Angel's Share Title
One of the things about the rum community that I have always enjoyed is that we, for the most part, love to share our rums. Bottles we find on our travels, out shopping, or took note of in a bar as a cocktail ingredient. Last year a friend gifted me a bottle of Hamilton Breezeway Rum Blend and was thrilled that it was something I had not already evaluated for “Got Rum?” Magazine. I had only had one encounter with the rum and noted it was featured in a cocktail I enjoyed. The inspiration and creation of the rum was created during the pandemic by Spike Marble, of Spikes Cocktail Hour, and Ed Hamilton, long standing luminary and blender of the Hamilton rum line. The Breezeway is Spike’s home bar and the set for his long-running YouTube channel where Ed Hamilton is a frequent guest. Hamilton Breezeway Rum Blend is a combination of rums from Jamaica and Guyana that are blended to 42.5% ABV in a liter bottle and was designed to function well in a variety of Tiki/tropical cocktails.
Appearance
In true Hamilton rum form, the labels on the bottle have a good bit of detail behind the inspiration of the rum with a QR code that takes a deeper dive about the blend as well as a recipe guide to go with the rum. In the bottle and glass the rum is clear with a very faint straw color. Swirling the liquid formed a medium band around the glass. The band quickly spun off one wave of fast-moving legs, and then slowly released additional slower legs before evaporating leaving a ring of beads around the tasting glass.
Nose
Pouring the rum in the glass releases a lovely bouquet of tropical flowers and fruit notes into the air. I let the glass rest for a few minutes and found the aroma led with tropical fruit notes of mango, pineapple, and banana. Toffee and oak spice notes drift around the edges, with cane grass concluding the experience.
Palate
The rum leads with a cinnamon pineapple note, followed immediately by brown sugar toasted coconut, and orange zest. Additional sips reveal the light mango and banana notes from the aroma. The oak spice notes introduce a pop of nutmeg, a touch of saline, and then merge with the swirl of tropical fruit notes to form a pleasantly dry finish.
Review
Understanding that one of the inspirations behind the creation of this rum was the classic Donn the Beachcomber Zombie cocktail and knowing Ed Hamilton’s involvement the bar was set pretty high for this rum. Sipping the rum during the evaluation experience was pleasant and I found it particularly interesting how the flavor profile manifested in different ways than expected. The flavor hooks imbedded in the profile really do shine in Tiki/tropical cocktails from a Rum Sunrise to a Mai Tai. Since this was the primary focus on the rum’s creation, I can happily say “Mission Accomplished”. The rum is currently available across the United States and in line with the rums created by Beachbum Berry and Ed Hamilton making it a good fit for your home bar needs.
