The Dead Reckoning Antigua began its journey at the Antigua Distillery in English Harbour – the home of the famed English Harbour Rum. Distilled from a fermented molasses wash, the spirit ran through the distillery’s uniquely constructed 100% copper column stills (right down to the nuts and bolts). These stills produce an exceptionally clean, ultra‑refined spirit, coming off at an impressive 95% purity.
After distillation, the spirit was first aged for 2 years in Antigua in an ex-bourbon barrel before being sent to S.A. where it was lovingly transferred into a 60 year old Pedro Ximenez cask for one year, then (as if that wasn’t enough love for one cask of rum) back into a fresh ex-Makers Mark American-oak barrel and then left for four more years to age in the dry Adelaide climate. A total of 7 years in wood.
The rum itself has lived a life worthy of the Dead Reckoning name. It spent two full years ageing in the Caribbean, soaking up tropical heat and humidity before making the long journey to Adelaide. There, it endured five more years of dry ageing – a brutal, low‑humidity environment where the angels take more than their fair share and the rum that remains becomes concentrated, muscular, and intensely expressive. Ageing rum in South Australia isn’t a passive process. It’s a battle. A negotiation. Justin checked this cask constantly, ensuring the spirit evolved without losing its Antigua soul. This is rum shaped by weather, geography, and relentless human oversight.
Then came the gamble: a secondary maturation in a Spanish PX fortified wine cask. PX is powerful. PX is sticky. PX can overwhelm a rum in a heartbeat. But Justin didn’t just roll the dice – he monitored the cask obsessively, ensuring the fortified wine added depth, not dominance. The result is a beautifully judged balance between the structure of bourbon cask ageing, the lush sweetness of PX, and the bright, unmistakable character of Antigua rum. Nothing is lost. Everything is elevated.
700 ml      53% abv