Rating: 
English Harbour 5 Year rum boasts all the shelf qualities I enjoy – a short, squat bottle with a rustic label, nicely foiled cork, and general appearance that would like right at home in the hands of a pirate.
To the nose, English Harbour is light and fruity – I detected a distinct note of apples (something I’d not experienced since Old Havana Cuban rum.) To the taste, it retains this fruitiness but also carries some warmth with just a slight tingle. The finish is soothing, relatively gentle, and sweet.
You might notice all the things I haven’t said about this rum – it’s not dark, not heavy, there is no brown sugarry musk or oak kick in the face to let you know your alive. It is in fact a very delicate rum. Meaning it lacks most all the qualities that I personally look for in rum. That said, it’s also rather decent.
In the past I’ve been shamelessly brutal with rums that aren’t “rummy” enough, and English Harbor might seem to warrant similar treatment. But where those others seemed to be hiding from their rum heritage and trying to pretend to be liquours, cognacs, or some other flouncy lubber drink, there’s really nothing wrong with English Harbour – it’s just a bit different from my prefered norm. Hardly the alpha-male of rums, but still worth checking out.
Rum gives pirates super powers… to use against… the dutch.
Now I have no real taste for rum but judging Bilge’s inebriation, I’m going to have to judge this one at a 2 star. True he was off track and having fun, he still held the ability to form words and group them together as a sentence. This just isn’t pirate.
Oh but cheers mate for spreading out the supply on yer good rum. Get tanked on free samples which is what a REAL pirate would do.
Rum is wet, like the ocean. Rum is made from the ocean. But with less salt – and fish. Apparently English Harbour, despite it’s name, has few overtones of salt, fish or other oceanic qualities. Actually, Bilge, it sounds like a rum I would like. Sweet and delicate – like me. 😛
Bilge, I have to disagree. EH5 is not ‘rummy’, but it is wonderful. And not too pricey for the quality. It lies down the path of Mt. Gay, Santa Teresa, etc, rather than that of Demeraras, Zacapa, Zaya, Goslings. Much more accessable to your whisky drinking friends, with more bite and less syrup. Its youth is to its credit — over aging this little sweetheart would probably blur out the character and bite.
By the way, it has been a while since I checked in, I like your new format which is more blog-like.
Cheers
David
I wouldn’t quite call it “wonderful”, but it’s definitely a good rum – the further I dug into the bottle, the more I enjoyed the stuff. Still not a “kick you in the face cuz yer a pirate” rum, but a good rum just the same.
Any sense if they put sweeteners in this rum?