The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2018

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Rum report 94  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2018 When husband-and-wife team Bailey and Jennifer Pryor began making the documentary The Real McCoy about rum runner Bill McCoy—a film that eventually earned five Emmy Awards—they embarked on a journey that brought the story of the Prohibition pioneer to life. Before America's dry spell, Captain McCoy sailed to the Caribbean to bring back rum right outside of New York City— three miles offshore, to be exact. By staying at that distance, he legally provided alcohol in what was then international waters. Not only was McCoy one of the first people to think of this scheme, he had a moral compass he wouldn't waiver from: He became one of the only alcohol runners to never get involved with the mafia and to never dilute his product with other substances like turpentine or prune juice, which is how we know the term "The Real McCoy." Inspired by his legacy, the Pryors decided to make a rum McCoy himself would have carried aboard his schooner. The Real McCoy suite features single-blended rum crafted farm-to-glass at Foursquare Distillery in Barbados from a blend of copper pot and Coffey stills. All core expressions are aged in American oak bourbon barrels for three, five, or twelve years with no sugar or flavors added—much like the rums of the unadulterated era before multicolumn stills came into common use. The Real McCoy 3-Year ($20) is filtered through charcoal to remove most of the color, while the flag- ship 5-Year and 12-Year Super Premium Rum offer insight into how aging affects the character of the same spirit. It's the type of rum McCoy would have proudly carried from the Caribbean to the partygo- ers just offshore of New York City in 1920. High-Water Mark: the real McCoy Rums Tasting Notes The Real McCoy Single Blended Rum Aged 3 Years ($20) is a single-cask spirit aged in heavy-char American oak bar- rels. From the deli- cately scented nose—candied pineapple and orange blossoms—you don't pick up any oak, yet on the palate, toasted coconut and honeydew melon surge forward with a spiced backdrop that speaks of cedar and caramel. The spirit retains a graceful quality through- out. 92 —M.M. The Real McCoy Single Blended Rum Aged 5 Years ($29) offers a similarly eloquent nose that speaks in feminine, perfumed notes of honeyed orange peel. Caramel and banana bread show right away on the palate with mineral-braced tannins and a hint of coffee. Vanilla plays through to the finish: spiced and sensuous. 92 —M.M. The Real McCoy Single Blended Rum Aged 12 Years ($50) shows depth of character from its heady scents of cedar, brandied apricots, and oatmeal. The level of maturity shows itself with a warmth that traverses the palate, adding depth of character with flavors of spiced sandalwood and nutmeg. 92 —M.M. THE REAL MCCOY

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