Sparrow's Premium Rum is another St. Vincent Distillers product that sits under their flagship product Captain Bligh XO. The name of course comes from Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and got its name after The Curse of the Black Pearl was filmed on the island. It comes in the same simple style bottle as Captain Bligh XO but has a dark label.
On it there is a picture of a ship and a map of Saint Vincent & The Grenadines in the background. It clearly states where the rum is made and comes at a standard 40% ABV.
The rum is aged up to 7 years and by the appearance of it, it has some caramel colouring added to it. I covered the details on how the rums are made at St. Vincent Distillers in the previous review, please have a look there for more details on history, fermentation and distillation.
Appearance
In the glass the rum takes on a brown brassy tone, a much lighter colour than what it looks like in the bottle. The rum forms several thin legs and droplets on the side of the glass.
Nose
Sparrow’s Rum is initially spicy with green bananas. There is a lot of caramel and a nice bourbony vanilla with a bit of coconut baked goods and fruit, reminiscent of a Sunday morning bakery.
Taste
A bitter sweet entry of caramel and stone fruit. It is a very light bodied rum that has a bit of an alcoholic taste to it after the initial flavours.
Finish
Warming, with a bit of alcohol and soft round vanilla and caramel. The finish is clean, dry and relatively short.
As an Ingredient
The Mai-Tai
Although Sparrows Rum isn't exactly like the high hogo Jamaican rums that I would normally use in a Mai-Tai, it has enough complexity to shine through the other ingredients, and is actually rather complimentary to the other flavours in the drink. I used the classic Mai-Tai recipe, except I only used Sparrow’s rum whereas the original recipe calls for Jamaican and Martinique rum.Depending on how sweet or sour the limes are, I sometimes use a bit less lime juice than required in the original recipe.
- 60ml (2 oz) Sparrows
- 30ml (1 oz) Fresh Lime Juice
- 15ml (½ oz) Orgeat
- 15ml (½ oz) Orange Curacao
- 7ml (¼ oz) Sugar Syrup
- Shake with 2 cups of crushed ice and pour in a rocks glass.
Final Thoughts
Sparrow’s rum is overall quite well balanced and like its brother, Captain Bligh XO; it's simple and easy to drink, though it could benefit from a bit more complexity and character.
Buy from The Whisky Exchange or Master of Malt.
Details at a Glance
Score Details
 | Details at a GlanceCountry: St. Vincent | N/A | 79 | |
Score Criteria | Score Graph | |
NoseAroma: 7 TasteComplexity: 7 | AlcoholAlcohol by mouthfeel: 8 FinishBalance: 9 | |
Other rum reviews:
Captain Bligh XO