Hamilton White Stache Rum 1L
Hamilton White Stache Rum is a 1L white rum at 43.5% ABV — 87 proof, the "87 White 'Stache." Ed Hamilton created it to recreate the aged, carbon-filtered white rums he drank over 20 years sailing the West Indies: the bulk is aged rum from Trinidad, blended with molasses distillates from Guyana and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, carbon-filtered back to clear so the oak flavour stays while the colour goes. At Five & 20 Distillery in Westfield, New York, the blend is diluted slowly over five days with filtered well water — with no flavours, sugar or glycerine added. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 43.5% (87 proof)
- Size: 1L
- Blend: Aged Trinidad rum (bulk) + molasses distillates from Guyana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (official)
- Style: Aged rum carbon-filtered to clear; a slight coconut note from the American oak it aged in
- Finishing: Diluted over 5 days at Five & 20 Distillery, NY; no flavours, sugar or glycerine (official)
The Aged White Rum From Hamilton's Sailing Years
Trinidad stopped growing sugar cane commercially in 2001, and the filtered aged whites Hamilton drank while living aboard in the West Indies disappeared with that era — so he rebuilt one: tropics-aged rum, filtered clear, bottled a notch above standard proof because bartenders did not want another 80-proof white. Browse his range on the Hamilton vendor page or see more rum.
Tasting Notes
Hamilton's own notes: a touch of ethanol on opening that gives way, after a minute's air, to ripe papaya, banana and coconut; more tropical fruit and coconut through the body; a slight vanilla note in the finish.
How to Enjoy
Hamilton drinks it in Daiquiris and swizzles with a dash of bitters. It is the premium white for cocktails that call for one — though he notes it is no substitute for rhum agricole in a Ti' Punch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a white rum be aged? The blend is aged in oak in the tropics, then carbon-filtered back to clear — the colour is removed, the aged flavour is not.
What is in the blend? Mostly aged Trinidad rum, with molasses distillates from Guyana and the Dominican Republic. No distilleries are named by the producer.
Is anything added? No — Hamilton states nothing else is in the bottle: no flavours, sugar or glycerine.
An aged white with its flavour intact — order Hamilton White Stache online at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.