
October 15, 2017

Rums that came in

We keep looking for malternatives. Please remember, I’m always tasting rum (or cognac, mezcal, armagnac, grain…) from a malt lover’s point of view. Just saying…

Diamond 14 yo 2003/2017 (43%, Compagnie des Indes, Guyana, cask #GD040, 368 bottles)

I’m starting to kind of hate this French bottler because I could never find fault with them. Great work all around. Colour: white wine. Nose: and there, a Jamaican Diamond. Olive brine and lime juice, then a relative loss of oomph, with rotting bananas and whiffs of old vase water. Mouth: lemons, sugarcane, chilli olives, brine. Repeat. Sure 43% vol. is low, but it work, even if you may down the bottle at once. Finish: rather long, with some sucrosity. Candy sugar and limoncello. The olives are back in the aftertaste, together with something slightly burnt. Comments: really, a rather Jamaican Guyanan. What’s giving it away is the sweeter side on the palate. Very good, in any case. SGP:552 - 85 points.

Karukera 2011/2017 ‘Double Maturation’ (54.1%, OB, Guadeloupe, agricole, 342 bottles)

I know, ‘double maturation’ sounds bad, but not as bad as ‘solera’, don't you agree. In this case that was cognac ans sherry. Ouch. Colour: amber. Nose: butter cream and burnt cake, cigar smoke, coffee, burnt sugar, pencil shavings, hot sawdust… I love Karukera, but I believe this much wood/oak influence is embarrassing. With water: we’re at a cabinetmaker’s. Mouth (neat): no! Sweet curry, aniseed everywhere, and tons of liquorice. Really, tons of liquorice. Very extreme… With water: green gooseberries, oak oils, curry, ginger… Finish: rather long, a tad more to my liking, thanks to some petroly notes. Comments: totally loved other Karukeras, and I hate to sound vulgar, but as they say in Washington D.C., WTF? The ravages of unbridled ‘wood technology’ in rum, A.K.A. whiskification. Wrong path, wrong path! SGP:461 - 69 points.

Neisson 15 yo 2000 (48%, OB, Martinique, agricole, batch 2, 2016)

Slowly and surely, Neisson are becoming the star of the French West Indies. From the rum lovers’ point of view, that is… But watch it, this is very expensive (I’ve seen it at €350!) Colour: amber. Nose: delicate, nutty, and subtly woody. We’re talking roasted chestnuts, coffee beans, roasted pistachios and sesame seeds, then cocoa pods, a bit of warm charcoal, a wee bit of beef jerky… It’s all very subtle, really… Mouth: impeccable, I have to say. With many Neissons we’re between rhum and high-end bourbons, and this is no exception. A little butter, then warm oak, the tiniest bit of dried coconut, some kind of citrusy pineapple, and then notes of marsanne and roussane. We’re talking wine now, you know… Finish: rather long, with the pineapples coming through, as cakes, as juices, as jellies, as jams… More liquorice and pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: perhaps a little less distillate-driven than my favourite Jamaicans, Bajans or Guyanans, but within this very style, I’m not sure you could do much better. Very complex rhum. SGP:551 - 89 points.

Barbancourt 13 yo 2004/2017 (54.6%, Liquid Treasures, Haiti)

It’s very unusual to come across some independent Barbancourt! Colour: pale gold. Nose: a very light style this time, and this is probably ‘column’ Barbancourt, almost diaphanous, but very elegant and complex. Flower petals, bananas, sugarcane (it is extremely sugarcane-y), a few grasses and herbs… It’s a whispering rum, but it’s complex and, as they say in marketing brochures, intriguing. With water: a drop of motor oil, a drop of olive oil. Mouth (neat): less shy for sure, and rather on tarry bananas, while there’s this columny ‘unfatness’ that remains. Soft lemon juice (with warm water, as the doctors advise). With water: it’s the softness that’s very noticeable. It’s as if Barbancourt was becoming more and more Cuban. Finish: medium, very nice, but a little soft for me. I mean, I prefer my rums with a little more body. Comments: great bottling, just not quite my preferred style (remember, from a malt lover’s point of view, etc.) SGP:441 - 82 points.

A Jamaican Distillery 2007/2017 (56.5%, L’Esprit, Jamaica, cask #BB45, 241 bottles)

Another excellent French bottler, them and Compagnie des Indes have been at the forefront of French indie rumness. Now, what is this? Appleton?... Colour: rich gold. Nose: not the doom/metal/hard Jamaicans at play here (you know, Worthy Park, Hampden), rather the softer ones indeed, with some very superb notes of banana cake, mild pipe tobacco, and incense/balsam. This has a lot of complexity. With water: Count Basie, not John Coltrane. Mouth (neat): wait wait wait, this is pretty brilliant. More perfect bananas, white chocolate, bergamots, earl grey, praline, various ganaches… Excuse me, but wow! With water: careful, do not add to much water! Keep it above 45% vol., and it’ll reward you with more white chocolate mingling with pure sugarcane juice and a little mint-flavoured tea. Finish: gets seriously mentholy. The Jamaicanness comes out too, with a petroly side. No, not ganja. Comments: this very lovely one reminds us that Jamaica’s not only about extreme funky rums. Classic jazz is great too… SGP:352 - 86 points.

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