worth checking out

Stephen’s article on the single use glass issue in spirits mentioned at the end of the show