The Real McCoy 12 Year Old Rum “Distillers Choice” 46%

The Real McCoy 12 Year Old Rum “Distillers Choice” is a single blended rum (a blend of pot and column still rums from the same distillery) produced at the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. This is the same great rum as the normal 12 Year Old but it is bottled at 46% ABV, the distiller, Richard Seales’s choice.

The Real McCoy Rum Brand was created by founder and CEO Bailey Pryor who was inspired whilst producing a documentary about the rum runner Bill McCoy. The Real McCoy is named after the famous rum runner, or bootlegger, Bill McCoy. During prohibition he would load up a boat in the Bahamas with rum, sale up to New York City and drop anchor some three miles out to see, just outside of the USA jurisdiction, in international waters. He developed a reputation for selling the best, unadulterated rum. The phrase “The Real McCoy” was already thought to be in use from various other derivations by this time.

Pryor’s research eventually led him to Barbados where he met 4th generation master distiller Richard Seale of Foursquare Distillery fame and a plan was hatched. The idea was to produce an unadulterated rum with no sweeteners, flavourings or perfumes added. Unadulterated like Bil McCoy’s rum. He found a simpatico relationship with Richard Seale who produces a range of unadulterated rums with his Exceptional Cask Range and has long campaigned for transparency in rum labelling. The Real McCoy Rum range is therefore a range of classic Barbados Rums. Produced in small batches at the Foursquare Distillery from the finest blackstrap molasses and pure spring water, the rums are a single-distilled blend of column and pot still rums aged in heavy char ex Bourbon American oak barrels. There are three expressions, a 3 year old white rum and a 5 and 12 year old rums.

The Distiller’s Choice expressions contain more robust fermentation notes at 46% than the 40% ABV versions with more vanilla, toasted caramel and honey. The “heavy” flavour profile at 46% retains the traditional flavors but also has more complexity from the pot still and barrel, like earth, char, wood and spice.

The Real McCoy 12 Year Old Rum is tropically aged for a full 12 years in ex Bourbon American oak casks. Bottled at 46% ABV with no added sugar, flavour or artificial colour.