Some time ago I had the pleasure of exchanging some tweets with @halfpintmaggie who makes Rum for Privateer True American Rum in Massachusetts. After we chatted via Twitter for a bit Maggie offered to send me some samples of their products and I sent my address ASAP. What I received from Maggie was amazing – a bottle of their Silver Rum, a barrel sample of their amber rum, and a hand-written letter from Maggie which detailed the processes and step used to craft these products.

Just after receiving the samples I had gotten pretty sick and was unable to have alcohol for a while which meant these awesome bottles were just eye-balling me for weeks and honestly it was killing me. I have finally gotten better and have been able to drink again so tonight I decided to crack open that barrel sample of the amber rum and enjoy it while watching a soccer match.

The barrel sample I received was from batch #6 which, according to Maggie’s letter, will be getting bottled in February. I’ll take you through some of the highlights of Maggie’s letter and her steps along the creation of this spirit before getting into my enjoyment of it. I have to say I knew I’d be hooked once I read the very first line of her detailing the processes for the amber.

I distill the amber taking cues from my whiskey background

Maggie goes on to explain that the spirit sees New Hungarian Oak in a cube form with a medium toast, followed by going into used bourbon barrels. Individually selected barrels for a batch are then married and proofed (to 100 proof) and then re-barreled to develop richness and harmony across the marriage. This married batch is then combined, filtered, and has a final proof done at which point the blend is casked in 3rd use brandy barrels. This my friends is just some of what was in Maggie’s letter. It is obvious to see how much of a craft this is for her and how much effort she is putting into creating this truly unique and distinct product. Just reading about her processes has me wanting to make a visit out to their distillery to meet her and take a tour.

So – what did I think of the amber rum sample I tasted? It was excellent!

Pouring it into the glass – this rum has a beautiful (amber) color and it just looks great in a glass. I planned on tasting it neat first as I like to do when trying anything new and then maybe some ice or a splash of water to open up some notes etc.
The nose had a wonderful sweetness to it like the sugar base of many rums will have. I almost thought it might be too sweet, and I am happy to say I was wrong. The flavors that come through from the different barreling this spirit sees are just amazing, and that sweetness you get in the aroma just becomes a light smooth background for all the barrel flavors to gently blend with. Being a bourbon fan I like to drink many things neat, in the realm of rum however, this is generally something that is reserved for your higher end Appleton Estate, Mount Gay, etc. rums. Well before I knew it I had gone through the whole barrel sample and never added anything to it at all. I could drink this rum neat all day long, it is that enjoyable.

I really want to thank Maggie and Privateer Rum for being so nice to send off some samples to me. I really appreciated her taking the time to send me a package and to write the letter that came along with it. I still have the Silver Rum to break into and write about as well so stay tuned for that.