Review by: The Auditor

This sample was provided to me by a producer, distributor, or some other industry source free-of-charge. No compensation, outside of the sample, was received and there were no strings attached.

Review #1360; Rum #663

This rum comes from Robyn Smith, a chemical engineer and distiller who has channeled her prior experience and passion into rum distilling. Rum et al is her brand and here, we have one of the variable series that seeks to play with different variables in the rum making process to explore the affects it has on the final product.

Also check out her blog, tis pretty great; https://www.thisblogsneat.com/

Now, on to the rum.

Tailspin differs in that it was triple distilled with tails and dunder added into the 2^nd and 3^rd distillations in order to mimick the effect of a double retort pot still. The base raw ingredients were baking grade molasses (20%), dunder (33%) and water (47%). It was then fermented with distillers yeast (s. cerevisiae) for 18-20 days. As mentioned above, triple distilled with 2^nd and 3^rd distillations including tails and dunder and producing 18 gallons of spirit.

Congener breakdown:
total congeners = 272 g/hlpa

1-propanol (alcohol-like) = 28.02 g/hlpa

acetaldehyde (green apple) = 4.43 g/hlpa

acetone (nail polish remover) = 4.65 g/hlpa

amyl alcohols (fruity & alcoholic) = 170.22 g/hlpa

ethyl acetate (sweet) = 21.22 g/hlpa

ethyl butyrate (pineapple) = 0.08 g/hlpa

isoamyl acetate (banana) = 0.11 g/hlpa

isobutanol (sweet & musty) = 38.34 g/hlpa

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Distillery: Dead of Night Distillery

Bottler: rum et al.

Region: USA

Still: Pot

ABV: 75.8%

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Nose: Strawberry, dash of orange peel, floral, minerality, Clove

Palate: Thick oily mouthfeel, Strawberry, Floral, Orange Peel, Cardamom, Clove

Finish: Medium length finish, clove, nutmeg, orange peel, minerality,

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Conclusion: Overall a very good and impressive rum, my favorite to date from rum et al. It drinks well below its still strength proof but punches you in the face with flavor. For being such a small operation they are able to produce some pretty good rums. I’ll have to keep my eye out for future releases. I will say I proofed this down to high 50s if I had to guess and to me that’s the real sweet spot between the 49% release and this still strength beast.

Final Score: 85

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.