French rums, another go


October 30, 2017

French rums, another go

Aujourd’hui nous allons tenter de trouver des cuvées particulièrement intéressantes parmi tous les rhum des Antilles françaises dont nous disposons au sein de notre bibliothèque d’échantillons, que penses-tu de cette idée ? Alors allons-y… (geeeez…)

Neisson 2011/2016 ‘Le Galion’ (46%, OB, Martinique, agricole, 260 bottles)

This rather pricy baby (110€ at only 4 years of age and at 46% vol.) came in a lovely hand-painted bottle. Colour: gold. Nose: the trademark metallic side strikes first, then we find overripe fruits (many of them, bananas, apples, guavas), a wee yeasty side, almost feinty, then the usual lilies and other heady flowers, then rather jams and stewed tropical fruits. Touches of ginger and cinnamon from the oak. Mouth: firm, spicy and fruity. Say some all-yellow-fruit jam with pinches of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, then rather ripe plums plus a little honey and maple syrup. Finish: rather long, rather jammy, rather spicy, rather thick. Caraway and cinnamon, some earthy notes in the aftertaste. Comments: perhaps not quite high-definition rum, as it tends to go off in almost any directions, but quality’s very high, obviously. SGP:651 - 82 points.

La Mauny 1998 (42%, OB, Martinique, agricole, +/-2015)

La Mauny’s made at the same place as Trois Rivières. It’s a fairly ‘common’ brand, but I’ve had some very good ones in the past. Colour: deep gold. Nose: epitomically agricole, with yellow flowers, stewed mangos and passion fruits, bananas, apple compote flavoured with cinnamon, hay, cigarette tobacco, garden earth, and wee whiffs of sandalwood. Awesome nose, aromatic, fresh, and vibrant. Mouth: very good, starting slightly tarry and even smoky, and getting then lusciously fruity, with ripe pears, mirabelles, peaches, and a touch of quince jelly. A wonderful easy freshness, and perhaps a little too much moreishness. That is dangerous. Finish: medium, on bags and bags of juicy sultanas and a few herbs that are keeping it straight and, well, vibrant. Sweet liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: perhaps a surprise. Superb Quality/price ratio. SGP:651 - 88 points.

Clément 2005/2015 ‘Single Cask’ (41.6%, OB, Martinique, agricole, bourbon, cask #20010094, 475 bottles)

Previous Clément single casks have been a little too tannic for me, let’s see… Sadly, the brand has played the ‘most expensive rum in the world’ game (a.k.a. the Macallan and Dalmore game), which did damage the name a little bit, in my book at least. Colour: full gold. Nose: indeed, there is a lot of oak, tea, dry cinnamon, a little cardboard as well, then rather quinces and tobacco, vegetal earth, a little pinesap, clay, fern, moss… The whole remains very dry. Mouth: a little too oaky, drying, cardboardy… What’s behind that oaky screen is pretty nice (sugar cane, pineapples, and bananas) but I’m not sure the oak was mastered to perfection. Finish: short, drying, cardboardy. Comments: let’s call this one ‘average’. SGP:451 - 75 points.

La Favorite 2008/2016 ‘Fût unique N°8’ (46%, OB, Martinique, agricole)

Some single cask La Favorite. A funny brand, La Favorite, they have both some superb pure agricoles and some heavily doctored oldies (the nasty Flibustes). Let’s check this little single cask (fût unique)… Colour: amber. Nose: very nice, rather more on the coffee-ish side, with some black tea, cocoa powder, and quite some humus. It surely is a different style, with quite a lot of dry oak. Mouth: yeah, no sugar added that I can feel! Rather bitter oranges, more strong black tea, passion fruits, ground coffee, and just hints of big thick black molasses. Perfect touches of mentholated tobacco and black tea, samovar-style. Finish: medium, dry, and yet fruity. Passion fruits and blood oranges, with more tea and tobacco in the background. Comments: I’m finding this extremely good, with a very distinctive style. I wouldn’t swap one bottle of this for ten Flibustes. SGP:651 - 87 points.

Bellevue 19 yo 1998/2017 (59.9%, Excellence Rhum, Guadeloupe, bourbon)

The cask was marked as ‘SFGB’. It comes from where they also make the rather famous Damoiseau brand. Colour: amber. Nose: not as big as expected, even a little discreet, rather on earthy coffee and fried pineapple, then chocolate and black tobacco, Gauloise-style. Some tamarind jam as well, for sure, as well as more and more prunes, rather Armagnac-style. Burning fir wood. With water: some oaky notes, torrefaction, perhaps walnut stain, and curious whiffs of damp hessian and ropes. Mouth (neat): well, this is both very strong and extremely good. It’s rhum ‘à l’ancienne’, with bags of black olives, candied lemon, tarry liquorice, and… well, tarry liquorice and black olives. Love this style. With water: superlatively salty, tarry, and olive-y, and yet approachable and almost ‘easy’. Perfect earthy tones. Finish: long, salty, brine-y, with some liquorice and our beloved black olives. Good people in the south of France would call it ‘tapenade-y’. Some superb smoky coffee in the aftertaste, a drop of fir liqueur, and perhaps a few roasted pistachios. Comments: totally top notch, that’s all I have to say. On first-name terms with the best Jamaicans. SGP:462 - 90 points.

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