The people behind The Colours of Rum recently sampled a private bottle of a very old rum. It comes from the Daniel Lawrence distillery in Medford, the longest surviving distillery of the region, until it closed down in 1905. It appears that M.E. Bellows & Son was their agent in New York at the time. It was probably bottled in the 1880s or 1890s, I’ve seen a very similar bottle of Scotch whisky from the same importer bottled in 1890.
The Daniel Lawrence Distillery was known for its style of New England rum. This lovel American rum was generally considered to be cheap and inferior to imported West Indies rum. However Medford rum was marketed as “the best rum in the States” .
Fine Old Medford Rum 1876 (M.E. Bellows’ & Son, +/- 1890)
Nose: fairly round. I mean, nothing tells us this is almost 150 years old. A lot of molasses darkness, wih baking spice, hints of pipe tobacco and caramelized nuts. Then very old leather and a hint of library dust. Also stewed plums and thyme syrup, as well as light coffee candy.
Mouth: lots of caramel now, with plenty of coffee liqueur, caramel candy and the famous Belgian Caramella Mokatine. More thyme syrup and molasses, with some sweet mint and hints of spiced rum. Also herbal honey, a little vanilla, black cherry jam and hints of chocolate. A bit like an artisan version of Rumbullion at times.
Finish: quite short and very mild, with more sweetness, plenty of raisins and just a hint of baking spice, leaving a bittersweet note.
A really sweet rum, which is not surprising considering the era. Like other drinks, it was simply very common to add sweetness during maturation or bottling. By today’s standards that makes it less interesting, although I have to admit sweet drinks also seem to survive bottle ageing better. The subtle herbal notes adds some welcome depth and the end result is nicely balanced.
So there, a totally priceless experience in itself, even though it is probably also an example of how much rum production methods have improved. Many thanks to Maciej. We won’t give it a score – it’s not like we’ll find another bottle, right?
(There’s no clear image of the bottle so I had to improvise a little, sorry)