Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/735312
october 2016 / the tasting panel / 103 Maine is one of the most beautiful places on earth, which makes it easy to understand why Bob Bartlett, a 40-year veteran winemaker, and wife Kathe settled there in 1975 to create the hand-built stone Bartlett Maine Estate Winery in Gouldsboro. Then in 2006, the Bartletts expanded their career path by investing in a custom-made, hand-hammered still from Germany and temperature-controlled fermenters from Croatia and opened Spirits of Maine Distillers. Their first efforts consisted of a small-batch apple brandy and an eau-de-vie made from tree-ripened pears. Buoyed by their success, the Barletts turned their collective sights to distilling small-batch Rusticator Rum (SRP $45) from locally sourced, organic molasses. Once the rum exits the still, it is transferred to French oak barrels for a minimum stay of two years. There the rum will stay until it has attained ideal maturity, after which a small number of casks are married together to ensure Rusticator's flavor profile remains consistent from batch to batch. It's bottled at a robust 45% alcohol (90 proof). Clearly the distillery's bucolic surroundings have contributed to this rum's universally appealing characteristics. Rusticator has an alluring, reddish/ golden appearance—not dissimilar to a fine Highland malt—and a satiny smooth, medium-weight body. Its generous assortment of aromatics is quite enticing and includes cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, bananas, caramel and toffee. The longer the rum is allowed to breathe, the more aromatics waft forward to tantalize the nose. Rusticator is spicy warm upon entry, a warmth fueled by its elevated alcohol content. But the characteristic that has drawn most of the critical praise is its bakery-fresh flavors of brown sugar, cacao and vanilla. The lingering finish is flavorful and eminently satisfying. Rusticator is an American-made classic. Shortly after the brand's debut, it won a Gold Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. But what's with the name? Turns out Rusticator is a 19th-century term the locals gave to the rich and privileged city dwellers who every year would invade the countryside for a few months and do nothing construc- tive other than sunbathe and throw parties for each other. SPIRITS OF MAINE DISTILLERS BARTLETT MAINE ESTATE WINERY A Swanky Affair WITH RUSTICATOR RUM