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Ian Burrell with some of his favourite rums |
Straight to the intoxicating heart of the West Indies
IF you ask any West Indian which rum is best, they would undoubtedly reply a brand from their respective island. For Ian Burrell it's the one in his glass, but he's not West Indian, or is he?
Born in Liverpool Road, to Jamaican parents who immigrated in the 50s & 60s, this 38 year-old's knowledge of the sweet nectar of our land, the “blood” that warms our heart and spirit and contributes to our easy going way of life, is extraodinary.
Having travelled the world with J. Wray & Nephew, a distillery in Jamaica, manufacturers of J. Wray & Nephew rums and the more internationally famous Appleton Estate rums, to promote their products in Australia, Sweden, New Zealand and others, this Tufnell Park resident can truly be called the UK Rum Ambassador – a title bestowed on him in 2003 by The Polished Palette, an American company who hosted the International Cane & Spirit Challenge in Tampa Florida at which Mr Burrell was invited to adjudicate.
Since then he's been invited by the Barbados Tourist Authority to consult at a festival highlighting Barbados Rum, he's worked on Bar Scotland an event primarily for the catering industry in Scotland and he's shared his knowledge at the BBC Good Food Show and many many more.
With all of his escapades I ask the obvious question: Which then is his favourite rum? With his heritage you would expect him to say Appleton or Wray & Nephew, rum brands he would have grown up around, but he doesn't pick one, instead he gives me list as long as the M1. “It depends on the company, the mood, the occasion. Rum is very versatile” he said. Which is why he's set up The Rum Experience Company, “to promote rum and the lifestyle of rum”.
By day he plies his trade as the owner/manager of Cottons Rhum Shack & Restaurant in Chalk Farm, where you will find the largest collection of rum in the UK, but if you add him on twitter or facebook you will see that by night his knowledge of the nectar and his ambassadorial duties have him exploring the world. But how is Rum taking Ian around the world? Surely this is a Caribbean secret? “Rum is really taking off worldwide, usually people become more interested after travels to the Caribbean but the mojito explosion has made rum a staple in bars and pubs worldwide.
“More and more distillers are making aged rums which appeal to whisky drinkers as they share similar flavour notes.”
A person without much exposure may think all rum is the same, but there's more to rum than meets the eye; first you have the sugar cane – depending on where it's grown the taste can vary widely (even in the Caribbean); the base product – molasses (by-product of sugar refinement), cane juice or cane syrup; the distillation process – column, continuous or pot; the end product – white, gold or dark, premium, over-proof or spiced.
With all these choices where does one begin? Ian recommends Havanna Club or Bacardi with ginger beer, coke or your favourite fruit juice for the absolute beginner, for the more seasoned or discerning rum drinker he recommends Appleton 12 Year Old Estate Extra. For the explorers out there he suggests the Appleton 21 year-old with Green & Blacks 80% Cocoa dark chocolate.
Ian's real baby is the UK RumFest, now in its third year this rum exposition will host over 40 exhibitors with 300 plus rums on display for the 3500 or so visitors to sample or take home if they so wish. This year's show will again be held at the Royal Horticultural Hall in Victoria on the 24th and 25th October.
So after all the questions I came back to the first; which is your favourite rum Mr Burrell? but his answer was the same: “Right now, the one in front of me.” He did let me in on a little secret – one of his prized bottles in his personal collection is a 17year-old (aged) J. Wray & Nephew rum roughly valued at £26,000.00. What???
Apparently it's the original rum used in the making of a Mai Tai – the story goes “Mai Tai Roa Ae” were the first words uttered by the gentleman who ordered the drink which loosely translated means “out of this world”, well at £26,000.00 it is truly out of my world.
With his heritige, unending knowledge of rum (sugar water or vitamin r as I like to refer to it) and his Ambassadorial status not to mention his love, passion, and his efforts to promote and educate... Is Mr Burrell Caribbean?
I'll let you be the judge.
KELVIN MORRISON
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