Solar Reserve 8

SR8 is our 46% single-origin Dominican Republic rum, made from locally grown fresh sugarcane juice.

It is column distilled and then tropically aged for a full eight years in ex-bourbon American oak in the Dominican Republic.

One origin. Eight tropical years. Nothing unnecessary added.

Yes.

Eight full years of tropical maturation in the Dominican Republic.

No averaging things out. No creative age statements.

Eight years means eight years.

Yes.

SR8 begins with fresh juice pressed from locally grown Dominican sugarcane.

That gives us a different starting point to more traditional molasses-based rums and contributes to SR8’s fruitier, fresher character.

The sugarcane is grown locally in the Dominican Republic, close to where the rum itself is produced.

That relationship between cane, place and distillery matters to us.

Rum should taste like it comes from somewhere.

It means SR8 comes entirely from one country of origin — the Dominican Republic.

Rather than blending rums from several countries, SR8 lets us focus on one style of spirit, one place and one long period of tropical ageing.

SR8 is column distilled from fresh sugarcane juice.

Column distillation creates a cleaner, elegant spirit which then develops depth and richness during eight years in oak.

Where SR55 is about blending different styles together, SR8 is about giving one beautifully mature style centre stage.

Quite a lot.

Warm Caribbean temperatures create plenty of interaction between rum and oak.

Over eight years, SR8 develops layers of mango, caramel, vanilla, coconut, hazelnut, spice and mellow oak.

The warmer climate also means considerably more spirit is lost to evaporation along the way.

Eight tropical years are eight hard-working years.

Once a bourbon barrel has finished its first job in America, there is still plenty of flavour left in the oak.

Ex-bourbon American oak naturally contributes notes of vanilla, caramel, coconut, toasted wood and spice.

Exactly the sort of flavours that work beautifully with aged rum.

You can certainly think of SR8 as a premium aged dark rum, although we prefer talking about what’s actually inside the bottle rather than judging rum purely by colour.

SR8 is a genuine eight-year-old rum and we don’t add caramel colouring simply to make it look darker.

Definitely.

Pour it neat first and give it a little time in the glass.

Expect mango, toffee, caramel, coconut, hazelnut, vanilla, spice and oak.

A large cube of ice works beautifully too.

Not quite.

SR8 is made from fresh sugarcane juice, which gives it something in common with cane-juice rum traditions, but we don’t describe it as rhum agricole.

It is very much a Dominican Republic cane-juice rum with its own identity and style.

Very.

Eight years in ex-bourbon oak, 46% ABV and flavours of vanilla, caramel, toasted oak, tropical fruit and spice give whisky drinkers plenty of familiar territory.

A Rum Old Fashioned is a very good place to start.