Review: The Lash Spiced Rum
For some reason, Drinkhacker readers adore spiced rum. They drink it, they comment, they debate it. They love this stuff.
And yet there aren’t that many spiced rums on the market, so when a new one arrives, they pounce on the stuff like phony handbag salesmen on tourists.
The Lash is a rum with a loaded history for its name (I’ll leave that reading as an exercise for the reader). It hails from the West Indies, where it spends four years in oak and is then aged with spices (some may actually settle in the bottle), bourbon vanilla extract, and other flavors.
The result is an intensely brown and very spicy rum. I put it side by side vs. all the spiced rums I had on hand — Captain Morgan, Sailor Jerry, and current fave The Kraken — and it handily out-spiced them all, with intense cinnamon, nutmeg, and big vanilla character. What’s comparably lacking, though, is the rum component. At just 70 proof, The Lash is considerably weaker than most spiced rums, many of which creep toward 100 proof. The Lash instead plays it safe, falling in line with the flavored rum world, a curious choice for a spirit with a picture of a whip on the bottle.
Overall, however, it’s got an excellent character to it, with an intense flavor that many spiced rums have lacking. Kraken is sweeter and more instantly engaging, but if the lack of alcohol in The Lash doesn’t turn you off, this is a solid endeavor.
70 proof.
A- / $30
The Lash Spiced Rum
$30
I wanted to expand upon the alcohol content of The Lash. The other Spiced Rums out there either use “fresh” Rum or <1-Year old Rum which they can purchase (in bulk) at 185 Proof ±. The Lash contains 4-Year Oak Aged Rum which is purchased at 150 Proof. Now, it is true that in a 750ml bottle you would need 381ml of fresh Rum at 185 Proof to make a 94 Proof product and only 350ml of the 4-Year Oak Aged Rum, but we did not have room to go much higher in proof as we used quite a bot of hot water to do an extraction of real spices which I can assure you nobody else does to the degree that we do. Most use liquid flavor additives (cheap and quick) and also color their Rum with Caramel Color, which is allowed (up to 2.5%) by the regulations – we don't. What you see (and get) is just the 4-Year Oak Aged Rum (no color added!), Real Spices (and quite a bit of them), 10x Bourbon Vanilla Extract and Natural Flavors. That's it.
It was never our intention to make a Spiced Rum to do "shots" with, but a Premium Spiced Rum that should be enjoyed Neat or On The Rocks. The review was correct – it is a spicy rum, and for me, that is what I wanted – a Spiced Rum that actually tasted like a Spiced Rum and not a Vanilla Flavored Rum. Most Spiced Rums were formulated with lots of Vanilla & Caramel as these go good with Coke and most Spiced Rums are consumed as a Rum & Coke – few were created to be enjoyed by themselves. Would love to know the feedback of others. Thanks. Hope this helps explain the alcohol concentration difference. Robert (creator of The Lash)
Hi Robert! I think I fall into the demographic you’re describing. I tend to gravitate toward aged or spiced rums and drink them mostly on the rocks. Good rum is a real treat in that it’s flavorful, complex, and usually a terrific bargain compared to other quality spirits. I’m glad to see a company standing beside their product like you do. I shy away from spirits that rely on artificial colorings and flavorings as a rule, and if I ever see a bottle of The Lash close to Mississippi, I’ll definitely pick it up. Love the bottle, by the way. Simple and classy. Definitely something you’d expect to find on a pirate ship! Cheers.
http://www.astorwines.com/SearchResultsSingle.aspx?p=2&search=22937&searchtype=Contains
J.Lindsey. Glad to know there are others out there fed up with the “cheapened” products being put out by the large companies today. The industry is not what it used to be but alas that is for another time for me to vent. I have added a link above to a store in NYC that sells The Lash – maybe they would ship you a bottle and then you can tell me what you think of it.
Regards
Robert
The Lash really needs a website. All I can find on Google is info about your trademark. Check out WordPress and you could do it inexpensively while still finding your business look and feel. The presentation on the bottle feels a little empty to me, I would look past it on the shelf. Although, reading your comment about it being meant to be enjoyed on its own definitely makes me want to try it out. That’s how rum should always be. Good luck! Indie over corporate any day.
Oh yeah, if you want to see some killer designs for alcohol bottles, check out http://lovelypackage.com/category/alcohol/ There isn’t much there for rum though.
Meta,
Thanks for the comments – we are designing the website and hope to have it done shortly. As for design elements, that was tough and we had some, what I would refer to, “out there” designs but we like Scotch type of design elements more specifically clean and simple and felt that sometimes a “flashy” cutting edge design takes away from what is inside the bottle. We are probably wrong here, but we liked the simplicity of the design and want whats in the bottle to stand out. Let me know what you think of The Lash once you try it and please do not hold the design element against us! lol. BTW – there are nice designs on that page and would love to see where these brands are 10+ years from now. Also, we have another product (Voyant Chai) – would love to know your thoughts on that design. Regards
Hi Robert, your product sounds great, with a nice impressive package. I noticed it is available online in PA. I was wondering if you had a distributor in PA so that I can stock it in my bar. While we have a good variety of spiced rums, we are lacking truly SPICED rums (Montecristo and Old New Orleans is all we have). Thanks!
Adam,
Our distributor in PA is Capital Wine & Spirits. Let me know what you think of The lash when you get your hands on some
Thanks!
Robert:
Do you have distributor in NY?
Robert, at The Rum Project both Sue Sea and I have independently reviewed over 120 rums. Unlike the usual commercial sites we work hard to be scrupulously honest and fair and to report the good, bad and the ugly as we may have experienced them. Fortunately we pick our rums carefully – and have to because we actually buy them.
We’re very interested in communicating with you about “The Lash” and your worthy goals – to use authentic spices and techniques to flavor a good aged rum. Truly there are but a handful of rums that are so produced – I’m thinking of Old Monk XXX (India), Barbancourt Pango (Haiti) and Richard Seale’s Foursquare (Barbados).
Our Rum Reviews and Forum is linked on our name above. Please mail us at capnjimbo at hotmail.
where can I buy the Lash in the Portland, OR area?
The minuet I saw the name of this Rum I thought of those immortal words attributed to Winston Churchill:
“Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.”
-Faune
@ Keep Your Spirits Up
The Lash is only distributed in a few States: Upstate NY, CT, RI, WI, SD and starting in January NJ. The best way to get some is online at places like http://www.drinkupny.com or http://www.astorwine.com
Seriously in love with this rum.
I’m considering ordering a case to avoid paying $15 per bottle in shipping. Best spiced rum on the market IMO.
How has this rum been on the market for 2+ years and it still does not have a website that is functional? Personally I like the rum. I’ve been sipping it neat for the past 3 nights; good stuff. I would like to see it have more of a presence so it can succeed.
Any chance of it ever arriving in the UK please? My bottle purchased in NYC is nearly done and I would love some more!
Hi Robert
During a recent trip to NY, I called in to Sussex wine and spirits to see if I could pick up anything a bit different. I was drawn to The Lash, both for its name and it’s label, and decided it needed to join my growing rum collection.
On returning to the UK and cracking it open, I quickly realised I’d made a mistake – I only bought one bottle. It is delicious. Problem is, it’s almost gone. Re-iterating Danny’s comment, can I get my hands on this in the UK?
First time having The Lash. Love it. Typically enjoy tequila on the rocks .
I like The Lash much better. We are enjoying the real flavours of the
cinnamon and vanilla on the rocks with a slice of lime. Very nice indeed.<