Habitation Velier: Privateer

I am excited to be trying this one. Privateer rums in Massachusetts has gained something of a cult following in the US with their unfiltered, unadulterated rums – particularly for their Distiller’s Drawer, single cask offerings, of which they now have 105 listed on their website and I’ve been able to get ahold of precisely….none. I’m not jealous, you are.
Enter Velier. February of this year they selected some casks and have just released them under their Habitation label. Some luck on my part meant that I was able to get a bottle on release day from LMDW for just over £90 and it turned up last week.
President and Head Distiller of Privateer, Maggie Campbell has an awe-inspiring resume; aside from previously working as the assistant distiller at Germain-Robin (a Californian brandy distillery), she also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Craft Spirit Association and has the role of Judging Director for their annual spirits competition. She’s well worth a follow on Instagram under her superhero name, @halfpintmaggie.

William George

Afternoon all. Today’s dram is another blend, this time from a company called William George Rum, founded by two brothers- Andrew and Richard Nicholls – who named their product after their grandfathers; William Simpson and George Nicholls. From the website: “This exceptional white rum honours the memories of William and George whose love, commitment and sacrifice was unquestionable.” As far as reasons for naming your product go, it’s definitely a power move and (hopefully) speaks to the noble intentions when it comes to producing the finished product.

As does the pedigree of one of its co-creators, the previously mentioned Andrew Nicholls. Previously he was a full time bartender for 18 years, is the rum educator for the Dutch arm of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, a judge for World’s 50 Best Bars and a member of one of the committee’s for Tales of The Cocktail, a leading US based Foundation aiming to educate, advance and support the global drinks industry. So yeah, pedigree.

Thameside Rum Company: Dockside Signature Blend

Back again with another review! It’s not the worst hobby in the world to have picked up to be fair. I should probably point out that unless explicitly mentioned, all the rums I try are ones I’ve bought with my own money – this one was the result of me taking part in a Crowdfunding project. Hopefully that makes me a *little* less open to accusations of bias, but as with anything in life, caveat emptor. Which might be why you’re here to be fair. I really do appreciate hearing from those of you who’ve gotten lost in my little lair of the internet, particularly if you’ve got thoughts on my tasting notes. Feel free to reach out.

I digress. Today’s dram is from the Thameside Rum Company, a blending house set up in 2018 with the vision of “…challenging the conventions of modern Navy style rums by bringing true authentic Caribbean rum back to the banks of the River Thames.“
There’s a lot of hyperbole and faux nostalgia surrounding Navy Rums and rather than add to the litany of already well researched material out there, I’d urge you to check out Matt Pietrek’s excellent article on his website “Cocktail Wonk.”