Offering a world-first, unique rum re-distillation experience, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will delve into the world of rum like never before.

Launching Friday 12th October 2018
144-145 Upper St
London
N1 1QY
www.lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club

A spectacular and exciting secret is tucked away above Laki Kane’s tropical escape bar, in the heart of N1. After months of development and refining, the Spiced Dry Rum Club will open its doors for its first official rum experience commencing Friday 12th October. The Spiced Dry Rum Club provides a truly unique rum re-distillation experience by utilising techniques that have not previously been made available to the public including nineteen copper alembic pot stills. Lead by a rotating team of London’s foremost rum experts, guests will embark on a voyage of rum discovery, experiment with flavours and design their very own bottle of rum to take home, completely bespoke to their own tastes.

A charismatic and charming 17th century inspired interior sets the scene for this unique 2.5 hour experience taking place daily at Laki Kane’s Spiced Dry Rum Club. Run by London’s most prominent bartenders and rum experts, rum-lovers and newcomers alike will be taken on a journey through the history of rum, indulge in premium rum tastings, learn about the key ingredients used in rum making and discover the perfect cocktail pairings for this exciting new style of rum.

Each guest will be seated at one of nineteen beautifully hand-crafted, copper alembic pot stills as the Spiced Dry Rum Club master distillers guide each guest through the re-distillation process, experimenting with spices and fruits to create their very own bespoke bottle of rum to take home.

The design of the Spiced Dry Rum Club has been influenced by the 17th century maritime rum trade, tales of large ships sailing high seas is etched throughout the upstairs bar with the main Pusser’s Rum Ship table seating twelve people and the Captain’s Table seating seven.

Experiences are available to book now from £119 (plus booking fees), which includes food and drinks during the session plus the guests own 700ml bottle of rum to take home along with a Spiced Dry Rum Club gift bag containing exciting products from Laki Kane and partners. Bookings can be made at lakikane.com/spiced-dry-rum-club and further bespoke packages will be available on request.

Speaking about the launch of the Spiced Dry Rum Club, Georgi Radev (Creative Director) says: “Rum is such an amazing spirit and to be able to offer others an opportunity to learn about the history and re-distillation process is something I have wanted to do for years. The Spiced Dry Rum Club is an unforgettable experience and one that will allow rum lovers and newcomers alike to be truly immersed in the wonderful world of rum.”

The Spiced Dry Rum Club follows the success of the downstairs Tropical Escape bar, which opened its doors at Laki Kane in early July 2018. The concept was created by life-long Islington resident and businessman Steve Kyprianou, Islington local finance and operations manager, Sam Robson, and ex-Mahiki bar manager Georgi Radev, a leading tiki, rum and cocktail expert with over 16 years experience managing bars and high end spirit brands.

What’s been said about Laki Kane’s Tropical Escape Bar

“Bar of the week” – GQ

“a two-floor, plush paradise” – The Nudge

“this tropical paradise is about as close to Hawaii as you can get on the Piccadilly line” – Secret London

“Bringing a spot of tropical sunshine to Upper Street” – Design My Night

“Welcome to paradise” – Barchick

“this is a Tiki Bar with a difference” – Le Cool

“Rum drinks are delightful” – Time Out

Another month and another great rum brand is heading to the London Rum Club at Trailer Happiness. This time it’s the turn of Eaux de Vie and Mezan Rum. To quote their own fact sheet, “Mezan vintage rums are unblended rums from individual islands or countries in the West Indies and South or Central America, produced from a single vintage year’s distillation, aged in oak Barrique and bottled one cask at a time, when mature, under the supervision of our cellar master.”

With a current selection of 7 rums, some of which are from distilleries that are no long in production, this unique range of bottlings are considered to be a true expression of the distillery and country in which they originate. Mezan achieves this with their promise that all of their vintage rums are; unblended, unsweetened, uncoloured and filtered through only a light gauze with no chill-filtration.

The range currently consists of:

• Vintage Barrique Aged Jamaica Rum – Pot-distilled at the Hampden Distillery before being aged for 10 years.
• Vintage Barrique Aged Grenada Rum – Column-distilled at the Westerhall Distillery before being aged for 12 years.
• Vintage Barrique Aged Trinidad Rum – Column-distilled at the now closed Caroni Distillery before being aged for 19 years.
• Vintage Barrique Aged Guyana Rum – Column-distilled at the now closed Uitvlugt Distillery before being aged for 13 years.
• Vintage Barrique Aged Guyana Rum – Pot-distilled at the now closed Enmore Distillery before being aged for 20 years.
• Vintage Barrique Aged Panama Rum – Column-distilled at the Don Jose Distillery before being aged for 15 years.
• Extra Old Barrique Aged Jamaica Rum  – Is a blend of Jamaican rums dating back to 1983, which were re-casked further develop before bottling.

So head down to Portobello Road’s Trailer Happiness on Monday 2nd April 2012 from 7pm onwards and all being well, you’ll get a chance to try the entire range and learn more about this fantastic range of rums. Further details can be found on the Mezan Rum @ The Rum Club Facebook page. For those interested in learning more about the London Rum Club, please either visit the Rum Club website or pop into Trailer Happiness and speak to the bar staff.

Having missed out on the last Rum Club of 2011, I was really looking forward to starting the New Year at Trailer Happiness‘ Notting Hill Rum Club. And I can happily say that I wasn’t disappointed.

Having first come across Banks 5 Island Rum at September 2011’s Boutique Bar Show, I thought I knew what to expect of the evening’s rum tasting and that it would be more of an opportunity to catch up socially, with the other rum club members. So it was a pleasant surprise to find out how wrong I was. Not only did I get the chance to reacquaint myself with this distinctive white rum, but we were also introduced to its more complex brother, Banks 7 Golden Age. 

Ensuring that good things often come in three’s, James Triffo of Spirit Cartel also brought along the Banks Rum Master Blender, Arnaud de Trabuc, who talked us through our exploration of the evening’s rum and how Banks came to be.

So following a uniquely Banks 5 Island Daiquiri made by the bar team of Alex and Paul McFadyen (covering for Max and Damien), we sat down to listen to James and Arnaud explain the concept of Banks Rum.

Named after the 18th Century explorer and botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed with Captain James Cook on his first scientific expedition to the South Pacific Ocean aboard HMS Endeavour. As well as introducing the Western world to many plants, such as eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and Banksia, Sir Joseph Banks was also influential in the propagation of sugar cane in the Caribbean.

In this light, Banks Rum attempts to capture the spirit of this English naturalist by bringing together different rums from both the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean to create a distinctive premium rum.

Conceived in 2009 it took 14 months of blending and sampling, before Banks 5 Island Rum was introduced to America in June 2010 prior to it arriving on the UK shores in March 2011. It is a blend of 21 different rums aged between 1 and 5 years old from 6 different distilleries on 5 different islands: Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and the Indian Ocean island of Java.

The blend is then aged further in used Bourbon barrels in Amsterdam, before it is then charcoal filtered to remove the colour prior to it being slowly cut with Dutch water to a bottling strength of 43% ABV / 86 Proof.

The aroma is noticeably of grassy sugar cane, almost reminiscent of Brazilian Cachaça or Rhum Agricole, while the taste starts with smooth, grassy, tropical fruit flavours, that always reminds me of the British Parma Violets sweets. It finishes with a slightly sweet spiciness.

To describe this rum as unique is not an understatement, it really is unlike any other rum that I’ve tried and it’s one that continues to provoke mixed feelings for me. There’s a lot to like about this rum and I can see it being a really interesting premium white rum for a good mixologist to play with the distinctive and complex flavours. However, that same complexity that I see as allowing a creative expression is also the same complexity that I personally think is too much in some simpler cocktails, such as the Cuba Libre or the Daiquiri.  As such I don’t see this as being my go-to white rum but more of a playful premium mixing rum.

Our other rum of the evening was the soon to be introduced Banks 7 Golden Age Rum and what a treat it was. Aged between 1 and 7 years, this is a blend of 23 rums from 7 different islands: Barbados, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and the Indian Ocean island of Java. Unfiltered, the addition of the Guatemalan and Panamanian rums give this dark amber rum a sweeter and lighter taste than Banks 5, while still retaining some of the spicy finish. Like Banks 5, it is also bottled at 43% ABV / 86 Proof. For me this was the highlight of the evening and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who likes rum.

It’s worth noting that the complexity of both of these rums is due to the distinctive blend of rums. From the simple, but strong Trinidadian rums to the full-on flavour of the pot-distilled Jamaican rums via the fruity Guyanese rum and the elegant and spicy bite of the rums from Barbados. Lastly and possibly the most distinct element in the blend is the addition of the Batavia Arrack from Java, which adds a touch of spice, along with the fresh sugar cane notes. In addition, the Banks 7 Golden Age Rum adds the sweet Solera rum from Guatemala, as well as the smooth flavours of the rum from Panama.

To round of the evening’s tasting, James teased us with a hint of Bank’s next rum, which will be named in honour of HMS Endeavour. Without a sample available for the evening, there’s not really anything more that can be said about Banks Endeavour Rum at this point, but if it’s as good as their Golden Age rum it will be worth waiting for. Watch this space for future news.

Of course no evening at Trailer Happiness would ever be complete without a bit of Tiki inspired flaming on the copper lined ceiling and what’s better than some 73% ABV / 146 Proof rum to help brighten up the place… Of course it also goes without saying, don’t try this at home as you’ll more than likely catch fire to the house, injure yourself or worse still set the cat alight…

As usual, my thanks to Max and the Trailer team for yet another great Rum Club and to James Triffo of Spirit Cartel for a wonderful evening with Banks Rum. Details for the next rum club are still pending, so please keep an eye on the Rum Diary for any update. For those interested in learning more about the London Rum Club, please either visit the website or pop into Trailer Happiness and speak to the bar staff.