Iridium X Rum 10 year old – October 2020

The ultimate rum ‘Barn Find’! What happens when a distillery that has won dual gold medals for their 5 year old rum finds 2 barrels of 10 year old rum in the back of their bond store? The Iridium X Rum 10 year old!

The Rum Tribe is proud to exclusively present the only 10 year old rum ever released by The Mount Uncle Distillery – the Iridium X Rum 10 Year Old (and a single cask release at that!).

Hand crafted, estate hand-bottled, individually numbered – this single barrel rum is a small slice of tropical Far North Queensland for your tastebuds.

The Mt. Uncle Distillery is an award winning rum producer famous for their dual gold-medal winning 5 year old Iridium Rum and recently they found two 300L barrels of rum that have been forgotten about for 10 years in the back of the bond-store. One an Agricole style and one a dark rum. We have bought BOTH of them! One for this release and one for early next year.

This month we are very proud to have the exclusive access to Mark Watkins latest creation – The Iridium X 10 Year Old ‘Rum crafted with Sugar Cane’.

The fantastic ‘Iridium Gold 5yo’ from Mt. Uncle Distillery has won such high profile international accolades there are perhaps no Aussie rum-fans that haven’t heard of it. Produced in Far North Queensland in the Atherton Tablelands, the Iridium Gold 5yo took out ‘Best Rum in the World’ at the World Rum Awards in London last year. It has also won World’s Best Pot Stilled Rum 5 years and under at this year’s awards.

So..if 5 years ageing can produce a world beating FNQ rum, have you ever wondered what 10 years aging would do? Well – the time has come to find out for yourself.

This months fantastic The Iridium X Rum 10 Year Old is due for release to the general public later in the year  – but we here at The Rum Tribe get exclusive members only access on tasting this eagerly anticipated Far North Queensland (FNQ) NQ Agricole-style rum.

‘Rhum Agricole’ refers to rum made from sugar cane juice – as opposed to most rums that are made from molasses.  On the labels, the The Iridium X 10 Year Old is declared as ‘Crafted with Sugar Cane’ rather than Rhum Agricole – the reason for this is simple. Technically, you can only call a cane-juice rum ‘Rhum Agricole’ if it is produced in one of 23 designated areas of the French Caribbean.

Our Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sweet and oaky, chewy jube lollies tropical fruit and a big hit of crushed pineapple.

Palate: Smooth and creamy, more pineapple, coconut and tropical fruit juice.

The Iridium X Rum 10 year old

  • PRICE : $129

  • ABV : 47%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Australia

The Iridium X Rum 10 year old

FROM THE DISTILLERY

The Iridium X Rum 10yr Old is a cane syrup-based rum, produced from cane harvested off the rich and red volcanic soil of sunny Far North Queensland.

A single cask release which has been rested in ex-red wine all American oak Hogsheads in the tropical environment in the north of Australia. The tropical environment of Far north Queensland has allowed the Iridium 10yr to rest gracefully & depreciate in volume, with high amounts of angel share due to the FNQ’s warm climate.

The label is inspired by the environment in which the rum has been crafted and rested for its lifetime in Far North Queensland with the back-silk screen print representing the calm rippling waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

Hand crafted, estate hand-bottled, individually numbered this single barrel rum is a small slice of tropical Far North Queensland for your tastebuds.

Iridium 10 year olds younger sibling (the Iridium 5 year old) has taken out World’s Best Pot Stilled Rum Under 5 years in 2020 and World Best Rum under 5 years in 2019.

Nose: Sweet Sweet can and crème brulee

Palate:  Bottled at 47% ABV, the rum retains a sweet cane and crème brulee on the nose and forefront of the palate with middle touches of caramel, coconut and rice pudding and soft oak on the back end.

ABOUT MT UNCLE DISTILLERY

The Mt. Uncle Distillery must be about the best kept non-secret in the Australian spirits scene. I’m willing to bet that only a scant handful of our members have ever heard of it – I’ll bet even less know they make the world-famous Iridium Rum. Like I said – it’s not as if Mt Uncle distillery is a secret – it won Distillery of the Year in 2017 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. In 2018, it won medals for all spirits it entered in the IWSC.  Mt. Uncle Distillery did receive some notoriety in 2015 with it’s ‘Big Black Cock’ single malt  whisky (with the obligatory, explanatory picture of a rooster on the label) – but the Mt Uncle brand seems to remain just under the radar of the average Australian spirits fan. We hope we can help change all that.

Built in 2001, the Mt. Uncle Distillery is the brainchild of Mark Watkins and it remains Far North Queensland’s only distillery. Mark originally hails from Tasmania where his dad and grandad (and great grand-dad) engaged in some “fairly dodgy stuff” (his words!). Of his ancestor’s nefarious activities, it is distilling which remains a firm childhood memory for Mark. Now a legitimate and licensed distiller, Mark has continued to involve family and his wife Claire handles the distilleries sales and marketing for Mt. Uncle.

Nestled in a banana plantation and surrounded by macadamia and avocado orchards – Mark set out to build a distillery that could showcase the local produce within the gins, rums and liquors that it creates.

One would think the climate too hot that far north to age spirits. However, being on ‘the tablelands’ means slightly milder highs (but still quite warm) during the day but cooler nights. That constant cycling of temperature aids the maturation process by causing more ‘movement’ of the rum in the casks – thus exposing more directly to the wood. The ‘Angels Share’ is surprisingly low at 3-8%. “Our locality allows us to get very fast successful ageing of spirits due to the warm days and cooler nights here in Walkamin,” he said. “We only use the best quality products and processes and that’s why our products shine.”

Mt. Uncle Distilery
Mt. Uncle Distilery

Ron Cubaney Exquisito 21 year old – September 2020

We’ve managed to secure the only stock in Australia of this month’s Rum of the Month exclusively for our members. We are very proud to feature a truly legendary Cuban-style rum – the Ron Cubaney Exquisito 21 year old. Enjoy it with a friend, or hoard it like toilet paper… your choice!

After the overwhelming response we got to the sample bottles of Ron Cubaney 15yo we sent out for our launch we’ve decided to listen to our members – MORE CUBANEY!! So we’ve listened and more Cubaney it is.

Built on the hard work of the Oliver family and destroyed by revolution – not once but TWICE! The Ron Cubaney Exquisito 21 year old is a multi-award winning 21 year old rum made to the recipe of the Oliver family’s original distillery. Aged in the traditional Cuban method in a solera system using both American bourbon and French wine casks, this is rich and complex rum that is a delight to share amongst your (closest) friends.

Oliver & Oliver is a rum distiller based in the Dominican Republic that produces a range of top-shelf spirits across a variety of brands, including Vizcaya and Opthimus.

The Ron Cubaney Exquisito is aged using the traditional ‘Solera Method’. The solera method is based on stacking multiple layers of aging barrels (called “criaderas”) on top of each other, with each layer progressively topping up the next one down and blending with it, year after year. The word “solera” comes from the Spanish word “suelo” which means “floor”. So as the angels take their share, the barrels are topped up with the contents of the slightly younger barrel and the average age of the barrel slowly increases over the years. The purpose of this labor-intensive process is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the rum over time.

Our Tasting Notes:

Ron Cubaney Exquisito 21 Años Solera is a dark amber coloured rum that has been solera aged for 21 years. The spirit has a strong bouquet that is sweet with touches of dark chocolate, vanilla, honey, oranges and wood. On the palate there is balanced oak and sugar cane notes, along with complex, very full-bodied, flavours from its long aging. The finish is long lasting, smooth and mild – perfect served straight with a Cuban cigar on the side. It received a Gold Medal at the Beverage Tasting Institute of Chicago with 91 points, and a Gold Medal at the Madrid International Rum Conference.

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: Excellent bouquet, sweetish, dark chocolate, vanilla, honey, oranges and wood.

Palate: Harmonious and smooth, wonderfully balanced oaks and sugar cane notes, complex, very full-bodied, generous and excellent. Simply majestic.

Finish: Long lasting, smooth and mild with long legs.

Ron Cubaney Exquisito

  • PRICE : $149


  • ABV : 38%


  • BOTTLE: 700ml


  • REGION: Dominican Republic


Ron Cubaney Exquisito

FROM THE DISTILLERY

The ‘Exquisito’ is a modern cut rum, very aromatic and complex. This dark stock and red cherry rum stands out because of its true flavor of the oak cask. It is soft on the palate and very tasty. It is a well-structured rum with a stable body.
Its character is distinctive and vigorous with all the properties of a long aging one. It is an extraordinary and ample rum. Many consider it the best in the world.

ABOUT OLIVER AND OLIVER

Cuba has always enjoyed a reputation as one of the world’s foremost producers of rum. In the late nineteenth century some of the finest examples of Cuban rum were being produced by the Oliver family.

Juanillo Oliver, a Catalan and Mallorcan, arrived in Cuba in the mid-nineteenth century as a Spanish soldier, establishing his family on the island. After finishing his military service, Oliver decided to settle, in an area that later became known as Oliver, near the town of Las Placetas.

It was here that he and his family began to cultivate tobacco and sugar cane. The Oliver family soon began handling, storing and selling their traditionally grown products. They soon the built a mill to grind sugar cane for the production of sugars and alcohols, and Juanillo soon found himself creating local, artisanal rums and brandies.

The Oliver family’s name was soon synonymous with the finest central Cuban rums and cigars.

That was to change as revolution gripped Cuba.

During the War of Independence, separatists attacked and burned farms and destroyed the famous Oliver family distillery.

After independence was achieved in Cuba, the Oliver family abandoned its sugar cane production business, instead focusing on the cultivation and production of tobacco and other businesses and agricultural activities. They continued peacefully until 1959, when revolution again struck Cuba.

In the years following 1959, many members of the Oliver family fled Cuba and their descendants spread throughout Europe and the Americas. It wasn’t until, in the late nineteen eighties, a member of the new generation of Oliver descendants returned to Cuba.  Pedro Ramon Lopez Oliver’s curiosity led him to explore his family’s history. While poring over the family archives and papers, Pedro discovered the original formulas developed by the Oliver’s for the production of unique, hand-crafted Cuban rum.

Encouraged by his discovery, the descendants of Juanillo Oliver committed themselves to reviving the rum brand that had disappeared in the violence of revolution. In the early nineteen nineties Pedro and the wider Oliver family began to develop their rums, this time in San Francisco de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. It was here that Ron Cubaney – named after its rediscovered Cuban ancestry – was born.

The Dominican Republic shares many of the same characteristics of climate, topography, and geology as Cuba and was chosen as the ideal country in which to resume the manufacturing of this previously lost Cuban-style rum. The family operated distillery sought the advice of a group of Cuban Maestros Roneros who were living in exile in the Dominican Republic at the time. These Maestros Roneros Cubanos brought with them decades of experience in the production of Cuban rum, and became the ideal artisans to help reawaken the Ron Cubaney name.

Cuban experts were hired to help create the new plant for the production of rum in the pure, traditional Cuban style. The Oliver family had recreated the same process, heritage and formula used in the nineteenth century.  Those techniques are still used by the present Maestros Roneros Cubanos and technicians.

The plant began by purchasing 100,000 litres of distillates and malts that had been aged for 15 years from a Demeraran source, forming the first stock produced under the new Cubaney name. This was the basis of their mother rum and the single point of origin for the rums being enjoyed today.

After a hiatus of over a century, the authentic line of Ron Cubaney Exquisito can once again be enjoyed through its range of light, dark and spiced rums.

Ron Colon Salvadoreno Dark Aged Rum and Coffee Infused Rum – August 2020

For our second Rum of the Month, we have an absolutely exquisite double pack of premium rums never before seen in Australia. You are not going to believe this…

– Two (yes 2!) pack of matching rums for the price of one
– Gold Medal Winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition
– Never before released in Australia

We are very proud to be the first in Australia to introduce a new premium rum brand to our members and for the first time in our history deliver a Rum of the Month that is a package of 2 matching rums. Presenting the Ron Colon Salvadoreno Dark Aged Rum and the matching Ron Colon Salvadoreno Coffee Infused Rum from the only distillery in El Salvador.

Ron Colon Salvadore is a collaborative project by a team of producers, distillers, flavour experts and marketers. A love for EL Salvador and it’s people drove the imagination of the Ron Colon crew. The rum begins its life from local sugar cane that is gathered and then run through a 100-year-old sugar cane mill to be turned into molasses. From molasses, it undergoes fermentation with proprietary yeasts for 36 hours before being distilled by a modern multi- column still. After distillation the rum is aged in white oak ex-bourbon barrels sitting alongside rums that The Licorera Cihuatán distillery has been producing since 2004. The rum aged in Licorera Cihuatán have around 8% angel share per year. The Master Distiller and blender is Gabriella Ayala.

Ron Colon Salvadoreno Dark Aged Rum

• 70 % 6-year-old column stilled Salvadoran rum pro-duced by Licorera Cihuatán distillery.

• 15 % unaged pot stilled Jamaican rum produced by Worthy Park, Hampden and Monymusk distilleries.

• 15 % 3-year-old Jamaican pot stilled rum produced by Worthy Park estate.

Our Tasting Notes:

Overall a rich, complex and fruity rum with a long satisfying , luscious finish.

Colour: Dark brown with glimpses of red.

Nose: Red berries, stewed fruit and hints of coconut with a subtle floral note floating over the top.

Palate: Sultanas and raisins, dark chocolate, vanilla and mixed peel. A pleasant sweet note reminiscent of Botrytis skirts the edges but doesn’t over-sweeten.

Finish: Long, warming and sweet. Lots of fruit and oak, with wafts of chocolate.

Ron Colon Salvadoreno Coffee Infused Rum

Ron Colón Salvadoreño Dark Aged Rum is cold macerated with whole coffee beans for 48 hours. This allows enough time for the coffee beans to release their rich cherry, chocolate, honey flavors, before the bitter notes begin to impart on the liquid, the maceration is finished.

The lack of sweetness on the palate makes this a fantastic rum for cocktails – allowing you to sweeten with other ingredients.

Our Tasting Notes:

Nose: Sweet espresso coffee, vanilla and crushed nuts. A hint of Keens curry powder lurks in the background.

Palate: Complete contrast to the sweetness of the nose. Not quite bitter – but definitely dry. Dark… DARK chocolate, nutty unsweetened coffee tones but tropical fruit notes underneath it all.

Finish: Long deep finish. Warming, fruity and more coffee notes. Lingering mellow spiceyness as it slowly fades.

  • PRICE : $149


  • ABV : 55%


  • BOTTLE: 700ml + 700ml


  • REGION: El Salvador/ Jamaica


FROM THE CREATORS

Ron Colon Salvadoreno Dark Aged Rum

The rums that we have chosen for our blend create an unusual flavor palate. The Salvadorian rum on its own brings a fruit-forward tropical nose with a light, dry finish. In addition to this we wanted an earthiness, with a fiery warm flavor, to create the perfect liquid. The small amount of Jamaican rum completed this flavour profile and created the perfect balance.

Nose: On the nose, the aromas of tropical fruits are most apparent with fresh banana and sticky pineapple. Adding to this there is a deeper aroma of rich raisins and prunes.

Palate: The palate brings the same tropical fruit notes, but with a developing toasted-warm, spicy caramel fl avor. Balanced with creamy milk chocolate, roasted almond and dried chewy apricot notes.

Ron Colon Salvadoreno Coffee Infused Rum

The coffee infused Ron Colón Salvadoreño is made using bourbon coffee beans from the El Ciprés region, grown at 1700m next to El Salvador’s famous Santa Ana volcano. Bourbon coffee beans have a beautiful, buttery sweetness. The beans are processed using the natural method – a slow process, the beans are consistently turned by hand to ensure they dry equally.

Nose: On the nose, notes of toasted almonds and woody spice are most apparent – with dark rich fruit and warm vanilla bringing a sweeter note.

Palate: The coffee infusion brings notes of dark chocolate and dried sticky plums. A medium to dark roast gives the rum a rich, warming, nutty flavor with a tiny hint of bitterness. This is balanced from the notes of the aged rum of fresh banana and juicy pineapple.

ABOUT RON COLON

Firstly, about that name. The El Salvador Colón was the official unit of currency in El Salvador until they adopted the US dollar in 2001. The El Salvador Colón was lost but Ron Colón pays homage to El Salvador’s history by using it in the name as well as designed a coin to put on the bottle. And, the coin can be popped off the bottle and collected.

Ron colon’s story starts in 2018 with two befriended colleagues, Thurman Wise and Pepijn Janssens, venturing on a crazy 22-day-16-country-latam-barhop. It was during this adventure that little El Salvador (“sivar” in slang) captured their attention. If googled, this place comes up as “the murder capital of the world”. However, once the team arrived, they were dazzled by the coun-try’s pristine beauty and true grit. That cut right through any google search.this trip sparked an obsession to create a product that would showcase the honest yet rich and colourful “sivar”.

Licorera Cihuatán Distillery is a part of Ingenio La Cabaña of El Salvador, one of the largest and oldest sugar producers in the country established in 1920. It is the only rum distillery in El Salvador and was built in 2004. Rum from this distillery makes up 70% of the Ron Colon blend.

The rum begins its life from local sugar cane that is gathered and then run through a 100-year-old sugar cane mill to be turned into molasses. From molasses, it undergoes fermentation with proprietary yeasts for 36 hours before being distilled by a modern multi- column still. After distillation the rum is aged in white oak ,ex-bourbon barrels sitting alongside rums that The Licorera Cihuatán distillery has been producing since 2004. The rum aged in Licorera Cihuatán have around 8% angel share per year. The Master Distiller and blender is Gabriella Ayala.

The other 30% of the Ron Colon is produced Worthy Park, Hampden and Monymusk distilleries (Jamaica) in traditional pot stills.

The Coffee Infused Rum is a collaboration between Ron Colon and Jags Head Coffee of El Salvador. Grown in the El Cipris at 1700m altitude. The slow, natural process of drying the beans by hand allows for the bean to interact with the natural sugars from the cherry over a long period of time, giving the final bean a more fruit-forward flavor. It can also bring more funky fermented flavors, perfect for pairing with rum. Roasted by Jag’s Head Coffee in North Carolina to a medium roast to bring out the rich chocolate and cherry notes without too much bitterness.

Licorera Cihuatán, a part of Ingenio La Cabaña of El Salvador, is one of the largest and oldest sugar producers in the country established in 1920.

Foursquare Sagacity Mk XI – July 2020

Please make way for our very first ‘Rum of the Month’… the Foursquare Sagacity Exceptional Cask Selection Mk XI.

The Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series have received worldwide acclaim and each release sees them more popular and thus, harder to get.  In fact – only 100 bottles of the Sagacity have been allocated to Australia… and we get first dibs for our members!

The Sagacity is a blend of rums from the same distillery – FourSquare. Spirit from both their traditional pot still, and a 2-column Coffey still is combined then divided again and aged 12 years in ex-Bourbon and ex-Madiera casks before being re-united and bottled. There is no sugar added, nor any flavour additives. It’s all about the spirit and the wood.

We know that more than a few of you have been eagerly awaiting our initial offering – probably for longer than you’ve been a member of the Tribe! It’s such an eagerly anticipated release we thought it fitting we should both offer it as our Rum of the Month – and organise it so the Rum Tribe will be the first in Australia to taste it! So please make way for our very first ‘Rum of the Month’… the Foursquare Sagacity Exceptional Cask Selection Mk XI.

The head distiller (and 4th generation distiller of R’L Seale & Co.), Richard Seale hand selects each cask to be blended for the Sagacity. Each Sagacity expression is a one-of-a-kind rum, with Richard selecting and blending only barrels that he deems to be of exceptional quality.

Foursquare Sagacity

  • PRICE : $149

  • ABV : 48%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Barbados

Foursquare Sagacity

FROM THE DISTILLERS

A blend of 2 distinct 12-year Single Blended Rums, one aged for 12 years entirely in Ex-Bourbon barrels, the other aged for 12 years entirely in Ex-Madeira barrels. Bottled at 48% ABV. No Color. No Sugar. No Additives. No Filtration.

ABOUT THE DISTILLERY

The Foursquare distillery is owned by R.L.Seale & Co which is a 4th generation family-owned rum trading company dating back to the 1920’s. Now run by David Seale and his son Richard – they oversaw the expansion of the family business to include distilling in 1995 with the purchase of an abandoned sugar refinery. After restoring, refurbishing and installation of fermentation tubs and custom-made distillation equipment, the distillery opened in 1996.

Richard aims to bring authentic Barbadian rums to market and prides himself on the purity of the rum he produces with no sweeteners added throughout any of his bottlings. Pushing boundaries and lifting the global perception of quality of rum, Richard often releases products that would surprise and delight any single malt connoisseur out there.

All Foursquare rums are made form a combination of pot-still distilled spirit and continuous column distilled new make. Their continuous column still is a technological marvel that operates under vacuum to allow distillation temperatures to be decreased.

A two-step fermentation process is used in all Foursquare rums, using a specific yeast imported from South Africa. This 2-step process is computer controlled with the temperature increased slowly and the molasses gradually added over 20 hours.

The majority of maturation at Foursquare is done in ex-bourbon casks. However, Richard loves to experiment with casks so Sherry, Port, Zinfandel and (in the case of the Sagacity) Madeira. They fill their casks at 65-68% alcohol to allow greater interaction between the spirit and the wood. The majority of producers not filling at less than 70% and many cask their spirit at levels approaching 80% abv. Foursquare age all their rum for a minimum of 2 years and pride themselves on never using flavouring additives in their rum.