My oldest friend, Tim, sent me a care package as he downsizes his home bar. He is purging some bottles of which he has multiple and I am the lucky recipient of said excess.

Being the good friend that I am, I had to drink some – you wouldn’t want to disappoint your oldest friend, after all.

One of the bottles I was gifted with this year was Bolton Farm House Old Rum from Nashoba Valley Spirits. According to their website, they are the first Farmer-Distiller licensed in Massachusetts – that piques my interest and raises expectations.

My first impressions are that it is a very professionally packaged product and pleasing to the eye. I’d consider picking it up for a try just for that reason. I rarely try glitzy, hype filled packaging, I like clean, and functional – to me that means the producer is professional.

LOOK

As I’ve already hinted, the alcohol looks beautiful. A light amber color that allows light to filter though without any hint of additives or unevenness.

In a glass, it exhibits a light body, not clinging to the glass at all. There’s none of the normal warnings that some rums have of added color or boasting of natural flavors (which are normally added after it’s distilled). It’s rum, period.

SMELL

OK, here’s where the large nose is a drawback. This baby packs a punch. The alcohol burn overwhelms the other scents. I could smell a bit of the oaky scent from them aging this for 5 years in charred oak. The average person might not notice and thus fear the alcohol scent but trust me that there is more there.

When later mixed with cola, the harshness, obviously, is taken away and you can slightly smell the oaky scent of the rum.

TASTE

I’m actualy going to talk about 2 tasting attemtps: straight and mixed with some cola (it’s what I had on hand and how I was planning to drink it later, anyway).

Straight: Again, here is where I’m not happy with having more tastebuds than average. This alcohol comes across as harsh. (I’m not saying bad, just very harsh) Now, high proof will do that and this rum is 43% ABV. After shocking my tongue on the first taste, I tried again, holding onto it and rolling it around to find out what was in there. Once I pushed past the alcohol burn I detected an almost caramel undertone. I don’t think there’s caramel color or anything added since the bottle does not mention that so this is probably just a natural flavor from the sugar, et al.

I’m not sure I’d drink this straight. Maybe on a ‘drown your sorrows’ kind of night where you just want a fast kick in the ass.

Mixed: Here is where this rum SHINES! I chose to mix this with the store brand cola (fake Coke) because the whole point of this website is learning to work with what you have, and that’s what I had.

Imagine this scene: Ed taste’s the mixed drink, his lovely wife, Sarah, who is standing nearby asks, “Can I try it?” What does Ed do? Does he hand it to his lady? Nope, not this greedy drinker. I said, “Give me another taste first, I want to be sure of the flavors before you risk it.” I’m such a greedy jerk. 🙂

Anyway (I’m still married after that, BTW), when mixed with cola, the taste is much smoother than straight so I was able to really search out the flavors.

There is a distinct, almost, flowery undertone to the taste. Not sure if that’s just how I’m interpreting the flavor if if there is something in the pre-distillation process that might add that type of flavor.

There’s still the caramel flavor but much more muted. The big one that finally comes through in all its glory is an almost bourbon flavor gained from 5 years in charred oak barrels. It’s still clearly a rum, but that bourbon-esque undertone is wonderful.

AFTERTASTE

I found that both straight and mixed, the rum left a flavor of caramel at the back of my tongue. It doesn’t linger but quickly dissipates, allowing you to set up for the next sip.

VERDICT

I liked it. I’d buy this rum again (providing I’m in an area where it’s carried, since its from MA and I’m in NV).

I recommend, if you have access to this distillery’s products, that you give their products a try. It’s not your mass produced big distillery rum, this is made with love and it shows.

OK, I’m going to weigh in on a topic I read about on TastingTable.com

They rated Costco alcohols and put the Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum at the bottom of their list.
In some ways they can be justified for their choice BUT, allow me to weigh in.

Spiced rum is produced by macerating natural herbs and spices into white rum. The macerated rum is then aged in oak barrels. Simple and straightforward. I’ve flavored alcohol in this same manner.

Now, as TastingTable correctly points out, “Anything less than this process is a ‘rum with natural flavors,’ a label that retailers are legally required to note on the bottle”

I’ve had the Costco spiced rum in the past from their St. Croix distillery and, frankly, I enjoyed it. The newer rum does have a different flavor profile but contrary to the reviewers at TastingTable.com, I don’t rank it as suitable only for making rum cake.

I always advocate for enjoyment of flavors rather than elitism of only calling things made a certain way as being of value. This was what turned me off from wine tasting (that and I personally find most wine to be sour grape juice – but that’s just MY palate). Many tasters (of spirits or wine) become biased by what they perceive as ‘proper’ and therefore of value.

Now, bear with me – I’m saying NOTHING bad about TastingTable.com, I’m just offering an opposing viewpoint. They presented a very cogent argument for their rankings and I can’t fault their opinion. However, considering that they note that not every alcohol was tasted by them and many of their opinions were formed via gathered commentary in online groups – take their opinion as you will.

To me, the telling comment in their article was, “Either way, Kirkland’s spiced rum lacks the nuance and complexity of quality varieties of rum.”

If you’re a purist, sipping your rum for the experience, they’re probably completely correct as it’s just ‘flavored’ but then again, if you’re reading this site, you are here to learn how to mix flavors to create great drinks. A rum made in the manner of this one is really nothing more than a mixed drink (per se).

Kirkland Spiced Rum is now distilled in Puerto Rico (and boy did I learn to love some Puerto Rican rums on several trips the the island). Yes, it has natural flavors and caramel color. It is rated as 40% ABV (80 proof).

Here’s my take on Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum based on my direct tasting both as a stand alone and in a mix.

LOOK
Nice caramel color but since they use caramel coloring – I’m not going to use that as an indicator of quality.
The rum is thin – as most rums are. Not a lot of body. It quickly returns to the bottom of the glass. But then again just about every spirit does this.

SMELL
There is a hint of alcohol burn in the aroma – but you’d expect that from an 80 proof product.
The main scent I gather upon sampling is a smokey aroma.

TASTE
For a ‘flavored’ rum it’s pretty smooth. I get a somewhat nutty flavor when sipping it straight with a hint of the smokey flavor that the aroma promised.

When mixed in something like coke, the dominant flavor is the vanilla undertones that I got from the aftertaste when sipping it straight.

AFTERTASTE
When tasted straight – there’s a distinct vanilla taste that pops up after swallowing. The alcohol burn cuts in at the same time.

When mixed (such as the rum and coke mentioned before) the aftertaste has more of the vanilla than the nutty flavor. The smokey taste is also more evident than when sipped straight – probably due to the alcohol burn being subsumed in the mixer.

VERDICT
Look, from a purely flavor standpoint, I like this rum. It’s a great mixer for your weekend cocktails. Is it going to win prestigious awards from rum tasting competitions? Of course not. But in tune with the concepts of A Taste for Drink, it is flavorful and will enhance a cocktail it is used in.

So, yes, from a purist standpoint, it is not a ‘great’ rum because it is flavored rather than aged in a barrel with all those lovely ingredients. BUT it has a great taste whether straight up or in a drink so for me, it’s a good rum.

Read the article that started me on this commentary: https://www.tastingtable.com/879602/the-most-popular-kirkland-liquors-at-costco-ranked-worst-to-best/

Until next time, may all your drinks be tasty. Cheers.