Bayou Spiced Rum, Made in Louisiana, Handcrafted, Pot-distilled and Gluten Free, 40 Percent ABV, 70 cl

Product Information

The local terroir helps the brand’s master blender, Reiniel Vicente, make Bayou’s range particularly special. Vicente has a long experience in the industry. Since 2013, he has impressed the founders of Bayou Rum with his rum-making know-how and expertise. These single-batch rums are aged in rye whiskey barrels and red wine casks from Napa Valley. The brand has released three- and five-year-old expressions of the latter. At the top of the range is the Bayou XO Mardi Gras, which spends a year in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks after five years in Bourbon barrels. The purest expression of the rum is the unaged Bayou White, which shows the real spirit character on which the aged expressions build complexity through the wood. Bayou Reserve uses a blend of barrels between two and five years old, which brings excellent smoothness to the spirit. Above this sit Bayou’s single-batch rums, which are treated to a particular type of barrel for their entire maturation. This, thankfully, does not suffer from those problems. The company says its profile is “inspired by Louisianan Creole baking,” which means the presence of “three styles of natural vanilla, cinnamon and sweet figs.” The result is pleasantly reserved, even on the nose–it does not scream spice at you, but instead features a modest waft of sweet cinnamon, gingerbread and caramelized banana. On the palate, you get more banana, maple, allspice and floral vanilla. Nor is it really very sweet at all, transitioning into a finish marked by an unexpected woody dryness. All in all, this is among the more subtle spiced rums that I’ve sampled. It would probably be nice in lemonade. These Terms and Conditions supersede any and all prior agreements, promises, representations, assurances, statements and understandings whatsoever between you and SPI Group.

If SPI Group or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets. Our Bayou Reserve uses a blend of barrels between two and five years old, which brings great smoothness to the spirits,” he explains. “It’s very easy to drink.” Above this sit Bayou’s Single Batch rums, which are treated to a particular type of barrel for their entire maturation, so, they are not ‘finishes’ in other words. It has a really nice balance – chocolate, oak, plump raisins, some banana cake and just enough of a herbal note and a touch of spice to make things more interesting. More complex and rewarding. It has interacted with the casks really well and has nose way beyond its relatively young years.Not many people know Louisiana is the fifth-largest producer of sugarcane in the world. It means Louisiana grows more sugarcane than all the Caribbean islands put together,” says Bayou Rum’s master blender, Reiniel Vicente. A longer aged Bayou could certainly make a really decent sipper – even at this age the blend isn’t bad. I would imagine given time they will put out more aged rums. Bayou® Rum is a premium handcrafted rum. As a socially responsible alcoholic beverage producer, and as a global player in the spirits industry, SPI Group encourages responsible drinking for all of our current and future consumers. As you share in our pride and history, please ensure that you enjoy Bayou® Rum responsibly, avoid excessive drinking, and use our product strictly in moderation. Our concern is for you and for your thoughtful use of our brand. Moreover, we are certainly making every effort to ensure that Bayou® Rum is not offered or marketed to consumers under the legal age for purchasing alcohol in each respective country. Please enjoy your moments with Bayou® Rum wisely. This policy (together with our terms of use and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

Mixed with Lemonade or tonic it is perhaps slightly less convincing but it does add a very distinctive flavour to your drinks. The inspiration for Bayou Rum comes from a simple truth – that rum was the original American spirit. “We always say that the US has been producing rum for a very long time, in small batches,” Vicente explains.

Sipped, Bayou Select Rum isn’t as impressive as the nose. Having said that it is not a disappointing experience. It is still more than decent for such a young blend. It’s drier though and has a lot more oak. The sweet chocolate notes are now more of a bitter burnt caramel or unsweetened cocoa. It is also slightly “odd”– in that it has a kind of sweet note to it which I can’t quite place. Again this may have something to do with using sugar in the distillation rather than purely molasses. Louisiana is an ideal place to produce rum due to its abundant sugar production. Here, you can find all the ingredients needed, from the steamy, sultry climate made for maturing smooth rums to the abundance and quality of the raw material. They pasteurize molasses to make sure it is as pure as possible before yeast is added. This yeast comes from a strain of wild yeast found on sugarcane and is grown in a lab. We then distill every batch by hand using copper pot stills and age it into 200-liter bourbon and sherry casks.