Denizen Rum is a new white rum that harkens back to the days of yore, when white rums were full-flavored spirits to be both sipped and enjoyed in complex cocktails. To achieve its desired flavor profile, Denizen enlisted rums from Trinidad and Jamaica and expert rum blenders from Holland.
Denizen Rum starts with column-distilled rums from the Angostura Distillery that are charcoal-filtered and aged up to five years in small bourbon barrels. From there, 15 types of Jamaican pot-distilled rums are added to the mix and blended in Amsterdam (a city that’s been blending rums since the 1700s, when the Netherlands colonized much of the Caribbean).
The result is a clear rum – the color imparted by barrel aging is filtered out – with lots of sweet molasses and tropical fruit on the nose. Take a sip to find a medium-bodied, surprisingly spicy rum that’s full of vanilla, citrus and molasses, plus some green grass and figs. The Jamaican rum component really shines here, adding a heavy, viscous quality to the lighter Trinidadian rum. It finishes dry and slightly woody with some lingering vanilla.
Denizen Rum is a game changer for white rums. Granted, this is an aged rum that’s just had the color stripped out. But still, it’s priced the same as many mass-market white rums – looking at you, Bacardi – but offers loads more flavor and utility in cocktails.
Right now, New York is your best bet for finding Denzen Rum, but it’s also available at a handful of online retailers.
Stats:
– 40% Alcohol by Volume
– $16
CE Rating: ★★★★
Dynamo – Good question. It’s hard to compare, but for starters, Denizen is way more flavorful than DonQ. Appleton and Cruzan both have some deeper molasses notes, which are nice. Flor de Cana is perhaps most similar, since it’s aged 4 years before the color is stripped out. It’s always a good choice.
I’d probably choose Denizen over the others, but if you want to save yourself some shipping costs, Flor de Cana is a good buy.
Interesting. How would you say this compares to other- non-Bacardi- white rums on the market? Such as Appleton, Cruzan, Flor de Cana, Don Q, etc.?
I ask because it looks like I’m going to have to pay almost double to have this shipped out to California and I want to know if it is worth it.