Angel's Share Title
Jung & Wulff Luxury Rums No. 3 Barbados
I discovered the Jung & Wulff brand in 2020 while attending a sneak preview of the Sazerac House in New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail. That winter, my wife and I returned to New Orleans and toured the finished attraction, and one of the souvenirs we picked up was a bottle of Barbados rum. When you read the marketing material and bottle label, you will learn about the brand, its history, and that the rum is sourced from the Caribbean Island of Barbados. The rum was transported to Sazerac’s blending facility in Louisville, Kentucky, blended to 43% ABV, and bottled for distribution in 2019. No other information is provided about the distillery it is sourced from, if it was obtained through a broker, or if it was obtained directly from the rum maker.
Jung & Wuff
Appearance
The bottle is a thin necked 750 ml bottle with artwork of a game of cricket on the cover and a few details about the product. The back label is loaded with information about the brand and some basic tasting notes. A clear plastic security wrap covers the neck and is unsealed easily with a built in pull tab. The synthetic cork is held to the bottle with a plastic cap that is secured with a cap featuring No. 3 that descends down the neck with the brand name.The liquid holds a golden-amber color in the bottle and lightens slightly in the glass. Swirling the liquid creates a medium-sized ring around the glass that drops a series of fast moving legs, and a second, much slower wave of legs. The ring slowly thickens, and a third wave of legs form and drops slightly down the glass before evaporating and leaving pebbles behind.
Nose
The aroma of the rum is dominated by a strong candied caramel note. After the glass rested for a few minutes, I found notes of acidic oak char, medium roast coffee, dried tobacco leaf, subtle lemon zest, and toffee.
Palate
On the palate, the flavors of the rum and alcohol are well balanced. I discovered notes of caramel, a bit of dried fruit along the lines of raisins, apricots, and papaya, along with toasted oak tannins. As the flavors begin to fade, the wood and mineral notes dominate and transition into a long, lightly dry finish.
Review
If I were going to guess at the age of rum, I think it is between four and six years old. The immaturity of the wood notes and their influence on the liquid, accompanied by the strength of the caramel notes in the aroma and palate, are the basis to my reasoning for this. There is a delicate balance between the flavors and alcohol that is interesting, but there is no midpalate or complexity to evaluate. When I enjoy rums from a specific island, I like to experience the common denominators that can be found between the brands that identify where the liquid is from. In this case, the rum gives the imbiber a subtle nod towards its source but does little else. I am aware that the Jung & Wulff brands have plans for future bottlings and hope that they capture more of the identity of the source islands with them than they did with this one.
