I’d say that 40% of our total rum sales is consumed in English Harbour alone in a 6-month period – by Antiguans and visitors. There are a lot of bars and restaurants there, as well as a couple of hotels, and you have the ships coming in. That whole sailing culture is really a rum culture – sailors used to get their tot of rum. When you look at the spirits consumed in English Harbour, rum is miles ahead of everything else. I think any bar in England would be proud to serve rum that has ‘English’ on the label. So it is quite disappointing that over the years we haven’t had that uptake. I think it’s just because of the distribution issue and not having enough resources in that distribution team. But going forward, I do see all that changing.” The company imports molasses from Guyana which unusually are fermented using baker’s yeast and open fermentation vats. All English Harbour rums are light-bodied and distilled in the company’s ageing five column continuous still which retains its original copper plates. The molasses-based rums (named for the body of water and village at Antigua’s southernmost extremity) are produced by Antigua Distillery, the same company that also makes Antigua and Barbuda’s most popular dark rum, Cavalier, as well as Nut Power—a peanut-flavored rum cream made with the tree bark (and reputed sexual stimulant) known as bois bande. Unlike those products, the reserves and 1981 Vintage are exported to the US, UK, and elsewhere. English Harbour Rum at the 2013 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival | Credit: Erik Ebright, LargeUp.com Comparisons with the Foursquare Port Cask Finish will be inevitable. No, it is not as good as that in my opinion. That however does not mean this is not a very good rum in it’s own right. English Harbour Rum is a blend of both Dark and Light Rum distilled in the Caribbean. While it contains a blend of both types of rum, it is generally considered to be a dark rum due to its rich, deep flavor profile. This rum has won multiple awards for its quality, and is highly regarded by experts in the industry. English Harbour Rum is a high-quality, award-winning dark rum that is a must-try for anyone who appreciates the rich, complex flavors of this type of spirit. Conclusion

Until a vintage 25 year old “ 1981” bottling was released in 2006, the only way to try some output from the Antigua Distillery in the UK, was to get a bottle of English Harbour Aged 5 Years. To be honest I didn’t think either bottling was great. Solid, but nothing spectacular. In all honesty I felt some of the fanfare English Harbour were getting was a little outdated compared to some of the more recent rums I had tried.The core of this rum is the Cavalier 1981 rum made by the same company. In 2014 I asked a brand rep about it and he admitted that they had underestimated how good the Cavalier was – when they did, they had enough left for the 5712 bottles that made up this rum. Editor’s Note: Uncommon Caribbean has long been a fixture at the annual Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, for obvious reasons, but this year we missed all the rum fun in favor of a return visit home to St. Croix. Thankfully, though, our rum-loving friend Jesse Serwer, editor of LargeUp.com, was more than happy to fill in for us. In the coming weeks, Jesse will share his observations and critiques on a bunch of fine blends that caught his attention during the show. First up, Antigua’s English Harbour Rum… In the beginning the owners blended and bottled the rum under own label to sell in their shop. It was first in 1947 they released a joint rum, the Cavalier.

Sipping English Harbour Antigua Rum Port Cask Finish is as easy as falling asleep (apologies out there to any Insomniacs). The 46% ABV is a really good point to appreciate this rum at I feel. I can’t say its the best because I can only really dilute it down not up but it works very well.English Harbour Rum is a blend of both dark and light rums, which givs it a unique and complex flavor profile. The rum is aged for a minimum of five years in oak barrels, which gives it its smooth and velvety texture. The aging process also imparts a rich and deep flavor to the rum, with notes of vanilla, caramel, and spice. The aroma is nice and I recognize vanilla, oak and some fruits. In the mouth and palate I recognize the same flavors but there are also some smokiness and spices. The finish which is medium long goes the same way.

As I mentioned in my “ Classifying Rum” article, Colonial Classification states that former English colonies are stereotyped to use pot stills and/or traditional column stills to produce funky and full-bodied rum. This may be true for former English colonies like St. Lucia, Guyana and Jamaica, but it’s not true for Antigua, which is a former English colony. English Harbour does not use pot stills; they never did, which is why they don’t get to produce funky rum. In my opinion, their style of rum is a lot closer to Foursquare’s.In 1991 they replaced the Savalle still with a new 3-column copper John Dore still, and just three years later the English Harbour Rum was released named after the harbour in the south of the island which Admiral Horatio Nelson and the English fleet used during the 18th century. English Harbour rums are produced by Antigua Distillers on the Caribbean Island of the same name. English Harbour is a port on the island. Its name was given by the Royal British Navy when they set up a naval base there in the 18th century.