Alright guys, gals and non-binary pals, I’m going to try and keep this one concise as a lot happened on my tour of DropWorks rum distillery. I was led around by Victoria Arrowsmith, who was incredibly lovely and put up with my group’s nonsense really well!
For a little background, DropWorks are a unique distillery local to the Derbyshire area who utilise the only double-retort still currently in the UK to make English rum that tastes akin to that you’d find in Jamaica! The head distiller, Shaun Smith, has a bit of history with some of the later distilleries on my tour, namely White Peak and Cotswolds, so he’s earned his distilling stripes all right. He’s also avidly experimental, something by now I’m sure many of you know I adore in a distillery, and we got to see a lot of this experimentation firsthand!
Before we began proper we were given a cocktail called a Light and Cloudy, a play on the Dark and Stormy, but using the Clear Drop rum. It was nice, light and refreshing! We also got to try the clear drop before we set off, the smell has a definite Jamaican influence, but is otherwise very clean, which can also be said for the palate. The taste is light, has a slight cooking spice influence, and is nice and warm thanks to its oily nature. A very nice white rum!
Starting off, we were taken to a side room that hadn’t quite been finished yet, but looked simply gorgeous! Here we were able to get a whiff of one of Shaun’s experimental mucks (the rum equivalent of wort) which had been fermenting for months! The smell was odd for sure, akin to a fresh batch from a bakery, but it wasn’t at all! I’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of it!
And now we got to the cask breakdown, where a cask they used to make their (currently unavailable) Coffee Drop rum is used to demonstrate the process of maturation.
The dark drop smells fruitier out the gate, with a spiced cherry note I quite enjoy. The flavour has a slight sharpness to it, as well as a gentle cooling menthol taste, but does have a definite oak flavour, though it is a more unusual character more akin to English oak than standard American or French oak. Not really for me, but it’s certainly a good dark rum! We learnt as well that they flash age their Dark Drop using wood chips, something I knew was possible but hadn’t seen much of, as it’s not allowed in the single malt whisky industry.
Next we were taken over to see the fermentation vats, and were shown the difference between the two main types of fermentation. Their standard fermentation that goes into most of their rums is the one pictured, which takes 3-4 days. However the fermentation for their overproof variant, the Funk Drop, takes upwards of 1 month!
Speaking of, we tried the Funk drop here, and it was certainly funky! The smell is surprisingly tame but definitively Jamaican, while the palate has this tart spice to it, akin to black olive or ‘nduja, but is very smooth and approachable despite its high abv of 63%. Probably one of my favourite overproofs I’ve tasted, especially Jamaican style overproof!
After this we are shown the stills, and their impressive steam jackets! Steam jackets are exceedingly rare in the UK, so it’s cool to see these not only in the same room as the equally rare double retort still, but incorporated into it! We were shown the low wines and the iridescent quality of the liquid (no picture as the shimmer doesn’t show up well on pictures) which was due to the high sulphur content still present before the second distillation.
It was here we were also given our next rum, the Spice Drop. This one smells quite buttery, but isn’t overly oily. The taste is gentle, approachable and lightly sweet, with a spicy tingle at the end to tantalise your taste buds. A nice one neat for me! We also learnt that, like the Dark Drop, this one was flash aged with wood chips.
And now we got to the cask breakdown, where a cask they used to make their (currently unavailable) Coffee Drop rum is used to demonstrate the process of maturation.
We also get to try the Barrel Drop rum here, and it’s probably my favourite of the lot. Its aroma is full of forest nuts, clove and chocolate eclairs. The palate is richly textured, thanks to the oily nature, but while oak notes live in the main body, most of the flavour lies in the aftertaste. This includes notes of black peppercorn, parsnip, bell pepper and thyme. a very vegetal flavour, but one I very much enjoy!
After a short break at the bar we are taken to the cask warehouse, which is full of experimental maturations that Shaun is running. I was in heaven, I swear to god. Which was made even better when we were told: “Right, go around and pick the casks you’re interested in trying!” This was such a golden opportunity to try a vast array of weird and wonderful rums that I had to take it. For my efforts, I got to try seven different casks, all of which were at 63.5% abv.
The first was an English Sweet Chestnut cask with a column still rum inside. The aroma is more oak forward, smells of sawdust, tree honey and cashew are most prominent, with a slight hint of burnt wood. Sharp alcohol taste, but with a very nutty body full of almonds, chestnuts and dried sultanas. Has a very spicy aftertaste. Overall quite good for a cold December evening.
The second was rum made from Manilla Honey, aging in a Hungarian oak cask, after being distilled in a double retort still. In my opinion it was probably the single most unique rum in that warehouse. It smelled of.. well honey, but also wildflowers, roasted acorns and very slightly of Cuban coffee. The taste had more subdued honey notes, mainly focusing on toasted oak and fiery Indian spice, with an overtone of strong alcohol. The sweetness is not cloying or overpowering. Diluted it’s simple delish!
The third was a pot still rum, aged in a bourbon cask, but was fermented using Prometheus yeast, a proprietary strain intended to make intense, dark fruits and liquorice flavours. Aromas with this one are very subtle initially, with notes of anise, margarine and white sugar, but nosing after sampling reveals startlingly intense dark chocolate, plum jam and blackcurrant notes. Taste-wise, it’s a very different story. Very strong notes of apple, apricot, vanilla and butterscotch, topped off with a pink peppercorn finish. Bizarre, but very interesting! I quite like it, probably my favourite cask overall from the sheer complexity of display!
The fourth was one that caught my eye the moment I walked in. As Shaun used to work at White Peak, he has access to some of their old casks, so has aged some double retort rum in them! Savoury tartness on the nose, with black olive, jasmine and very mild vanilla notes. More subdued initially, with a simple lilac and white olive body, the finish is much more intense inheriting Wireworks’ peated nature, paired with the more potent black olive and paprika to finish it off. Such a crazy flavour palate for a rum, but I like it a lot!
The fifth was a pot distilled rum aging in a Bordeaux cask, whilst also being blended with some of that Manilla honey rum I mentioned earlier. The smell is gentle but juicy, with a fusion of white grape and toffee. The taste is intense, with hints of tobacco, fig, plum and super strong Italian cooking spices. It’s rare I say a dram blows my head off, but the strength of the spice paired with this being the thickest bodied dram of the day really threw me for a loop! It may be too intense neat, but with some warm water it really comes into it’s own in a huge way, mellowing out the flavours into a beautiful flurry of balanced flavour rather than a barrage of intense sensation!
The final sixth and seventh are both virgin oak cask rums, one column distilled, one double retort distilled, and had both been aging around the same amount of time. I mainly wanted to see how two otherwise identical rums tasted differing only in their distillation methods.
The column still aroma is delicate, but super sweet, full of vanilla and caramel. The palate is more intense, with a sweet honey and milk chocolate palate and a cloying aftertaste that lingers due to a thicker body texture. Very enjoyable with sweet treats!
The double retort still, meanwhile, has a sharper, dark hazelnut chocolate aroma. The palate has a very strong Jamaican funk, with caramelised pear and vanilla bean in a fiery body that clings to your cheeks for dear life. I prefer the Column still cask, but my partner prefers the double retort, so this one is just a case of different strokes for different folks. Both are great!
By the way, yes we had our driver with us again and they got to take home the most amount of samples we’ve had all trip. In total we got to take home 12 5cl samples of everything we tried that day, even the cask samples! I’ll tell you what, that is commitment to good service!
Overall DropWorks was fantastic, the staff were hospitable and the distillery itself is one of the most unique operations you’ll find over here in England! If you want a tour I recommend you do what I did and pay for the private tour, as you get to go at your own pace and really soak the whole thing in. Thank you everyone at the distillery, but especially Lewis and Victoria, who really helped make this a unique and welcoming experience for me and my party
Also sorry for the longer post again! The next one will be shorter, I promise!
This post’s recommended song is: “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – Def Leppard
