TASTINGS ... with David Bray
Rum is Bundy. And vice versa. That was the firm belief of your reporter and many of his journalism, Ballymore and sailing mates, back in the days. Things have changed. Years since I had a rum and Coke (not the pre-mix, and easy on the Coke, please).
The business that makes Bundaberg rum is no longer Australian-owned and there is some evidence that while, to quote from the publicity material, “Australia is home to the best rum maker in the world”, that rum isn’t Bundy.
The story is that Stuart Gilbert, master distiller at Holey Dollar Rum, has been making popular rums for over 10 years now but it was his newest rum creations that really stood out last year when all three rums won Best in Class awards in the highly competitive International Wine and Spirits Competition 2009.
The Holey Dollar Overproof (rrp $64.99) then went on to beat a line-up of Caribbean and West Indian rums to take the overall World’s Best Rum trophy in a unanimous panel vote.
Then just recently the 2010 competition 2010 announced its results in London and again all three of the Holey Dollar Rums were awarded Best in Class. Gilbert started the Holey Dollar Rum Distilling Company back in Sydney in 2008. He was already well-known as an international rum judge and maker of successful rums and but this wasn’t quite enough.
So he starting putting all his skills and efforts into the art of making and blending small quantities of rum with complexity, flavour and diversity, that were still affordable luxuries for the everyday person in Australia, which the publicity reminds us, is a country whose first currency of trade was rum. Stuart says: “The Holey Dollar rums are serious, individual, hand-crafted rums, made in pot-stills with extra ageing in oak barrels.
We’re never going to be huge but we want to give consumers a better class of rum. “Rum-making is a living process, linking nature with human ingenuity: a melding of technology and artistry. It is created by taking molasses, adding yeast, distilling and maturation. The variables within the process are almost infinite. By only using the finest natural raw materials, the best fermentation procedures, the best pot stills available in the world, together with an experienced and devoted master blender, you can create something that sets you aside from other rums. At Holey Dollar nothing artificial is used, no expense is spared, and quality is never substituted, to create this special and unique tasting rum.”
And if you think wine-lovers can be carried away in their descriptions, here are judging notes supplied by the IWSC:
Holey Dollar ‘Premium’ Rum (40% A/V) - Medium depth of old gold colour. Attractive nose with good floral notes and some dark, brown sugar characters. Good, rich mouth with flavours following the nose along with treacle, The PR people have thoughtfully provided these IWSC judging notes: dark chocolate and some vanilla. Raisin and prune are there and go into the full finish. (RRP $39.99)
Holey Dollar ‘Overproof’ Rum (57.2% A/V) - Medium to dark colour. Nose is filled with tropical fruits with floral backing and some rich vanilla. Mouth is big and demonstrative with all the flavours the nose had plus prune and treacle, with good, sweet vanilla. Long extended finish with lots of aromatics … a very attractive rum. (RRP $64.99)
Holey Dollar ‘Cask Strength’ Rum (75.9% A/V) – …wonderful dark amber colour with aromas of raisins and chocolate, toasty almonds and a hint of dried banana…layer and layer of progressively drier and woodier oak flavours finishing long and warm on the palate…a fabulous drink. (RRP $84.99)
What do you reckon you could do for Father’s Day, eh?
