I fell in love with rum on a trip to Cuba a few years ago and I haven’t turned back. It tasted clean and strong. It didn’t leave my belly with ‘the jimmies’. It is now my spirit of choice.
Although rum has a strong relationship with my Maritime homeland of Cape Breton, I left at (arguably) too young an age to get a proper taste for it (14), and so it took a surrogate Island to formally introduce it to me.
Rum is something that goes with anything. You can add mixes to it, or drink it straight. It’s a sipper or a pounder. It can be light or dark. And thus my segue into Chic Choc spiced rum.
Although Chic Choc spiced rum is not Cuban, it holds its own against my favourites. Made by Domaine Pinnacle in the eastern townships of Quebec, Chic Choc spiced has a fully rounded flavour that gives the olfactory organs a long, satisfied embrace. In my opinion, it is best without mix as being served neat emboldens its purest expression, and it grows from there.
My superfluous first impressions of the rum were it’s slightly high alcohol volume (%42.1), it’s remarkably deep auburn colour, and it’s smart labeling (a dude riding a bear, getouttatown). But, the proof is in the pudding and its flavour followed suit.
Reminiscent of its boreal roots from the Chic Choc mountain region, the spiced rum is hearty and deep. With impressive ingredients like green alder, pine forest spikenard, witherod berries, lovage Root, wild angelica, and bog myrtle, one would think the senses would be overwhelmed as the stomach becomes confused. This was not the case. All is accumulated in a velvety vanilla taste that is expressed both in flavour and in scent, making the rum a warm hug rather than a thunder punch to the gut. While the hair on my arms did stand up a bit, my tongue applauded the taste of the spices and the pleasant belly glow that followed.
It is not overpriced at roughly $30.00 (hoser bucks) for 750ml, this is a world-class rum for a world friendly price.

Preferred recipe
To go well with this Edmonton summer, the Dark N’ Stormy is a perfect drink to watch the thunderheads roll in:

• 4 ounces ginger beer
• 2 ounces dark rum
• Lime wedge
• Shaved ice

*This was to be printed in another publication but got passed up. It was too good a rum to let drown in the ether. Thanks to Chic Choc for the sample.