Located in our backyard of Lakewood, Ohio, Western Reserve Distillers has been churning out an assortment of liquors since 2015. Among them is Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum. Starting life in Louisiana, sugar cane is harvested and converted into Black Pearl molasses. Once brought to Western Reserve, the molasses is fermented with special strain of tropical yeast and then double distilled using a copper kettle. The distillate is then aged in bourbon barrels before being filtered to remove the color.
Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum
Sight: Clear.
Smell: Vanilla and powder sugar coat a lightly toasted coconut. Touches of tropical fruits and banana hide around the edge with just a hint of spice.
Sip: The sip starts off with predominately toasted marshmallows and vanilla. The flavors gradually expand into notes of oak and spice, with a hint of tropical fruit. The body is smooth and moderate in its weighting. A little heat builds over time.
Savor: The ending contains some of the same oak and marshmallow notes, but the flavors dissipate relatively quickly, leaving more oak notes behind.
Western Reserve Silver Rum is an easy going, well crafted rum for the lightly aged category. It really shines on the toasted sugar side of the spectrum, especially with the vanilla and marshmallow notes. The wood notes can occasionally peak through, especially on the ending, but not unpleasantly. The overall effect is a rum that’s pleasant enough to taste, if not complex enough to sip.
In Cocktails
Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum makes a fantastic daiquiri. The notes of vanilla and toasted marshmallow are accentuated by the simple syrup, and counterbalance nicely against the brightness of the lime. The net effect is akin to hints of key lime pie and lime popsicles. In other tiki drinks this helps Western Reserve Silver Rum play well, acting as a stand in for El Dorado 3 in our Love Potion.
In Review: Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum
Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum is a fantastic cocktail rum, ready to be employed for lightly aged rums. While it is good, we give a slight hat tip toward El Dorado 3, which achieves a very similar flavor profile at almost half the price. That aside, if you want to splurge and try a very nice rum from the north shore, then we recommend Western Reserve Silver Rum for a place in your bar.