Angel's Share Title
Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum 007
During World War Two, author Ian Fleming discovered and fell in love with Jamaica. After the war, he purchased some undeveloped property on the island and built his winter home there, which he called Golden Eye. Chris Blackwell, entrepreneur and founder of Island Records, grew up living next to the property and got to know Ian Fleming as his neighbor. In 1976, he purchased the property from the Fleming estate for his mother and, over time, purchased property around it that would become the Golden Eye Resort and Villas in 1989. So, knowing of Mr. Blackwell’s ties to Ian Fleming, it put a smile on my face when I heard of this special Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum 007 limited edition bottling of 25,007 bottles worldwide. The minimum age of the rum blend is one year and it is comprised of both column and pot still rums produced by J. Wray and Nephew LTD., made with Jamaican sugar cane molasses and blended to 40% ABV before bottling. The product was developed by Chris Blackwell Jr., who has taken over the family rum business, and Master Blender Joy Spence.
Blackwellrum
Appearance
The 750 ml rum bottle has a black wrap with silver and gold script providing information about Chris Blackwell and this unique partnership with the 007 franchise. Removing the security strip reveals a black synthetic cap and cork combo.Since it is impossible to see the rum in the bottle I cannot even guess at the color. The liquid poured into the glass holds a dark amber color. Swirling the liquid creates a medium band that thickens quickly and drops quickly. It takes a few minutes for the band and legs to bead up and evaporate.
Nose
The aroma of the rum has a strong bite of orange zest, followed by brown sugar, dark vanilla, caramelized bananas and cola, with a hint of charred oak rounding it out.
Palate
The first sip of the rum conditions the tongue with an interesting array of charred oak notes and caramelized vanilla. Subsequent sips revealed brown sugar, dark cacao, roasted coffee bean, baking spice, toasted coconut, flat cola, dried apricot and cooked bananas. A bitter orange peel note rounds out the flavor profile and lingers in a medium finish.
Review
When I learned that this rum was made at J. Wray and Nephew/Appleton, it did in away shape my expectations of the product. The smoky wood char notes leading the flavor profile was unexpected but really worked well with the balance of vanilla and brown sugar notes. This could have easily gone overly bitter with immature barrel-aged rum, but the blenders found a way to balance it out. If you are looking for a rum with a lot of “funky” flavors then you will need to look elsewhere. This rum is straightforward and is a fine sipper, but it shines when used in tropical cocktails. Usually a brand tie in lowers my overall expectations of a product, but I can say this was overall a pleasant surprise. If you spot one of the bottles, this is an easy one to pick up for your home bar.
Cheers!
