Holmes Cay Crafts an Exquisite and Extraordinarily Rare Rum Blend

What we’re drinking: Holmes Cay Infinity, a blend of ultra-aged rums from defunct and historic distilleries

Where it’s from: Holmes Cay (pronounced “key”) doesn’t distill its own spirits but instead curates limited-edition bottlings of nearly impossible-to-find rums.

Why we’re drinking this: Besides being fans of these spirits curators — who are akin to a rum version of independent whiskey bottlers Lost Lantern — we were impressed with the pedigree behind this new release. Holmes Cay offers both limited-edition Single Cask and Single Origin expressions, but this might be the rarest offering they’ve ever crafted.

According to the brand, Infinity contains the last available samples of some of the rarest single-cask rums from the world’s most renowned rum distilleries. It’s a mix from 13 distilleries across seven countries (five no longer in existence), with rums from 20 to 47 years old. All of the rums belonged to the Main Rum Company from Liverpool, UK, and were initially used as flavor references. The rums were eventually combined into a barrel and sealed in 2003.

“​​There is truly nothing like the Holmes Cay Infinity in the rum world,” said Holmes Cay founder Eric Kaye in a press release. “The components are a who’s who of the great distilleries of past and present. Legendary lost rums from Caroni, Uitvlugt, Enmore and Gardel aged for 20 years with storied classics from Hampden, Long Pond, Diamond, Montebello and others. This incredible cask includes gems such as a 1976 Port Mourant from Guyana and a 47-year-old Gardel rhum agricole from Guadeloupe.”

If you want to get really geeky, most of the rum here was sourced from Guyana (74%). The blend features a combination of pot still (48%), column still (39%) and pot/column still blends (13%). The rums here are both molasses- and cane-juice bases.

Infinity bottles tend to be more interesting in theory than in practice — at least when it comes to whiskey. There’s too much going on and the combination doesn’t always gel. Maybe rum is different? Let’s find out.

How it tastes: Coming in at 58% ABV, Infinity is a tropical melange of pineapple and banana with plenty of caramel, oak spice, vanilla and baking spices. The finish is dry with a hint of tobacco. It’s a rather cohesive and delicious spirit.

Fun fact: The most surprising distillery represented here is Epris, a Brazilian maker of cachaça, a sugarcane-based spirit. Epris has now rebranded as Purigran and only ferments and stills rice for vinegar and sake.

Where to buy: One hundred boxed sets of Holmes Cay Infinity will be available in mid-September, each one coming with a hardcover book that details each of the distilleries used in the cask. The MSRP for each set is $1,500. A limited number of 200ml bottles are available without the book and box for $300 MSRP.