Overview
Brand: Riverset Rum
Origin: Undisclosed Distillery, Venezuela (picked by 901 Wine & Spirits)
Still: Column
Age: NAS
Finish: "wet" ex-Rye
ABV: 66.2%
Among a river of bourbon cask-aged rums, Riverset Rum goes against the current. Although primarily known for their rye, the Riverset brand has also released a number of single cask rye-finished rums, including our first single barrel pick.
This bottle is from barrel #08, selected by 901 Wine & Spirits. The rum itself was produced at an undisclosed distillery in Venezuela, and aged for 3-4 years before the team at B.R. Distilling– the Memphis-based company behind Riverset– purchased the single casks of rum.
The rum was then finished in a wet ex-Riverset Rye cask for about 6 months, before being bottled at a cask strength of 66.2% ABV.
Appearance
Gold, high clarity, low viscosity
Nose
Butterscotch, spiced green apples, oak, ethanol
Palate
Butterscotch, rye spices, light maple syrup, light tobacco blend
Finish
Medium-long, warming, spicy; vanilla, butterscotch, rye, black pepper, dark chocolate
Rating: 5/10
Summary
To sum up this rum in one word: bold. Lots of bold spices, oak, and proof comes through in this pour. It's not the most remarkable or complex rum, but it makes up for it in its honest and straightforward presentation.
The rum is gold, has high clarity and low viscosity.
Barrel #08's nose leads with butterscotch and spiced green apples; sweet and spicy notes that bring together the source rum and the rye cask that it matured in. The cask comes back shortly with an aroma of oak; throughout the nosing experience, ethanol dots up to remind me of this rum's high proof.
The palate offers notes of butterscotch and rye spices up front– yielding semi-sweet and highly spicy flavors that almost overwhelm the palate. Light maple syrup comes in next, while the trailing note evokes a light blend of tobacco leaves. This isn't overly complex and is fairly hot, but showcases the rum and barrel well.
This medium-long finish is warming and spicy, with vanilla, butterscotch, rye spice, black pepper, and dark chocolate notes present.
We don't have a lot of Venezuelan rums in Memphis, so it's nice that the folks at B.R. Distilling were able to release several casks of this rum around town. Barrel #08 has a lot going for it, even if it isn't super complex; this can be the case with some (but not all!) column still rums from Spanish heritage producers.