Shellback Silver Rum Review

Lost in all the chaos of Christmas and New Years fun and foolery was a new rum we received called Shellback Rum. We hadn’t heard of the brand previously, but that’s because it’s relatively new to the scene. They’ve recently introduced themselves into the market offering an aged white rum and a complex spiced rum. For years, brand have tried to penetrate the market with a superior white rum that rivals Bacardi’s popularity, and equally to compete with a spice rum that rivals the loyalty of Captain Morgan fans. The funny thing is many have accomplished the goal of creating tastier, more complex rums in both categories, but outdoing their sales, that’s a whole other story.

Shellback Silver Rum is a crisp, clean-tasting rum for the sophisticated palate. Its floral overtones are layered with the suggestion of vanilla and tropical fruit to provide a sweet, smooth taste that’s just right for sipping or mixing in one of our signature cocktails.

One of the first things we did when receiving out package was go to their website to learn a bit about Shellback. First and foremost, awesome interactive website to get you interested in both their rums, and the story behind it. There you can take the “Journey of a Shellback”, explore the “History of Rum” itself, or take a dive into the rum making process . For those of you wondering, a Shellback is an old or experienced sailor, especially one who has crossed the equator. So the name, and the history fits in well with what we already often align rum and rum companies with, the Caribbean and sailing/pirate adventures. Oh and did we mention there is actually an online certificate you can fill out and present to yourself to become an honorary Shellback? You sure can, and ours is laminated and hanging on our wall with the rest of our mixology certifications. But I guess all of this really means nothing if the rum tastes like crap, am I right? So let’s see how the silver stacks up. We’ll save the spicy stuff for our next adventure.

Sourced from some of the finest Caribbean sugarcane, and blended with twelve spices and other natural flavors, Shellback is a modern rum for discerning palates.

First Impression: Typical bottle shape with a custom label that is just impressive enough for you to grab it off the shelf and see what it is. We opened this one up at room temperature to best release it’s flavor and aromas. Wow, lots of vanilla in this one. Imagine opening a bottle of Madagascar bourbon Vanilla and you would be where we are right now. Not necessarily a bad thing, as long as the flavor isn’t as overwhelming as the aroma, then things are fine. Lost in the vanilla we actually found notes of pineapple.

Taste: We were wondering if  the taste captured the vanilla flavor featured in its aroma, but not so overwhelmingly. In this case it was both smooth and blended well. In fact, the flavor left you feeling like this one was made for making rum & cokes. Nice notes of vanilla, with the addition of a few fruity notes such as pineapple make this one fun to try. That might be a bit of a turn off for some though considering its flavors won’t make it the best choice for some classics, (think daiquiri) like other “neutral” white rums. In fact it makes it more likely to be sipped neat or on ice because it has both the flavor and the quality to stand alone. You can always experiment with it in some island cocktails and see how it adds a different element to a drink you may already love. Overall, we loved it’s flavor.

Price: $16-$19 (750/ML)

Grade: B-

Final Word: Shellback silver has some potential  It’s definitely a more modern style rum that features flavors that make it more for sipping on its own, but also offers the ability to mix and re-imagine a few classic cocktails. We loved it in a rum punch recipe we use, and at the same time enjoyed it on ice all by itself.  Though it might scare some away, we would recommend this to anyone looking to try something both good and different and in the value price range.  For around the same price as many other well known brands, it can’t hurt to give it a shot. Is it the best in its category? No. Is it the worst? Absolutely not. Is it better than many out there? Yes.

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Shellback Silver Rum sample was provided courtesy of representatives of the brand. Photos were provuded courtesty of Shellback Rum. For more information including recipes, or where to purchase, visit their website at www.shellbackrum.com