Banks 7 Golden Blend

The purpose of the first voyage of James Cook (1768-71) was to record the transit of Venus across the Sun. Measurements were conducted synchronously in many other parts of the globe, although the involved scientists came from the warring nations that had just ended the bloody struggle of the Seven Years' War.

Joseph Banks inherited the fortune at the age of twenty-one. He paid the admiralty for the opportunity to participate in Cook's expedition the equivalent of today's £1,800,000. He collected an extensive collection of plant species and thus contributed significantly to the development of botany. He chaired the Royal Society for decades and wholeheartedly fostered interchange with scientists of other nations. He made his private, unique collections open to anyone interested. The heart grows as purity of intentions, widespread and easy access to data and openness for dialogue are still actual in the world of science, right? 🥼

Brand Banks, which picked the famous botanist as the brand's patron, was established in 2008 and sees its uniqueness in the multitude of components or more accurately in the multitude of the origin countries. Each country is intended to represent an original style that Banks composes into a unique blend. However, to be honest, rums are imported, blended and bottled by E&A Scheer. In Amsterdam and on commission. Furthermore, recently Bacardi acquired Banks (2015) and E&A Scheer became the property of The Riverside Company (2019).

The seven on the bottle isn't an age declaration. It's a sum of the rum's countries of origin. Seven countries, eight distilleries, twenty-three components. Previously, as Banks was still on it's own, you could find following description on the website:

Banks® 7 Island Blend Golden Rum gets its backbone from Trinidad, its complexity from Jamaica, its zest from Guyana, its spice from Barbados, and its unique exotic aroma and exceptionally long finish from Javanese rum Batavia Arrack. The high altitude sugar cane yields from Guatemala give Banks® 7 Island Blend Golden Rum its aromas of toasted nuts, and Panama adds a classic dry flavour profile with a hint of wood.

Sadly, little more is known. Well, sir, trade secret. One can only deduce that Trinidad's components come from Angostura and the Guyana's ones from Demerara Distillers. Exotic indeed is the Javanese arrack, made from cane molasses and red rice. E&A Scheer doesn't age rums in Amsterdam so the components only know the barrel from their country of origin. Rather short, up to three years.