Chairman's Reserve Rum Master's Selection Amathus 45th Anniversary

In the mid 1800’s, the Barnard family settled in Saint Lucia as greatly respected merchants and traders. Third generation Denis Barnard took over his father’s sugar plantation at the age of 21 and established the Dennery distillery. He was an original pioneer in the art of blending rum and began experimenting from molasses produced by the plantation’s own sugar factory. His philosophy and technique of blending different distillates created a unique and captivating spirit. He produced a consistently smooth, high-quality blended product. It is with this inspiration that his son, Laurie Barnard, founded Chairman’s Reserve. Laurie first experimented with blending respective casks of pot still and column still rums; and then returned the blended rum back into oak barrels to marry together. He constructed a smooth and complex well-balanced spirit that is now considered the benchmark for Saint Lucian rum. Fast forward to the present day, Chairman’s Reserve Master’s Selection is a concept developed between Master Blender Deny Duplessis and Cellar Master Cyril Mangal as they discovered some exquisite and rare casks of rum aging in the cellars. Each cask is selected to showcase their diversity in terms of flavour profiles created by different fermentation and distillation methods, as well as particular blends in some cases. To celebrate 45 years of Amathus, we’re very excited to have selected and have bottled exclusively this wonderful single cask release of Chairman’s Reserve Master’s Selection from St. Lucia Distillers. Originally distilled in 2003 using the Vendome pot still, it was aged 3 years in bourbon cask and then a further 17 years in port cask. It’s an extraordinary 20 year old rum bottled at 58.8% abv cask strength. Limited to only 238 bottles, it is a rare treat for rum aficionados and enthusiast alike. Bursting with flavour, its funky ester notes, complex oak spice, mingle with rich molasses, over ripe banana, mango, fruit cake and other tropical fruits for a long persistent finish to savour.