Chairmans Reserve Original Rum 40% 700ml

The Backbone of Saint Lucian Rum

This is where everything begins. No fanfare, no flourish - just a well-built rum that speaks clearly about where it comes from and why it matters.

Chairman's Reserve Original is made at St. Lucia Distillers, a small, independent operation surrounded by cane fields, volcanic soil, and a deep sense of local pride. It's a blend of molasses-based rums distilled in both copper pot and twin-column stills, then aged separately and married after five years in ex-bourbon barrels. That blend - the tension between pot still weight and column still clarity - is the house style of Saint Lucia. And this bottle is its clearest, most faithful expression.

There's no sugar added. No finish layered on top. Just honest distillation, careful ageing, and a final blend that leans into flavour without sacrificing structure.

It opens with warm butterscotch, cinnamon bark, dried banana peel, and a little baking spice - familiar, but not soft. Beneath that: dry oak, nutmeg, and the faint edge of something herbal and green, like crushed sugarcane or dried orange leaf.

On the palate, it lands clean but full. Molasses and vanilla, yes - but framed by spice and acidity. You'll find dark sugar, sultana, toasted wood, and flashes of stone fruit. It moves well. The pot still element gives it grip and a little funk; the column still smooths it out and keeps it focused. Nothing drags. Nothing overstays.

The finish is medium-long and gently dry. Clove, oak, black tea, and a touch of bitterness that keeps you ready for the next sip. No syrupy fade. Just a proper landing.

This is a rum built for cocktail work - and it shows. It holds its own in a Daiquiri, brings texture to a Mai Tai, and makes a far better Rum Old Fashioned than its price suggests. It also plays well with ginger, cola, coconut water - anything that benefits from real character underneath. But here's the thing: it also drinks beautifully neat. Just a cube, or none at all. Let it breathe, and the rum opens.

Chairman's Reserve Original isn't rare. It's not a collector's piece. But it is essential. It's the kind of bottle that disappears because it gets used. Not for show, not for sipping once a year - but because it fits. It belongs on the shelf.

If you're just getting into rum, this is your anchor. If you've been in for a while, it's probably still in rotation. That's what matters. That's what this bottle is. Reliable. Balanced. Real.