Note: See the end of this episode description for the Hurricane Beryl aid links we mention in the intro.

In this episode we revisited one of rum's iconic institutions from a totally different perspective from our previous episode (from over 2 years ago!) on it. We're talking, of course, about The Main Rum Company — keepers of E&A Scheer's boutique single cask program, and possibly the most extensive collection of single cask rum (excluding distilleries) in the world. You know all those great single cask releases from independent bottlers? A huge number of them came from Main Rum.

To guide us through this deep dive, we spoke with Main Rum's Senior Cask Expert (what a cool title) Ian Hoyles. Ian spoke with us about:

The art of matching the right cask to the right rum

The crown jewels of Main Rum's collection over the years

How exactly Main Rum's mysterious "infinity casks" are created

Pushing the limits of aging

How to know when a cask is ready for sale

How Main Rum collectively assesses casks

The rum world's most distinctive flavor profiles

And much more!

Go here to check out The Main Rum Company’s website.

***Hurricane Beryl Relief***

As we mentioned in the intro, we reached out to friends in the Caribbean and were told that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) does impactful relief work across the region. They have set up a bank account for Beryl relief that you can find on their website here: https://www.cdema.org/index.php

There is also an organization called Airlink that is coordinating with the CDEMA to bring relief supplies to the region. There are ways to donate online here: https://airlinkflight.org/responses/hurricane-beryl/

John's colleagues at the university spoke highly of CORE, an organization they are currently working with that is bringing aid to the Caribbean as well: https://www.coreresponse.org/hurricane-beryl/

P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

Want to see video of this episode? Check it out on YouTube and subscribe to our channel! https://youtu.be/8b99b-s4isg

We're back with another episode in our Semi-Blind Reviews series — this time with a rum sourced from a region that came up quite a bit in our 100th episode a few months back: Ghana!

From Down Island Spirits, this is a 4-year-old pot still cane juice rum sourced from Ghana's MIM Distillery. John shares his thoughts knowing full well what the rum is and Will shares his thoughts while having no knowledge of it other than its color in the glass.

P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.

In this episode, we sat down with John Georges, former master distiller of Angostura Rum / Trinidad Distillers Ltd. to discuss his 40+ year career in rum, all things Angostura, and much more.

This episode is sponsored by Nossa Cachaça — Get 10% off any order at NossaCachaca.com with promo code RUMCAST.

We discussed:

The evolution of rum-making at Angostura over the years

Angostura's involvement with Bacardi in the 1980s

Why pot stills have yet to catch on at Angostura, despite a few attempts

What changed in rum over the course of his four decades of making it

Added sugar in Angostura rum

Which blends Angostura did and did not add Caroni rum to

The career path of a master distiller

And much more!

P.S.Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.