The Rumcast

In this episode, we chat with Lance Surujbally of The Lone Caner about his Key Rums of the World series—one of our favorite pieces of rum writing online right now. It’s an essential series for anyone wishing to understand the rums that are defining the modern era, whether you’re new to the category or have enjoyed it for years. Lance talked us through the origin of the series, how he settled on his criteria for a key rum, the challenges of the project, why the series is important, which entries have gotten pushback, what we might see next in the series, and much more. At the end, we discuss the art of review writing, the importance of disclosure and transparency, the transience of rum discourse, and have a few laughs along the way.

Relevant links:

Key Rums of the World Series (you can explore every entry in the series from this page)

The Rumaniacs Series (mentioned several times throughout the show)

You can follow The Lone Caner on Facebook to keep up with new articles

Big news: we collaborated with Holmes Cay to co-create a new rum release! Meet Fiji Rum, a blend of pot- and column-distilled, molasses-based rum that was distilled at South Pacific Distilleries in Fiji. In this episode, we sat down with Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye to take you through the unpredictable series of events that led to the rum’s creation, all the decisions that went into bringing the release to life, why we settled on this particular blend of rums (and others that we considered), what sets it apart from other rums you may have had from Fiji, and much more.

Relevant links:

Check out the Holmes Cay website for all the specs and details on the rum.

If you’re looking to locate a bottle, check out this page on the Holmes Cay website

Listen to the episode that led to the creation of this rum, our interview with Carsten Vlierboom and Niels Benschop of E&A Scheer

In this episode, we start with a quick review of recent rum and cocktail experiences before getting to an interview with Martin Cate (18:30), owner of the bar Smuggler’s Cove (among other ventures) and author of the rum and tiki book by the same name. Martin catches us up on the planned June 15th reopening of Smuggler’s Cove and then we hop around a variety of rum- and bar-centric topics, including the evolution of rum selection in the U.S., the making of the Smuggler’s Cove rum categorization system, what an updated edition of Smuggler’s Cove might look like, secret recipes in the modern era, the state of rum’s perception, what makes his bars different, and more.

Relevant links:

Learn more about Martin’s bars and projects:

Smuggler’s Cove (San Francisco, CA)

Hale Pele (Portland, OR)

False Idol (San Diego, CA)

Lost Lake (Chicago, IL)

Max’s South Seas Hideaway (Grand Rapids, MI)

Get a copy of the book Smuggler’s Cove

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

It’s not uncommon to find rums that were distilled in Belize, but how much do you know about the distillery that many of them come from? In this episode, we chat with Amanda Perdomo and Myito Perdomo of Travellers Liquors to get the deeper details on one of the biggest sources of Belizean rum. You’ll get a window into the Perdomo family’s history in the rum business (which dates all the way back to the 1950s), the production process at Travellers, the distillery’s approach to bulk sales, their upcoming releases, and much more.

Relevant links:

The Travellers Liquors website

Rum Revelations’ article/review on Belizean rum

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we share thoughts on some recent rum experiences (including the Appleton Hearts collection) before jumping into a roundtable discussion Will hosted with three rum producers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico that are growing sugarcane for the purpose of making rum (Erik Vonk of Richland Rum in Georgia, Pepe Alvarez of San Juan Distillers in Puerto Rico, and Steve Jefferson of Kuleana Rum Works in Hawaii). Erik, Pepe, and Steve give insight into the unique challenges that come with operating sugarcane farms while running distilleries in regions not historically known for producing the style of rum they’re making (or for producing rum at all, in some cases).

As mentioned on the show, this roundtable discussion was originally broadcast via livestream with Zavvy.co and American Rum Report.

Relevant links:

San Juan Distillers website

Richland Rum website

Kuleana Rum Works website

The original livestream broadcast of the roundtable discussion

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we answer a listener question everyone has as they get deeper into rum: now that you’ve experienced most of the initial wave of recommended rums for those getting into the hobby, where do you go next? We came up with our top three picks for what to look for (while staying under $100) and revealed them to one another live. If you’ve already dipped a couple toes in the water and are looking to expand your rum horizons, this episode is for you!

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we kick things off with a quick discussion of some rums from KōHana Distillers in Hawaii before jumping into our interview (18:44) with Kevin Crossman, the creator of UltimateMaiTai.com. Kevin has spent the last couple of decades drinking his way toward the ultimate mai tai, both in bars and at home, and documenting the process on his website. We pick Kevin’s brain on a little bit of mai tai history, the cocktail’s evolution over the years, an ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown (with recommendations for each component), finding the right combination of rums, the bars that’ll make you a great one, and much more.

Links to learn more:

Kevin’s website, Ultimate Mai Tai

Kevin’s history of the Mai Tai

Follow Ultimate Mai Tai on Instagram

KōHana Distillers (mentioned during the intro)

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we kick things off with a listener question on additives in rum, along with a quick rerum, before jumping into our interview with Francisco Terrazas of Paranubes. Paranubes is a fresh sugarcane juice rum distilled in Oaxaca, Mexico, by José Luís Carrera, a third generation sugarcane grower and distiller of aguardiente de caña. Not only does Francisco share the backstory behind the brand and all the details of the unique production process that gives Paranubes its distinctive character, he also gives an overview of the broader category of Mexican rum—which is much bigger than you might realize.

We came away from this interview with even more excitement for a region that is often overlooked by rum enthusiasts, and think you will, too.

Topics covered include:

Paranubes’ history as a brand and how their partnership with José Luís came together

Rum vs. aguardiente de caña (and why you see both on the label)

How the relationship with Paranubes has impacted production for José Luís

The full details on the rum’s production process (including the four months-long rolling fermentations)

Growing awareness of Mexican rum as a category

Regional differences in rum production across the country

And lots more!

Links to learn more:

The Paranubes Website

Follow Francisco on Instagram

The Imbibe article on Paranubes mentioned in the episode

The Punch article mentioned in the episode

In this episode, we talk to Jay West (whom the Internet may know better as t8ke), prolific spirits reviewer and founder of the Aficionados Group, the collective behind the XXX Series of rum releases and a recent string of high ester bottlings, including that DOK release you probably saw everyone talking about. Jay takes us through the stories behind those releases, what he’s learned from reviewing nearly 2,000 spirits, his approach to analytical drinking, techniques for improving your ability as a taster, spirits recommendations for rum fans, what’s next rum-wise for the Aficionados Group, and more.

Links to learn more:

The Aficionados Group Website

Whiskey Raiders, where Jay is Managing Editor

Fine Drams, where you can find many Aficionados releases for sale

Reddit’s r/rum community

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.

In this episode, we start with some more chatter on Hampden’s latest Great House release and revisit a defunct rum produced in Trinidad (though probably not the one you’re thinking). From there, we jump into our conversation with Ian Burrell, the Global Rum Ambassador and co-founder of Equiano Rum (the world’s first African and Caribbean rum) among other ventures.

In signature fashion, Ian takes us on an entertaining ride through discovering the rums of Mauritius, his relationship with Richard Seale, how the first Equiano rum blend (Mauritius rum and Barbados rum) came to be, what to expect next from Equiano, developing the International Sugarcane Spirits Awards, adventures in awards categories, overlooked or underrated rum distilleries, his basketball and music careers, and more!

Links to learn more:

Ian Burrell’s website

Equiano Rum

The International Sugarcane Spirits Awards

International Sugarcane Spirits Awards results from Year One

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.