Trinidad Archives - First Pour Cocktails

The Scarlet Ibis

Posted on July 29, 2022July 24, 2022 by Nick

Originally commissioned by Death & Co, The Scarlet Ibis is rum from Trinidad that is aged 3 to 5 year in American white oak casks. The rum is not chill filtered to help preserve the full character. Haus Alpenz has been distributing this out to the market as it’s become available. While the reputation would suggest a top shelf rum, the price is actually reasonable around the mid $20s. The pedigree of this rum suggests great things, so how does it fare?

The Scarlet Ibis

Sight: Between hay and 14/18k gold.

Smell: The nose opens with elements of brown sugar, slight rum esters, papaya, and other tropical fruits. There’s a light element of alcohol burn, but it gets supplanted by roasted banana, touches of spice, and caramel.

Sip: The body moderate, and begins with touches of brown sugar and sugar cane juice. The tropical fruit flavors then start to climb out of the woodwork. Papaya, lush guava, limes, pineapple, and other tropical fruits join in. A touch of wood and spice joins in, and a green sugarcane note starts to show up toward the end. Despite all the fruity notes, it remains dry throughout.

Savor: The finish carries off a juicy, tropical caramel start before sliding into sugarcane juice and touches of spiced oak. The finish lingers with an herbal earthy funk that is also quite tannic.

The Scarlet Ibis is a juicy tropical rum with an element of sugarcane and oak. The nose wouldn’t lead you to believe anything super complicated going on. The flavor profile matches and seems straightforward, but opens up in new directions as it you keep sipping. The fruity elements are nicely forward here, while still maintaining the rum characteristics that make it round and inviting.

In Cocktails

In a daiquiri, The Scarlet Ibis continues to convey it’s fruity character, but the lime and sweetness help mute some of the more tannic notes. The overall result is a daquiri that feels lively and tropical, but that also has a long, lingering, almost skin-on fruit like finish (like when you eat an apple with the skin attach or have a bit of pith on an orange. The flavor is really enticing, and it seems to help boost the drink in a satisfying way. The only detractor here is complexity, where it may not bring as much to the party as other rums.

In Review – The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis is enjoyable and lively for the price point. The flavors are well defined, easy to sip on, and have a decent diversity to them. In a cocktail it holds it’s own, and brings some lively new dimensions without reinventing anything. The net result is a good rum that isn’t something you need to go out of your way for, but worth trying if you’re looking for something new.

Plantation 3 Star

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Nick

Before we get into talking about Plantation 3 Star – it might be worth a moment to talk about Plantation. In light of recent events, Maison Ferrand has chosen to change Plantation’s name to Evolve. The name refers to a large farm – but due to the actual history of many of these farms and recent events – Plantation (rightly) chosen to update their name to avoid this regrettable period of history.

While the packaging flow through is no doubt starting soon – in all likelihood you’re going to be looking for Plantation 3 Star. If you’re reading this somewhere down the line – congratulations on getting here from a historical relic or a coincidence of search engine happenstance. The rum is actually rather nice for the price – and much more of why you’re likely here. So let’s dive in.

Plantation 3 Star

Plantation 3 Star is sourced from Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad. The bottle does not list percentages, and has been optimized for cocktail use rather than sipping. The style is that of a lightly aged rum.

Sight: Essentially clear – possibly with a slight tint of gold.

Smell: The nose starts off with a great amount of pineapple and miscellaneous tropical fruit. There’s something candied like about it – almost like a white coconut. There are notes of alcohol and subtle vanilla, banana (both ripe and green), and marzipan that also waft out.

Sip: The palate is soft and round – it begins smoothly with plenty ripe plantain, touches of marzipan, toasted sugar, and subtle tropical fruit notes. A touch of almost argicole like green herb hides at the edge, and a gradual heat builds. There’s also a good amount of sweetness throughout.

Savor: The finish ends up being somewhat sweet as well, and some of the heat lingers. There’s a little less smoothness here, but a pleasant toasted sugar and slightly grassy note that lingers.

Plantation 3 Star is a very clean and dynamic rum. It moves fluidly between sweet notes, green notes, and tropical fruit. The body is relatively smooth and inoffensive – though not inviting. While it has some edges, the flavor more than makes up for it. As a base level white rum, it’s a great choice at under $20.

In Cocktails

Plantation 3 Star does well in cocktails. The tropical flavors lend themselves well to classics like the daiquiri and more complex tiki drinks. The lime plays particularly well with some of the grassy notes. It does tend to fall a little short on more spiced and vanilla forward cocktails, where El Dorado 3 plays somewhat better.

Plantation 3 Star Overall

Overall – Plantation 3 Star plays a counter point to El Dorado 3 in our line up. Where El Dorado 3 plays the sweet, vanilla, cotton candied role in a drink – Plantation 3 Star is playing the role of the more tropical rum. These two points of contrast help explain why one might buy one or the other – or both of these rum. Either way, Plantation 3 is still a great choice of rum if you’re looking for a solid lightly aged rum for your cocktail collection at a great price.

Plantation’s Site: https://www.plantationrum.com/