It’s not navy strength, it’s not high ester, it's not made by Hampden Estate, and it's likely not solely made from Plummer and Wedderburn rums. So why do so many people think these things?
Substack Discovery is getting pretty good for me to find this by chance. Makes my rum “scholarship” look absolutely bush league. Thank you for your service.
Excellent article on the Smith & Cross So glad you cleared up the misconceptions on this rum but like you I still enjoy it.My favourite rums only see a drop of water or sometimes in an old-fashioned cocktail.Every now and then when sharing my rums with cola loving friends I partake of a Smith & Cross cola cocktail.
As a Naval Reservist serving on Canadian ships in the mid sixties I did enjoy the " tots"-overproof for sure!
Very interesting read. Maybe because of your rum suggestions in Minimalist Tiki, I just recently bought Smith & Cross after using Plantation Xaymaca and Hamilton Pot Still Black as funky Jamaican rums in cocktails. I had built up the funkiness of Smith & Cross in my head and was surprised how mild it was, relatively - I was expecting a much bigger punch.
What an awesome article about one of my favorite rums! So much of what I thought I knew wasn’t quite right and I greatly appreciate all this effort to set the record straight.
Correct me if mistaken but I believe the Navy Strength error — captioning a 57% abv bottling with the phrase "Navy Strength," implicitly misidentifying the strength of Royal Navy rum as 57% rather than 54.5% — originated with Plymouth Gin, which coined the phrase "Navy Strength" for their 57% bottling, introduced in 1993 under Desmond Payne. This was then adopted by other brands, mostly keeping the strength at 57%, and has since become a widely used naming paradigm for gin and rum.
Dubious facts is a very charitable way to put it. I am disappointed that Haus Alpinz didn't work harder on the research here, and just made it up. great product though in spite of their malarky.
Substack Discovery is getting pretty good for me to find this by chance. Makes my rum “scholarship” look absolutely bush league. Thank you for your service.
Hi Matt;
Excellent article on the Smith & Cross So glad you cleared up the misconceptions on this rum but like you I still enjoy it.My favourite rums only see a drop of water or sometimes in an old-fashioned cocktail.Every now and then when sharing my rums with cola loving friends I partake of a Smith & Cross cola cocktail.
As a Naval Reservist serving on Canadian ships in the mid sixties I did enjoy the " tots"-overproof for sure!
Take care
Stan
Very interesting read. Maybe because of your rum suggestions in Minimalist Tiki, I just recently bought Smith & Cross after using Plantation Xaymaca and Hamilton Pot Still Black as funky Jamaican rums in cocktails. I had built up the funkiness of Smith & Cross in my head and was surprised how mild it was, relatively - I was expecting a much bigger punch.
What an awesome article about one of my favorite rums! So much of what I thought I knew wasn’t quite right and I greatly appreciate all this effort to set the record straight.
Correct me if mistaken but I believe the Navy Strength error — captioning a 57% abv bottling with the phrase "Navy Strength," implicitly misidentifying the strength of Royal Navy rum as 57% rather than 54.5% — originated with Plymouth Gin, which coined the phrase "Navy Strength" for their 57% bottling, introduced in 1993 under Desmond Payne. This was then adopted by other brands, mostly keeping the strength at 57%, and has since become a widely used naming paradigm for gin and rum.
Yeah, that's my understanding. I'm doing my best to reverse this misunderstanding. Historic facts matter more than marketing narratives.
What a shame that the marketing of what is a very enjoyable rum has been based on so many dubious facts, so unnecessary.
Dubious facts is a very charitable way to put it. I am disappointed that Haus Alpinz didn't work harder on the research here, and just made it up. great product though in spite of their malarky.
Great research and writing as always! Thanks Matt!