Rum Blending - The Great Navy Tradition
Over the past few years, we’ve been experimenting with various styles of local NSW molasses to produce our Archie Rose rums. Each of these ingredients have their own unique character, which we’ve showcased through our Refiner’s Molasses Rum, Fancy Molasses Rum and Mill Molasses Rum. But now with the release of our Triple Molasses Rum, we have blended these three distinct styles together to create something of incredible depth and balance - a navy style Archie Rose rum for the modern world.
The First International Blend
Blending rums of different styles has a long history. From 1655 until 1970, well over 300 years, the British Royal Navy was given a ration of rum to drink each day. Millions of gallons of rum were required to supply an entire navy’s worth of thirsty sailors, so it would have come from all over the British Empire - places like Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana and even Australia - each producing a different style of rum based on local conditions.
These rums were transported back to England where blending took place in the naval yards where supplies and provisions were prepared before being allocated to the ships. Each cask of rum coming in from the far-flung empire would be poured out into large vats where it was diluted with a bit of water before being re-casked ready to go back out to sea. This process ensured that each sailor on every ship was drinking the same rum, no matter where they were in the world. This was probably the first ever example of products from around the world being blended together to create something new, and the result would have been a more complex, more balanced and more consistent rum.
Rum Blending the Archie Rose Way
At Archie Rose, we pride ourselves as much on our blending ability as we do on distilling, so we’ve followed in the footsteps of the old navy blenders to create a rich, complex spirit with our Triple Molasses Rum. But instead of blending rums from around the world, we’ve married together three of our own made with various styles of NSW molasses. Triple Molasses Rum reflects the depth and complexity that can be achieved through blending by combining the best of what each molasses has to offer, each distilled in batches using traditional copper pot stills.
Our Triple Molasses Rum combines the character of Mill molasses, a sustainably sourced, NSW B-grade molasses known for its medium intensity and flavours of toffee and rich caramel; Refiner’s molasses, a raw liquor known for its delicate flavour and clean profile with aromas of fresh orchard fruits and orange blossom; and Fancy molasses, condensed from the pure juice of locally sourced sugarcane, the lightest and sweetest with delicate, floral notes. The result is a modern Australian take on navy rum far greater than the sum of its parts, and unlike anything else in the world.
Feeling Groggy
We love Archie Rose Triple Molasses Rum neat, and it’s been balanced for drinking on its own. But the tradition of mixing rum is almost as old as rum itself. It’s even the origin of the term “grog”. So if you want to mix it up, here are some tips to help.
Back in the 1740s, Admiral Edward Vernon decided that drinking the daily rum ration straight was causing a little too much levity among the sailors. His solution was to mandate that each sailor’s ration be mixed with water. He also suggested that sailors might add lemon juice and sugar into their rum mix to “make it more palatable.” Vernon’s nickname was “Old Grog'' due to his habit of wearing a coat made of grogram material, so the sailors named the new way of drinking “grog.”
To drink our Triple Molasses Rum like a sailor of old, we recommend muddling a few wedges of cut-up lime in the bottom of a cup with a tablespoon of brown sugar, then add a healthy measure of Archie Rose Triple Molasses Rum, a handful of ice, and give it a stir. You’ll be singing a sea shanty in no time.
Blenders of a Different Sort
The United States in the 20th Century saw a massive mixing of cultures as American soldiers and sailors travelled the world, and commercial air travel made far flung lands more accessible to the middle class in the post-war years. One such traveller was a man by the name of Donn Beach (A.K.A Don the Beachcomber). Don opened a bar in Hollywood in the 1930s filled with artefacts he had collected during travels in the South Pacific. He served cocktails he called his “Rhum Rhapsodies” which blended different rums to create wonderfully complex drinks.
Don’s version of Navy Grog was a bit more complicated that simply mixing rum, lime and sugar. If you’re up for a cocktail to wow your mates, try these:
45ml Triple Molasses Rum
15ml Campari
45ml Pineapple Juice
15ml Lime Juice
10ml Sugar Syrup (1:1 sugar and water)
hake all ingredients with ice and strain into a glass (or a Frank the cock-a-tail mug) filled with crushed ice. Garnish with pineapple fronds.
40ml Triple Molasses Rum
40ml Maidenii Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
No matter how you drink it, we’re incredibly excited to share our newest rum with you. Anchors away!