The winners of the first ever Golden Rum Barrel Awards were finally announced at the dinner that took place on Saturday evening on the 16th of October with some brands grabbing double awards in different categories.
The competition took place at an undisclosed location a couple of days prior the worlds biggest Rum Festival with some pretty exclusive rums available for tasting such as Appleton 30 Year Old and Black Tot Last Consignment.
The tasting panel consisted of several International Rum Experts, each who had previously nominated their top picks for the categories. These were then compiled and narrowed down to the top 5 rums in each category.
The rum Nominees and Winners
1) Best White Rum
Molasses, Cane syrup or combination of both based White rum aged or unaged.
- Elements 8 Platinum
- El Dorado 3 year old
- Diplomatico Reserve Blanco
- Flor De Cana 4 Year Old
- Banks 5 island rum [WINNER]
2) Best Super Premium White Rum
Globally retailed at over £25 or $30 US
- Diplomatico Reserve Blanco
- Banks 5 island rum
- Oronoco [WINNER]
- Elements 8 Platinum
- Bacardi 1909 Heritage Limited Edition
3) Best Flavoured or Spiced Rum
Rum with flavours added by way of infusion, blending, brewing or maceration.
- Chairman's Reserve Spice
- Elements 8 Spiced [WINNER]
- Four square
- The Lash
- St Aubin Vanilla Rhum
4) Best Gold Rum up to 6 years old
Oldest rum is 6 years old
- El Dorado 5 [WINNER]
- Doorly's 5
- English harbour 5
- D'aguiar XM5
- Chairman's Reserve
5) Best Premium Gold Rum up to 12
Rums declared to a blend, an average or less than 12 years old.
- Mount Gay XO
- Cruzan single Barrel
- Dos Maderas 5 + 5 [WINNER]
- St Nicholas Abbey 10
- Appleton Estate 8 Reserve
6) Best Premium Gold Rum (over 12)
Rums declared to a blend older than 12 years old.
- Appleton Estate Extra 12
- El Dorado 12 [WINNER]
- Botran 12
- Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
- Appleton Estate Master Blenders Legacy
7) Best Super Premium Gold Rum minimum aged 15yrs
Youngest rum in the blend is declared to be 15 years old
- Appleton Estate 21
- El Dorado 15
- Mount Gay 1703 [WINNER]
- Barbancourt 15
- Ron Centenario XX
8) Best Solera Rum
Rums using the solera system of aging.
- Santa Teresa 1796
- Ron Zacapa 23
- Ron Zacapa XO
- Atlantico [WINNER]
- Botran 1893
9) Best Dark Rum, Black rum or Navy Styled Rum
Colour predominantly comes from the addition of Caramel
- Smith & Cross
- Gosling Black seal
- Coruba Dark
- Pussers 15 years [WINNER]
- Maui Dark
10) Best Agricole unaged
Rums made from fresh cane juice
- Neisson Blanc
- Rhum JM Blanc
- La Bourdonnais
- La Favorite
- Batiste Rhum Blanc
11) Best Agricole Aged up to 4 years
Rums made from fresh cane juice
-Clement VSOP [WINNER]
- La Favourtie Vieux
- Neisson reserve
- Depaz VSOP
- Rhum JM VSOP
12) Best Agricole over 4 years
Rums made from fresh cane juice
- Clemente Cuvee Homere
- Neisson XO
- Plantation Guadeloupe [WINNER]
- Clemente XO
- Rhum JM 97
13) Best Cachaça
Aged or Unaged from Brazil
- Leblon
- Beija flor Reserva Especial [WINNER]
- Ypioca 150
- Novo Gold
- Magnifica
14) Best North American Rum (inc Mexico)
Must be finished & bottled in the respective continent
- Los Valientes 15 [WINNER]
- Ragged Mountain
- Sgt Classick
- Pritchards Private Reserve
- Montanya Rum
15) Best South American Rum
Must be finished & bottled in the respective continent
- Pampero Anniversario
- Santa Teresa 1796
- Cartavio XO
- El Dorado 15
- Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva [WINNER]
16) Best European Rum
Must be finished & bottled in the respective continent
- Dos Maderas PX
- Dos Maderas 5 + 3
- Plantation XO 20th Anniversary
- Plantation Panama
- Black Tot Black Tot Last Consignment [WINNER]
17) Best Australasian Rum
Must be finished & bottled in the respective continents
- Old Monk
- Inner circle green
- Inner circle red
- Holey Dollar cask strength [WINNER]
- Holey Dollar Silver Coin
18) Best Caribbean Rum
Must be finished & bottled in the respective area
- Mount Gay 1703 [WINNER]
- Appleton 30 Year Old
- Mount Gay XO
- Admiral Rodney
- Rhum JM 1997
19) Best Central American Rum
Must be finished & bottled in the respective continent
- Zafra Master Reserve 21
- Ron Centenario XX
- Ron Zacapa XO
- Botran 1873
- Ron Abuelo 12 [WINNER]
20) Best New Rum Brand
First tasted between September 2009 to August 2010
- Banks Five Island Rum
- Dos Maderas PX
- Zafra Master Reserve 21 [WINNER]
- Appleton 30 Year Old
- Holey Dollar
21) Best Rum Package
Package design for a new bottle seen between Sept 2009 & August 2010
- Kraken
- Mount Gay 1703
- Black Tot Last Consignment
- St Nicholas Abbey [WINNER]
- Atlantico
UK rum ambassador of the year
Stefanie Holt from El Dorado
Global rum ambassador of the year
Chesterfield Browne from Mount Gay
Rum Influencer of the year
Lorena Vasquez from Ron Zacapa
