
March 15, 2020

Our traditional bag of rums

Would you mind if we started this with some huge-volume, probably junkish rum from the darkest dungeons of rum, a.k.a. the Dominican Republic? (you may listen to some old tunes by Las Chicas del Can to ease your pain…)

Brugal ‘Anejo’ (38%, OB, Dominican Republic, +/-2019)

Brugal ‘Anejo’ (38%, OB, Dominican Republic, Spanish market, +/-2019)
This is meant to be ‘superior’, you understand… Colour: gold. Nose: hey, this is not un-nice! Some caramel, some toffee, some café latte, some vanilla, and certainly a ‘Starbucks’ quality. Which, granted, is not very high, but (even) worse stuff does exist here and there. Christ, Jesus, Buddha, did I just write some positive things about a Brugal? Mouth: coffee liqueur, sugar syrup, vanillin, and unrecorded sweet/sour juices. Pretty bad. No, very bad, watery, frustrating, and almost undrinkable. Finish: very short – which, in this context, is good. Molasses. Comments: some very poor spirit, very weak, empty, sugary, just not totally repulsive. You almost got a gold star just because of that, Brugal! Nah, it’s impaired spirit.
SGP:310 - 25 points.

Barcelo ‘Anejo’ (37.5%, OB, Dominican Republic, +/-2019)

Barcelo ‘Anejo’ (37.5%, OB, Dominican Republic, Spanish market, +/-2019)

This one too is ‘superior’, mind you. Superior with rum is equivalent to ‘old’ with Scotch, so just fake. Colour: gold. Nose: looks like it would go a little deeper than the terrible Brugal, so basically, a little less sugary, and a tad more herbal. Other than that, it’s very weak rum. Mouth: no, it’s the same empty and sugary junk, without any single pleasant trait, with only nightmares and nasty flavours. In truth the poor Brugal was a little better. Finish: none. Vase water, perhaps? Comments: extremely bad, nasty, repulsive, and just un-sippable unless you add a lot of ice. Like, a whole iceberg. Shameful rum, I’m sure it wouldn’t be any more expensive to make it a little better.
SGP:210 - 15 points.

What’s cool after those putrid swills is that you can only go up…

Zuidam ‘Flying Dutchman’ (40%, OB, Netherlands, +/-2018)

Zuidam ‘Flying Dutchman’ (40%, OB, Netherlands, +/-2018)
Some white rum from the Flatlands, that’s interesting, knowing that Holland is actually the N°1 country for rum, historically. Just ask E&A Scheer in A’dam. Colour: white. Nose: instantly kills the very poor Brugal and the even poorer Barcelo, but it’s not big, it’s just well balanced and fair. Nice notes of sugarcane and grass. Mouth: it’s fine, it’s got touches of genever and fresh bread, juniper, cardboard… Well I’m running out of descriptors. Finish: medium but a little cardboardy. Pomelos? Some pleasant olive-y touches, but that’s too late and too low. Comments: it’s fair, but I would humbly say that it’s been too purified, and bottled at a strength that’s too low. So unless you’re a Dutch nationalist, you would find more potent stuff elsewhere. Rather check Zuidam’s whiskies (Millstone), many just rock!
SGP:230 - 72 points.

WeiRon ‘Black’ (50%, Svenska Eldvatten, +/-2019)

WeiRon ‘Black’ (50%, Svenska Eldvatten, +/-2019)
I don’t know much about this one, what I know is that the pedigree is appealing. And that Sweden’s better known for its surströmming. And Abba. Yeah, clichés do bring salt to our lives, don’t they. Colour: straw. Nose: coffee and black olives. This could come from the magical triangle, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana. With water: olives, lemons, eucalyptus. Mouth (neat): perfect, I’m afraid. Vicks, camphor, tar, liquorice. With water: wonderful. Lapsang souchong, lemon, tar, liquorice, brine, olives. Finish: long, same-ish. Perhaps a notch tarrier? Comments: this is liquid liquorice. My father, who was an automotive engineer, used to have a Swedish friend who was a driver, his name was Jo Bonnier. I’m sure he could have used this rum to lubricate his Ferraris! Cheers Jo Bonnier!
SGP:462 - 88 points.

Hampden 9 yo 2010/2019 ‘LROK’ (63.2%, Velier, Jamaica, bourbon, 250 bottles)

Hampden 9 yo 2010/2019 ‘LROK’ (63.2%, Velier, Jamaica, bourbon, 250 bottles)
I’d bet this will be different from the poor Barcelo and Brugal. Colour: dark gold. Nose: that’s olives all over the place. On the one hand, one could claim that buying olives would be cheaper. On the other hand, we could retort that olives wouldn’t keep as well. Sauna oils. Wait wait wait, this is too strong, it hits you mercilessly, come on go f***k yourself, Velier, please stick your bottles up your ***** or pour them over pizza and leave us alone! With water: olives, anchovies, coal, gherkins,. Hate it that I love this. Mouth (neat): amazing, pungent, tarry, olive-y, medicinal, camphory, and extremely powerful. That’s right, it is almost lethal. I am almost dead now (hope you’ll suffer a lot for no less that twenty generations, Velier!) With water: even bloody water doesn’t work. Let me call my lawyer if you please… Finish: salt, lemon, olives, shoe polish. Sure you could eat shoe polish, it’s all a matter of motivation. Comments: what the hell was this extreme supernatural booze? Some assassination attempt? By the way, to add insult to injury, reducing this lethal liquid requires a lot of care and patience. Drop by drop…
SGP:374 - 90 points.

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