The WhistlePig Founder’s New Company Just Dropped a 26-Year-Old Rum for Whiskey Drinkers

Jonah Flicker
·2 min read

Raj Bhakta left WhistlePig, the rye whiskey brand he founded, in 2019 in what was not exactly an amicable split. But since then he has been moving full speed ahead with his new company, Bhakta Spirits, which just dropped a vintage rum that sounds like it will appeal to any fan of aged brown spirits, and whiskey drinkers in particular.

The focus of Bhakta Spirits has been on Armagnac, the lesser known sister spirit to Cognac, with a series of rare vintages, blends, and single cask expressions sourced from the eponymous region of France. Bhakta also recently released a 10-year-old bourbon that was finished in Armagnac casks, and there is a rye whiskey rumored to be on the way as well. Now we have the first rum release from this high-end booze brand, and it is a rare one.

Bhakta 1990 Rum is a blend of two spirits—25-year-old column still Jamaican rum distilled in 1985 at the Clarendon/Monymusk distillery (35 percent of the blend), and 23-year-old Jamaican pot still rum distilled at Appleton Estate in 1990 (65 percent of the blend). The two liquids were blended together in 2014 and then recasked into second-fill bourbon and rye barrels from MGP in Indiana, and then finally given a signature Armagnac cask finish. It was bottled at cask strength, a strong 124 proof, with no color or sugar added. According to Bhakta Spirits cofounder Leo Gibson, there is orange, butterscotch, pipe tobacco, banana, and honeydew on the nose, and the palate has notes of fig, red fruit, and clove.

“Discovering this rum was an absolute breakthrough,” said Bhakta in a statement. “It’s one of the most astoundingly complex spirits I’ve ever encountered, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with connoisseurs, collectors, and all consumers who appreciate deeply-aged rum as much as I do. Since I exited WhistlePig, I’ve traveled the globe in pursuit of the oldest, rarest, and most exquisite spirits known to man. Bhakta 1990 Rum is so sublime it stopped me in my tracks. It’s absolutely won its place in our oldest-in-the-world collection of Vintage Spirits.”

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There are only 1,500 bottles available of this vintage rum, which you can purchase directly from the Bhakta Spirits website for $500. And there are still bottles of the 2013 bourbon available from websites like Total Wine if you’re looking for some whiskey.

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