Reviewer: Tashtego
Distillery: Black Frost Distilling
Origin: New Ulm, Minnesota
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Bottle Count: Unstated (110 gallon batch)
ABV: 62.5%
Distilled: 2026
Base Material: Blackstrap molasses
Still: Copper column still
Aging specs: Unaged
Bottled: 2026
Nose: Bubblegum, lemon, SweeTARTS candy, barnyard, olive brine, marker
Palate: Citrus, olive, sugar cane, candy, raspberry sherbet
Finish: Caramel, tropical fruits
Independent bottler Mainland Rum focuses on American rums from the lower 48, and one of their first offerings is this Minnesota 125-proof unaged rum. While it’s unstated which distillery this rum hails from, the label lists geographic coordinates that correspond to New Ulm, MN and the home of Black Frost Distilling. Previously we reviewed their aged small batch rum, and now we have a high ester unaged expression to mark our second rum from the North Star State. As a native Minnesotan, I really never expected any interesting rums to come out of my home state (maybe a rhubarb rum or something?), but the folks at Black Frost are capable of making rums that feel like they’re right out of the tropics.
This isn’t a typical American rum. First we’ve got the yeast strain - S. pombe, which is commonly used as part of Jamaican rum production. Then we’ve got a long open wood fermentation that involves 40% fresh dunder. The result is something that tastes a lot more like something from Reunion Island than the Midwest.
The nose is a real feast - there’s a lot going on. It’s fruity and funky, like a good Jamaican rum, but also briny like an unaged cane juice rum. There’s a strong bubblegum note similar to an HERR from Reunion, and with that a bit of a barnyard horse blanket funk. It’s always interesting when you get that interplay between bubblegum and a faint manure smell. Totally unexpected, but not totally unpleasant. On the palate, this bottle calms down a bit. It’s still potent, though, and you get a lot of what you encountered on the nose: tart candy, citrus, olives. If those sound like they don’t go together, you’re right - I tend to pick up something different on each sip. There’s also a dark fruit component, which is fascinating for an unaged rum. There’s a tang from something like raspberry sherbet, or even plum cake. The mouthfeel is viscous and coats the tongue. And even at 125 proof, it’s still plenty sippable - and while I like it neat, it would make a killer daiquiri.
This bottle is a lot of fun. For Taste, I’ll give it a 4. Again, I’m shocked I like an American rum this much, and especially one a long way away from cane fields and the sea. For Haste, it’s also a 4. This is available to ship from the Mainland Rum site for just $36. That’s a steal for a bottle that gets you pretty close to the Savanna HERR taste profile, and at maybe a third the cost (and that’s if you can get your hands on any HERR to begin with!). This is a lot more complex and enjoyable than the other Black Frost bottle we reviewed, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else these guys have up their sleeve.
Taste/Haste Scale: 4 / 4
