Today's review looks at Witch Kings Rum Liqueur.
Now, I was a bit sceptical about reviewing a liqueur but with transparency on show about this being a rum liqueur rather than a liqueur trying to pass as a rum, and with a rum base from Ninefold Rum Distillery, I thought it was worth a try.
Witch Kings Rum Liqueurs come in 3 varieties all at 20% ABV and presented in 500ml bottles all bearing names of a mythical, fantasy nature - Fires of the Wild, Bohemian Dreams & Sunset Solstice, designed to evoke something emotive in the consumer with a focus on flavour concepts rather than ingredients.
Today we look at Bohemian Dreams - a blend of blueberry, pineapple and mint.
Nose - an intense blueberry aroma. It doesn't smell artificial but smells of real fruit and like a cup full of mushed blueberries or fresh juice, just with a kick of alcohol.
Palate - it's more mellow than the nose suggests with the blueberry still at the forefront and pineapple giving it a fresh zing. The mint is there but takes a few sips until it appears on the finish. More pleasingly, the rum element is there and the rum versus fruit element is really very well delicately balanced.
Now when hearing liqueur, its easy to think of an artificial, heavy syrupy liquid but this is not that. This has been produced using extracted juice from locally sourced fruit and it has a real fresh feel - we can even see fruit sediment in the glass and feel it in the mouth, adding to this sentiment.
Some real care has gone into this - they haven't tried to hide behind inauthentic flavours, there's a real balance here where they've considered and respected the Ninefold Rum base, which is a superb rum in itself, and they've complimented it by maximising the use of the natural sugars of the fruit, rather than unnecessarily adding additional sugars, to bring the consumer a premium liqueur product.
Whilst the whole fantasy story around the liqueur doesn't quite appeal to me, I do like the design and I really like what's in the bottle - the authentic fruit feel and the respect for the rum base, make this a winner. Served over ice, in a Mojito or with a light tonic and you have yourself a very decent drink.
Written by Rum Interest. Click HERE for original article!