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Dead Reckoning Three Continent Blend (TCB)

Is this new Dead Reckoning Rum a 3 continent indy rum bottling or a science project? Well both! Follow along with us:

  • Rum sourced from 3 countries (Guyana, Vietnam, South Africa)
  • The Guyanese rum is a 3-still blend (is this a blend of a blend?)
  • The rums (aged between 3 and 5 years) then married into an ex-Makers Mark Bourbon cask
  • That Barrel was then rolled into the Adelaide sun every day for 18 months
  • Some crazy angel share/ABV magic happened
  • Bottled at a perfect 50.3%

We are thrilled to present the latest Dead Reckoning super juicy fruit, fruit salad of a “hot house rum” – The Dead Reckoning 3 Continent Blend!

Now we know that Dead Reckoning has been producing some absolutely sensational rums up in the Adelaide Hills. We’ve also seen that the peculiar micro-climate of the area causes the ABV of casks matured here to INCREASE over time. The incredibly low average humidity of the area means that water is drawn out of the casks at a faster rate than the alcohol. With over 12 degrees difference in average minimum and maximum temps in summer (over 8 degrees difference in winter), combined with the frequent temperature and barometric extreme events of Adelaide means any cask maturing here is really working!

But what if the natural bizarre climate and its effects got you wondering… what if MORE? What if you were to somehow turbo-charge this ‘Adelaide Dry Aging’ phenomenon?  What if you could somehow ramp-up an already insane maturation environment? 

What if… you put a barrel of rum on a wheeled rack and rolled it out into the Afternoon sunshine every day for… let’s say… 18months? (Yes this is what actually happened!) Not only would you use the heat of the direct sun to warm it (up to 52 degrees as it turned out!) but the twice-daily movement of the barrel would add agitation to the list of factors ‘boosting’ this ‘hands-on’ finishing treatment.

But first – you’d need a rum with shoulders big enough to take this… abuse? … torture?… SCIENCE! Justin had already Mhoba and Sampan in mind as he’d never heard of a blend from these countries (South Africa and Vietnam) before. However, he felt this pair needed a third with some real ‘oomph’ to give the blend some muscle. And a 3-still blend of Guyanese Rum at 68%abv was just the steroid this gym-junkie-to-be needed. In the end the ratio was 8% Guyana, 56% Mhoba and 36% Sampan. So this is a blend of both molasses and cane-juice based rums from three continents – hence Three Continent Blend or TCB.

These rums already ranged between two and 5 years of age prior to their ‘Dead Reckoning’ treatment.  They were married into an ex-Makers Mark Bourbon cask and tortured for a further 18 months under Justin’s hellish regime. Every afternoon the rack was wheeled over to the roll-a-door which was (un) ceremoniously opened to allow the full hit of the afternoon sun to smash it (in summer) and warm it’s icicle-ey  (well.. not quite icicle-ey I suppose) bones in winter. Once the sun went down, it was wheeled away and put to bed for the night. I’m not sure if Justin read it a story, or tucked it in – but I’m sure it went to bed each day knowing it was truly loved J

And so what was the result of this ‘Hot House’ treatment?  Well firstly, and objectively, a massive 27% angels share by volume accompanied by a 7.8% increase in ABV. Yep, the blend went into it’s finishing cask at 42.5% and has come out the other end at 50.3%. Both of those numbers are really quite astounding. But, when all the scientific dust is settled, what’s really important is … what does it taste like?

a hand-made, single-barrel, family-run, farm-to-bottle, artisanal-production Cachaça

Our Tasting Notes:

Nose: Wow, well first of all it’s a HUGE hit of yummy yummy fruit salad. Then there’s brown sugar, sultanas and subtle wafts of sweet “polythene glue making everything so sweet” (to quote Brisbane’s Regurgitator – a much better earworm). It’s just so big and sweet and… nosey. I could sit here nosing this for a week! It’s all-at-once earthy, floral, meaty AND fruity sweet!

Palate: The mix of still types gives this a creamy mouthfeel, but still a sense of ‘crispness’ of the column still. A medium pepper hit – but that tames very quickly and is much subdued by the second sip. There’s more funky tropical fruit here, but also liquorice, sweet caramel and even some very tame leather notes.

Finish: That big sweet funky ester train just keeps on a-rollin’. The pot still percentage keeps the oilyness going well into the finish – real chewy stuff. So many sweet fruits and lolly-memories tumble and spin and dash in and out.

This is a big, juicy and utterly delightful rum that is also a bit of a chameleon on your palate. Just when you think you’ve got it pegged, you pour another glass and find a new note that reminds you of something almost-forgotten from your childhood. In the subsequent drams since first penning these notes I’ve also picked up milk-bottle lollies, honey-jumble biscuits, tinned pineapple, sherbet and even a bubble gum from my very early days as a kindy kid in Switzerland who’s name I’ve forgotten – but I certainly remember that taste. It’s a rum you’re going to want another of to see if you did taste that… and another just to be sure.

  • PRICE : $139

  • ABV : 50.3%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Guyana / Vietnam / South Africa / Australia (SA)

  • No Added Sugar / No Added Colour

FROM DEAD RECKONING

Welcome to Australian hot house rum – otherwise known as Dead reckoning TCB.

I wanted to create a blend using three rums from three distilleries from three different continents. I also wanted to use Cane juice as well as molasses based rums. The Rums used for the blend was Guyana/South Africa/Vietnam. To my knowledge, I have not seen a blend with Mhoba or Sampan before. With the 3 stills used from Guyana it’s a blend within a blend. 

The Blend ratio : Guyana 8%, Mhoba 56%, Sampan 36%

Bourbon cask aged – 2-5 yrs Tropical & Australian dry aged 1 1/2 years 27% angels share.

A 3 still Guyanese blend – Port Mourant double wooden vat single retort / Enmore Coffee twin column  / Diamond Versailles single wooden vat single retort ) bourbon cask tropical aged Molasses based, Mhoba pot still rhum American oak African aged cane juice , Sampan rhum column still pure sugar cane juice

The South African and the Vietnamese just didn’t have enough backbone to it when I was playing around with the blend, it needed something with balls so the Guyana blend although it was only a minor component definitely gave it the foundations I was looking for

For this experiment, I decided to age a barrel of Rum in my steel sided garage in Adelaide South Australia. The Barrel used was a level three char 200 L EX makers mark bourbon Barrel.

I made a barrel rack on wheels and wheeled the barrel into the afternoon sun, every single afternoon for the 18-month period.

Then overnight it was brought inside where it naturally cooled down, its effect – opening and closing & contracting the internal oak barrel grain. Another factor to take into consideration is whilst it was wheeled twice a day, the rum was agitated / sloshed around.

Internal Barrel temperatures reached a maximum of 52° and a minimum of 2° over the ageing period of 1 1/2 years. In the shed – Lowest humidity reading was 15%, highest 88%. As well as a huge 7.8% increase in ABV over the 18 month period.

As an Indy bottler, it’s nice to be able to play around with things, try different blends, experiment and ultimately leave your fingerprint on a release. The end result on this experiment is a spirit that tastes well beyond its true age, rich viscous with layers of Stonefruit flavours.

ABOUT DEAD RECKONING

Justin Boseley, has immersed himself in rum for the past 20 years; a journey starting as a deck scrubbing lad with a thirst for Rum and adventure culminated in him becoming a Chief Officer; driving billionaire’s mega yachts around the world. This life of salty seadog adventure took him to Rum’s heartland, the Caribbean islands for 6 months a year, every year.

When he wasn’t at the helm of a mega-yacht he could be found hanging off a bar or at a distillery sampling the best the Caribbean rum scene had to offer. Upon ending his days at sea there was only one thing he knew better that navigating around the world’s oceans- that was Rum. For 10 years Justin has scoured the globe discovering & importing the world’s best rums into Australia.

Dead Reckoning is Australia’s first independent rum bottler, and each release from his bond-store is an anticipated event that never fails to please!  The Rum Tribe is incredibly proud of our close association with Justin and the Dead Reckoning brand.

ABOUT MHOBA

Nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Onderberg district of Mpumalanga and amidst our own sugarcane fields, you can find The MHOBA Rum Distillery: An artisan distillery where we make 10 different types of Pure Single Estate Sugarcane Rhum or Pure Single Sugarcane Rhum.

Unlike most traditional rum, which is made from molasses which is the by-product of refined sugar production, MHOBA rum is made from pure sugarcane juice. Our rum is 100% pot distilled from fermented sugarcane juice and contains no additives, colourings or flavour modifiers and is therefore termed Pure Single Rum; The rum equivalent of Single Malt Whiskey.

What makes MHOBA rhum even more unique is that the whole rum making process occurs on our sugar estate. From planting our own organic sugarcane right through to hand filling and labelling our bottles after distilling in our self-designed and self-built stills, MHOBA Rhum is 100% rum that is made by us.

ABOUT DISTILLERIE INDOCHINE

A team combining more than 35 years of experience in the field of wines and spirits, but above all, a group of friends dedicated to bringing together in the same project, their love for rum and their attachment to Vietnam. Antoine Poircuitte, the Master Distiller, driven by his passion and experience, wanted to bring back to taste a family tradition in order to elaborate the best Vietnamese agricultural rum.

The one and only place in Vietnam where you will be able to discover a French still and a traditional ageing method surrounded by a pristine beach! It is the ideal place for all lovers of Artisan rum who want to enjoy their tastings in a heavenly setting.

The harvesting time of Sampan production takes place at the end of each day. Harvesting done by hand means a low per-hectare yield but enhances a better juice concentration. To ensure maximum freshness and a high-quality juice cane, the canes are always delivered within 12 hours of harvesting, directly at our production site.

ABOUT DIAMOND DISTILLERY GUYANA

In 1993, there were only three distilleries still operating in Guyana (Diamond Distillery, Uitvlugt Distillery and Enmore Distillery). By 2000 only Diamond Distillery remained. Luckily (for the rum world), the stills and expertise from the Uitvlugt and Enmore Distilleries were transported and housed at the Diamond Distillery. These 4 ‘Heritage Stills’ (three of them wooden!) are still in use today at Diamond Distillery. And the Guyanese component of TCB is a blend of all of those stills!

Sampan Overproof Rhum – May 2022

For the first time in Australia and exclusive to the Rum Tribe, welcome to one of the most awarded Rhum’s on the planet. A traditional French Rhum Agricole from the tropical haven of Vietnam…The Sampan Overproof Rhum!

This isn’t the first time we’ve debuted a new product to Australia – but it is the most awarded new brand we have released! The Sampan Overproof Rhum has won so many awards from various shows and judging’s held around the world we had trouble fitting them all on the graphic…Gold, Double Gold, Best of Region and many more as shown below…the accolades are knee deep for this Rhum Agricole.

Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Le Guide Hachette
Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Silver Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Best of Region
Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal
Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Rum
Sampan Overproof Rhum

The first thing we need to state to the Tribe – especially our newer members – is that this is an un-aged spirit. In other words, it’s never been inside an oak barrel. This is given away by its transparent appearance.  Sampan Rhum is spirit straight out of the still, into a completely neutral and non-reactive stainless steel vat and ‘rested’ there whilst the water used to dilute it to bottle strength is slowly added. It may be different to what you know as rum – but rest assured, this style of spirit is loved by millions around the world as ‘rum’.

The Sampan Overproof Rhum Agricole itself has enamoured itself to the worlds most respected rum reviewers such as the ‘The Lone Caner’ but here in Australia, it’s a relatively unknown style of spirit and the unknown can be a bit daunting, so let’s explore this ‘Rhum Agricole’ business a bit closer –just what’s it all about?

Now we know that in Australia, rum is traditionally an aged spirit. In fact, under Australian law, cane juice or molasses based raw spirit must be aged in oak for at least 2 years to be called ‘rum’ here. But rest assured – a lot of the world doesn’t have this legality, nor is aging rum even traditional!  Rhum Agricole is and has been enjoyed as ‘rum’ for hundreds of years in the French Caribbean and beyond.

Don’t get the impression that Sampan Overproof Rhum Gold Medal Agricole is somehow ‘less sophisticated’ in both its production and flavour profile than it’s barrel aged rum cousins.  The quality control for Sampan Rhum Agricole begins at the ingredients and goes right through the production process to bottling and shipping. The cane is cut by hand. The water and cane juice is constantly tested and monitored. The fermentation process is a carefully thermo-regulated affair. The stainless column stills the very best French stills. Even this ‘unaged’ Sampan Overproof Rhum spends 7 months resting in stainless vats, which allows a ‘slow drip reduction’ with the purified water cutting the 70% raw spirit into the desired alcohol percentage (54% ABV in this case).

Without the additive and subtractive qualities years on wood have on a spirit – what you have is the ‘raw’ flavours of the product rather than ‘rounded’ flavours (and added flavours for that matter – from the wood). Thus to be palatable, this spirit must be produced with the greatest care and from the best ingredients.

Now we know this is a big step for some of the Tribe. This is NOT rum as we normally know it here. We understand that some have never come across Agricole before – and at 54% it can look pretty intimidating! So how do you drink unaged Sampan Overproof Rhum Agricole? Well, the good news is pretty much exactly like any rum! It has a lighter, fresher, more floral taste than an aged rum. It mixes well in ‘white rum’ cocktails such as mojitos, daquiris and Pina Coladas. It’s great with mixers – brilliant with ginger beer and slice of lime as a Dark and Stormy.  If you’re a lover of passionfruit drinks (pasito or passiona or golden pash depending on what state you live J) – you are going to love a simple slug of this in one of those. Trust me.

But in my opinion, the very best way to drink Sampan Overproof Rhum Agricole is the ‘traditional’ way – the Ti Punch.

  • In a small glass put about a half teaspoon of demerara (or brown) sugar (or more… or less, as you like)
  • cut a ‘coin’ of lime (just a circle of skin with a tiny bit of pulp, as opposed to a wedge)
  • Squeeze the lime coin into the glass – you want a few drops of juice to start the sugar dissolving – but mostly you want all those lovely citrus oils that come out of the skin itself
  • Add a good serve of rhum to the glass, drop in the lime coin and stir until the sugar dissolves. 
  • You can add a cube of ice if you like (it’s your drink, after-all)

Now just sit back and sip that Ti (or ‘Little’) Punch. Oh yeah! When you finish it, start again – but don’t throw out the old lime coins – not only will they keep adding flavour, they make a pretty good way to keep track of how many you’re drinking. And with the Sampan Overproof Rhum at 54%abv, you may wanna keep at least a casual eye on the consumption rate ;)

Sampan Overproof Rhum

Our Sampan Overproof Rhum Tasting Notes:

Nose: Man, there is just SO MUCH going on in the nose. There’s a real fresh and lively quality to it as well. There’s cut grass and floral notes, there’s sweet candy floss and liquorice all sorts, but also salty olives. Freshly cut cane, earthy petrichor and even some citrus swirls by.

Palate: Not as sweet as it smells, but certainly not dry, those fresh earthy notes are still there, I get some passionfruit, pineapple and pomegranate as well, and there’s also a sort of yeasty vibe going on (like fresh bread dough). What is surprising is how little pepper or heat there is at 54%.

Finish: Oddly enough I get a bit of a ‘woody’ note in the finish, more of those earthy and sweet notes chase each other around, and there’s also some aniseed humbugs right at the last.

  • PRICE : $129

  • ABV : 54%

  • BOTTLE: 700ml

  • REGION: Vietnam

  • NO Added Sugar/ NO Added Colour / Non-Chill Filtered

Sampan Overproof Rhum

FROM DISTILLERIE INDOCHINE

“Created in 2018, Sampan Overproof Rhum  is a result of 2 years of reflection from spot location, production process, cane sugar selection and distillery building from A to Z. A sampan is a typical cabotage boat from south east Asia allowing the interior land to be connected to the world exchange. The origin of the word sampan is closely linked to the journeys of great navigators in XVI century from the Caribbean to Asia, same navigators who bring sugar cane from Asia to the Caribbeans. For us choosing ‘Sampan’  as a brand name is a tribute of this rhum connection between Asia and the Caribbean.”

Antoine Poircuitte (founder, distiller)

Nose: Highly aromatic with notes of white flowers and violets, impression of being immersed in a sugar cane field.

Palate: Beautiful aromatic attack with intense fruity notes that bring sweetness and velvet. A refreshing finish thanks to the liquorice.

The high alcohol content brings structure to the aromas, intensifies each cocktail, releasing the Sampan Overproof Rhum aromatic/ original bouquet.

ABOUT DISTILLERIE INDOCHINE

A team combining more than 35 years of experience in the field of wines and spirits, but above all, a group of friends dedicated to bringing together in the same project, their love for rum and their attachment to Vietnam. Antoine Poircuitte, the Master Distiller, driven by his passion and experience, wanted to bring back to taste a family tradition in order to elaborate the best Vietnamese agricultural rum.

The one and only place in Vietnam where you will be able to discover a French still and a traditional ageing method surrounded by a pristine beach! It is the ideal place for all lovers of Artisan rum who want to enjoy their tastings in a heavenly setting.

Located on the seafront, Distillery Indochina is nestled in a privileged natural environment were the production conditions and ageing process in barrels are perfect. Only 15km south of Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and 40km from Danang and its international airport. Distillery Indochina welcomes you all year round with its tasting bar and guest house.

Quang Nam’s province local sugar cane variety, is renowned for its high quality and aromatic properties. In addition, the top quality of local groundwater has been highlighted by both French and Vietnamese independent laboratories. The sugar cane fields are cultivated in a range of 40 km around the Distillery, using traditional methods and excluding the use of any pesticide or chemical. The best canes are carefully selected and exclusively harvested by hand.

The harvesting time for Sampan Overproof Rhum production takes place at the end of each day. Harvesting done by hand means a low per-hectare yield but enhances a better juice concentration. To ensure maximum freshness and a high-quality juice cane, the canes are always delivered within 12 hours of harvesting, directly at our production site. Both Extensive soil testings and cane analysis are carried out regularly by certified labs in Vietnam and in France to guarantee a high quality of juice and rum.

Sampan Overproof Rhum