Plantation OFTD Artisanal Rum je rum vytvorený samotným Alexandrom Gabrielom, zakladateľom a vlastníkom značky Ferrand Cognac , Plantation Rum a Citadelle Gin. Pôvodne boli všetky rumy destilované v malých bankách. Dnes sa však väčšina rumov destiluje kontinuálne v stĺpcoch. Táto moderná destilačná metóda, ktorú Kuba prvýkrát prijala v 19. storočí, umožňuje rýchlejšiu a plynulejšiu výrobu. Destilácia v kotli je stále dlhšia a ťažko zvládnuteľná, ale stále sa praktizuje na Jamajke, na Barbadose, v Svätej Lucii, na Haiti a v Guyane. Zrenie

For Christmas last year, I got Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove’s book and our rum collection hasn’t been the same since. The book is a fantastic overview of tiki, talking through the history, providing recipes, and more importantly a list of rums to make the recipes. The list of rums is broken down into categories, typically referring to the base material used (molasses or sugar cane), the form of distillation (column or pot still), and the age (lightly aged, moderately aged, long aged, etc). In addition to these categories, there’s also recommended overproof rums – including Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum On Its Own Whether you enjoy sipping on an overproof rum, dilute it with water or another rum, this is definitely worth trying. Cask type/Age: ex-Bourbon, ex-Cognac casks, 2008 distillation. 7 years in ex-bourbon, then 1.5 years minimum in ex-cognac casks Plantation O.F.T.D will be used predominantly in the Tiki Culture and it will top things such as Zombies and be used in Mai Tai’s etc. It is a big rich rum which is meant to be drank in small quantities. Adding a little muscle to tropical drinks. I am confident that this will take some beating in such combinations. Honestly I'm not really into overproof rums. I've tried several and most of them are like extremely potent hot sauces (something else of which I am a connoisseur)...all burn and little to no flavor.Ein handwerklich perfekt gemachter Rum, ist bei diesem "Blender Team" auch nicht anders zu erwarten. Alongside the sweetness you get a good dose of Jamaican funk. Slightly rough and ready adding a good layer of complexity. Coffee and cocoa are also present. It reminds me in many ways of both Myers’s and Wood’s 100. Plantation O.F.T.D is another trip into history from the French producers. Following on from the Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum, O.F.T.D. which stands for Old Fashioned Traditional Dark is another attempt at recapturing the rum glories of old. In this enlightened era of bespoke, high-end distilled spirits, we celebrate the soloist – the carefully nurtured, single estate gems rising to the top of category: Pappy Van Winkle 23 year bourbon, Fuenteseca Reserva 21 year tequila, Appleton 50 year rum, Macallan M Single Malt, and so on. Each represents a high point, a moment in time and the essence of a particular place. A pinnacle of individuality and greatness. One of the few Plantation rums with an age statement on the label, this might be considered the flagship of Plantation’s “signature blends” lineup, and is one of the brands they’ve been offering longest. The five year age statement is nice, if not particularly impressive—it makes this a “moderately aged” rum. It’s important to note that 3-4 years of that time is tropical aging in Barbados, and the remaining 1-2 years is aging in France in “Ferrand casks” previously used to mature cognac. That’s a significant period, which makes this ultimately a product substantially different than simply a Bajan rum—there’s also the moderate dosage to consider as well. Products like this are at the heart of the dispute between Maison Ferrand and the other Barbados distilleries.

Maison Ferrand Owner and Master Distiller, Alexandre Gabriel works closely with distilleries across the Caribbean and America's crafting rums, they are left to age in warm Caribbean cellars for the initial part of their life. During the secondary process, the rums are exported to Cognac where they undergo a series of age old Cognac making techniques. This centuries old application is known by the French as 'elevage' and the process used is unique to Plantation. Vibrant, full flavoured Caribbean rums, finished with French finesse. On the nose of this one there’s plenty of brown sugar and some grilled pineapple, although it’s not particularly punchy—I genuinely think that if you gave this to someone blind and told them that it was simply “aged rum,” they wouldn’t suspect that there had been actual pineapple involved. On the palate I’m getting some roasted cane flavor, and a bit of that “raw” booze I was tasting in the Original Dark, paired with citrus, green apple and a puff of smoke. It honestly seems like a moderately aged rum that could be used in practically any application, rather than doubling down on drinks that already call for pineapple elements. Nose: Coffee and orange – dark spice blend can’t tell if it’s cinnamon, all-spice, cloves – Not quite molasses but a darkened caramel. A candied pecan nuttiness, but not sweet. Essentially the extra-aged version of the company’s flagship Barbados 5 Year Rum, Plantation XO was unsurprisingly created for the brand’s 20th anniversary, but is a regular part of the rotation and the most “premium” of the standard Plantation brands. This one is significantly older on average, being a blend of column and pot still Barbados rums aged tropically for 8-15 years, before spending at least 2 and as many as 10 years in secondary maturation in France before final blending. Plantation notes that the French aging takes place in “many different types of casks, ranging from new white oak to bourbon casks, as well as Ferrand casks, each with different level of toasting.” Complexity is no doubt what they’re shooting for, though one wishes that such a product would have been released at a strength above 80 proof. This one also has moderate dosage.The Fat Rum Pirate does a fantastic job summing up this rum as a mixing rum and giving some history

With the advent or more advanced laboratory techniques, it’s possible to measure the concentration of other volatile elements in addition to Ethyl Acetate, such as higher alcohols like propan-1-ol, butan-1-ol and butan-2-ol. This provides a more comprehensive reading of how much flavor adding components are within the rum. If you really want to geek out on exactly what these are, read this, although it’s far from light reading. Fun fact: The Martinique AOC actually specifies minimal volatile element levels.Nose: Molasses – Caramel – Cloves – Hints of Jammy orange like marmalade. Demerara sugar and brown sugar come to play.