Rum review: St. Nicholas Abbey Barbados Rum 10 Years Old

[Count Silvio]

St. Nicholas Abbey, one of the 'Seven Wonders of Barbados', is an old Jacobean style mansion built in 1658 and is one of the three existing Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere.

Surrounded by lush tropical forests and over 400 acres of sugar cane fields, the estate is situated in St. Peter, Cherry Tree Hill and has, since its restoration, become a popular tourist attraction.

In an effort to preserve a piece of history and to prevent the estate from becoming purely a tourist attraction, the Warren family has established a cottage industry of sugar-related products including St. Nicholas Abbey rum which is produced using traditional methods which were first used over 350 years ago on Barbados.

You know the drill, rest of the review here.

I noticed that IPBartenders has the 8 year old version of this rum, can any of the boys at IPB, who have also tried the 10 year old rum, tell me how close they are eachother? How much has the rum evolved?

[Jenny Gardener]

I'm very pleased to say that St Nicholas Abbey 10 yr is now available in the UK. I first came across St Nicholas Abbey, as many did, at RumFest 2008, I was on the look out for a new rum and St Nicholas Abbey ticked ALL the boxes. The Liquid, The Packaging, The Family, The Heritage and Provenance - it was exactly what we were looking for!
As from 1st December Vanquish became the UK distributor and brand manager. (020 7478 8954)
The current 'traditional' rum is made with both pot and continuous stills by Richard Seale at Foursquare Distillery. It's aged at the distillery in Bourbon casks at 65% abv for 8 years after which it's re-batched and diluted to bottle strength then returned to the same barrels. It is aged for a further 2 years on-site at The Abbey where the barrels are rotated. Every part of the bottling process is done by hand; from the etching of the decanter with the image of The Abbey, to the hand embossed leather and mahogany stopper, to the label etc. a truly artisanal touch!
I asked Dave Broom to write a few words for the press release:
“Here’s a rum with absolute classic Bajan balance and finesse. Mellow sweetness, cleanliness and poise. The nose is mellow soft with some soft fruits and the tobacco edge you get from maturation in quality oak. On the tongue it shows excellent structure with a very fine grip. There’s sweet spice, juicy tropical fruits and a hint of crème brulée, elegant is the word. It was my rum of the show (Rumfest 2008) by some distance.”
Dave Broom 2008
The rum is already listed in some top London hot spots and is being very well recieved by the industry. What I particularly like is that it's a great introduction into the premium rum category for traditional whisky and Cognac drinkers but don't get me wrong - rum aficionados are loving it too.
The Abbey itself is an historical 350 year old time capsule and Larry Warren, local architect and current owner, has not only restored The Abbey but also an old sugar cane steam press which is now operational. It's with this in mind that the new micro distillery is being built on-site. The pot still will fire up for the first time in February 2009 to make - an 'agricole' rum. The first of its kind in Barbados but why not? When you have a sugar plantation, a cottage industry, imagintation and vision it makes perfect sense!
Please feel free to contact us for further information - Jenny Gardener

[JaRiMi]

Great review, nice to see additional information regarding this rum. I hope it will gain success in UK, and thus also find its way to the rest of Europe as well.

What makes it interesting is the use of the agricole-method (as stated by the makers themselves), and it coming from Barbados. The Trinidadian 10-cane rum (which is also made in this manner) is not a very convincing (nor delicious) product for my palate, but of course this is a matter of personal taste and preference. 10-cane is rather stingy and raw in flavour I feel, but it is of course significantly younger rum as well.

I for one wish this new rum brand all the success they deserve for taking such an artesanal approach to their product.

Welcome to the forum Jenny, thank you for the information you provided!!

[TheRumelier]

Isn't this a dream come true for many people. Imagine owning your own sugar plantation, great house and then producing your very own rum. If that ever happened to me I think I would have gone to heaven and died!! Does anybody have a spare million or so they can give me so I can do the same? I promise you will get free rum for life!!

[Capn Jimbo]

As some know, I have a particular affinity for Barbados, and am proud to have a bit of relationship and extremely high regard for Richard Seale. Seale is one of the giants of rum making and his products can be depended upon for integrity and consistent high quality.

Accordingly, an agricole made on Barbados under the tutelage of Richard has my full attention. I can assure you that on our planned trip to Barbados, this rum is coming back with us. Personally I'm sick of the Martinique myth as so fawningly promoted elsewhere, and I greatly anticipate seeing what a real artist can do with cane juice in the home of rum.

[Jenny Gardener]

Great review, nice to see additional information regarding this rum. I hope it will gain success in UK, and thus also find its way to the rest of Europe as well.

What makes it interesting is the use of the agricole-method (as stated by the makers themselves), and it coming from Barbados. The Trinidadian 10-cane rum (which is also made in this manner) is not a very convincing (nor delicious) product for my palate, but of course this is a matter of personal taste and preference. 10-cane is rather stingy and raw in flavour I feel, but it is of course significantly younger rum as well.

I for one wish this new rum brand all the success they deserve for taking such an artesanal approach to their product.

Welcome to the forum Jenny, thank you for the information you provided!!

Thanks, a warm welcome indeed. I just wanted to stress the agricole is not in production until Feb 2009 - doesn't make it any less exciting of course! Here's looking forward!