Grander Rye Finished Rum
Photos via Grander Rum
Spirits geeks have a tendency to refer to whiskeys or rums that spend their last few months (or years) in a new style of barrel as being “finished” products. That terminology flows from the distillers and marketers themselves, as terms like “sherry cask-finished” or “wine barrel-finished” have become ubiquitous. It’s the sort of classification that is a godsend for smaller blending companies in particular, as it allows them to source an interesting spirit, finish it in whatever way sounds appealing to them, and end up with a product that is distinct enough to base a press release around. Certainly, it’s one of the most feasible ways to stand out when competing against the giants of an industry like whiskey or rum—cook up some unusual finishes and hope the public is intrigued by them.
Grander Rum, to its credit, doesn’t base its entire company around that concept, though. The bulk of their releases are simply sourced, aged rums from Panama, ranging from 8 to 12 years, available in several strengths, including a cask strength single-barrel bottling. The newest, however, is dipping a toe into those “finished” waters, with the release of Grander Rye Finished Rum.
This first batch, designated 1908-R, is a blend of 12-15 year old, 100 proof Panamanian rums, “aged in ex-bourbon barrels from Kentucky and then finished 8 months in American white oak barrels previously used for aging Kentucky rye whiskey.” A different press source notes that the rye barrels are from Heaven Hill, a personal favorite distillery of mine, and the producers of notable ryes such as Rittenhouse, Pikesville and the just-released Elijah Craig Rye. Certainly, hearing that, my curiosity was piqued, so I requested a sample of Grander Rye Finished Rum. Here’s what company founder Dan DeHart says by way of description:
“Time in the barrel plays a momentous role in developing the profile of a spirit and we are excited to add new layers of flavor by finishing our rums in unique barrels. Rye whiskey imparts a beautiful spicy note that is distinctive and finishing in rye barrels delivers a uniquely different and beautiful rum hard to find in the market today.”
This is a pretty limited release, with only 1,680 bottles available, although the MSRP is actually considerably lower than I would have assumed, at roughly $65 per 750 ml bottle.