Privateer Rum Single Cask #P574

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 57% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

A new American oak cask shapes this rum from the Letter of Marque range. Selected by Kirsch Import for a single-cask bottling, it matured for four years and four months in the coastal climate of Massachusetts. Cask P574 yielded 228 bottles, and the rum was bottled at its cask strength of 57%. It is neither chill-filtered nor coloured, and no sweetening has been added.

Grade A molasses from Guatemala forms the base. After six days of fermentation at cool temperatures, the rum was distilled twice in a pot still. Maturation in new oak is reflected in its distinctly woody, bourbon-like character. Vanilla, coconut and caramel contrast with dry spice.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Sweet vanilla and desiccated coconut open the bouquet before dried tropical fruits and dark caramel join them. Pronounced oak and caramelised almonds add to the aromas. Leather and a delicate pineapple note remain in the background.
• Palate: The opening is dry and spicy, with noticeable but not unpleasant alcohol. Dark red fruits emerge on the mid-palate, followed by a clear return of vanilla and coconut. Charred wood, pepper and cinnamon add spicy accents, while caramel and brown sugar provide sweet counterpoints.
• Finish: The long finish combines coconut and chocolate with wood shavings and a dark cocoa nuance. Spice and dark sweetness remain in balance.

Distillery/Bottler:

Privateer operates in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The distillery stands beside a salt marsh near the sea and matures its rums through New England's pronounced seasonal changes. Long, cool fermentations are part of its approach, as is avoiding added sweetening and filtration.

The name recalls the American privateers of the War of Independence. An ancestor of founder Andrew Cabot was himself a merchant, rum distiller and privateer: Andrew Cabot lived from 1750 to 1791 and owned a fleet of more than 25 ships. The name Letter of Marque also draws on this history, referring to the document that legally authorised privateering.

Facts: