English Harbour 10-Year

Rums under the English Harbour label are produced from fermented molasses via copper pot distillation. Maturation takes place in small 220 litre x-whisky and bourbon barrels. This 'Reserve' bottling has been aged for a minimum of 10 years, with components up to 25 years of age included in the final blend.
Taste like EL15

This is a delicious rum for sipping neat because it has an abundance of warm flavors...toffee, coffee, vanilla, burnt sugar and some spice. It's mighty fine and perhaps worth a nine rating but the price (US $95) knocks it down a solid notch. I can buy 4 bottles of Seale 10yo rum for less than the price of just 1 bottle of this rum, also 10 years old. No contest.

I’m a fan of English Harbour and this one doesn’t disappoint me.
Today there’s only one remaining distillery in Antigua which is the Antigua Distillery Ltd (ADL). It was founded when some local rum shop owners got together in 1929 mainly to streamline purchasing and management of the molasses and to get better control over the production, and three years later the company saw the light of day.
1933 they moved to the new built distillery on Rat Island in St. John. Then they had a 4-column copper Savalle Still. At that time the molasses was bought locally.
In the beginning the owners blended and bottled the rum under own label to sell in their shop. It was first in 1947 they released a joint rum, the Cavalier.
In 1991 they replaced the Savalle still with a new 3-column copper John Dore still, and just three years later the English Harbour Rum was released named after the harbour in the south of the island which Admiral Horatio Nelson and the English fleet used during the 18th century.
Today there’s no sugar cane plantation in Antigua instead the molasses is bought from Dom. Rep. and Guyana. After arrival it’s fermented in open-top fermenters were the added yeast marries with wild yeast.
This rum is after distillation aged in former used bourbon barrels of American oak which are charred inside for between 10 and 25 years. To enhance the oak taste is a handful of oak chips added to each barrel. After the aging it’s blended and bottled at ABV 40%.
In the aroma and in mouth and palate I recognize vanilla, sugar, oak, toffee, vanilla and a hint of black pepper. The finish is balanced and very round.
Overall it’s very dry and oaky.
It can’t compete with the 1981 but it’s a fantastic rum which I always enjoy when I find the way to the bottle.
Picture: My ADL shelf.

A smell of vanilla, oranges, cinnamon.
A well balanced taste of sweetness and bitterness, a little bit fruity.
The finish is long and mild, later on it gets sweeter.

The English Harbour Reserve 10 yr rum is a new addition to the Rum lineup available in my area, which retails $62.48 in Nova Scotia, Canada. This is a dry rum (as many have expressed) and it is indeed very tasty. Definitely a rum I will keep in my cabinet

Purchased this due to my love of English Harbour 5 year. I is better than the 5 year but only slightly. Would give it an 8.5 if i could. Surprisingly, not very sweet but has a great finish of vanilla.

Tonight’s Rum: English Harbour 10 Year. I’ve been fond of English Harbour Rum and have even been to Antigua where it’s made. Got a flat on the rental car, and with no spare almost missed the cruise ship! I bought this bottle online from BSW Liquor in Calgary and my wonderful friend Helen was kind enough to deliver it.

I’ve liked English Harbour Rum for decades, but with none of the product available here in BC for 20-plus years, I’m really looking forward to this one! So, let’s get to this tasting and review.

In my Rum Club Canada glass, the rum is a dark rum for a ten-year product: A rich, bronze, toffee transparent brown that I find more inviting than some of my older, less colour-rich rums. The nose in the glass hits like a pure, unbiased rum. It’s a simple toffee forward, white pepper, pineapple and alcohol. There’s no musty bouquet or overpowering acetone I’ve often detected in other tastings.

The first hit on the lips is delicate, almost non-boosey. My lips barely can tell it’s booze. That’s a good sign as far as I’m concerned. The first flavours are of honey and eucalyptus. The next sip focusing on taste, I get orange, more honey, a hint of pineapple, and caramel. In the mouth, it’s also delicate for a 40% spirit. In the throat, this rum is easy, with only the slightest heat; it's a great balance. The finish is also easy with only a slight pepper lingering behind, joined by pineapple, and a hint of leather and tobacco.

This is a wonderful rum and don’t think my review does it justice. I give it 10/10 on the Bob rum scale. Your results may vary. This is number of 411 of my 500 Rum goal, which now seems like a genuine possibility. Cheers, Ya’all.

A good drop to drink with a large block of ice. Smells of toffee and honey. Has good mouth feel, is a little bitter on the back of my mouth. Fruit cake and spice, and everything nice…

A very nice dry rum to which I will return anytime.

Even though a "10 year", liked it better than many "15's" and even "21's" at this price point...

Very sippable (my standard) and worth having in your rum bar....