Review by: The Auditor

Review #1388; Rum #690

Here we have a new American independent bottler I am not familiar with. Mainland rum is a new player in the rum IB game with the goal of finding and bottling rum distilled in the Mainland US and bringing it to people. They just started releasing casks this year in 2025.

The bottle we have here comes from a rum distilled from molasses and sugarcane that was aged in a 53 gallon ex-bourbon cask for 10 years before being bottled at cask strength with no additives. Based on the coordinates on the label this rum is likely from the Bayou distillery in Lacassine Louisiana.

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Distillery: Bayou

Bottler: Mainland Rum

Region: Louisiana

Still: unknown

ABV: 60.4%

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Nose: Vanilla, Black pepper, Toasted Brown Sugar, Coconut

Palate: Medium mouthfeel, Vanilla, Toasted Brown Sugar, Coconut, Black Pepper

Finish:  Medium length finish, toasted brown sugar, black pepper, coconut

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Conclusion: This is a very good rum. Its not the most exciting thing out there as it is very much the barrel doing the heavy lifting here, but, I can see it being an enjoyable flavor profile for a lot of folks. Vanilla, brown sugar, a bit of black pepper. Kind of a classic aged rum profile. I wish the distillate was more prominent here as while being good it doesn’t really standout. But, for an American rum being 10 years old, it surpassed my expectations I had for it.

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.