No lesser light than Ferdinand Braudel takes a more cautious approach. He states that alcohol per se “was possibly discovered in about 1100, in southern Italy” and adds that the first distillation, probably of wine to make brandy or aqua vitae, “had been attributed (probably wrongly) to Raymond Lull who died in 1315, or to a curious itinerant doctor, Arnaud de Villenueve,” who died in 1313. (Braudel 241)

At the core of this fabulous winter warmer lies a blend of the very finest high proof Caribbean rum, to which was added creamy Madagascan vanilla and a generous helping of zesty orange peel. A secret recipe was followed, finished with a handful of cassia and cloves and just a hint of cardamom. Evidence from the reliable Ligon bears out the notion of extreme alcoholic strength. He reported that Barbadian rum was Bridenbaugh dates the development of the sugar culture on Barbados, as well as the expansion of sugar trading, a little later than the sequence outlined by Dunn and adopted here. Both studies of the English in the Caribbean are superb, and without recourse to a raft of primary sources, our choice must be considered arbitrary. It would be unfair to continue piling on, but worst of all Broom does not even include in his international directory of rums the Editor’s three favorites: Coruba, Pampero Anniversario and Westerhall.Nose: A fabulously decadent nose of intense, sweet vanilla and flamed orange zest. The cardamom makes itself known by offering up an evocative suggestion of old-fashioned cola, and to this the cloves bring out a deep, dark complexity. Yet more sweetness with cinnamon, which melds beautifully with essential oil notes of Seville orange peel. In the glass (its impossible to see the rum in the bottle) the rum pours a very vivid reddish brown. The nose is very strong with wafts of orange zest – almost marmalade like. Vanilla is also present but is not the dominant note. Mixed Peel and a little Ginger and Cinnamon are also present.

The LIVE virtual tastings are carried out in the last week of the month. Please keep an eye on our socials for confirmed dates! so strong a Spirit, as a candle being brought to a neer distance, to the bung of a Hogshead or Butt, where itt is kept, the Spirits will flie to it, and taking hold of it, bring the fire down to the vessel, and set all a fire, which immediately breakse the vessel, and becomes a flame, burning all about it that is combustible matter.” (Ligon 93) I didn’t find out what the base rum so I’m none the wiser. The information on the Spicing was interesting though. I didn’t pursue it any further as to be honest I can probably guess that it will be a fairly young Trini rum.

Consider this similar product...

There are a number of small mysteries about the introduction of sugar culture to Barbados, but the main outline of the story is clear enough.” Arawaks who accompanied the English had planted cane on the island during the first year of settlement, but neither they nor the English knew how to make sugar and in any event the plants failed to flourish. (Dunn 61) Early cultivation of tobacco and cotton on Barbados produced indifferent results: By 1640 its enterprising and ambitious inhabitants had determined that the island needed a new crop. (Dunn 61; No Peace)

A thriving post-Annales school of historiography has developed. Practitioners like David Abulafia at Cambridge University emphasize the primacy of human will and structures both physical and political on historical phenomena. Human enterprise, whether the choice of crops to plant or goods to trade, is more important in this view than the natural world that Braudel considers paramount. A little less mystery surrounds the genesis if not the name of the great spirit of the Caribees, and historically of New England and beyond. Rum began, on Barbados, sometime after 1640 and before 1647. Historically, distillates based on cane have started out as a byproduct of the sugar industry and that was true on seventeenth century Barbados. The cane was crushed to extract its juices, boiled to produce crystals and then ‘cured,’ or dried and drained of molasses. Sugar planters could sell the molasses, but it was bulky to transport and fetched a lower price, much lower, than the white sugar that Europe and New England craved. Spiced Rum’s that are suitable for sipping are few and far between. Sipping Rumbullion! is a very, very spicy experience. I have no doubt that this Spiced Rum has been produced from more authentic spices and flavourings than many commercially available Spiced Rums. Synthetic vanilla essence is miles away from this rums taste. It is very much like a very spicy orange drink – almost mulled in many ways. Spiced Ginger Orange is how it tastes. Cardamon is also present giving a slight “Indian Cuisine” type curried note. Despite all this, taken neat Rumbullion! does reveal the youthfulness of its base rum. There’s quite a lot of alcohol burn as well as intense spicing. I wouldn’t choose to drink this neat, maybe over ice at a push. The extra ABV in comparison to other Spiced Rums is very evident. Perhaps too much for a sipper. K. Kris Hirst, “The History of Distilling,” http://archaeology.about.com/od/foodsoftheancientpast/fr/smith06.htmAs to fashion, “[i]n the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, no one had a good word to say about the West Indies,” Barbados not excepted. It was not just the denizens of the Barbadian underclass that the English despised; the privileged classes envied and snubbed the sugar barons as parvenus, the kind of people who, to plagiarize Alan Clarke on Michael Heseltine, had to buy their own furniture. The nose is wonderfully spicy, with clove and orange zest at the front. Orange, clove, caramel, and various other spices on the tongue. Good sweet and spicy finish. The Portuguese had produced sugar in Brazil for over a century before the English settled Barbados in 1627. Those planters in Brazil also produced a distilled drink from cane, agua ardente, but it probably was something closer to cachaca or vodka than to rum, and in particular the amber and darker rums produced by the English in the Caribbean. As Richard Dunn notes, they “were apparently the first sugar makers to discover how to distill molasses and other sugar by-products into a potent alcoholic drink with a sweetly burnished taste.” (Dunn 196) Rumbullion! has been so popular with Master of Malt punters that it is also now available in an XO (15 year old) and Navy Strength variation. This review focuses on the “traditional” standard Rumbullion.