
March 11, 2018

Crazy new rums at random

Love coherent sessions such as ‘five Caronis’, but random ones are funnier to do, don’t you agree? So, completely and utterly at random (really!)…

West Indies Rum Distillery 17 yo 2000/2017 (51.8%, Whiskybroker, Barbados, barrel #46, 213 bottles)

West Indies Rum Distillery 17 yo 2000/2017 (51.8%, Whiskybroker, Barbados, barrel #46, 213 bottles)
WIRD, a distillery that Cognac Ferrand, a.k.a. Plantation Rum, have just bought. No sure this very one’s been heavily doséed, though… Colour: pale gold. Nose: rotting bananas aplenty, drops of diesel oil, some petroly ground (petrol station), some black earth, ink, older cane juice, crushed olives, and more of those rotting bananas, plus some liquid caramel. We’re somewhere midway between the high-ester ones and the easier, rounder rums. With water: hashish and a bit of manure, all the rest remaining unchanged. Mouth (neat): really very good, full, dry and yet not too dry, with some salty caramel and fudge, two black olives, and always this feeling of caramel. Almost forgot to mention the ‘rotting’ (not rotten) bananas. With water: rather more on those fruits, bananas, pineapples… Finish: medium, rather round, but there’s this caramely earthiness that works very well. A little salt in the aftertaste. Comments: much pleased with this one. A good introduction to the heavier, more bacterial ones (excuse me?)
SGP:652 - 86 points.

Diamond 13 yo 2003/2017 (53.1%, Kintra, Guyana, cask #7, 216 bottles)

Diamond 13 yo 2003/2017 (53.1%, Kintra, Guyana, cask #7, 216 bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: ah, not much diamondness to this, it’s rather rounder, more prune-y, molasse-y and caramely than other Diamonds, as if DDL themselves had bottled it. Coffee liqueurs (Kahlua, Tia Maria…) In short, more South-American than Caribbean. With water: superb! Earth and oloroso, mushrooms… Mouth: old rancio, prune juice, earth, dried currants… Did anyone pour some good old Armagnac into the cask? Also some soy sauce, and just a touch of plain sugar, as if it was sweetened up at birth. With water: really wonderful, if not totally orthodox. Old Cognac, fir liqueur, miso soup, prunes, caramel, molasses… Finish: medium, just a tad thick and molasse-y. Comments: rather El-Dorado-y, I would say, only better than most, in my opinion. Lovers of old Macallan should like this one.
SGP:641 - 86 points.

Nyborg ‘Huracàn’ (58.2%, OB, Denmark, batch #118, +/-2017)

I don’t quite know what this exactly is, all I could find was on whacky websites full of umlauts and slashed letters (hey, peace!) On the other hand, I love a Lamborghini… Colour: gold. Nose: sour and spicy. Some kind of Thai sauce – or is it Vietnamese? – plus some absinth, aquavit, caraway, post-hipster gin, Tabasco, and Worcester sauce. With water: rounder and seemingly sweeter, with some mead and some soft gingerbread. The better ones, 50% honey at least. Mouth (neat): as we used to say, LOL! Liquid gingerbread, plus plain gingerbread, plus a good two slices of gingerbread. With water: a little earthier, and very bready. Moist pumpernickel – distilled. Finish: long and extremely gingerbready. Comments: yes it was labelled as ‘rum’. Doesn’t really taste like rum to me, rather like some excellent Christmas liqueur. Or gingerbread liqueur, as we have here in Alsace, but this loco Dane was better. Again, LOL!
SGP:742 - 78 points.

Travellers 10 yo 2007/2017 (66.6%, The Duchess, Belize, cask #14, 281 bottles)

Travellers 10 yo 2007/2017 (66.6%, The Duchess, Belize, cask #14, 281 bottles)
We’ve had some good Travellers in the not so distant past… But watch this devilish strength! Colour: gold. Nose: very nice, with some coffee but not too much, honey but not too much, molasses but not too much, preserved bananas but not too many of them, some butterscotch… As for that devilish strength, well, piece of cake! Quite… With water: you feel it’s rather very good bourbon than rum. Some proper Old Fitzgerald, for example. Mouth (neat): Pappy Van Winkle! Really! With water: well, we’re actually midway between bourbon and rum here, and that’s the cask speaking out. Full-flown American oak at work. Finish: rather long, caramely, toasty, fudge-y, bourbony. Comments: very good. To be poured blind to your absent-minded friends who know everything about anything. I mean, about anything boozy. Recommended.
SGP:630 - 82 points.

Isn’t this getting a little mad? Time to have a wee Jamaican? Wee?

Hampden <H> 7 yo 2010/2017 (62%, Velier, 70th anniversary, #107, 1679 bottles)

Extremely high esters here, around one full kilogram per hectolitre of pure alcohol, so apparently, this is some even doomier kind of Octomore of rum. Let’s see what gives… And by the way, you MUST have a look at our friend Cyril's recent report about Hampden Distillery. It's stunning. Colour: pure gold. Nose: not that anyone should like record-breakers, but indeed this rocks. Not smoke though, rather wood glue. Litres of wood glue, plus a whole bucket of green olives and capers, some rubber patches, plus a full bottle of cologne. You know, N°4711. With water: some pencil shavings coming out, nail varnish, pinesap, rust inhibitor, last century banana wine… Mouth (neat): totally extreme and I extremely and shamelessly love it. Distilled lime, mezcal (sugarcane meets agave here), glue, seawater, kippers kept in varnish. What is not to like in all this? With water: mad but so very good… More wood glue and varnish. Finish: I’ve heard they’re distilling tourists… What’s funny is that it’s displaying heavy notes of strawberry flavouring at this stage, which is exactly what’s blowing out of Port Ellen Maltings on certain days. What’s the name of that molecule again? Comments: sure it’s one of the most heavily-armoured Humvees of rum, but I just love it. Is it really bad, Doc?
SGP:472 - 91 points.

(Merci, Alex, Jürgen and other friends!)

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