Thirsty Thursday Eve - Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum
Costco recently discontinued their “Original Spiced Rum” for a few months and brought it back as the simply named “Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum.” Is it the same thing in a different bottle? I had to find out.
Name: Kirkland Signature Spiced Rum
Source: Kirkland Signature
Style: Spiced Rum
ABV: 40%
Price: $16.99
Volume: 1.75L
Price per oz: $0.29
I used to love Costco’s spiced rum. I always kept a bottle on hand. It was super cheap and really good, with a high enough alcohol content to really pack a punch when you wanted to make a strong drink. And one of the really nice things was its availability. This isn’t one of those limited releases that you have to keep an eye out for before it gets bought up, or wait until something more expensive catches a rare sale. Every time I walked into the Costco liquor store, they had a full pallet of it, and the price was always the same. This is the type of consistency and dependability that I live for.
At least, it was. I went for my regular Costco liquor run on the first of May and the rum I expected to stock up on was missing. I was surprised and slightly irritated. Costco satisfies my need for regularly available quality wholesale products. This was none of the above. I mentioned it to the cashier, and she told me they hadn’t received any spiced rum in months. That was a little more alarming. Her theory was that they might be rebranding, and they should have it back in a few months.
What would I do if Costco stopped selling my favorite spiced rum? I mean, I could pick up Admiral Nelson’s or something, but it isn’t the same. I want my dirt cheap Costco rum. I decided to push that thought aside. If Costco had something they regularly sold large quantities of, would they really discontinue it permanently?
A little while later, I mentioned it to another cashier and he explained that they had a glass shortage. They didn’t have enough glass to manufacture everything, so they temporarily stopped selling less profitable products. That made a ton of sense. With such a cheap price, there was no way Costco made much money off each bottle of spiced rum sold. May as well stop that until they could get a better supply of glass and then resume production. The cashier further explained that they should have spiced rum back on the shelves in late summer or early fall. I was temporarily satisfied.
Every time I ran by Costco, I would at least step into the liquor store to see if they had spiced rum back whether I needed something or not. Finally, on August 5, I went in to grab a handle of American Vodka and found the spiced rum with a new bottle design and a new price. While I was disappointed with the small price bump, it was still absurdly affordable and I had to pick some up.
After I got home, I inspected the bottle and noticed a few differences. First, the proof has dropped from 92 to 80. It’s still in line with industry average for popular distilled spirits, but it is admittedly less alcohol. That comes through in the flavor, with a little less burn and a little more sweetness. Furthermore, the old bottle was “Original Spiced Rum,” where the new stuff is just “Spiced Rum.” I can’t say they anticipated changing the design when they first made it, but I also don’t have a clue what they meant by “original” before. Finally, the old rum was from St. Croix Island, while the new stuff is “made with rum distilled in Puerto Rico.” The phrasing on the new one sounds a little suspicious to me, but I know there’s a lot of legal requirements around descriptions and labels with alcohol, so I’m not reading too far into it.
I don’t have any bottles of the old rum left to do a side by side comparison, but it’s pretty obviously different even from my memory of the old stuff. Again, the new rum is much sweeter and has far less of a burn. Perhaps for some drinkers, that’s a good change. I would prefer the higher proof, but I also don’t hate the new taste. If you liked it before, you’ll probably still like it now, even if it does taste slightly different.
While I wanted the exact same rum for the exact same price, I realize that you can’t always get what you want. Inflation is a thing, and everything is more expensive now than it was a few years ago. Costco may have used the glass shortage to rebrand, reduce costs, and increase profits from that particular product. I can’t blame them for adapting to the market. They still sell a hotdog and drink for a dollar fifty, so really, I can’t be too mad.
After a terrifying period of unavailability, Costco has a new Kirkland branded Spiced Rum and it’s still pretty good for pretty cheap. If you like it, take advantage of it while you can. And maybe keep an extra bottle in the back of the cabinet in case they discontinue it again.
Source: Kirkland Signature
Style: Spiced Rum
ABV: 40%
Price: $16.99
Volume: 1.75L
Price per oz: $0.29
I used to love Costco’s spiced rum. I always kept a bottle on hand. It was super cheap and really good, with a high enough alcohol content to really pack a punch when you wanted to make a strong drink. And one of the really nice things was its availability. This isn’t one of those limited releases that you have to keep an eye out for before it gets bought up, or wait until something more expensive catches a rare sale. Every time I walked into the Costco liquor store, they had a full pallet of it, and the price was always the same. This is the type of consistency and dependability that I live for.
At least, it was. I went for my regular Costco liquor run on the first of May and the rum I expected to stock up on was missing. I was surprised and slightly irritated. Costco satisfies my need for regularly available quality wholesale products. This was none of the above. I mentioned it to the cashier, and she told me they hadn’t received any spiced rum in months. That was a little more alarming. Her theory was that they might be rebranding, and they should have it back in a few months.
What would I do if Costco stopped selling my favorite spiced rum? I mean, I could pick up Admiral Nelson’s or something, but it isn’t the same. I want my dirt cheap Costco rum. I decided to push that thought aside. If Costco had something they regularly sold large quantities of, would they really discontinue it permanently?
A little while later, I mentioned it to another cashier and he explained that they had a glass shortage. They didn’t have enough glass to manufacture everything, so they temporarily stopped selling less profitable products. That made a ton of sense. With such a cheap price, there was no way Costco made much money off each bottle of spiced rum sold. May as well stop that until they could get a better supply of glass and then resume production. The cashier further explained that they should have spiced rum back on the shelves in late summer or early fall. I was temporarily satisfied.
Every time I ran by Costco, I would at least step into the liquor store to see if they had spiced rum back whether I needed something or not. Finally, on August 5, I went in to grab a handle of American Vodka and found the spiced rum with a new bottle design and a new price. While I was disappointed with the small price bump, it was still absurdly affordable and I had to pick some up.
After I got home, I inspected the bottle and noticed a few differences. First, the proof has dropped from 92 to 80. It’s still in line with industry average for popular distilled spirits, but it is admittedly less alcohol. That comes through in the flavor, with a little less burn and a little more sweetness. Furthermore, the old bottle was “Original Spiced Rum,” where the new stuff is just “Spiced Rum.” I can’t say they anticipated changing the design when they first made it, but I also don’t have a clue what they meant by “original” before. Finally, the old rum was from St. Croix Island, while the new stuff is “made with rum distilled in Puerto Rico.” The phrasing on the new one sounds a little suspicious to me, but I know there’s a lot of legal requirements around descriptions and labels with alcohol, so I’m not reading too far into it.
I don’t have any bottles of the old rum left to do a side by side comparison, but it’s pretty obviously different even from my memory of the old stuff. Again, the new rum is much sweeter and has far less of a burn. Perhaps for some drinkers, that’s a good change. I would prefer the higher proof, but I also don’t hate the new taste. If you liked it before, you’ll probably still like it now, even if it does taste slightly different.
While I wanted the exact same rum for the exact same price, I realize that you can’t always get what you want. Inflation is a thing, and everything is more expensive now than it was a few years ago. Costco may have used the glass shortage to rebrand, reduce costs, and increase profits from that particular product. I can’t blame them for adapting to the market. They still sell a hotdog and drink for a dollar fifty, so really, I can’t be too mad.
After a terrifying period of unavailability, Costco has a new Kirkland branded Spiced Rum and it’s still pretty good for pretty cheap. If you like it, take advantage of it while you can. And maybe keep an extra bottle in the back of the cabinet in case they discontinue it again.
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