Ferrand Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

When first poured the rum smells unsurprisingly heavily of alcohol. There are definite fumes when you pour. However, it is advised to allow the rich mahogany coloured rum to settle in the glass a few minutes before nosing. This rum comes in at 69% ABV which, in my opinion is too strong to consume neat. My previous experience with overproof rums had been limited to Lemon Hart 151 rum (75% ABV) which I really enjoyed when blended in equal parts with a 40% dry rum (Newfoundland Screech), diluting the concoction to a robust (57.5% ABV) but enjoyable and flavourful blend.

Low ester levels in Jamaican rum, from say 0 to 50 g/hL AA, are associated with lightly flavored rums. For comparison’s sake, the ester levels of most vodkas are close to 0 g/hL AA. Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, well known for its funkiness, has an ester level of around 200 g/hL AA. Rum Fire Overproof from Hampden Estate is around 500 g/hL AA. The maximum ester count that Jamaican law allows for export is 1600 g/hL AA. From firsthand experience, rums at that ester level are essentially undrinkable after a few sips. Update, March 2021: Plantation tells me that the current blend no longer contains Foursquare rums in it. Also, Mr. Seale disputes that 13-year aged Foursquare was used in the original O.F.T.D. blend. I have left the original component description provided to me for historical context below] The Fat Rum Pirate does a fantastic job summing up this rum as a mixing rum and giving some historyPrvá písomná zmienka o existencii rumu pochádza z ostrova Barbados v roku 1647, je však isté, že výroba rumu sa odohrávala na ostrove od začiatku 17. storočia. Vo Francúzsku prichádza uvedenie rumu neskôr a to v roku 1694. Rum sa v tom čase považoval za liek. Priemerná kvalita a lacná produkcia znamenali, že rum sa prvotne konzumoval medzi otrokmi na plantáží (brandy a sherry sa považovali za príliš drahé, takže tie boli vyhradené pre osadníkov). Rum sa tiež stáva nápojom námorníkov a pirátov. Skutočný pokrok v destilačných technikách ešte neprišiel a dovtedy rum zostával len pre miestnych. Začiatkom osemnásteho storočia sa však rum šíri cez oceán do Európy a Severnej Ameriky. Rumové odrody One of the few Plantation rums with an age statement on the label, this might be considered the flagship of Plantation’s “signature blends” lineup, and is one of the brands they’ve been offering longest. The five year age statement is nice, if not particularly impressive—it makes this a “moderately aged” rum. It’s important to note that 3-4 years of that time is tropical aging in Barbados, and the remaining 1-2 years is aging in France in “Ferrand casks” previously used to mature cognac. That’s a significant period, which makes this ultimately a product substantially different than simply a Bajan rum—there’s also the moderate dosage to consider as well. Products like this are at the heart of the dispute between Maison Ferrand and the other Barbados distilleries. For Christmas last year, I got Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove’s book and our rum collection hasn’t been the same since. The book is a fantastic overview of tiki, talking through the history, providing recipes, and more importantly a list of rums to make the recipes. The list of rums is broken down into categories, typically referring to the base material used (molasses or sugar cane), the form of distillation (column or pot still), and the age (lightly aged, moderately aged, long aged, etc). In addition to these categories, there’s also recommended overproof rums – including Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum On Its Own Which could perhaps be construed as a criticism. It isn’t. I have argued on numerous occassions about rums being viewed as sipping rums and mixing rums. Many feel that a “mixing” rum is an inferior product. It’s not I genuinely believe that some younger rums such as Myers’s, Woods 100 and Appleton’s Signature Blend (V/X) simply work much better as mixers than they do sippers. I do not think this makes them bad in anyway and it is not a slight against them.

While the O.F.T.D. label says it’s a blend of Barbados, Jamaica, and Guyanese rums, Plantation internally breaks these up into four categories: Barbados Rum

O.F.T.D. officially stands for Old Fashioned Traditional Dark but if you ask any of the seven collaborators who were in the room when this blend was born, they’ll tell you it really stands for something else that was exclaimed when the winning rum was tasted… The rum seems to be a replcacement for the brands older Original Dark Overproof rum. This means that both the Overproof and standard proof Original Dark rum have been given an overhaul. Both rums were originally made up of rum from Trinidad. I personally didn’t care much for either and went as far as suggesting the standard Original Dark was no better than supermarket rum such as Tesco’s Dark Rum – which is also a Trinidad “blend”. As a result neither rum scored particularly highly. Fast forward nearly two years to the very same room where the group had deliberated that December. Mrs. Wonk and I are preparing to run the gauntlet, tasting all nine high-proof rums. Several are ultra-high ester rums, doubling down on their palate-destroying power. To anybody but a hardcore rum geek, this might seem terrifying. For me, these are the sort of moments that make rum writing worth all the effort. Taste: Orange and allspice, clove and baking spices. Coffee hints as well. The finish is powerful – but there’s a lingering aftertaste of toasted dark brown sugar and orange. Like a hint of orange. Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum is our take on that classic style of overproof rums. And not just ours: to join him on the quest to get the blend and the proof just right, Alexandre Gabriel scoured rum joints around the world to find six grizzled old salts who knew which end of a rum bottle was which.

It is tough to make a great overproof rum, but our friends at Plantation have done quite a good job of it. Let us honor their hard work of delving through hundreds of samples and historic reference points by taking a hearty pull from the OFTD flagon, no? Honestly I'm not really into overproof rums. I've tried several and most of them are like extremely potent hot sauces (something else of which I am a connoisseur)...all burn and little to no flavor. It’s critical to understand that “ester” and “volatile element” measurements don’t tell you anything about a rum’s flavor profile, however. Martinique rhum agricole is also high in volatile elements, yet tastes very different than Jamaican rum, also known for high levels. Ester and volatile elements counts are about intensity, not flavor notes. Whether you enjoy sipping on an overproof rum, dilute it with water or another rum, this is definitely worth trying.Taste: Obviously warm – but also extremely smooth. Raisins and dates and other preserved fruits play with molasses, creamy caramel, and dark brown sugar. Hints of mellow oak and vanilla come through as well. The ending is full of dark sugar, toasted oak, spice, and caramel. Alongside the sweetness you get a good dose of Jamaican funk. Slightly rough and ready adding a good layer of complexity. Coffee and cocoa are also present. It reminds me in many ways of both Myers’s and Wood’s 100.

I really like the O.F.T.D. in rum and cola’s. It is similar in many ways to Pusser’s. It’s quite sweet but at the same time has quite a lot of “oommph” to it. Which I think is what you want in a rum and cola – especially on a cold night. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the casual rum drinker and the serious rum geek often have wildly differing reactions and estimation of a company like Plantation Rum. This is a complex topic; one that takes into account ownership, secondary finishing practices, legal lobbying and transparency in labeling. Suffice to say, the Plantation brand has long been something of a lightning rod for discussion among rum devotees.This is a dark rum. Deep, deep toffee amber. Nothing light about this. Of course the O.F.T.D. stands for "old fashioned traditional dark". Definitely a dark rum. No doubt about it.