The Ministry of Rum just completed its 2009 Rum Tasting Competition, and the results are in – 41 gold medals, 17 silver, and and 5 bronze. Stiff competition indeed. Now, I wasn’t there, nor am I privy to the rules of the competion, but this sounds eerily close to the modern-day feelgoodery that outlaws dodgeball and awards every child a blue ribbon because we’re all special winners in our own special ways. Also, there is no mention of a single “loser” rum, so by all appearances bronze is as low as it goes.

So you’ll have to be the judge for yourselves – either the Ministry is a little too generous with its gold medals, or we truly are living in a golden age. Being as 3 of those golds were actually taken by Bacardi – one by Bacardi Select which I myself rated at only half a star - I’m inclined to believe the former to be more likely.