Review: Rolling Fork Heart of Gold Rum
It’s often been said that bourbon is America’s native spirit. However, rum was America’s first love. Long before whiskey became common in North America, the American colonists had a thriving domestic and imported rum industry. The American rum industry began to diminish heading into the American Revolution and was dealt a near-fatal blow with westward expansion.
Rolling Fork Rum has made a name in sourcing a variety of well-aged rums and then further aging them in Kentucky, often with finishing. The bulk of Rolling Fork’s rum comes with excellent age and makes for fantastic neat sippers. However, any good spirits brand also needs to have a few offerings that target the bar scene for cocktails. To fill this role, Rolling Fork introduced Heart of Gold. One can choose to drink Heart of Gold neat, but Rolling Fork fully intends for this bottle to be used to elevate cocktails.
Heart of Gold is a blend of rums from Barbados and Jamaica. In the blend, you’ll experience 3 to 4 year old rum from Foursquare, 1 year old and 3 to 4 year old rums from Worthy Park, and 2 year old rum from Clarendon. Rolling Fork does secondary aging of all four rums in bourbon and toasted bourbon casks for anywhere from a few months up to two years.
On the nose, I was immediately reminded of pencil shavings, to the point where I could envision standing at the pencil sharpener with my yellow No.2 pencil. Next, there’s a rather noticeable aroma of molasses. The nose is rather bright, bursting with lemon zest and ripe banana, then a hint of caramel. It’s easy to tell from the nose that this blend of rum has not spent an extended amount of time in barrel, yet it’s still highly pleasing.
The palate is equally telling that the rum blend has not spent a lot of years in barrel. Lemon zest comes to the front quickly. Buttercream frosting and candied ginger pop in the middle. As the flavors evolve, toasted coconut, and Montmorency cherry appear. The rum is quite oily and coats the mouth.
As Heart of Gold transitions, the finish brings forth caramel and molasses. The finish also brings a brightness with eucalyptus, but a twinge of black pepper hanging on at the very end. The finish hangs around for a medium-to-long amount of time.
When drinking neat, I typically prefer a rum with more age than what Heart of Gold brings. However, given the relative youth of Heart of Gold, it’s rather good. Rolling Fork specifically created this offering to elevate a cocktail, and they have succeeded in doing that. The palate is crisp and bright and brings notes that will stand up in most cocktails.
101 proof.
B+ / $30 / rollingforkrum.com
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