As I'm sure most of you know, Seven Fathoms Rum has been around for some time, but remains rather hard to find. To my knowledge it has never been tested for sugar. Like a number of other small distillers, Seven Fathoms too seeks its "USP" (Unique Selling Proposition) to increase both visibility and sales.
In their case the "proposition" is that they age their rum "in a secret location under water" (Cayman Islands) with the romantic notion that somehow the waves, currents and tides "gently rock" the rum in some special way to produce their allegedly unique rum.
Is this true, or as many believe is this just a marketing invention? Their website does not inspire confidence - instead of perhaps showing some underwater pictures of the swaying barrels or containers, they simply make the claim that this is done in some special, "secret offshore location".
Nor do they explain how this process was developed or works. Naturally, this is less than satisfying, so we dashed off the following email:
Stay tuned..."Hi....
Capn Jimbo here of The Rum Project, the world's largest free and independent rum review and appreciation site. We have long been aware of your Seven Fathoms rum. As afficianados our half million monthly readers appreciate purity and transparency in rum making and marketing.
Thus a natural question: you claim to age your rum in barrels underwater (seven fathoms?), for a time on the speculation that the various motions of the sea - tides, currents, et al, somehow what? Speed up the aging? Or accomplish other unique things? If so, what?
Can you please tell us more about this process. At what depth, and for how long? Please describe how the barrels are kept underwater without absorbing water, or expelling alcohol. How do the barrels manage to breathe as necessary for the oxidation of aging, ie how is the oxygen made available and kept from becoming saturated with the angel's share, etc. What tests did you perform, and what exactly are the effects of your process other than providing unsubstantiated marketing bullets.
Frankly, there are many who think your underwater aging is complete bullshit, but of course The Rum Project would love to prove them wrong by providing your response, including pictures if possible...
Cordially
Capn Jimbo
http://rumproject.com/rumforum/"
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http://caymanspirits.com/sevenfathomsrum/