3 Howls Gold Label Rum
Three Howls Distillery is based in Seattle, Washington in the industrial SODO neighborhood. They make several spirits among them whiskey, vodka and rum. For their rums they ferment molasses in an open-top 600 gallon cypress fermentation tank.
After fermentation, the liquid is then distilled using a 300 gallon small batch still. Three Howls Gold rum is aged for six months in used American oak barrels and a small portion is aged in used Madeira barrels from Portugal. Roughly 10% of the rum from the Madeira barrels is used to create the final product. Each batch of the rum is blended to 40 abv and hand bottled at the distillery.
3 Howls Gold Label Rum
Appearance/Presentation
The rum is a pale straw color that is in line with the age statement they present. The squat bottle is sealed with a natural cork secured to a wooden cap. Agitating the liquid creates a razor thin line that quickly beads up releasing legs that descend slowly down the glass.
The front and back diamond shaped labels provide minimum details about the rum. Claiming it is a six month rum aged in a “solera process”, meaning normal calendar aging.
Nose
The aroma provides hints of sweet caramel and vanilla with a bit of wood punctuating the experience.
Palate
Sipping the rum delivers a combination of sweet vanilla and warm baking spices up front rounded out by caramel with a lightly acidic tobacco leaf note creating the baseline. Funky wood notes pop and linger in a long caramel rich finish.
Review
While the rum is not overly complex, it has a flavor profile that reminds me of young island rums I have experienced on my travels in the Caribbean. I am curious to see how this ages and develops over time. The distillery has an agreement with Total Wine and that is how I found the bottle for this review.
-Rum Review by Mr. Paul Senft-
Paul Senft
My name is Paul Senft - Rum Reviewer, Tasting host, Judge and Writer. My exploration of Rums began by learning to craft Tiki cocktails for friends. I quickly learned that not all rums are created equally and that the uniqueness of the spirit can be as varied as the locales they are from. This inspired me to travel with my wife around the Caribbean, Central America, and United States visiting distilleries and learning about how each one creates their rums. I have also had the pleasure of learning from bar tenders, brand ambassadors, and other enthusiasts from around the world; each one providing their own unique point of view, adding another chapter to the modern story of rum. The desire to share this information led me to create www.RumJourney.com where I share my experiences and reviews in the hopes that I would inspire others in their own explorations. It is my wish in the pages of “Got Rum?” to be your host and provide you with my impressions of rums available in the world market. Hopefully my tasting notes will inspire you to tr y the rums and make your own opinions. The world is full of good rums and the journey is always best experienced with others.