The Real McCoy Rum is the brainchild of Bailey Pryor, the Emmy Award winning Producer of the documentary, The Real McCoy. In fact the documentary won 5 awards; Writing, Directing, Editing, Photography and Producing. This was the first time that an individual film had won an award in each of these categories. The Real McCoy documentary, and indeed The Real McCoy Rum, are based on the story of Bill McCoy. Bill McCoy was a pioneer Rum Runner during the Prohibition era. In January 1920, Bill McCoy was the first to sail to the Caribbean and fill up a boat with Rum and sail back up to New York to legally act as a floating Rum Shop. Legal because at the time the international waters boundary was located 3 miles offshore and Bill McCoy was careful to anchor his boat outside of this boundary line. There was a tendency for some to dilute and adulterate their Rum (as is still the case today) with turpentine and prune juice giving rise to the nicknames of Booze, Rot Gut and Hooch. Apparently Bill McCoy never did this to his Rum, thus his Rum became known as ‘The Real McCoy’.
During his research for the documentary, Bailey traveled to Barbados where he met, you guessed it, Richard Seale. Together Richard and Bailey began to discuss and develop a classic Barbados Rum which obviously as it is produced by Foursquare Distillery, also adhered to the ‘no additives’ philosophy. The Rums are a blend of both pot and column distillates produced from black strap molasses and a proprietary strain of yeast. The distillates are then matured in heavily charred ex-bourbon American oak barrels. Three expressions make up the range and they are The Real McCoy 3, The Real McCoy 5 and The Real McCoy 12. The Rums have won a host of awards and deservedly so. We were fortunate enough to meet Bailey and we got the opportunity to chat with him at the Boutique RumFest in 2014 and he’s a very engaging chap. We also picked up a copy of The Real McCoy Documentary which makes for a great watch and further expands on the story.
The Real McCoy 3 – 40% ABV
The Real McCoy 3 is a blend of 3 year ex-bourbon barrel matured pot and column distillates that have been charcoal filtered to remove colour before being reduced to bottling strength. A crisp white label reveals only the necessary information about the Rum. Its age (minimum obviously) and the barrel type used for maturation. The rear label has a little information contained within. The sturdy squat bottle also has a plastic cork closure which for me on a Rum in this price bracket is neither here nor there but it does make a satisfying pop. You can pick up The Real McCoy 3 for around £19 if you shop smart……
Tasting Notes
In the glass: The Rum is crystal clear in the glass. It’s initial aromas are of crisp, creamy sweetness reminiscent of soft summer fruits and berries. Vanilla and that marshmallow aroma that I frequently get from white Bajan Rums rounds things out.
In the mouth: Initial proceedings are warming and lightly peppery up front. Sweetness coms along in the form of custardy vanilla. The mouthfeel becomes really creamy with peaches on the back of the palate….peaches and whipped cream.
A beautiful, no-nonsense flavourful Rum at an affordable price point. This Rum also makes a great Daiquiri.
The Real McCoy 5 – 40% ABV
The Real McCoy 5 is a blend of 5 year ex-bourbon barrel matured pot and column distillates. The label on this expression contains exactly the same information but obviously you switch out 3 for 5 and the label is a more pleasing shade of cream. The rear label has the addition of an image of Bill McCoy. Again, a plastic cork closure is present which is a pleasant addition. You can pick up The Real McCoy 5 for around £24 if you use the same source…..
Tasting Notes
In the glass: the Rum is a light coppery gold in the glass and for a 5-year-old Rum is the aromas are very approachable with little heat. Vanilla, butterscotch fudge, caramel and a light oak are in the initial aroma attack. A little citrus peel follows along with more vanilla. As the Rum warms up the oak becomes more apparent in the glass.
In the mouth: It has a spicier than expected entry based on the nose….more so than the 3. It has a little heated, peppery kick that is quickly followed up by a vanilla led sweetish component. Ripe banana and peach loop jelly sweets are next to appear. The sweetness is short-lived though as a pleasant dryness creeps in and allows you to pick up a little cola, a slight powdery cocoa, more peach loops and a little molasses. Quite a lot going on and it is a very drinkable relatively young Rum.
Again, this Rum is a great example of its ilk. It also makes for a great Corn N Oil. This cocktail has recently been ‘Cocktail of the Week’ over with our friends The Floating Rum Shack and like them, we also tone down the Falernum as it is a very tasty, but very sweet concoction. We also use John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum (another Foursquare product) in the drink. The recipe and method used at Rum Diaries HQ are as follows: 60ml The Real McCoy 5 and 30ml Falernum. We enjoy this drink nicely chilled and diluted so build it like a Rum old fashioned. Take a double rocks glass, add a large cube of ice (ours are 2 inch square). Pour over the Falernum and stir slowly then add the Rum 30ml at a time whilst stirring, This ensures that the whole thing is chilled nicely and has a decent amount of dilution. Add bitters if you feel that you need to. We don’t usually but when we do we use Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Teapot Bitters. We enjoy the clove aspect of the drink, but Angostura Bitters makes the clove too dominant whilst the Teapot Bitters bind anything Rum based together….trust us!
So, what you have here is a back story that is nice but is ultimately just that, a nice back story. The real stand out thing is the Rum. Both expressions offer what they set out to offer, un-adjusted, un-flavoured, un-perfumed proper Rum made in the classic Barbados style and from a distillery and a distiller that do their utmost to promote all of these values. You should absolutely pick up a bottle of both.
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