Copeland Smugglers Reserve Rum 0,7 l

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 40%

Special Features:

Copeland Smugglers’ Reserve brings together robust pot still rum from Barbados and lighter rum from its own distillery in Donaghadee. The Caribbean component matures in bourbon barrels from Kentucky, while the Copeland rum uses French Pinot-Noir wine casks and bourbon quarter casks. Further maturation in Donaghadee takes place in American first-fill bourbon casks and Pinot-Noir casks. The final blend consists of 90% bourbon-cask-matured rum and 10% Pinot-Noir-cask-matured rum. This ratio describes the cask influences, not the proportions from each origin. The blend is bottled at 40% alcohol in a 0.7-litre bottle.

The name recalls smuggling around the Copeland Islands in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sweet spices and baked notes meet fruity and creamy impressions, with additional hints of ginger, cinnamon and pineapple. The rum also works in cocktails: Copeland suggests combining it with cola and lime, or with ginger ale, Angostura Bitters and fresh lime.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose offers gentle, sweet spices with a hint of gingerbread.
• Palate: On the palate, banana and coconut mingle with an impression of rum and raisin ice cream. Vanilla and caramel add to the rich flavour profile.
• Finish: The medium-length finish feels velvety, with lingering sweet spices.

Distillery/Bottler:

The Copeland Distillery is located in Donaghadee in County Down, Northern Ireland, close to the historic harbour. The company began in 2016 with a crowdfunding campaign that raised £30,000. After nine months of restoration, the distillery moved into a building that had previously housed a cinema and the Ards Bottling Company and had stood unused for more than twenty years.

Its equipment includes three custom-made copper stills called Betty, Hessie and Pam, named after founder Gareth Irvine’s grandmothers and mother. Copeland produces a range of spirits, including gin, rum and Irish whiskey. For Smugglers’ Reserve, the company combines its own rum with rum purchased from Barbados, carrying out further maturation and blending in Donaghadee.

Facts: