Parlay British Rum Review

Travel Distilled reviews the new Parlay Ultra Black British Rum, made in Cambridgeshire with the spirit of the Caribbean.

British rum? It doesn’t sound right but that doesn’t matter because boy, does it taste right. The distillery is in Cambridgeshire rather than the Caribbean, but when it produces rum like this I couldn’t care where it is.

Parlay is described as an Ultra Black British Rum, and the clear bottle shows just how black it is. There’s a classy black and gold label, and the rum comes in 50cl bottles so it looks small and equally classy on the shelf.

The Story behind Parlay British Rum

The man behind Parlay, Craig Smith, has ten years’ experience in the bar and spirits business. He was enchanted by the romance of pirates, and of the Caribbean, so it was a natural step for him to dream of producing his own rum. He got together with Master Distiller John Walters of the English Spirit Distillery in exotic Essex and together they cooked up the taste that Craig Smith was after.

Parlay British Rum Review

I do have a sweet tooth but very often don’t like the saccharine-sweet nature of some artificially-flavoured spirits. That’s not the case here. One sniff of the black rum and you get a natural sweetness, of treacle and molasses and some liquorice and vanilla too. It’s a lovely, rich aroma, which definitely transported me to the Caribbean.

The scent of the rum really sets you up for the first mouthful, and that doesn’t disappoint. Everything that was on the nose is there on the tongue as well, especially the liquorice, which I love, and the rum has a delightful mouth-feel. It’s triple-distilled and infused with raisins, tangerines, vanilla and cherries, so inside that treacly sweetness you’ve got fruit flavours floating about too – and all natural.

My verdict on Parlay is that I would class it as what I call a dangerous drink. It’s so delicious, one glass is not enough, and although it’s 40% ABV it’s one of those deceptive drinks that slips down easily. And before you know it…

What Does Parlay Mean?

I’m not altogether sure I understand what the word Parlay means, but this is what it says on the Parlay website:

In 1650 the Golden Age of Piracy, the term “parlay”, as written in the Pirata Codex, was known as a right set down by Morgan and Bartholomew in creating the Code of the Pirate Brethren. Parlays generally ended successfully, but often pirates, would bend the rules of the Code as “guidelines” to uphold their own ambitions.

I think it means pirates would get together and sort out their differences over a bottle of rum, although if it was that easy we wouldn’t have four Pirates of the Caribbean films, would we?

A parlay is also a kind of bet, of course, and I’m sure Craig Smith must have had that in mind when he was gambling on launching a British rum. But with a rum of this quality, it’s much less of a gamble and the odds on success must be stacked in his favour!