| |
Home
Thousands of tastings,
all the music,
all the rambligs
and all the fun
(hopefully!)
Whiskyfun.com
Guaranteed ad-free
copyright 2002-2017
|
 |
|
| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
| |
|
| |
| |
March 18, 2018 |
|
  |
Rum, still looking for malternatives
(or not) |
May I remind you that I’m tasting rum from a whisky lover’s point of view? And that I’m no rum expert? And that I’m hardly a whisky expert anyway? And that I do not like anything doctored, doséed (LOL), sweetened-up, juiced-up, made-up, cooked or tampered with, but that I’ll respect everyone’s right to enjoy those styles? And perhaps that no one should try to ‘own the category’? Good… |
|
Ron Cortez 3 yo ‘anejo’ (37.5%, OB, Panama, +/-2017) 
With a name such as Cortez, this must be a hit all over South America! But at least they state ‘3’ as the age, and not 13, 23, or 33. Colour: gold. Nose: ethanol and molasses, plus caramel and sweets. Not sure anyone should have this as a sipper, hardly a proper conquistador at this point. Mouth: a tad sweet but relatively fair, just not very interesting. Rather whisky-washy, sucrose-y, with some burnt sugar, molasses, and a rather weak body. But at least it doesn’t stick your tongue to your palate. Finish: very short. Woosh! Comments: there is some honesty to this humble little conquistador, but I wouldn’t sip it.
SGP:530 - 65 points. |
|
Burning Barn ‘Smoked Rum’ (40%, OB, UK, +/-2017)
Made in the UK and cold smoked over apple wood. You should go to their website, they tell you that this is both ‘the UK’s first smoked rum’, and ‘a spiced rum fro grownups’. We can’t wait… Oh and why am I trying this? Master of Malt are the guilty party! Colour: dark amber. Nose: reminds me of the first Wasmund’s (they improved the recipe mucho mucho after that one). Burning tyres, but not as in Port Ellen, and burning menthol cigarettes, plus quite some cardamom. A funny nose that’s soon to lose you. What-is-this? Mouth: sweet Vishnu! This is very dry, acrid, gritty, tarry, ashy… But again, it’s not Port Ellen. I find it difficult, honestly, but there is some fun to it. Over-fried French beans and artichokes plus some fried bresaola. Finish: medium and a little sweeter. Some caraway and white pepper. Comments: an UFS (unidentified – not unmodified - flying spirit). Liked the unseriousness.
SGP:363 - 60 points. |
|
Père Labat ‘Doré’ (50%, OB, Marie-Galante, +/-2016) 
Doré or paille, those are the young French rums that have spent only a few months in oak. Some kind of reposado, if you will. This is ‘agricole’, so ex-cane juice and not molasses. Colour: pale straw. Nose: an immaculate cane-iness, with touches of aniseed, fennel, and perhaps a wee fino-ish side. I’d swear we’re nosing some kind of manzanilla. With water: no changes whatsoever, perhaps a little more plain sugar? Mouth (neat): there’s a little soap at first, with isn’t uncommon, then notes of tinned fish (sardines), a grassy smoke, and then notes of cane juice and citron, with notes of plasticine liked to that soap (which disappeared eventually). With water: better, more lemony, more on fresh pears as well. Finish: rather long, and very cane-y. Comments: it’s like with the tequilas reposados, I prefer them either white, or properly aged. But yeah, this is not bad… I have the white at 50% at WF 86, but this will be much lower I’m afraid…
SGP:452 - 77 points. |
|
Coro Coro (30%, OB, Guatemala, +/-2016) 
Holy featherless crow, this is actually rum plus cocoa (cacao)! It sure doesn’t belong here, but while I’m at it… Colour: gold. Nose: pretty terrible at first, but improving. Straw, crushed bananas, molasses honey, pine resins, Toplexil, kid’s mouthwash… No cocoa that I can smell, having said that. Remember this is an accident… Mouth: cough syrup for kids. Tastes like Don Papa. Pineapple liqueur, sugar syrup, more Toplexil, vanilla extracts. Not my kind of dop… I mean rum spirit at all, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally offensive, it just needs a lot of ice. Finish: short, sugary, syrupy. Comments: not a spirit, rather a kind of liqueur. Indeed, just like the dreadful Don Papa, but at least it says that it is so. So, I’ll be generous (impressed, S.!)
SGP:730 - 72 points. |
All right, enough fooling around for today… |
|
Caroni 19 yo 1998/2017 (55.1%, The Rum Mercenary, Trinidad) 
All right, some could claim that ‘triumph without peril brings no glory’, but I sure won’t resist a proper Caroni, wherever it was matured… Colour: gold. Nose: ah, possibly the lighter style. I’m finding some fir bark, germolene, chestnut honey, then some tar, just a wee mocha-spoonful of… well, mocha, and only then whiffs of burnt kerosene and olive oil. The jury’s still out… With water: pine liqueur, balsamic stuff from some lovely ex-USSR republic, and new plastic. That spritz that second-hand car dealers are using. Mouth (neat): super-excellent! A totally resinous Caroni, thick and heavy, rather salty, and indeed very sappy. Capers, plasticine, pipe juice, over-brewed lapsang souchong, black cigar (Toscani-style). Doesn’t take many prisoners… With water: same. Finish: long, very pine-y. Saltier aftertaste. Comments: when any aged spirit gets this pine-y, it’s totally hit or miss. Hit in this case, I would say.
SGP:373 - 89 points. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
