Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum 70cl, 40% ABV - Made by BrewDog Distilling Co in Scotland - 11 Hand Selected Botanics

Product Information

So far, this is reminding me very much of Dark Matter Spiced Rum. Which like Five Hundred Cuts uses only fresh spices – no artificial essences etc. More than can be said for a lot of Spiced Rums on the market. The new distillery was built because the original location was “not fit for expansion”, Steven Kersley, head of distillation at Brewdog Distilling, explained. The Five Hundred Cuts Botanical rum is “distilled in the world’s first triple-bubble still, after a five-day fermentation it is then double-pot distilled to create a white rum rich in flavour of tropical fruit and dark berries.” He said: “Gin is a category that is well understood, and a lot of people are asking when that bubble is going to burst and where are people going to divert their attention to if it does.

It’s not at all bad, though I must say it does taste like it would benefit from just a bit of sugar to maybe brighten some of the spices up a little. Some seem a little washed out. Almost as if there is too much going on at times. Now the brewer and distiller is growing its spirits portfolio with the launch of Gunpowder Gin, a punchy 57% ABV bottling recommended for sipping straight, or for mixing in a Martini or Negroni. That said with all these botanicals we are still getting a lot of additives. Not something that concerns me with a Spiced Rum but we have around 50g/L of additives. The triple bubble still will sit alongside two 3,000-litre pot stills, one of which will become a full-time spirit still for whisky production. There will also be Brewdog’s 19m-tall rectification column.Nosed it isn’t overly sweet and doesn’t smell of fake vanilla. The sweetness imparted by the Tonka Beans (similar profile to vanilla) isn’t overpowering. I’m getting a lot of ginger, orange peel and spicy szchezuan. Very much like Dark Matter this is going to be a real marmite kind of experience. Pretty much all the “botanicals” noted in the rum can be tasted and the orange peel really tempers the sweetness of the clove and the tonka beans. Making it much more balanced. After distillation, Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum is aged in casks and is bottled at 40% ABV without artificial flavourings.

So lets see what the Five Hundred Cuts Botanical Rum is all about. As with all good (and bad) Spiced/Flavoured/Botanical rums we have a story behind this particular brand.

In October 2021, Brewdog overhauled its spirits selection to coincide with the opening of its new distillery in Ellon, Scotland. This will be much more of a Brewdog-led identity, and the way that’ll look is we’ll use some symbiotics and brands that people recognise with Brewdog, and transfer that onto spirits but in an authentic way,” Kersley explained. Where we have the most volume and demand is on our vodka, gin and rum, so what time is left over is where we put our efforts into making whisky. The purpose of the 10,000-litre pot still is to reset the balance a little, dedicate time and become even more innovative with our whisky programme; just open the floodgates in terms of whisky production.”