Brewdog Distilling Five Hundred Cuts is a "botanical rum", a spiced rum made by maceration and redistillation, rather like gin. It owes its name to Elisabeth Blackwell, an herbalist who, in 1734, wrote a botanical treatise featuring 500 plates of illustrations (500 cuts) that she drew herself.
This craft spiced rum is named in tribute to this scientific and artistic genius, who brought many colors to his work. The same is true of Brewdog, the famous Scottish brewery known for its Punk IPA. The brewery has two pot-stills, in which it distills molasses previously fermented with oenological yeasts.
The production is then separated into two parts. The first part is macerated with spices (vanilla, ginger, kola nuts...). The other is put back into the still, in the presence of orange zest, lemon zest and ripe figs. The two rums are then blended, and the whole is rounded off with a touch of sugar, but this new version is less sweet than its predecessor.
Nico's tasting notes
The nose is very expressive, spicy and gourmand, with a good whiff of cinnamon and nutmeg. The cardamom begins a leaning towards something fruitier, evolving on candied lemon peel with ginger, and later on incense.
The palate is round and as expressive as the nose. Spices contribute to a full-bodied texture, gently underlined by pepper and clove. A creamy vanilla and cardamom finish rounds out and wraps things up.
"A fine treat for this spiced rum, full of spice and roundness..."
