Extinct Bird Marks The Arrival Of An Equally Elusive Rum

Doorly's is just one of a whole host of rums produced at the excellent Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. The brand is no stranger here in the UK with Doorly's XO, a very fine sipping rum, being available on these shores for quite some time. Doorly's has a distinctive packaging featuring brightly coloured Macaws with the commonly found Yellow and Scarlet varieties adorning bottles of 3 and 5 year old rum respectively. The Doorly's XO, a blend of rums aged between 6 and 12 years old, sports the much rarer Hyacinth Macaw which is sadly an endangered species. The pinnacle of the Doorly's range, the Doorly's 12 Year Old, is the only bottle in the range to come in a sturdy presentation box and features the Spix's Macaw. Although it has yet to be confirmed, it's feared that this species of parrot may very well be extinct. This avian scale serves as a novel way the distillery uses to rank their Doorly's rums. Not so long ago, the Doorly's 12 Year Old was a rum of myth and legend, only being available in limited numbers direct from the distillery in Barbados. Thankfully, this superb rum has finally made its way to the UK and we have some sitting on the shelves right now, ready for all you rum aficionados to enjoy for the first time.

Doorlys 12 Year Old Rum

A blend of pot and column still rums, Doorly's 12 Year Old contains 90% rum aged for 12 years in Bourbon barrels and 10% aged for 12 years in Madeira casks. Once the rums are blended together, they are left for awhile to fully integrate with one another. The rum is heavier than the younger expressions with lovely rich chocolate and toffee notes on the nose with no alcohol fumes present at all. The Madeira finished rum imparts some gorgeous tropical fruit flavours such as banana and sultanas; this mingles with the expected notes of caramel and vanilla to create a well balanced nose that made me salivate in anticipation of the first sip. An initial hit of sweetness assails me on the palate followed by pepper; this develops into dry oak and a pleasant heat. The finish is smooth and lasts for ages with oak and vanilla predominant but also a little cinnamon and nutmeg. This Bajan rum is a real corker and rest assured I went back for several more glasses of the stuff! Foursquare Distillery again show that they are expert rum blenders and just don't make sub-standard rums. The lack of added additives and sugar is testament to the quality of this rum as it's super smooth and is free of any residual ethanol taste. You can do yourself a favour and save yourself a trip to Barbados by buying Doorly's 12 Year Old Rum here.