Review: Mainland Rum Single Barrel Florida Rum 8 Years Old
In 1964, Congress formally recognized bourbon as a “distinctive product of the United States,” cementing its reputation as the nation’s own spirit. Long before that declaration, grain-based distilling had taken root across the colonies. By the late 1700s, distilled grain was common in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York, where rye grew easily and farmers understood the advantage of turning surplus grain into something shelf-stable and profitable.
Rum, though, arrived even earlier. One of the earliest surviving references appears in a 1664 Staten Island record noting that Jacques Guyon was fined for selling liquor “distilled from grain and from West Indian produce” without a license. The document leaves unanswered whether Guyon was selling imported rum or producing his own, but it shows that rum was already part of colonial life.
By around 1700, Boston housed the first licensed rum distillery in the British North American colonies, and Newport, Rhode Island soon built a reputation for high-volume production. For generations, rum was vital to the New England economy, tied to the wider Atlantic world and, grimly, to the Triangle Trade. Molasses from the Caribbean became New England rum; New England rum became currency for the purchase of enslaved people; and that cycle powered a vast commercial system.
The United States’ participation in that trade came to a legal end in 1808, when the Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves took effect. Smuggling lingered at the margins, but the lawful transatlantic traffic in enslaved Africans stopped. With it, the old economic engine that supported New England’s rum trade faltered.
Only recently has rum made its return on the mainland, thanks to the surge in craft distilleriess. Even so, attention still gravitates toward the Caribbean, leaving most drinkers unaware that remarkable aged rum is quietly being made on U.S. soil outside of Puerto Rico.
Hoping to change that, Seth Benhaim of Badwater Brands launched Mainland Rum in 2025. As an independent bottler, Mainland Rum selects standout barrels from American mainland producers and bottles them with transparency and reverence for the original spirit. In fall 2025, Early Access LLC, a spirits distributor in Arizona, chose a single cask from the Mainland program: an 8-year-old Florida rum aged entirely in a Pedro Ximénez sherry cask and bottled at a thundering 146 proof.
The front label openly reveals the state of origin but hides the distillery in plain sight. The clue sits in the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates bracketing the age statement. Enter them on a map and you land in Auburndale, Florida — the home of Florida Caribbean Distillers.
Although the modern craft spirits scene celebrates intimate tasting rooms and tiny stills, Florida Caribbean Distillers is a very different creature. Founded in 1943 as Florida Fruit Distillers, it originally produced alcohol from citrus fruits because grain alcohol was earmarked for the war effort. The operation has grown into one of the largest rum producers in the continental United States, focusing on contract/bulk distillation. The facility makes citrus spirits, cane neutral spirits, and rum, much of it for other brands that rarely advertise where their liquid comes from.
Mainland Rum’s single cask reveals a side of the distillery that most drinkers have never encountered. The rum starts with blackstrap refiner’s-grade molasses made from Florida sugarcane. After a 5-day fermentation, the wash is run through a large hybrid still. The spirit leaves the still at about 188 proof. Distillate entered a 59-gallon, 2-3 year-old PX sherry cask at 125 proof on August 17, 2017.
The barrel then spent roughly seven and a half years aging upright in palletized conditions in Florida’s warm, humid sub-tropical climate before traveling to Los Angeles for another half-year of rest. It was finally emptied on September 9, 2025, yielding an age total of eight years and twenty-three days — all in a PX sherry cask.
By design, Florida Caribbean Distillers may not have the name recognition of today’s boutique rum houses, but this cask raises a fair question: should it? And is Mainland Rum the bridge that brings serious rum drinkers to a distillery that has worked quietly in the background for decades?
There’s only one way to find out. Pour a glass, settle in, and let the mainland speak for itself.
Mainland Rum Single Barrel Florida Rum 8 Years Old Review
The nose opens with a sweet, bready aroma that recalls raw sugar-cookie dough folded into coconut cream. That bakery quality develops into something closer to a freshly baked loaf of Pillsbury Nut Bread — the kind that came in the blue-themed box. As the warm bread character settles into place, a punch of raisins joins the profile. Aside from the obscure fact that two batches of Jeppson’s Malört were produced at Florida Caribbean Distillers in late 1987, I couldn’t name another spirit from that facility. Yet on the strength of this aroma alone, I’m genuinely interested in rum coming out of Auburndale.
The palate carries the flavor of the milk left at the bottom of a bowl after a session with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Cream of coconut moves in next, followed by toasted walnuts and cocoa powder through the center of the profile. Altogether, the palate has the depth and concentration found in a well-made mole sauce.
The finish brings together the signature traits of Girl Scout Samoas: burnt caramel, toasted coconut flakes, and dark chocolate. Closing out the experience is a final thread of cherry pipe tobacco.
I admire the concept Seth Benhaim established for Mainland Rum. Rum is produced across much of the world, but excellent American rum often flies under the radar — and Mainland has already shown how good it can be. This single barrel from Florida, distributed by Easy Access LLC in Arizona — the first state outside California to get access to Mainland Rum — illustrates that point convincingly. More casks from Florida Caribbean Distillers are already in Mainland’s inventory, so additional releases will come in time. For now, this Arizona allocation is absolutely worth seeking out.
146 proof.
A- / $100
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