That said it is quite a bit more expensive than the HMS Royal Oak and I wouldn’t say it is streets ahead of it overall. There are plenty of the 1931 rums still available and the new 1931 is due soon as well so these rums might struggle to find a following. Many will be turned off by it being all column and “only” 40% ABV.

This is primarily a sipping rum. It’s presentation in what amounts to a decanter demands that it be enjoyed slowly and that it be showed off to friends. Presentation wise it has similarities to Angostura 1919 (another ACR rum). Taste wise it the Admiral would easily blow that ship out of the water. This is more complex than the HMS Royal Oak. It bridges a gap between that and the “old” 1931 series of rums. It is however, not quite as briny as those releases. In some respects less is more with this rum.The rums in this blend are aged between 9 and 12 years. Maturation has occurred exclusively in Saint Lucia. So it’s a fully tropically aged rum. It has been produced on a Coffey Column Still. There are no Pot Still distillates in any of the Admiral Rodney rums to date. The finish is really good with a hit of nail varnish and a really nice weight of oak spices ginger and some lemon zest. This has a really nice balance all the way through it. Admiral Rodney comes housed in a sturdy cardboard presentation box. The bottle itself is a decanter style bottle. It has a huge wood and cork stopper. The presentation really is excellent. The rum looks expensive and anyone visiting will be drawn to THAT bottle and want to try some. There is no ageing statement on the bottle. Looking online I have learnt that the rum in this blend is up to 12 years old. So its pretty good aged stuff. The nose is quite minty – spearmint and a touch of menthol. Further nosing reveals some toffee and milk chocolate. Following on from this is a good weight of spicy and quite fresh oak. This is a quite vibrant and punchy rum. A touch medicinal. The nose has a really good balance to it – it is a little more “boozy” than the old Admiral Rodney (now the HMS Royal Oak) but that is to be expected from a younger blend.

Presentation of these new Admiral Rodney rums is great with a distinctive stubby bottle and I’m pleased to see the huge wooden topped cork stopper remains. I like the new design though I don’t think there was anything wrong with the previous design either. The Admiral Rodney line of rums is named for a British admiral (George Rodney) who took part in the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, a pivotal naval engagement between the British and French. Each of the three expressions in this line fittingly take their name from one of Rodney’s ships: Princessa, Royal Oak and Formidable, with ascending age statements and price tags. All three are exclusively column-distilled rums, which means they’re somewhat lighter bodied than pot-distilled rums or blends of pot and column distillate, as is found in the Chairman’s Reserve lineup. Regardless, these rums have some decent age statements, and fairly high price tags as a result. Sipped it is quite sweet with a good hit of demerara sugar, raisins and toffee. It’s quite light but very well-balanced. The mid palate reveals a smokiness, alongside some nice spicy bourbon-esque notes – zesty lemon and a good balance provided by some slightly sweet tobacco/leather notes. The big brother of the Admiral Rodney is named for the titular admiral’s flagship, and the press materials say it is drawn “exclusively from the lowest portion of the Coffey still possible, resulting in a much heavier and more flavorful rum.” Like the Royal Oak, this is aged exclusively in American ex-bourbon barrels, but has a higher average age statement of 9-12 years.

Admiral Rodney Formidable Details

This is quite a good introduction to “pure rums”– it shouldn’t offend palates more used to sweetened nonsense too much. The alcohol burn is there but overall this is a rather mellow sipping experience. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. The 1931 is a very complex blend of both pot- and column-distilled rums between 6 and 11 years of age, aged in a combination of bourbon and port casks, and bottled at a more substantial 46% ABV (92 proof). As an extra X-factor, it also contains a notable percentage of sugarcane juice rum, distilled from the estate’s own sugarcane fields next to the distillery. The distillery refers to this as “agricultural rum,” distinct but related to the concept of rhum agricole, but presumably similar in character. This portion is effectively the most “Lucian” product the distillery makes, given that everything about the spirit hails from Saint Lucia. From speaking with representatives of Saint Lucia Distillers GBH found the sheer amount of marques used in some of the SLD rums to be very much at odds with what they have done for many years with Agricole rhums. With that in mind it is perhaps not surprising to see one of SLD’s more “simple” blends, all column get a re-vamp.

Alright then! Aphrodisiac rum. Beyond that, “added to the rum are local spices and fruits such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice lemon and orange peels.” HMS Princessa is the youngest blend in the series and Formidable the oldest. The line up will also be soon complimented by a “Cask Collection” limited edition rum. Saint Lucia Distillers were recently acquired by the “Groupe Bernard Hayot” who own Rhum J.M and Rhum Clement. In the glass Admiral Rodney Saint Lucia Rum HMS Princessa is a vivid orange/brown almost Mahogany colour. The nose is immediately recognisable as a Saint Lucia Distillers rum. Which for me, is definitely a good thing. It’s a very easy-going, well-balanced and very tasty rum. Do not worry that it is all column distilled – it still has a lot of character. The finish on this rum isn’t perhaps all it could have been though. It is quite short. Most of the flavour is delivered on the initial sip and mid palate. The finish fades quite sharply leaving behind only really some spicy oaky notes. It’s not a bad finish but it is a little short. Admiral Rodney is a line of St. Lucia-based rums from Spiribam, which is best known as the home of Rhum J.M, Clement, and other island rums. Admiral Rodney hasn’t been readily available in the U.S., but that changed last year when Spiribam brought the brand here in earnest. Three editions were launched in 2019 — each named after one of Admiral Georges Rodney’s naval ships; the rum we reviewed above seems to still be around, but it may be more difficult to find.

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It is certainly more characterful than most column distilled rums could ever hope to be and has been really well put together. I’m not sure why exactly this is referred to as a limited edition, because it seems to have been a made into a permanent, premium part of the Chairman’s Reserve lineup for the last few years, but it’s not really important. What is important is the liquid in this bottle: The crown jewel of the St. Lucia Distillers collection, as far as I’m concerned. This is some absolutely lovely rum.

Until recently, however, I had never tasted any of the products from St. Lucia Distillers, and thus had never sampled Saint Lucian rum. That changed recently thanks to some samples from current parent company Spiribam, the spirits division of Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH). GBH is a major player in nearby Martinique’s rhum agricole industry, owning sister brands Rhum Clemént and Rhum J.M. The products of SDL, meanwhile, might be thought of as the molasses-based flip side to the coin of those classic French-style agricoles.On the nose you are met with the familiar herbal and pine cone notes of St Lucian Rum. Not quite grassy or salty but kind of in-between. Admiral Rodney Saint Lucia Rum HMS Formidable. As you may have guessed from the title this new edition to the Admiral Rodney line up is the “top of the range bottling”. There are now three regular editions of Admiral Rodney available – HMS Princessa, HMS Royal Oak (this being the original Admiral Rodney blend) and HMS Formidable. So this expression is younger than the previous Admiral Rodney (which is now the HMS Royal Oak) so it will be interesting to see how it compares. Other than the fact the rum has also been aged in ex-bourbon casks, I cannot think of any other information you may need at this stage. So without further ado I may as well let you all know how I found this rum. I was able to taste four rums from SDL: Two from the Admiral Rodney line, and two from the Chairman’s Reserve line. With that said, let’s get to tasting. Some may turn their nose up at such things. I was fortunate enough to tr ia y the original Admiral Rodney long before I understood all things Pot and Column – I’ve always been glad I didn’t have such reservations about the rum. The original Admiral Rodney has long been a solid go to rum, when I want something not to challenging or aggressive.