Total Wine and Spirits

[sleepy]

I just made the 40+ mile drive to the nearest Total Wine that sells spirits to replenish my stock of Doorly's and Seale's. While in the rum rum aisle, I noticed something that I think was absent previously - all of the Four Square products were shelf labelled as "Spirits Direct".

Assuming this is comparable to their Winery Direct program:

These relationships give us exclusive access to some truly exceptional wines. More important, they allow us to bring the wine directly from the winery to you, cutting down costs and allowing us to deliver incredible values to you.

If so, I'm going to guess that they must buy the entire US allocation of Four Square products. Results in great prices: $21 for Seale 10yo, $15 for Doorly's XO and $11 for Alleyan Arthur Special (which they list as a spiced rum!)!

It must suck , however, for folks living in shipping-prohibited states w/o a Total Wine presence.

[Capn Jimbo]

Arthur: worth your shekels...



Buy it. As far as the Arthur goes, it nicely done - but is not a spiced rum by any means. Perhaps Total is mistaking it for Seale's made E.S.A. Fields which IS spiced (and is also the biggest selling rum in Barbados). We reviewed Arthur's Special Barbados here...

http://rumproject.com/rumforum/viewtopic.php?t=210

[Hassouni]

Sames prices at the Total Wine in Laurel MD for the Seales stuff. What is Alleyne?




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Capn's Log: We are referring to Alleyne Arthur's Special Barbados Rum, which is now made by Richard Seale at their Foursquare Distillery. It is a Best Buy, and earned a terrific rating at our review, above...

[sleepy]

...and rapidly becoming my favorite cane rum - not to mention bargain rum!

[Hassouni]

TW says:

"A premium rum that is distilled from sugar cane and then blended for rich fruit, spice, and vanilla flavors."

Does the bottle mention added flavors, i.e. is it meant as a spiced rum?

[Capn Jimbo]

Good stuff, friends...





There's a number of issue arising from TW's promotions. Long ago when we first spotted the Special Barbados, their shelf talker claimed it was made from "cane juice". Now we have a statement that may or may not imply spicing. Our review picked up cane juice elements, but today I noted a description on Difford's Guide that describes the Special as a "blend of pot and column stilled, molasses-based rums".

Is anyone confused yet? I am. As mentioned elsewhere, I've now employed my private email to Richard Seale for a clarification. He normally responds...

[sleepy]

The reference to Arthur's as "spiced" is just in the classification on the TW website. If it is, it's pulled off even more artfully than Matusalem's!

[Capn Jimbo]

The Last Word!! And it isn't mine...


As you know I found the Total Wine's declarations re Special Barbados to to be more than confusing. Fortunately, Sue Sea and I have communicated with Richard for some years, and let's face it - what he says, goes.

Want to know the truth about Alleyne Arthur's Special Barbados Rum? Check out Richard's reply here (6th post):
http://rumproject.com/rumforum//viewtopic.php?t=210

Please also note that this review has been properly moved to the Cuban Style section. Thanks Richard, as always...