| |
Home
Thousands of tastings,
all the music,
all the rambligs
and all the fun
(hopefully!)
Whiskyfun.com
Guaranteed ad-free
copyright 2002-2015
|
 |
|
| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
| |
|
| |
| |
August 9, 2015 |
|
  |
Sunday malternatives,
old old and old young rums |
We’ll rather focus on older bottlings today, for a change. Should be interesting… |
|
King of Diamonds 'Fruit Cured' (no ABV, OB, Demerara, 75cl, 1970s)  I couldn’t tell you if the ‘Diamonds’ part was a reference to Diamond Distillery in Georgetown, Guyana. Apparently, this was cheapish local rum made for locals – and for mixing. Curing rum with fruits was customary, and some might still do it, sometimes without telling us. Colour: gold. Nose: very light, a little cardboardy, without much fruitiness as it appears. Hay, drops of engine oil, banana skins and a little vanilla, as well as a few fermenting fruits, perhaps, but all that is extremely discreet. Mouth: more happening, and indeed one can find the fruits, around guavas and papayas, perhaps, as well as bananas. Reminds me of those tinned fruit juices they make in… Thailand. 50% fruit juice, 30% water, 20% sugar. Thinnish body, but there’s rather more happening than on the nose. Tends to lose steam very quickly. Finish: short, and a little dirty-ish and cardboardy. Some sugar in the aftertaste, as well as something like… tinned fish? Mackerel? Comments: a light rum that was probably not meant to be sipped and savoured. For tropical cocktails? I did quite enjoy the arrival on the palate of this proto-El Dorado, but that’s all. SGP:320 - 65 points. |
|
Rhum Saint Andrew (45%, Fratelli Branca, Italy, 1l, 1939)  Pre-WWII rhum, so most probably from the French West Indies, bottled in Italy by the famous Branca family, of Fernet-Branca fame. Lovely bottle, very dark colour! Colour: coffee. And I mean Italian espresso! Nose: rich, packed with spicy and polished oak and crammed with stewed dark fruits and candy sugar. A lot of burnt sugar and caramel, but its not exactly caramelly. I also find touches of caraway, nutmeg, cinnamon cake, brownie, blueberry pie... And coffee indeed. Dark style rhum, but not of the ‘navy’ style at all. Mouth: that someone would’ve added brandy to this wouldn’t surprise me. Very raisiny arrival, with also prunes, then muscovado sugar, Corinthian raisins, mocha and black chocolate. You may add a slice of Christmas cake, and in a way, we’re a bit in Macallan Gran Reserva territories. High quality ‘sherried’ rhum. Hey, yeah, haven’t they added sherry? Finish: medium, rather dry. Unsweetened coffee, old walnuts, bitter chocolate, burnt caramel. The aftertaste is faintly drying. Comments: what’s sure is that this was rhum of high quality, perhaps not agricole having said that, and perhaps not ‘only rhum’… But quality’s pretty high, no doubt about that. SGP:352 - 82 points. |
While we were in the French Indies… |
|
Barbancourt 15 yo 'Réserve du Domaine' (43%, OB, Haiti, +/-1985)  This is old-style Barbancourt, made with Charentais stills (cognac type) instead of the current column stills, which means that it was probably fatter spirit than anything distilled after 1990, let’s see… Colour: dark mahogany. Nose: there are these whiffs of fermenting vegetables and fruits that are so pleasant at first nosing, before a richer, more pipe-tobacco-ish profile appears. I also find quite a lot of old rancio, old Banyuls, perhaps a little Pedro Ximenez, walnut wine… And yet, it’s no thick rum at all, I even find it a little… ethereal? Mouth: no, I was wrong indeed, this is no thick rum, but it does display a fair share of complexity and elegance. Coffee, peach liqueur, maple syrup, walnut wine again and again, chocolate, dark toffee… There is a feeling of coffee-schnapps, and everything works in sync. Definitely a sipper. Finish: medium, with coffee and liquorice, then walnuts and rancio. Pecan pie. He aftertaste is long but thin. Liqueur-filled chocolates. Comments: absolutely excellent, just a wee bit thin at times – although it’s no thin rum at all. SGP:452 - 84 points. |
While we’re at Barbancourt… |
|
Barbancourt 25 yo 'Réserve Veronelli' (43%, OB, Haiti, for Italy, 1,196 bottles, 1977)  Veronelli is a name that rings a bell in the world of whisky, since that Italian gentleman also used to select great old whiskies, such as a Bruichladdich 1966 via Moon Import (WF 91). This was distilled in the early 1950s, or maybe even before. Colour: red mahogany. Nose: this one’s rich, fruity, jammy, and full of… black cherries. At times, you would think this is oak-aged Burgundian guignolet (cherry liqueur) but sugarcane, candy sugar, bananas flambéed, molasses, almond oils, marzipan and, yes, Fernet-Branca are soon to come to the rescue. And roasted chestnuts! Lovely ‘dark’ nose, full of depth. Mouth: sweet, extremely raisiny, some would call it ‘a little armagnacqy’. In a good way, of course, despite an obvious tannicity. It may have been a style that early lovers of dark spirits used to favour, but to me it does feel a notch ‘out of fashion’. In short, a lot of candy sugar, quite a lot of burnt oak, and a good dose of coffee. Or better yet, coffee liqueur ala Kahlua or Tia Maria. But it’s very good, just a little ‘antique’. Finish: medium, molassy, rich, sherried (-like), burnt in a good way. Drops of lapsang souchong in the aftertaste, as well as orange marmalade and perhaps mango jam. Comments: we know some recent brands that are trying to fake this rich style, don’t we. SGP:551 - 87 points. |
|
Nicholson Trinidad (42.8%, J&W Nicholson London, +/-1970) When I write 42.8%, that’s rather 42.8 GL, so Gay-Lussac, so almost 43% vol. Let’s see if this old merchant’s Trinidadian could be a Caroni… Colour: amber. Nose: ah yes, these very typical and topical grassy and phenolic notes are well there at first nosing, but we’re rather around bicycle inner tube and almond milk than plain engine oil and olives. Plus cardboard and sawn wood. The fact is that that was just a flash, as the whole becomes much lighter after just three seconds. Lighter, but still lively and much to my liking, like a great old dry white Bordeaux. Mouth: no, it sill roars, with this roughish, phenolic, liquorice, salty and briny style. Some menthol, smoked tea, black and green olives, grass wine (yes), sugarcane, smoked kippers, tar, liquorice… Finish: perhaps not ‘Caroni long’, but always with these salty, smoky, sappy notes. A touch of rubber again. Comments: so, Caroni or not Caroni? It’s lighter than a heavy Caroni, and heavier than a light Caroni. Maybe was it a blend of both styles? SGP:463 - 85 points. |
I agree, there’s only one way to find out… |
|
Caroni 16 yo 1997/2013 (52%, Barangai Rum, Trinidad, Pellegrini, Italy, sherry casks, 696 bottles) Colour: dark gold. Nose: starts a little strange, perhaps a little acetic? But that goes well with the notes of dried fish, wood stain, chestnuts, black olives and then praline, cake, dried figs, even raisins… What’s sure is that it’s a rather smoother and rounder expression of Caroni, and that may be the sherry cask. But it’s still more expressive than the Nicholson, although I think we’re well within the same family. With water: benzine! Carbon paper! Wet paint! Carbolinium! Caroni! Mouth (neat): exactly the same feeling, some kind of tajine, with raisins and olives, smoked meat (not lamb though) and a little honeydew. The background’s more ‘heavy’ though, with tar and salmiak. With water: once again the phenolic side comes out. Fir liqueur, oils, putty, almonds, salt, citrons… Finish: not the longest Caroni ever, with some roundness to it. Can you smoke dates (so to speak – ha) and figs? Comments: I tend to prefer harsher, even bigger Caronis, but this one’s just very lovely as well. SGP:563 - 87 points. |
(thanks to Christophe and the Rumaniacs!) |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
