June 28, 2015

Sunday malternatives,
French Caribbean part 2

We’re going on with our rhums from the French Caribbean. Last time we ended our session with an excellent Saint James from Martinique, and today, that’ll be a strange ‘Scottish’ HSE…

HSE 2005/2013 (44%, OB, Martinique, Agricole, Highland finish)

This odd baby was finished in Scottish Highlands malt whisky wood (which, in turn, may have been finished in Martiniquan rhum wood… I’m joking!) HSE stands for Habitation Saint Etienne, a very pushy brand these days. We haven’t got anything against that! Colour: full gold. Nose: rumsky? This baby has lost a part of its tropicalness, and at times, we’re almost closer to some sweet Speysider ala Balvenie or Benriach. Vanilla, plums, acacia honey, apricots, a touch of wood smoke… It’s a bit disconcerting, had I nosed this blind, I may have said ‘Speyside’! And it’s ‘nice’… Mouth: the sugarcane speaks out, and even if this a tad too rounded and ‘easy’, I have to say they did a marvellous job with this. Vanilla, oranges, honey, sweet oak, a touch of coriander, a tiny-wee-bit of half a tiny olive, a pinch of salt… This has been perfectly crafted. Would beat many a Scotch, especially because the distillate was obviously bigger and more ‘expressive’ than grains. Yup, even barley. Finish: rather long, with a saltiness that comes to the front. Love the herbal teas (including mint) and olives in the aftertaste. Comments: quite something. I had thought it would be an unlikely spirity nightmare, and just ‘an idea by some crazy marketing guy on cocaine’. Not at all, this is almost a new category. Take notice! SGP:562 - 86 points.

Now. NOW!...

HSE 2005/2013 (44%, OB, Martinique, Agricole, Islay finish)

Finished in Islay wood ‘from Ian McLeod’s’. It’s true that these cross-category spirits can be funny, but we all know that peat is a rather invasive thing that can destabilize the strongest distillate. Anybody having taken a blending course knows that. Unless, unless, this is not peater… Colour: gold. Nose: not a peater? You must be joking! But how they managed to keep this thing balanced is a mystery. Imagine ripe bananas eaten on a fisherman’s boat, somewhere between Islay and Ireland. Or Islay scallops flambéed with old rum. Or Loch Gruinart oysters seasoned with sugarcane juice. Or, indeed, wild thyme in brine and salty liquorice. Not feeling too well? You should, this works extremely well, because their master-of-I-don’t-know-what did it well. Loud applause. Mouth: I’m not extremely fond of this vanilla-ed arrival that shouts ‘Kentucky!’, but other than that, indeed, this is a new category. Not whisky, not quite rum, something that sits right between those two megastars… Really, the guy who made this must have been Led Zeppelin’s sound engineer in a former life. Finish: maybe a little too much candy sugar (splitting hairs again) and probably a little too much peat (say a 1:10 ratio, just a wild guess), but otherwise, I find this excellent. Adds freshness to a great rum. Sorry, rhum. Love the very salty aftertaste. Comments: you know what? Rhum finished in malt whisky seems to work better than malt whisky finished in rum. Maybe because a bigger distillate just cannot lose control. Whisky lovers, try this funny thing! SGP:454 - 88 points (yup, the peat’s really big, whether the cask was rinsed is another story – and we don’t care).

That was some start, I’m not sure we should go one with some ‘average’ rhum agricole… But I may have an idea…

Domaine de Courcelles 1972/2014 (47%, 'OB', Guadeloupe, Rumhouse Switzerland)

You may know about this story, a very old distillery, closed for good a long time ago, some stocks being bought by a private entity, some casks sold to other private entities… And several bottlings that pop out of nowhere every two years, at various strengths. We’ve already tried a few, and liked them all, more or less. But it’s old rhum, you never know… Oh and it’s traditional, not agricole. So from molasses. Colour: deep gold. Nose: ooh, aah! It is extremely aromatic, and reeks of a warm mirabelle pie covered with acacia honey and cinnamon. Are you hungry yet? I also find whiffs of old roses, grandma’s perfume, old fur coat, rose-flavoured Turkish delights and barley sugar. Yes, barley sugar. And perhaps roasted almonds. And cinnamon cake. It is fabulously aromatic, complex, and old-perfume-like. I also find some fudge (how mundane!) Mouth: picks it up with this cinnamon cake – and not just one thin slice – and goes on with other kinds of cakes, a drop of stone berry eau-de-vie (say sorb tree, whatever, it is an almondy spirit), a little bitter orange, a drop of ginger liqueur, and many very tiny herbal and spicy touches. Something Chinese, I’d say, between anise and prunes. Finish: quite long, never oaky, sweet, honeyed, cinamonny. Comments: it’s exceptional old rhum. The strength is perfect. The complexity is astounding. And it goes down so well… Michelangelo’s own booze (and after having quaffed a large measure, he did the Sistine Chapel). SGP:642 - 91 points.

Good, trying to find a better one is impossible. Let’s choose one at random… Eenie meenie…

Bally

J. Bally 6 ans 'Plantation Lajus du Carbet' (45%, OB, 75cl, +/-1960?)

I’m sorry, the picture doesn’t quite fit, but that’s the idea. An old bottle of legendary plantation Bally, straight from Italy, with flying colours and extreme Italo-Frenchness. Colour: red amber. Nose: old bicycle inner tube, old tin boxes, stale tea, old papers, soldier’s gabardine… You got it, something may have gone wrong here. Having said that, there is a feeling of very old red Bourgogne that’s nothing but lovely. Lunch at your grand-grandma’s, around 1970 indeed. On a Sunday. Flies fly and old waxes shine out… Arr, excuse me. Mouth: you see, with old spirits, you sometimes have to intellectualise things, beyond flavours and bodies. Because even if this is a little flat (tish) and metallic, it’s still glowing, and refuses to die (you won’t get paid for this, S.) ‘Old wines’ is the key expression, and even if some parts are unfolding like a butterfly leaving its chrysalis (okay, you’re fired, S.), it is frustrating. Like catching a Rolling Stone gig just after Brown Sugar (girls would say ‘Angie’). Oh whatever… Finish: surprise surprise, it really isn’t dead. And it’s got this OBE that is to be found in old bottles of whiskies, between metal and old waxy papers. Comments: yet another useless review, as nobody will ever find this bottle again. Well, you never know… but remember, always check the levels! SGP:352 - 85 points.

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

Sunday malternatives, French Caribbean part 2

Sunday malternatives,
French Caribbean part 2