I don't mean to tip our hand but our headlines have to both summarize and beguile. That this one leaks is just too damn bad. Chairman's Reserve Rum is one of those very hard to find rums that has somehow managed to develop an aura of:
1. Hard-to-find
2. Really good, if you can find it
3. Desirable if you can indeed find one.
RnD both get woodies over this rum. The Shillery's faux competition gave it a "silver". The Burr Brothers "XP" (short for ex-spurt) followed suit with another silver. And don't get me started on the San Francisco competition, which gives out awards to practically anybody who shows up. Chairman's Reserve Rum got a "double-gold" but, uh, also a silver. I'm serious, go figure.
Truth is, even in the "...it's all good" world of bullshit, paid "competitions" silver really isn't all that impressive. Call it average at best. Do I see the corner of a red flag waving?
Maybe.
When I went to my trusted resources, beginning with the BTI I found, well, nothing. This is not a good sign. BTI has reviewed well over 200 rums, more than anybody and any rum that does not appear there is very, very suspect. Neither El Machete, Bilgemunky or Scotte had it. In sum...
Lots of hype for a mostly non-reviewed rum.
Still, we are quite human and despite my huge resistance to marketing, the combination (a) hard-to-find and (b) might be really good prevailed when I actually spotted a lone bottle after years of haunting liquor stores. The straw - that Chairman's Reserve is blended with pot-stilled rums (a must buy for me).
Basta! The review:
Me: Sue Sea and I gave every chance to this well rumoured rum. I especially have a weakness for any rum that dares to take the time and expense of pot stilling. I am rarely disappointed, but this time? Chairman's Reserve Rum presents as a lovely clear amber, with modest legs and opened with a slight alcohol nose (trivial) but featured a very rich spicy clove over a deep orange, and a rich deep sweet tarry leather that borders on Jamaican dunder.Sue Sea: In a deviation from our usual routine, Jim took the time to review the background of Chairman's Reserve Rum. Molasses based, it is a blend of pot-stilled and column stilled rums (as are some of the great rums we have tasted). This rum comes in a squat, broad shouldered bottle with a faux modern version of a traditional, torn parchment style label, featuring the outline of two mountains highlighted in gold leaf. It is topped with a black neckband, repeating the two-mountan theme.
Very nice, and sets the stage.
Chairman's Reserve Rum's aroma was not disappointing, a stunning rich orange citrus clove over a background of vanilla, deep leather, ginger. Nor was the initial palate, nicely consistent with the lovely aroma and adding a touch of licorice or anisetter. It was all downhill, and rapidly so, after that.
The rum quickly turned to a dry and drier cinnamon heat - hot really - and growing into a mouth numbing, dry and very astringent cinnamon/clove heat. It set my aglow and in no way encouraged another sip. The finish was a short white pepper, and left a lingering astringent leather aftertaste.
To be fair, we never judge a rum until it has reached the shoulders, as the first few drams out of a bottle can be misleading until the rum has a chance to air and vent negative bottling elements. I literally wasted a cup of rum down the drain to achieve this - no change; and to be fair we even gave it a few days at label height and retasted it.
Slight less intense at the initial palate but no real differences. I call this rum flat and choppy. The aroma (wonderful) and palate (hot, dry and astringent) might as well have been from two different rums. No balance or harmony, no development, no memorable finish.
Flat and shockingly disappointing. This is NOT a rum to offer to a new drinker you hope to convert. In fact, it is not a rum for those looking for a good sipper (not that any rum can't become an acquired taste). It simply isn't there.
A great open.
The palate is another matter. Although the very first touch is momentarily sweet, the rum immediately turns to a spicy, rapidly growing heat, a rapidly growing leather dryness and to a lasting deep leather astringency and to a short, hot, white pepper finish.
To be blunt, neither Sue Sea or I could rate this rum highly in its current state and age, which I estimated at 4 or 5 years (their website confirmed this). This is not much more than Flor de Cana's fine 4 Year gold mixing rum, which although sippable remains a great mixer. In this sense, both Sue Sea and I agree this rum has plenty to offer as a rather expensive mixer, with much more boldness to offer than the understated FdC.
Despite the ratings, I won't discount the Chairman's Reserve entirely. The pot-stilled and column-stilled components are aged separately for perhaps 4-1/2 years, then are married by aging for another six to nine months, all in used bourbon barrels.
What I believe has happened here is that this rum has failed to achieve its potential (which I think is considerable) via aging in larger, used up barrels. We immediately reflected on Phil Prichard's stupendous rums which are aged no longer, but age in smaller fresher barrels that allow the oak to do its job.
Give this rum another five years in oak and they might really have something. As it is it's too young, too soon. Potential unrealized...
Rating (10 is best): 6.