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On 901 Day 2023, it's my pleasure to introduce Holmes Cay Barbados 2011, our latest single barrel selection!

Earlier this year, 901 owner Jeff Coole had previously reached out to me about having the Memphis Rum Club join in a single barrel of Holmes Cay rum that they were splitting with a store outside Nashville. I was definitely interested, and while we weren't able to join in the process of selecting the cask out of provided samples, we were able to try the cask that Jeff had selected.

Sample bottle of Holems Cay Barbados 2011 next to a rocks glass with a tiny amount of rum inside
Sampling Barbados 11 year barrel #97

My friend Mike Hooker came through Memphis through his work with Holmes Cay; he made a number of stops throughout Tennessee, including 901 Wine & Spirits here in Memphis, where he was about to hold a tasting. He was able to get me a little bit of the sample to try– since it still had to be confirmed by the others that we were splitting the bottle with– and I gave it a thumbs up.

Bottle of Holmes Cay Barbados 2011 displaying the single barrel selection sticker
The sticker celebrating our single barrel selection

The cask that was selected was **#97**– a Barbados rum originally distilled in 2011 at Foursquare Rum Distillery in St. Philip. Like most of Foursquare's products, this started as a pre-cask blend of pot and column still distillates.

The resulting blend was matured on-site in an ex-Bourbon cask for 5 years, before being transferred to Europe for an additional 6 years of aging. Holmes Cay bottled the rum at a strength of 58.8% ABV.

Where to Buy

This release is available exclusively at 901 Wine & Spirits (website, Instagram) in Memphis, TN.

Bottle of Holmes Cay Barbados 2011 rum next to a snifter of rum
Onto the HC Barbados 2011 tasting!

About the Rum

Appearance

Orange brown, medium clarity, medium viscosity

Nose

Vanilla, permanent marker, pastry dough, oak, banana peel

Palate

Vanilla, caramel, dried dates, pastry dough, cinnamon

Finish

Long, tannic, warming; vanilla, cinnamon, oak, nutmeg

Acknowledgements

I wanted to thank Jeff Coole and the 901 team for bringing us along for the ride, as we missed out on a previous opportunity to collaborate in 2022. I also want to acknowledge Mike Hooker's help in getting me a taste of the sample, and the rest of the Holmes Cay team for the work they do identifying, selecting, and making available really interesting rums for enthusiasts.

Bottle of Grander The Oaks rum in front of cases of inventory
Cheers, from the Memphis Rum Club!