Angel's Share Title
Bombarda Culverin Rum
While visiting a local store, I was pleased to finally find Bombarda Rum on the shelves. This rum line had me curious because it checked two different boxes related to my personal interests; historical cannons that were used on ships and forts and multi-island rum blends. In my historical research, a Culverin was both a deck mounted swivel gun used on ships to defend against attackers as well as a medium sized cannon used during the Medieval and Renaissance time periods. Bombarda Culverin is a blend of rums double aged 5 to 8 years in used Bourbon and white oak casks sourced from Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Panama. The rum is blended to 43% ABV and the company states they use no additives or coloring in the production of their rum line.
Bombarda Culverin Rum
Appearance
The entire Bombarda rum line has the same proprietary 750 mL embossed cannon shaped bottle. The labels provide basic information about the rum blend, with the neck wrap having a 5 on one side and a snake on the other. I later learned that the snake’s name is “couleuvrine” the French word for grass snake. The black plastic cap is secured to the bottle with clear security wrap. The cap and cork are all one piece, tightly securing the rum in the bottle.In the bottle and glass, the rum has a light-yellow gold color with brown, amber highlights. Swirling the liquid creates a razor thin band that thickens slightly before dropping a couple of waves of fast moving legs.
Nose
The aroma in a good balance of vanilla, cantaloupe, black pepper, tobacco leaf and oak.
Palate
The swirl of vanilla, alcohol, tobacco and oak dances across the tongue with the initial sip. As I continued to sip, the dry wood notes really came out to play, highlighting the immaturity of the rum with the wood flavors and alcohol lighting up the tongue before fading into a vanilla rich finish.
Review
When tasting a rum line for the first time, I always enjoy beginning with the immature rums in the portfolio before experiencing the older products. While Culverin is not the youngest rum in Bombarda’s line up, (Drake has that honor), it was a good one to begin with as the blend was a pleasant rough and tumble rum that would be ideal for enjoying in the Prohibition Era like the Mary Pickford or Chicago Fizz. Now I am curious about some of the other rum blends in the line and will make sure to give them a try as soon as I find them in the stores. If you are looking for an interesting new rum to use in your cocktails, Bombarda Culverin is a good place to start.
