February 21, 2016

Live from Cuba, Cuban rums

Indeed I’m on location today. No a bad place. Not sure I’ll manage to post more sessions in the coming days, but I’ll try. In the meantime, and since we’re in Cuba, let’s have some Cuban rums!

Caney 'Carta Blanca' (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

This baby was matured for three years in oak casks. Given the very pale colour, these casks were probably first used before Fidel. The distillery is located in Santiago de Cuba, while the sugarcanes are grown organically, which can’t be bad given all the scandals that are occurring in South-America these days (dying cane cutters). Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: very light, slightly earthy, with a touch of aniseed and perhaps melons. This baby’s totally innocuous, it seems, bit I do not detect any foul notes (obviously). Mouth: indeed, extremely light, but fair, not too sweetened, with again a little aniseed, fennel, lemon, and a good taste of sugarcane. Some fresh liquorice. Finish: short but clean, on aniseed and limoncello. A little honey in the aftertaste. Comments: frankly, I find this light rum better than most sugar-ridden dark South-Americans. Very pleasant freshness. SGP:440 - 72 points.

Legendario 'Añejo Blanco' (40%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

‘Nos gusta la vida’, says the brand. Legendario is one of the oldest Cuban brands and is owned by Cuban Beverages. It’s made in La Havana, and is now widely exported to Spain. This particular one is white rum but it’s actually 4 years old, and probably colour-filtered before bottling. Colour: white. Nose: another light one, but it’s got nice cane-y notes, some lime, touches of olives, brine, a little earth, and a touch of leather. Quite fresh globally, and even refreshing. Mouth: good mouth feel. Starts a little ‘all jumbled’, but the flavours are starting to fall into place after three or four seconds, with some sweet tangerine liqueur, some tinned pineapple, guavas, a touch of honey, and then more lime to keep it ‘nervous’. Once again, there’s a little aniseed as well, which hives it a pleasant kick. Finish: short, sweet, limy. The aniseed keeps singing. Blood oranges. Comments: really good, easy, rounded and sweet but never stuffy and cloying… And it goes down extremely well. Too well, perhaps. SGP:630 - 77 points.

Varadero 7 yo (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

An old brand made since the 19th century in the region of Santiago. Probably Spanish style, so quite sweet and molassy, let’s see… Colour: amber. Nose: not a lot. Caramel, molasses, chocolate, and return. A little coffee too after a few seconds, which works in this context. Gets a little nicer after ten minutes, with herbal tones. Parsley? Mouth: really sweet, sugary, caramely… Corn syrup, bags of candy sugar, coffee liqueur. Not quite my style, I liked the white ones much, much better. Finish: short. A cup of coffee with ten sugar cubes inside. Perhaps tracs of Cointreau or Grand-Marnier. Comments: in the style of the Venezuelan or Guatemalan rums, only a little better, in my humble opinion. SGP:620 - 65 points.

Caney 'Añejo Centuria' (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

Another Caney, this time an aged one. By the way, Caney Distillery was the place where the original Bacardis used to be distilled when they were still made in Cuba. Colour: amber. Nose: rather silent, the Varadero had more to tell us. Less caramely, though, which can’t be bad. Maple syrup, candy sugar… But other than that, almost nada. Not a nosing rum. Mouth: not bad! Sweet and fruity (pineapples, bananas, raisins) and slightly honeyed. More maple syrup, light molasses, corn whiskey… Finish: rather short but a little more cane-y, with a few herbal touches. Small ones. Comments: I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t too sweet, but I think the Carte Blanca was rather superior. SGP:520 - 70 points.

Vigia 18 yo ‘Gran Reserva’ (40%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

It seems that this is a fairly new brand from Destileria Santa Fe in San Juan de los Remedios, where they also make Ron Mulata, with a story related to Hemingway who used to live in a Cuban farm at La Finca Vigia. If it’s genuinely 18 years of age, well, that’s very old. Colour: amber. Nose: oh, nice. Some whiffs of fern, tobacco leaves, maraschino, old dry oloroso, raw cocoa… Some coconut too. This is really more complex than most other Cuban rums, in my opinion. Let’s only hope it’s not sugary… Mouth: not at all. I find this very good, complex, earthy, with more pipe tobacco, earl grey, a touch of salt, lovely cane-y notes, some honeydew, a touch of eucalyptus… Hey hey, it seems that we found a malternative in Cuba! The mouth feel isn’t big, but there is a body. Finish: medium, warming, on coffee liqueur and more tobacco. Always this salty touch in the aftertaste. Comments: really very good, in my opinion. Hemingway, of course! SGP:541 - 84 points.

We could not end this little Cuban session without a…

Havana Club ‘Añejo Especial’ (45%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

The best rum to make Cuba libre, according to the brand’s website. Yet, we’ll have it without any Coke if you don’t mind. It’s young rum, the older components being five years of age. It seems that they did a finishing in first fill bourbon wood, but I’m not 100% sure. By the way, the real Havana Club – so this - is a joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban government, while in the US, it’s Bacardi who’s selling other versions of HC made in Puerto Rico. Same story as with cigars, I suppose, and very stupid if you ask me. But booze and politics don’t blend well, so… Colour: amber. Nose: this one’s more ‘international’, with more toasted bread, pastries, fudge, apple pie, honey… In a way, it’s the Glenlivet of rum. Mouth: good, with some honey, maple syrup, vanilla, more toasts, chocolate, custard, candy sugar… Sadly, it tends to become a little too sugary for my taste, and the Vigia just kills it. Finish: rather short, sugary. Comments: I think the 7 yo is much, much better. And the older ones as well, of course. This one was very humble, and probably not meant to be a sipper. SGP:631 - 68 points.

Hasta luego a todo el mundo!

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