10 of the Most Buzzed About Rum Releases of 2023

As the New Year rings in, Rum Raiders would like to reflect on the previous year’s most popular rum releases. Last year was an exciting year for rum and saw many new releases from beloved brands and new brands alike. These are some of the most anticipated and buzzed-about rums from 2023. 

Blue Chair Bay 16-Year Anniversary Edition

Kenny Chesney announced the release of a 16-year-old Caribbean rum in celebration of the brand’s 10th anniversary. The rum was selected from 20 barrels in the U.S Virgin Islands and was a limited release with only 6,600 bottles made available. As one of the few celebrity rums announced in 2023 this rare unflavored edition from the brand made waves with this release with country music fans and rum lovers alike. 

Mount Gay Single Estate  23_01

Every year rum enthusiasts eagerly await the release of Mount Gay’s Master Blender series. However, 2023 came with another surprise for fans with the announcement of the brand’s first single estate rum. The Single Estate Series 23_01  is the first edition of the brand’s new Single Estate Series. The new series is comprised of rum made from sugarcane grown on Mount Gay’s own estate. This release signifies a new era for the brand and has the community eagerly awaiting future releases from this series.

Hampden Estate 8 Marks Collection

One of the most anticipated rum unveilings every year is Hampden Estates’s Great House but the brand had another special offering in 2023 that would showcase everything that Hampden Estate is.

The 8 Marks collection from the Jamaican distillery represents a first-of-its-kind tasting set that guides drinkers through the distillery’s different marks. The Marks epitomize what the distillery produces with the unaged distillates corresponding with specific characteristics in terms of style, aromatic intensity, flavor and body. The Hampden Estate 8 Marks set offered a real taste of the distillery and fans of Jamaican rum could not wait to get their hands on it. 

Appleton Estate 17-Year-Old Legend

Back in May, Appleton Estate had rum lovers going mad in search of the rare release of Appleton Estate 17-Year-Old Legend. The rum was based on the original rum used to craft the wildly popular tropical cocktail, the Mai Tai. Appleton Estate Legend aimed to be a recreation of the original 17-year-old rum crafted by J. Wray & Nephew on the Estate in the 1940’s. Connoisseurs have been seeking out the exclusive bottling since its initial release with many stores selling out immediately. 

Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection Touchstone

Foursquare Rum Distillery continued to hold strong with the twenty-second release in its Exceptional Cask Selection series.

The 2023 release, named Touchstone is a blend of pot and column distilled rums that were also dual-maturated. One part was a 2008 vintage aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels then a further aged for two years in CAMUS Caribbean Expedition Cognac casks. The other part of the rum was aged for 14 years of which the rum spent 5 years in ex-bourbon casks and then 9 years in ex-cognac casks. Foursquare fans were quick to jump on this new release.

Rhum J.M Terroir Volcanique

Martinique’s Rhum J.M commemorated Earth Day 2023 with the launch of Terroir Volcanique. The distillery took advantage of its on-site cooperage to create special double-char barrels that deliver smoky, peat-like notes to emulate the terroir of the volcano. The rum matured in heavily charred was then blended with less toasted barrels. The rum community was fired up for this release from the famous Caribbean distillery.

Goslings Family Reserve Rye Barrel Finish 

In 2023 The brand known for the Dark N’ Stormy cocktail has for the first time added to its Family Reserve Old Rums which was started in 2003. Goslings launched the Family Reserve Old Rum Rye Barrel Finish in November of 2023.

The Family Reserve Old Rum Line was originally produced exclusively for members of the Gosling family and bottled just once annually but is now available to the public. The new addition to the line was aged an additional three years of aging in rye whiskey barrels with a combination of three rye barrel fills in the final blend. Hopefully, this will not be the last edition to make it to the family reserve line and we will see more unique blends from the brand in the future.   

Brugal 1888 Colección Visionaria Edición 01

In August of 2023, Brugal 1888 introduced the first edition to its new collection of limited edition rums, Colección Visionaria which will see rums made using a unique aromatic cask toasting technique.

The opening act of the series was the Colección Visionaria Edición 01, which used the cask technique to impart roasted cacao beans into the rum without directly infusing it. The result was an aged rum that carried notes of roasted chocolate that left a lasting impression on the market. Fans of the brand are eagerly awaiting future editions to the collection to find out what other flavors can be infused directly into the barrel. 

BHAKTA 1990 Rum

Former WhistlePig founder,  Raj Peter Bhakta had recently started his own vintage spirits brand aptly named after himself. Early on in this new venture, we were presented with a vintage rum that had been aged longer than is commonly seen in the Caribbean rum world. The BHAKTA 1990 Rum is made up of two single cane vintages hailing from Jamaica that were blended in 2014 and then further aged in second-fill MGP bourbon and rye barrels. The rum then completed its maturation in Single Vintage 1976 and 1980 Armagnac casks.The age statement alone on the BHAKTA 1990 is something to buzz about. 

Holmes Cay Reunion Island Expressions

Last year, Holmes Cay Rum introduced two unprecedented unaged rum styles to North America as part of its Single Origin collection. The releases included a fresh cane juice rum and a high ester molasses expression from Distillerie de Savanna on Réunion Island. The island is just off the coast of Madagascar and is known for producing French-style rums with a unique terroir because of the soil and climate. Holmes Cay is a brand known for bottling rums from around the globe and really showed their knowledge and ability to acquire special rums that are rarely seen anywhere in the world with these editions.

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