The Rumcast

In this episode we sat down with John Hsu and Lorri Kern to learn all about their bold approach to bottling rum as the relatively new independent bottler Raising Glasses. This year alone, they've released rums from the Netherlands, Madeira, Ecuador, and other unexpected locales, which is all part of their willingness to try things other rum brands aren't doing. It was a great conversation that fea...

Want to see video of this episode? Check it out on YouTube and subscribe to our channel! We're back with another bite-sized episode in our Semi-Blind Rum Reviews series. This time, John braved the challenge of blind-tasting and attempting to identify Roulaison Overproof, a pot-distilled, molasses-based rum from Roulaison Distilling out of Louisiana. Along the way, we both share our overall thought...

Note:  See the end of this episode description for the Hurricane Beryl aid links we mention in the intro. In this episode we revisited one of rum's iconic institutions from a totally different perspective from our previous episode (from over 2 years ago!) on it. We're talking, of course, about The Main Rum Company — keepers of E&A Scheer's boutique single cask program, and possibly the mo...

Want to see video of this episode? Check it out on YouTube and subscribe to our channel! https://youtu.be/8b99b-s4isg We're back with another episode in our Semi-Blind Reviews series — this time with a rum sourced from a region that came up quite a bit in our 100th episode a few months back: Ghana! From Down Island Spirits , this is a 4-year-old pot still cane juice rum sourced from Ghana's MIM Di...

In this episode, we sat down with John Georges, former master distiller of Angostura Rum / Trinidad Distillers Ltd. to discuss his 40+ year career in rum, all things Angostura, and much more. This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cachaça — Get 10% off any order at NossaCachaca.com with promo code RUMCAST. We discussed: The evolution of rum-making at Angostura over the years Angostura's involvement wi...

In this episode, we chatted with Jason Paul Cox and Isidoro Krassel Jr. of Alambique Serrano and Cañada Rum — two exciting projects featuring cane juice rum from Mexico. Jason is the founder of the brands and Isidoro is one of the four brothers from a family that has been producing aguardiente de caña in Oaxaca's mountainous cloud forest for over 100 years. This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cacha...

This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cachaça — Get 10% off any order at NossaCachaca.com with promo code RUMCAST. In this episode, we talked to Turner Wathen and Jordan Morris, the co-founders of Rolling Fork Rum, and went DEEP on everything the Kentucky-based independent bottler has learned about secondary maturation (and more) since getting started in 2017. We discussed: Rolling Fork's focus on ut...

We're back with another episode in our Semi-Blind Rum Reviews series. This time, we swapped roles with Will as the blind taster and John as the rum selector. It turned out to be a quite rare rum — English Harbour 1981, a 25-year-old rum from Antigua Distillery Limited, bottled all the way back in 2006! You can also view the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

For this episode, we reached DEEP into the backs of our cabinets and pulled out a selection of rums we had long overlooked, neglected, or even forgotten about in our bars to see how our thoughts have evolved (or IF they have at all). The rules were simple: it just had to be a bottle we hadn't tasted in at least two years. Along the way, we discuss everything from market correcting Myers's Original...

In this episode we talked to Pepe Álvarez, founder of San Juan Artisan Distillers, the only Puerto Rican distillery making pot still rum from fresh sugarcane juice in a true farm-to-bottle setting. You may recall we featured Pepe as one of three interviewees in an episode back in 2021, but we wanted to bring him back for a solo interview so we could take a deeper dive into what we both think is a...

In this episode, we sat down with Steve Jefferson, co-founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works, a distillery on Hawaii's Big Island that's putting their own spin on fresh cane juice rum. From growing their own heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane to sourcing and blending rums from around the world, they have a unique approach that's resulting in some pretty damn good rum. We chatted about: Going from sailing a...

With John on vacation, I flew solo on this episode to welcome Ben Inglis, distillery manager and co-founder of The Islay Rum Company, to the show to get the full story on his unique approach to Scottish rum. If you listened to our Guide to UK Rum episode , you'll remember that John and I rated both of the Islay Rum Company rums we tried quite favorably, so we'd been hoping to talk to Ben ever sinc...

This week, we’re introducing a new episode format — the Semi-Blind Rum Review! In these reviews, one of us will know the identity of the rum being reviewed and one of us will be going in with no information about the rum whatsoever, besides its color in the glass. Our goal is to hopefully provide an unbiased and fun look at new(ish) rums you might be curious about. We'll also be publishing video v...

In this episode, we explore the impressive start of possibly the only independent rum bottler in Canada, Bira Rum . Founder Karl Mudzamba took us inside his journey from Zimbabwe, to playing professional rugby in New Zealand, to starting Bira in his current home of Vancouver, BC. Bira has hit the ground running with unadulterated, cask strength releases from Fiji and South Africa, with much more t...

In this episode, we're back with a fresh entry in our Rumcast Guides series — and this time we're taking on the rums of the United Kingdom! Over the last 12 years or so, the UK has seen an explosion of domestic rum distilleries, with the number now reaching over 25 (and counting). We set out to taste a wide selection of these rums to get a sense of the emerging category's characteristics, standout...

In this free bonus episode, we're releasing global rum ambassador and Equiano co-founder Ian Burrell's full interview from our 100th episode, which was full of interesting nuggets about the development of Equiano, rum education, where we can expect to see exciting new rums come from over the next several years, and much more!  Also, we try to guess our way through a mystery sample provided by...

Without further delay, we're super excited to share our 100th episode of The Rumcast with you! As we've hinted, this episode is special to us, and was really a labor of love. Rather than going with the typical format, we invited a dozen past guests to return for individual interviews where we looked back at how rum has evolved since 2019 (when we started working on the show), and where they think...

Per tradition, we're back with our predictions for what will happen in the world of rum in 2024 — from trends, to releases, to new projects, and beyond.  In the spirit of accountability, we also take a look back at last year's predictions for 2023 and grade how close each one came. Have a listen and send us an email at host@rumcast.com to let us know your predictions for the new year! P.S. Di...

Happy holidays and New Year (in advance), everyone! In our fourth annual Year in Review episode we take a look back at our favorite rums of the year in the following categories: Unaged molasses rum Unaged cane juice rum Aged rum (5 years or less) Aged rum (Over 5 years) “New to me” rum Best value rum Most surprising rum Overall rum Plus, we each throw in picks for Distillery of the Year, along wit...

In this episode, we went deep on the eight marks of Jamaica's Hampden Estate and the making of the recently released 8 Marks Collection with Peppie Grant (Tour Manager at Hampden), Daniele Biondi (Export Manager at La Maison & Velier), and Howard McCalla (Production Manager at Hampden). Speaking with people from both Hampden and La Maison & Velier allowed us to get the full story behind th...

This episode is sponsored by Wonk Press — Get 10% off Modern Caribbean Rum by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith now through December 10 with promo code RUMCAST. Plus, Matt and Carrie will sign your book at no additional cost! In this episode, we set out to answer a surprisingly interesting question — which 80 proof rums are the best values? Which ones punch above their weight? Which ones should we not...

In this episode, we got a full report of all the exciting happenings and new bottles showcased at UK RumFest, Whisky Live Paris, and other events across Europe from Chris Hassan Francke, owner of one of Washington, DC's premier spots for rum, The Green Zone. Chris took us deep into the rum festival scene in Europe from the perspective of both a rum fan and bar owner. We discussed: First impression...

In this episode, we have a freewheeling conversation on a topic we've wanted to delve into for a long time — molasses production and the role it plays in rum!  Maggie Campbell (Estate Manager at Mount Gay ) and Zan Kong (Commercial Manager of Spirits at Worthy Park ) lent their expertise and sterling personalities to guide us through the ins and outs of the sticky liquid that goes into making...

For this episode, we asked our patrons to send in their top rum-related questions — and they delivered! We share our thoughts on: What is presently the most underappreciated rum-producing country? What rums do you always keep in stock? What is your go-to daily drinker? (Go-to rum and go-to cocktail) Now that you have been into rum for a while, have your buying habits changed? If each of you were a...

In this episode, we sat down with Jason Zeno of Porchjam Distillery / Cheramie Rum to take us inside one of the most interesting up-and-coming American rum distilleries out there right now. Located in New Orleans, they're making a significant volume of fresh cane juice rum that's beginning to trickle its way into several markets across the U.S., and have some exciting aged releases coming up as we...