This is a blog about RUM | RON | RHUM | CACHAÇA.
It features my own opinions and reviews of rums.

I do not work in the spirit’s industry nor am I endorsed by anyone. The views on this site are purely my own OPINIONS.

Rum is a massive part of my life and it is my goal to taste every rum and continue to learn to appreciate and savour all cane spirits. My aim is to raise the profile of the rum category and to spread the word of how amazing rum is.

All posts on RumShopBoy.com are the intellectual copyright of RumShopBoy.com and may only be re-produced with a link back to here to credit my post/work. RumShopBoy.com
I have been drinking rum since I was eight, but since 2010 and my first visit to UK Rumfest, I have broadened my rum tastes to try each and every rum I possibly can!

In order to give a mark for each rum, I have split the tasting into several sections, weighted with different scores as follows:

Marking Guide:
Bottle/Presentation Out of 3
Glass/Aroma Out of 10
Taste, Initial-middle Out of 40
Taste, Middle/Throat Out of 40
Afterburn Out of 7
TOTAL 100

I chose a scoring system of 0-100 as there can be subtle differences between rums that smaller scales cannot take into account. Something as small as marks out of five or ten does not give the range, nor flexibility to accurately mark rums or to note their differences. When asked what makes the difference between say an 82/100 and an 83/100 rum, well, the breakdown shown above is what I use to reach those scores. And sometimes, the difference might only be slight, but if I used a marks out of five or ten scale, the rums with differences would all be given the same mark.

This is just my humble way of tasting rums! 

I sometimes include reference to a morning after aroma (but no marks). Sometimes, I find a rum can offer different aromas in a glass, the day after drinking, or residues can be left indicating the presence of additives. So, after finishing a tot of rum, I cover it up and then nose it again in the morning.

I am aware that many producers put additives in their rums/rons/rhums post-distillation. Sweet wines, vanillin or glycerine etc. is added, without telling the consumers about it! This is why my rum preference is towards Jamaica and Barbados, two countries that truly do produce the finest rums.

I test most rums with a hydrometer. Please see my page HERE for the rums I have tested and also, note the limitations about using such a device.