Ferrand Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

So we best move onto the tasting part of the review and see if this rum really is worth all the hype. For Christmas last year, I got Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove’s book and our rum collection hasn’t been the same since. The book is a fantastic overview of tiki, talking through the history, providing recipes, and more importantly a list of rums to make the recipes. The list of rums is broken down into categories, typically referring to the base material used (molasses or sugar cane), the form of distillation (column or pot still), and the age (lightly aged, moderately aged, long aged, etc). In addition to these categories, there’s also recommended overproof rums – including Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum On Its Own Plantation O.F.T.D. has a wonderful nose of caramel and molasses with notes of jammy orange and a mix of baking spices including cloves, cinnamon, and all-spice. Despite the alcohol, a sip starts relatively smooth. Flavors of raisins, dates, and other preserved fruits mix with molasses, creamy caramel, dark brown sugar. Hints of vanilla, coffee, oak, and orange round it out – and a subtle sweetness go throughout. The ending lingers with a fair amount of heat and subtle sweetness. Up next is the tasting. The rum when sipped at 69% ABV Is simply too “hot” to appreciate. It genuinely burns the tongue and makes the entire experience simply too much to gain any appreciation of the rum. If you have a hydrometer you may wish to use it to bring the rum down using water to a more acceptable ABV.

It is interesting that Plantation have dropped the Trinidad rum entirely from the blend. Personally this is a good thing as I don’t really rate the modern Trini rums at all. Cask type/Age: ex-Bourbon, ex-Cognac casks, 1997 distillation. 18 years in ex-Bourbon, then 1.5 years minimum in ex-cognac casksThe label tasting notes say: “It bursts with caramel cream, chocolate, and vanilla notes. It continues on with cinnamon, raisins, nutmeg, oak, and molasses with smoky accents.” It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the casual rum drinker and the serious rum geek often have wildly differing reactions and estimation of a company like Plantation Rum. This is a complex topic; one that takes into account ownership, secondary finishing practices, legal lobbying and transparency in labeling. Suffice to say, the Plantation brand has long been something of a lightning rod for discussion among rum devotees. Alexandre Gabriel : “At Maison Ferrand, I often feel that we are a team of misfits having fun. With the O.F.T.D. band of rum geeks, I felt at home. I will never forget the special moments we had creating this rum: the secret meeting at Arnaud’s, the week in Cognac, the many samples tasted and the discussions about the true nature of overproof rum spoken with the same gravitas and intensity of statesmen discussing peace treaties. And all the time we were having a ball! These special moments of communion with a talented and passionate team are the reason I love my job. Taste: Orange and allspice, clove and baking spices. Coffee hints as well. The finish is powerful – but there’s a lingering aftertaste of toasted dark brown sugar and orange. Like a hint of orange. Cask type/Age: ex-Bourbon, ex-Cognac casks, 2008 distillation. 7 years in ex-bourbon, then 1.5 years minimum in ex-cognac casks

Overproof spirits are undoubtedly hot, and Plantation O.F.T.D Rum is no exception. You would be advised to keep this away from your nose and avoid holding it for too long on your tongue on diluted – lest you enjoy the burning sensation. However, if you’re careful you can find a rather beautiful rum hiding behind the heat.

Why is there no dosage in the OFTD? With respect, you may well have asked why is the Jamaican rum there? Or why we selected the level of caramel for bitterness, or that particular ABV? Every rum is the product of hundreds of decisions dictated by the question: Does it enhance the rum?” Pôvodne boli všetky rumy destilované v malých bankách. Dnes sa však väčšina rumov destiluje kontinuálne v stĺpcoch. Táto moderná destilačná metóda, ktorú Kuba prvýkrát prijala v 19. storočí, umožňuje rýchlejšiu a plynulejšiu výrobu. Destilácia v kotli je stále dlhšia a ťažko zvládnuteľná, ale stále sa praktizuje na Jamajke, na Barbadose, v Svätej Lucii, na Haiti a v Guyane. Zrenie On the palate, oh yes, the 69% is an excellent flavor carrier, fiery caramel, fiery vanilla, fiery chocolate, fiery fruits. Very powerful yet pleasant. Echoing the “no dosage” message is Martin Cate, who’s measured the actual ABV with his fancy Anton Parr hydrometer. His measured ABV is effectively identical to the labeled ABV, which is generally taken to mean that there’s essentially no sugar present, assuming the label ABV is accurate. Plantation OFTD Artisanal Rum je rum vytvorený samotným Alexandrom Gabrielom, zakladateľom a vlastníkom značky Ferrand Cognac , Plantation Rum a Citadelle Gin.

Taste: Obviously warm – but also extremely smooth. Raisins and dates and other preserved fruits play with molasses, creamy caramel, and dark brown sugar. Hints of mellow oak and vanilla come through as well. The ending is full of dark sugar, toasted oak, spice, and caramel. Whether you enjoy sipping on an overproof rum, dilute it with water or another rum, this is definitely worth trying. Took me a few sips to get some of a flavor profile because in each sip, once the taste buds detected something, my throat and tongue got a sound thrashing from the 69% ABV (138 proof).Low ester levels in Jamaican rum, from say 0 to 50 g/hL AA, are associated with lightly flavored rums. For comparison’s sake, the ester levels of most vodkas are close to 0 g/hL AA. Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, well known for its funkiness, has an ester level of around 200 g/hL AA. Rum Fire Overproof from Hampden Estate is around 500 g/hL AA. The maximum ester count that Jamaican law allows for export is 1600 g/hL AA. From firsthand experience, rums at that ester level are essentially undrinkable after a few sips. It’s critical to understand that “ester” and “volatile element” measurements don’t tell you anything about a rum’s flavor profile, however. Martinique rhum agricole is also high in volatile elements, yet tastes very different than Jamaican rum, also known for high levels. Ester and volatile elements counts are about intensity, not flavor notes. This brand is essentially Plantation’s slightly more approachable (but unsweetened) take on the higher-ester, funkier Jamaican rum that is so beloved by the rum community, and increasingly being discovered by the average consumer. This is a 100% pot still blend of rums from Jamaica’s Clarendon and Long Pond distilleries, coming from John Dore and Vendome pot stills, lightly aged for 1-3 years tropically and then married for 1 years in France in Ferrand casks previously used to mature cognac. In this way, Plantation puts their signature spin on this Jamaican rum, although in this case there’s no dosage, which is what makes this one “special dry.” Fans of Jamaican “funk” should know that this one is modestly estery, at 156 g/hL AA. One of the few Plantation rums with an age statement on the label, this might be considered the flagship of Plantation’s “signature blends” lineup, and is one of the brands they’ve been offering longest. The five year age statement is nice, if not particularly impressive—it makes this a “moderately aged” rum. It’s important to note that 3-4 years of that time is tropical aging in Barbados, and the remaining 1-2 years is aging in France in “Ferrand casks” previously used to mature cognac. That’s a significant period, which makes this ultimately a product substantially different than simply a Bajan rum—there’s also the moderate dosage to consider as well. Products like this are at the heart of the dispute between Maison Ferrand and the other Barbados distilleries.

The 1990s see Alexandre Gabriel combing the Caribbean in search of the best rums of the region. Plantation is born: an artisanal range of rums from the great terroirs of the tropics. Fifteen years of dedicated rum-making later, in 2012, Alexandre is awarded Master Blender in the “World’s Best” rum awards, wins the prestigious GOLDEN BARREL AWARD and was named Distiller of the Year by THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. O.F.T.D. officially stands for Old Fashioned Traditional Dark but if you ask any of the seven collaborators who were in the room when this blend was born, they'll tell you it really stands for "Oh F*** That's Delicious!"So what has all the fuss been about? Well firstly I don’t think the intention of this rum was ever as a sipper. I’ve no idea how old the blend in this rum is but I’d be very surprised if overall the blend is over 5 years old. Alongside the sweetness you get a good dose of Jamaican funk. Slightly rough and ready adding a good layer of complexity. Coffee and cocoa are also present. It reminds me in many ways of both Myers’s and Wood’s 100. Together they came up with this blend of Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados rums, bottled at 69 percent alcohol.