It takes dedication to be a successful rum hunter. Before I ever started hunting for dusty treasures, I began building an extensive personal rum archive. Over the past fifteen years I have spent thousands of hours researching rum history, brand histories and label histories.

I have poured over newspaper and magazine archives, sourced copies of vintage rum and cocktail books, read hundreds of rum-related websites and spent countless late nights scouring the internet doing research.

Building an extensive knowledge helps me easily recognize brands, date labels, and approximate value for numerous rums. I often use my extensive research to create brand/label quick reference charts. These charts help me easily and quickly date different rum labels.

I recently created a chart tracking the history of Mount Gay’s Extra Old Rum from it’s 1992 origins. I thought I would share it with others.

Note: Some dates are my best educated estimates.