January 19, 2014

Another bag of rum

We had quite some rum in 2013 and I think we'll have many again in 2014. What I'll do is keep these sessions a little 'varied' so that they do not get boring. Boring to me, that is. Today it's going to be a bunch of 12 yo rums at 40% vol.

Quorhum 12 yo (40%, Oliver & Oliver, Dominican Republic, +/-2013)

We had a 23 yo back in 2013 and thought it was fine but very sweet (WF 75) Colour: dark gold. Nose: nice nose, relatively petroly and with distinct notes of sugar cane, but you can 'smell' the sucrosity (molasses, burnt sugar, overripe bananas). It's also quite light. Mouth: very sweet, thick, this is hard for a whisky drinker. Sweeter than liqueurs, with a lot of caramel and vanilla. Cointreau, sultanas... Finish: quite long and sweet but I quite enjoy these touches of liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: certainly fine rum but nah, this is too sweet for me and it's hard to resist the urge to add a dozen ice cubes to make it fresher. Pass. SGP:830 - around 65 points.

Botran 12 yo 'Anejo Sistema Solera' (40%, OB, Guatemala, +/-2013)

Ex-American oak sherry wood. Colour: dark gold. Nose: a pretty similar style to that of the Quorhum but this Botran is a little drier, also with more herbs, a little mint and then whiffs of sawdust. So less 'sugary', it seems, and I also enjoy these notes of unripe bananas that come through as well as a few nuts. Macadamia? A little wood smoke too. Mouth: yes, this is more like it. No big distillate but it's better balanced and, above all, not sickly sweet. Too bad it tends to become a little disjointed, with some cardboardy oak and a feeling of bitter caramel. Some liquorice again. The body's a little light. Finish: quite short, with an unexpected saltiness. Comments: a light bodied South-American that doesn't play it too sugary. Good news. SGP:541 - around 70 points.

Tres Hombres 12 yo (40%, Rum&Co, Dominican Republic, +/-2013)

Colour: amber. Nose: we aren't far from the Quorhum 12 but this one's a little more restrained and kind of more elegant. Vanilla cake, some wood smoke, even touches of soot, burnt bread and then nice touches of fern, grass and even pine needles. There's something happening in this nose but it's all quite light. Mouth: much sweeter, liqueury, molassy, with a lot of cane syrup and, well, a lot of sugar. Some honey too. Not my style at all I'm afraid, too cloying. Finish: rather long and extremely sugary. Comments: I liked the nose but the palate doesn't work for me. Too sweet and too sugary again, a total anti-malternative. SGP:830 - around 60 points.

Cimborazo 12 yo (40%, OB, Ecuador, +/-2013)

Colour: deep amber. Nose: ha, this is pine resin! It's extremely terpenic, we aren't very far from fir honey and liqueur. Behind that, stewed fruits and caramel as well as overripe bananas. It's all a little strange, but not unpleasant... Mouth: there is a little honeydew again, but it's not as resinous as on the nose. There's also something of some sweet brandy, this baby actually reminds me of some of the Armenian brandies we had last year. It's certainly too sweet again but a least, some personality! Finish: medium length, with no some mint and liquorice. Oh, and fir liqueur... Comments: a funny one. I wouldn't quaff more than 2cl of this but hey, yeah, it's, like funny. SGP:750 - around 68 points.

Centenario 12 yo 'Gran Legado' (40%, OB, Costa Rica, +/-2013)

Colour: amber. Nose: some kind of smoked liquorice on caramel, maple syrup and toasted bread. Works pretty well, but there's maybe a little too much vanilla arising after just one minute. Mega-huge vanilla! Mouth: very sweet again, with a thick, sugary attack on bananas and coconut, then a lot of vanilla and honey again, all that with good yet lightish body. I do also find a little aniseed, ouzo-style. Serious! Finish: quite short, liquoricy. Comments: I find this one very acceptable, but once again it's rum that's rather too sweet. Duty, heavy duty... SGP:740 - around 70 points.

El Dorado 12 yo (40%, OB, Demerara, +/-2013)

A very well-know rum, it was about time we tried it. Colour: gold. Nose: immediately more complex than all the others, fresher as well, with some liquorice again but also a little tar, smokes, sugar cane, then more wood and vanilla as well as touches of caraway, aniseed and even fennel. I have to say this baby reminds of some bourbons but I just couldn't tell you which ones. Must be the oak. Mouth: a wee tad too sweet again at the attack, but we're more geared toward ultra-ripe fruits than plain sugar and caramel. Some kind of banana wine like they make in the Caribbean (there's a good one in Guadeloupe), cane syrup, pineapple... It's not got much petroly notes like the high-end Demeraras can have, but I do enjoy this. Finish: medium length, a notch too sugary this time. Comments: I'm sure rum drinkers love this. Whisky drinkers may find it very good, but a little too sweet again on the palate. Anyway, by far my favourite so far. SGP:740 - around 78 points.

Since we've had some El Dorado, we could as well go on with the 15 and the 21...

El Dorado 15 yo (43%, OB, Demerara, +/-2013)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: much, and I mean much more Demeraraness in this 15! That is to say more tar, more olives, more soot, more pitch, more diesel oil (sell, drops) and, above all, less 'dull' fruits. It's not that it's huge, it's that it's bigger than the 12 and, again, more on tarry and even phenolic notes. I guess they used more heavy ones in this vatting, which was a great idea. Mouth: sadly, there's this invading sweetness again, but on the other hand, the tarry and liquoricy notes manage to make up for that at times. But otherwise, it's too sweet for me. That disappoints me. Finish: not too long, sugary and fruitier. Arranged rum, pineapple juice... Comments: I had thought I could go much higher, but I think they add too much sweet 'stuff' to this combo. Quite a shame, the nose was almost perfect. SGP:741 - around 78 points.

El Dorado 21 yo 'Special Reserve' (43%, OB, Demerara, +/-2013)

Colour: very dark amber. Nose: less petroly and tarry again, so smoother and rounder, more on fruits and jams, blackberries, bananas, strawberries... It's all very aromatic. I also find quite some chocolate, a little coffee, more spices from the oak, certainly some cinnamon, touches of pencil shavings, then some menthol from the oak, some parley, lovage, humus... I find this very complex, but let's start to pray... Mouth: it is sweet for sure, but the spices tend to balance that. Honeydew, crème de banane, triple-sec, raisins, figs and, above all some oranges that bring more life to this thickish combination. But it remains a very liqueury rum. Finish: quite long, with some coffee liqueur, marmalade and... molasses. A little cumin in the aftertaste. Comments: no luck today, I must have already swallowed the equivalent of thirty sugar cubes. These El Dorados are simply not for me - and god knows I love my Demeraras. Well, there's Demerara and Demerara, it seems... Now, I'm sure it's perfect rum, if you like them sweet, so my score will be 'good'. SGP:730 - around 76 points.

Good, enough with commercial syrups for today, I think we'll call in the indie Italians, what do you think? Oh, and we'll stay in Guyana...

Port Mourant 37 yo 1975/2013 (49.9%, Silver Seal, Demerara, cask #2042, 159 bottles)

Colour: red mahogany. Nose: h.o.m.e.! I mean, this is as smoky, tarry and ashy as true heavy Demeraras can get. Superb notes of black olives, liquorice, soot, petrol, cigars, brine and, at the florists', orange blossom and peonies. Impeccable straight Port Mourant, and it's even elegant, especially with all this cigar smoke. With water: swims like a champ. Some kind of smoked all-fruit jam. Mouth (neat): heavily concentrated, very briny, with pickled gherkins and capers, then a lot of salted liquorice and a medicinal side that never stops growing. Heavy cough syrup. With water: becomes a little gentler. Chocolate, Corinth raisins, chestnut honey... A little black tea too, tannicity isn't far away. Finish: long, admirably balanced. Sweet spices and more liquorice in the aftertaste as well as honey, but the olives remain there as the main signature. Comments: on par with the superb Port Mourant 1975 that king of Demerara Velier had issued three or four years ago. SGP:652 - around 90 points.

Port Mourant 37 yo 1975/2013 (51.1%, Silver Seal, Demerara, cask #2050, 139 bottles)

Colour: dark mahogany. Nose: we're obviously very close to the sister cask, but this one is a tiny-we bit more on brine and olives, with also touches of banana skin. With water: I get more ripe pineapples. Almost rotting ones but that's all fine. Touches of passion fruits, also more earth. Mouth (neat): a little thicker and more oaky than it's bro, there are a few biting tannins as well as even more cough syrup. Barrel-aged salted cough medicine, I'd say. A lot of heavy liquorice too, as well as some marzipan. With water: superb but it's becoming a little drying. Black tea! Also more prunes than in the other. Finish: long, quite salty, tannic. Comments: absolutely marvellous, it's just that the sister cask was even more marvellous. SGP:652 - around 88 points.

Check the index of all Rums I've tasted so far