February 7, 2016

More rums, looking for malternatives

Holy Mary, help those in need of unfiddled with spirits, give strength to the weak distillates, comfort the sorrowful tasters, and… Please help us avoid sugar! As we often do, we’ll have these rums at random (with the helps of our small hairy friends).

El Dorado 21 yo (43%, OB, Demerara, +/-2015)

Ah. I was highly disappointed last time I tried this bay, two or three years ago. First because many commentators used to say it was one of the best rums in the world, and second because I had thought (how naïve) that all high-end Demeraras had to be similar to those by Velier, or Bristol, or other independent bottlers. But it was ridden with sugar, and way too thick and cloying for me. Always remember, only a personal opinion! Colour: caramel. Nose: extremely molassy and jammy. Liqueur-filled chocolate, stewed strawberries and bananas, prunes, raisins, crème de menthe… And it’s only moderately cane-y. A rather nice nose, quite complex. Mouth: it’s not that it’s extremely sugary, but you feel some sugar. Some oak too (pencil shavings), Cointreau, tamarind sauce, raisins, banana liqueur, pineapple liqueur… It’s really very sweet and jammy. Some tarry, liquoricy and petroly notes are there in the background, but sadly, the sugary side will never quite let them through. Finish: medium, very sweet. Sugary aftertaste, as if you had quaffed sugar cane syrup. Some bitterish oak too. Comments: I know it’s a sacred cow, but it’s totally not my style. Why they add so much sugar – because that’s neither in the distillate, nor in the barrels – is a mystery. I know, demand… I hope – well, I’m sure - the new, and very expensive, official single-mark small batches will be in a much higher league. We’ll see. SGP:720 - 75 points.

Centenario 12 yo 'Gran Legado' (40%, OB, Costa Rica, +/-2015)

Ouch, I hope this baby won’t be just another sugar bomb… Colour: gold. Nose: relatively light, much less aromatic than the El Dorado for sure, with a little cardboard and dust, then chocolate, leather, and vanilla. Then sugar syrup and even more vanilla. Rhum ‘arrangéed’. Then plain caramel. Mouth: burnt caramel all over the place, corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, and perhaps a little marmalade. A curious fizziness in the background (Schweppes). Finish: short to medium, rather on very sweet gingerbread and more caramel. Jelly babies in the aftertaste, but also grassy notes. Artichokes? Comments: as they write on booze blogs, we’ve tasted worse. Some very sweet and light rum of modest means and proportions. SGP:720 - 68 points.

Barbancourt 2004/2014 (43%, Bristol Spirits, Reserve Rum of Haiti)

I guess this is already ‘new Barbancourt’, since the distillery replaced their old pot stills with double columns some time in the 1990s, thus switching to rather lighter rhums. Colour: straw. Nose: well, maybe is it lighter than before, but it’s certainly not light. Some lovely very agricole-y whiffs of fermenting cane juice, our friends the green olives, a touch of diesel oil, then rather more beeswax and vanilla, while the petroly side tends to decrease. I also find a little camphor, all for the better. Mouth: it’s dry, grassy, perhaps a tad acrid, but it loses steam after just a few seconds. Pineapples and cane juice, plus a little curry. Roasted pistachios, perhaps. Light body. I liked the nose much, much better, this lacks oomph for me. Finish: rather short, dry. The spiciness is a little unusual, and kind of gritty. Comments: high quality rhum, no doubt, but the somewhat flabby palate is a clear handicap. SGP:461 - 78 points.

Well, perhaps is it time to call in the Haitian cavalry!...

Clairin Casimir ‘Batch 2’ (54%, OB, Haiti, +/-2014)

Love, love, love… Colour: white. Nose: totally amazing, a spirit like no other spirits – and that would include white Jamaicans. Superb notes of fermentation, engine oil, crushed black olives, caviar (not making this up!), truffles (same comment), bottarga (just in case, remember Google is your friend), very spicy late-season mushrooms, pulque, balsamico, and even that tremendous sauce they’re making in Italy, all'amatriciana. Green pepper, chillies… Amazing distillate. With water: more fruits coming out. Fermenting pineapples? Mouth (neat) massive, perhaps a tad rough and raw, and extremely grassy, with a few burnt notes. What’s really surprising is this huge ashy side that’s quite mezcaly. Also lime, brine, cough syrup, eucalyptus… And indeed sugar cane. With water: a little more ‘classic white agricole’, but what’s amazing is how it carefully avoids anything sweetish. Great work by Douglas Casimir! Finish: long, surprisingly fresh and limey. Ashy, slightly harsh(ish) aftertaste. Comments: love, love, love… SGP:372 - 90 points.

Neisson ‘Extra Vieux’ (43%, OB, Martinique, +/-2015)

This agricole baby was aged for approximately seven years in the tropics. That’s like 713,524 years in Scotland. Quite. Colour: gold. Nose: funny. Neisson’s unlike any other rhum, and I find each and every expression quite singular. This time we’re having rather more custard and plain vanilla, drizzled over tinned fruits and jellies. Some oak feels, with notes of cocoa powder, and perhaps lightly roasted coffee beans. Mouth: indeed, very singular. Once again, the oak feels a bit, but it’s rather sweets and bonbons that we’re finding. Tangerine jelly, perhaps, or blood oranges. I find it most pleasant, but it’s as if its inherent ‘phenolness’ (hey?) was a bit blocked by some newish oak. Having said that, some lovely fruity notes keep emerging one after the other, such as pink grapefruits, bananas, lime, guava… That’s very good. Finish: rather medium, rather fruity (guava, really), with an oaky signature. Vanillin. Comments: a kind of finishing in active oak, something very fashionable in Scotland thee days. That may work better with Neisson’s lovely rhum. SGP:551 - 82 points.

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