In the glory days of the Royal Navy, rum was so beloved by sailors that they accepted it as payment for their service. Looking at the way they made rum in its heyday, it’s not hard to see why. High proofs, sweet spices and mouth-watering molasses made the drink taste as good as it made sailors feel. In those days, rums were crafted with such high proofs so they could be cut with water and doled out to the whole crew. As modern rums are made to serve individual drinkers rather than undiscerning sailors, their proofs have gradually gotten lower. Seeing the slow death of rum’s original character, Plantation joined forces with world-famous rum and Tiki experts to turn back the clock and craft a truly traditional, old-fashioned dark rum. The crew they formed consisted of such celebrated bar owners as Chicago’s Paul McGee and Paris’ Scotty Schuder, as well as historian David Wondrich and Master Blender Alexandre Gabriel. The result of their work is an excellent Old-fashioned Traditional Dark Rum blended and measured as it was in the old navy.
To this end, the team behind this OFTD decided to bottle the drink at a traditional twenty degrees overproof. As for what it was they bottled, it is a blend of rums from Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados which balances strength, smoothness and sweet rum flavour. Aside from picking a number of islands for their blend, Plantation have also picked a flavourful variety of ages and ingredients. As a result, the OFTD packs an incredible range of taste. It sails in with a smoky start before offloading notes of cinnamon, spice and sugar, suiting it to such classic Tiki cocktails as Rum Punches and Palmettos. To take your tastebuds back to the days of Royal Navy rum, consider adding Plantation’s Old Fashioned Traditional Dark Rum to your collection.
