Revisiting Cockspur 12 Bajan Crafted Rum

Cockspur 12 Bajan Crafted Rum has undergone an important change recently which I think is worthy to speak of. The rum is of course, still produced from molasses and aged in American Oak at the Cockspur facilities in Barbados as it has been in the past. However, unlike before, all of the Cockspur Rum is now brought to bottling strength with Barbados’ own coral filtered water.

Previously the Cockspur 12 Rum sold in Canada (and parts of the U.S.) was shipped in bulk at cask strength to Hood River Distillers in Oregon and brought to bottling strength using water from the Hood River. This difference in water source was immediately apparent to me last spring when I sampled the new Cockspur 12 Rum in Miami at a luncheon sponsored by Cockspur. The rum tasted sweeter and smoother than I remembered from my previous review and much more to my liking. I decided that it was time to revisit the Cockspur 12 and provide a review based upon the current bottling made with 100 % Bajan coral filtered water.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“… As I indicated in my preamble, the Cockspur 12 Rum tastes a little bit sweeter and smoother this time around. Dark cocoa and rich caramel lead out with a delicate nuance of bourbon riding in the coattails. Rich pipe smoking tobacco and toasted walnuts lie underneath, and the flavour is very inviting with little of the bitterness which I had noticed in my initial review …”

Here is a link to the new review:

Please enjoy the review!

Review: Cockspur Fine Rum

Barbados is generally considered the birthplace of rum dating back to 1651 where the first recorded written usage of the word Rum Bullion appears. More than two hundred years later in 1884 a Dane, Valdemar Hanschell, founded a business in Barbados, supplying visiting ships with ropes, sails, salt, fresh fruit, meat and of course Barbados rum. Through the years, business thrived and so too did the popularity of his Cockspur Rum.

Cockspur Fine Rum is the flagship brand for the company. It is distilled from Island cane molasses, aged in American Oak, and brought to bottling strength with Barbados’ own coral filtered water. Both column still and pot still rums are used to in the distillation of the rum which bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…I began by sipping the Cockspur Rum in my glass, neat, without ice. The mouth-feel was slightly oily, and the initial flavour was very complex bringing a bevy of pungent flavours forward. I tasted charred caramel (treacle) and dark molasses as well as dry fruit flavours of prunes and dates…”

Here is a link to the full review:

The review includes a nice ‘punch’ style recipe which I hope you enjoy!

Rum Review: Cockspur 12 Bajan Crafted Rum

The origins of rum on Barbados stretch all the way back to 1637, when the first stalks of sugar cane were brought to the island by Pieter Blower from Brazil. Almost immediately sugar plantations and factories sprang up to produce sugar and molasses. The molasses, which is the byproduct of sugar production, was being distilled, and the resulting distillate was sold in bulk as early as 1650. This product first called  ‘kill devil’ was sold to taverns and ships, and by 1650 over 200 thousand gallons were being sold.  The word ‘rum’ is believed to have originated in Barbados as a shortened form of the name  ‘rum bullion’  which appeared in 1651 as a listing of a ships manifest by an unknown visitor to Barbados. This is why Barbados is generally accepted as the possible birthplace of rum.  Today rum remains one of the largest exports for the Barbados economy.

Cockspur Rum, was founded over one hundred years ago in 1884.  The rum company has a rich history and their rum is widely regarded as  amongst the very best in the world.  A friend of mine found and purchased a bottle of the Cockspur 12 rum about six months ago.  He offered to give me a large enough portion so that I could review the rum for my blog, and I gladly accepted his kindness.  I am truly blessed to have such friends as I do.  Here is an excerpt from my review:

“Several flavours jumped out at me on first tasting.  Toasted vanilla and charred molasses grabbed my taste buds first, and then I was subdued by a lurking tobacco richness that swelled up and filled my mouth. …“

You may read the full review here:

Review: Cockspur 12 Bajan Crafted Rum