Privateer has been making rum in Ipswich, Massachusetts since 2008, well before rum was a popular "craft" spirit, and even a little bit before "craft" spirits were a thing. Their founder, Andrew Cabot, was inspired by the history of his own ancestor, also named Andrew Cabot, who was a rum distiller and privateer during the American revolution. The idea was to make a robust, full flavored rum that resembled the kind of spirit that would have been made in that time, when rum was the spirit of America, well before the time of Bourbon. 

 

To make this distilling dream into what it has now become, in 2012 Andrew enlisted Maggie Campbell, who had been a distiller at California's Germain-Robin Brandy. Maggie turned Privateer into more than a spirits novelty, and made the term "American Rum" something that even the Caribbean's best rum distillers had to acknowledge. As head distiller, she devoted the brand to quality at every step of the process, from raw material to bottling.

 

The process starts with single origin, Grade A molasses made from fine sugar cane grown in the volcanic soils of a single valley in Guatemala. The sugar producer was founded by a brother and sister team and is a member of Sugar for Good ensuring a commitment to the environment and pro cane worker standards. The molasses is fermented at cool temperatures for at least 6 days to develop depth and character, before being distilled. Although Privateer employs multiple stills for their different varieties of rum marques, the core of their rum is always pot still character, and many of their bottlings are pot still only. They also employ multiple kinds of casks for aging, with the aim of having as many kinds of characters as they can to use in their blends. From ex-bourbon, ex-rum (their own), ex-brandy, and new American oak, they have options. 

 

This spectacular single cask "P806", one of the last laid down by Maggie Campbell before she left for Barbados to head up Mount Gay's Single Estate Cane program, is 100% pot still, new American oak aged rum. It was aged at the distillery for four years and eight months before being bottled for us at cask strength, 55.7% abv. On the nose, the long fermentation and pot still character meet the robust effect of new oak. There is vanilla cream frosting, oak spice, orange peel, and bright fresh rummy fruits like mango, pineapple juice, and a hint of sweet grassiness. The palate follows through beautifully and with a viscous texture, with notes of plum, nutmeg, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, creamsicle, honey and raspberries. The finish lingers with pleasant, round molasses notes, with a hint of the chocolate frosting and stone fruits from earlier. Fantastic rum which drinks well above its age in terms of maturity, while retaining the fantastic fruity vibrancy of its youth at the same time. A Rum Club highlight to be sure!