
October 16, 2016

Looking for caney malternatives again

Yesterday (at time of writing) I said to myself, if it’s sunny tomorrow I’ll do rum, if it rains I’ll do armagnac. Well, it seems that we‘re having an Indian summer over Alsace… And a little randomness can do no harm either!

Appleton 12 yo (43%, OB, Jamaica, +/-2016)

I believe this is a pretty new expression in France. Colour: gold. Nose: typical, half-tarry and phenolic (as they know how to make in Jamaica) and half rounder and smoother, with an overall profile that does hint as some Martiniquan agricoles, even if the processes are not similar (molasses vs. cane juice, pot stills vs. columns). A touch of smoke and liquorice. Very fine nose. Mouth: more on the fruity side this time, with pineapples and papayas, then rather citrus. It’s also a little oak-forward, with some acridness in the background. Nothing too embarrassing, having said that. Ice notes of raw cane juice. Finish: medium, but this time there’s olives, which we always enjoy at WF Towers. Comments: the oak’s a little too prominent for me, but other than that, I do enjoy this little baby. SGP:541 - 80 points.

Père Labat ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ (42%, OB, Marie-Galante, 2016)

Père Labat is pretty craft, and I’m a sucker for their whites. Father Labat was, in a way, the Dom Pérignon of rhum agricole. The rhum Père Labat is made at Distilleris Poisson. Btw if you sometimes see it described as a ‘Guadeloupe’, remember the wmall island of Marie-Galante actually belongs to La Guadeloupe. Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical agricole ambré, that is to say aged but pretty young, a bit like the tequilas reposado. And by the way, there are hints of agave, violets, then pure cane juice, liquorice, a touch of rye, and whiffs of mushrooms. Great nose, pretty singular. Mouth: a tad sweet for Labat, and perhaps a little ‘sawdusty’, I don’t find a lot of fullness here. Curious notes of tinned pineapples from last week. I’m not a huge fan this time, I’m afraid. Finish: a little short, a little dusty/grassy. Comments: tastes a bit like some very good white that’s been given oak chips for a one week. Although I highly doubt they would do that. SGP:550 - 73 points.

Pacto Navio (40%, OB, Cuba, 2016)

Another new mutant rum, with no age, a story long like an arm, and a retro ‘Stranger & Stranger’ label that’s made to let punters believe the brand had always been there. It’s actually Havana Club juice from San José distillery, finished in Sauternes wood. Sounds very ‘Diplomatico, but it may be better than Diplomatico (which, granted, ain’t such an achievement). Colour: gold. Nose: very light, very Havana Club, with bananas and dandelions, then a little fudge and mirabelles, perhaps from the Sauternes. Really extremely light. Mouth: sweet – they may have added around 20g/l of sugar – and rather honeyed. Not bad, you just won’t remember it forever. Hints of fruitcake. Finish: short, and rather raisiny. Perhaps the Sauternes again. Some coconut in the aftertaste. Bah… Comments: not bad at all, just pretty innocuous. Better than many other new rums with stories anyway. SGP:640 - 75 points.

Bielle 2005/2015 (45%, OB, Marie-Galante)

A very high reputation, but I find 135 to 190€ for some 10 yo rum rather steep. This is, of course, agricole, and it’s classified as coming from… let’s see if you’re following… that’s right, Gualedoupe. Colour: gold. Nose: yeah, it’s expensive, but this nose is brilliant, as expected. Metal polish and tropical fruits, touches of soft curry, linseed oil, liquorice wood, a little camphor, sandalwood, moisturiser, more liquorice… How complex! Mouth: a tad more disjointed, perhaps, but it bursts with all kinds of liquorice, plus a coastal side, tar, samphires, fruits starting to rot (which is lovely in rum!)… It’s just a wee tad oaky, a problem that already found in the youngish Labat. Finish: quite long, perhaps a little tannic and gritty (same comments). Comments: simply high class. Worth even more points if it had been a little less tannic. SGP:562 - 85 points.

Back to Jamaica…

Monymusk 12 yo 2003/2016 (46%, Berry Bros & Rudd for LMdW, Jamaica, 180 bottles)

Monymusk 12 yo 2003/2016 (55.4%, Berry Bros & Rudd for LMdW, Jamaica, 180 bottles)

Pot still rum from Clarendon/Monymusk. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s a phenolic and dirty one at first nosing (rotten olives and industrial mud, just what we like), but it gets then cleaner, superbly limy and briny. Seawater, lemon juice, and engine oil. Kippers. In my opinion, this Monymusk is closer to Hampden or Worthy Park than other Monymusks, but then again, I haven’t tasted hundreds of them. Mouth: so good! A true Laphroaig of rum, with bags of seaweed, green olives, oysters, petrol, tar, green pepper… And there’s even quite some wood in the background, but that doesn’t quite feel like oak. Eucalyptus? Thuja? Finish: long, superbly chiselled, perfectly rubbery (coz there’s good rubber and bad rubber in my simple world), with a perfect everlasting bitter aftertaste. Cynar, artichokes and stuff. Comments: Islay fans, scramble, scramble! Well done BBR and LMdW. SGP:373 - 89 points.

A last one, let’s make it potentially excellent…

Hampden 23 yo 1992/2016 (50%, Silver Seal, Jamaica, cask #17, 248 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: same family as the Monymusk, only even more extreme. A big fat phenolic rum, with some kind of mentholy all-spice mix, tapenade, seawater, gherkin brine, tyres and inner tubes, mud with some diesel oil inside, scuba diving suit, latex, Samsung Galaxy 7 (S., behave!)… And cane juice! All is well. No water needed. Mouth: the perfect combination, tar and olives. And salt, lime, all oils, clay, plasticine… Oh please call the anti-rumporn brigade! Finish: very long and even more to my liking. Smoked anchovies and salted liquorice. Comments: one Usain Bolt of rum. A truly amazing bottle. BTW, I know some good friends are arguing that rums aged on location are better than rums aged in the UK (well, in Scotland). Romantically speaking, they’re probably right, but in truth, I believe some slower, more Scotch-like maturation sometimes works better, as that gives us more distillate-driven spirits, which I always prefer when they’re mature. I know, controversial, but there… Anyway, this is simply one of the very best new rums out there. Even if there’s a mistake on the label, this is no ‘fine old rum’, it’s ‘superb old rum’. SGP:463 - 92 points.

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