The 1st RumX Member Meeting

Among others, LukaZiga from Slovenia, ander_s from Austria, and cigars from Switzerland traveled to the rather remote village of “Acht.” Thanks to local members, they were picked up at airports and train stations and brought to the party.

The rum bar, which was stocked by us participants, filled up noticeably as the number of participants grew. At first, it looked like this:

but the end result was much more impressive, and choosing the next rum was clearly difficult:

From a rum blend by Hansen from Flensburg to a 1974 Caroni from Bristol, almost everything the world of rum has to offer was there. It was truly amazing, and many felt like they were in paradise, as there were also some rarities available. These included a Maison La Mauny 1984, Caronis from Velier (RX959), Rum Sponge (RX11486), the aforementioned Bristol (RX1073), and Thompson Bro (RX10111). Also particularly noteworthy was a Flagon Royal Navy Rum from 1964 (RX21993). These are just a few examples. To list them all would go beyond the scope of this article.

While the first rums were being tasted, evaluated, and hotly debated, others were not idle... Artur (TheDunderhut) began setting up his cocktail bar for the next day:

The barbecue continued, the salad buffet was set up, etc. Because we were “self-sufficient” that weekend. That meant making the beds, shopping for food, preparing it, cleaning up, washing up, etc. was all done on our own. And that worked smoothly without any major coordination. Once again, a big thank you to all the participants.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the highlight of the first evening began. A blind tasting of three rums, which almost everyone had already tried.

There was lively discussion, guesswork, decisions and then rejections. But some people also had clear question marks on their faces.

While almost all members were able to identify the correct countries of origin, things became much more difficult when it came to the distillery.

In the end, four members emerged as true connoisseurs. Third place went to Alexander (venomino), while second place was shared by Dominic (DomM) and Oliver. And as the winner with almost the highest score, Christian (chris2302) won the blind tasting. The prize was the book “Workshop Rum.”

The rums to be guessed were:

• RX15601 Saint James Les Éphémères No. 6
• RX11936 CDI TDL for Caksus
• RX15629 Chairman's Rum & Co 2006

Afterwards, the relaxed gathering continued until the early hours of the morning with the tasting of many rums that had been brought along. Here are a few impressions:

After a hearty breakfast, the second day continued around noon with the previously announced surprise highlight. The members of the meeting were first allowed to taste and evaluate the current RumX Navy Ricci bottling and then a total of nine different cask samples from three different bottlers.

Each evaluation will later influence the potential RumX bottling(s) or help determine them. Many thanks to Oliver Gerhardt and Rob Bauer for making this possible. Oliver was of course there himself and accompanied the tasting from the serving of the samples to the evaluation by the members.

The following bottlers provided cask samples for selection:

1. Ramero: with three different Guyana bottlings with very different profiles. While the wine cask was clearly discernible in the PX and Lemberger bottlings, the bottling with the acacia cask had a similar character to the noble, heavy 1991 Enmore KFM and MEC bottlings. That was exactly to my personal taste.

2. Vagabond Spirits: These were two cask samples whose exact contents remained unknown even after the tasting and could not be guessed in the slightest.

3. MHOBA: Here we were served four different cask samples with/without finish and different storage times.

The tastings were all conducted blind and were evaluated at length on pre-printed forms. Oliver then presented the individual bottlings (except for the Vagabond). While there were heated discussions about the pros and cons of the various bottlings from the first two bottlers, almost everyone agreed on the MHOBA barrel samples. Each one would be worthy of a RumX bottling, even if everyone had their own favorite.

These blind tastings were definitely an irreplaceable highlight, and we are excited to see what RumX will bottle.

Here are a few impressions from the tasting:

This tasting lasted several hours, was challenging and also exhausting...so that after a short break, it was time for the well-deserved leisurely part of the day. Among other things, Artur (TheDunderhut) opened his bar and offered us a variety of cocktails that you won't find anywhere else. So it's no surprise that his cocktails were thoroughly enjoyed:

I probably don't need to mention that this evening also continued in a boozy and cheerful manner until the early hours of the morning.

The next morning, the rooms had to be vacated by 10 a.m., which was a challenge for some. After breakfast and a quick clean of the accommodation, the weekend was unfortunately already over and much too short. And one more side note: everyone was unanimous in their opinion that this meeting must definitely be repeated.

Leo and I (Thunderbird) would like to take this opportunity to thank all the participants once again for this weekend. Without you, this unique and unforgettable meeting would not have been possible. It was like a big family reunion with many warm encounters and new friendships.

Special thanks also to Oliver for tasting the new RumX bottling(s) and to Artur for his dedication at the cocktail bar.

And these were the participants of this first RumX member meeting: