Right here’s our irregular overview of essentially the most attention-grabbing rum samples that reached us up to now few weeks. This time I explicitely wished to incorporate a number of the lesser recognized names (to whisky lovers a minimum of), like Rhum J.M., Labourdonnais, Belle Vue and St Lucia. These are complemented with an previous Uitvlugt and an excessive DOK HD.
There’s a second half to this session with heavy hitters, principally from Jamaica and Trinidad. We’ll publish it in a number of days.
Rhum J.M. 21 yo 1999 ‘Single Barrel’ (43,6%, OB for Kirsch Import 2021, bourbon cask #180007, 369 btl.)
Nostril: attention-grabbing hints of Palo Cortado at first. Almonds and hazelnuts, orange peels, and hints of caramel. Heady hints of polished wooden (cedar maybe) and nail polish. Nice musty notes: rotting bananas, leather-based sure books, incense, earthy hints and dusty spices. Actually good.
Mouth: numerous oak spices and natural notes, like pepper, cinnamon sticks and peppermint, rosemary and natural tea. Tobacco leaves and liquorice. Pine resin. A bit dry and tannic across the edges, however a powerful depth of flavours. Tiny hints of overripe mango however fruits usually are not what that is about.
End: lengthy, woody, resinous and natural, with a contact of salt.
The nostril supplied a beautiful profile that I hadn’t seen in rum earlier than (I may have to take a look at J.M. extra typically). Pretty oak-driven on the palate, with the mouthfeel of a really previous bourbon whiskey. In conclusion: good rhum, nonetheless obtainable in some (German) outlets for round € 200.
Labourdonnais 10 yo 2010 (51,9%, Liquid Treasures 2021, refill ex-Islay butt, 353 btl.)
Nostril: clear and barely spirity, totally on bananas and herbs. Additionally orange peels and hints of apple cider. Then juniper berries, caraway seeds, leafy notes and really faint hints of black olives. Fairly bare, with an eau-de-vie character.
Mouth: begins on slightly candy cane sugar notes, nonetheless spirity. Extra apple and lemons, chilli and orange oil. Wee touches of Earl Gray tea. Grapefruit. Hints of ginseng and gentian. I can’t say the Islay cask left a giant mark.
End: fairly lengthy, barely austere regardless of the sugary undertone.
One other actually curious and surprising profile, slightly mild and bare. The Islay cask didn’t go away a giant mark both. Labourdonnais is a comparatively younger distillery in Mauritius, which you don’t see typically from indy bottlers. To conclude: not a really advanced rum, however nicely fitted to {the summertime}, with ice maybe. Nonetheless obtainable from eSpirits and others for round € 70. Rating: 82/100
Bellevue 23 yo 1998 (53,2%, The Whisky Jury for TastToe 2021, refill barrel #10, 245 btl.)
Nostril: slightly Jamaican, exhibiting tapenade, petrol and polished wooden. Lighter fruity notes (recent and dried bananas, pears), changing into grassier and woodier over time. Hints of recent paint, vanilla, liquorice and wee hints of backyard herbs like dill and parsley. A contact of alcohol too.
Mouth: a mixture of overripe bananas and pineapples, with a light-weight funky notice, extra of those backyard herbs and dose of wooden. Minty freshness, however rising darker over time, extra on caramelized nuts and liquorice. Salty touches as nicely. Fairly sturdy, the oak is heavier than I anticipated.
End: lengthy, with cough pastilles, walnuts and hints of chilly espresso.
This Bellevue hints in direction of the heavier Jamaican model however in the long run it solely exhibits a light funkiness. As an alternative there’s dose of oak right here, including loads of sturdy spice and richness. Nonetheless obtainable from TastToe (final time I used to be there). Rating: 88/100
Uitvlugt 30 yo 1990 ‘Early landed’ (55%, Rum Sponge 2021, refill barrel, 226 btl.)
Nostril: ester alarm. Rotting pineapple with numerous dusty notes (books in previous cupboards, whiffs of sandalwood) and dried herbs. Hints of Barbour grease. Over time the fruitiness comes out extra, including hints of mango.
Mouth: extra of those overripe fruits with beneficiant drops of bitter herbs, extra black olives and an nearly medicinal aspect. Then some burnt / charred notes. Chilli and rising spices like aniseed. Extra slender and extra austere than I anticipated.
End: lengthy, slender, barely citrusy with liquorice and a salty edge.
A very vertical rum, curiously compact. It’s nearly irritating, as if it doesn’t like to point out its full feathers. Not our favorite rum from this glorious bottler, alghouth it’s nonetheless an attention-grabbing bottling. Offered out. Rating: 86/100
DOK (HD) 2009 (56,6%, TastToe 2021, 198 btl.)
Nostril: ester ranges are going by the roof now (DOK being the best at round 1500-1600 g/hl). It’s all on new tyres, bitter pineapple juice, lemons and banana foam sweet, acetone and solventy glue. Later additionally inexperienced olives, moist earth, ginger and one thing of syntetic almond aroma.
Mouth: nonetheless completely excessive. Tarmac, cardboard, olive brine, bitter puréed bananas and mouldy pineapple, one thing plastic-y and oily. Extra varnished notes and bitter wooden, balanced by a fruity banana sweetness. Astringency in essentially the most gracious approach?
End: lengthy, with minty notes, pineapple and all these funky estery notes.
Wow, isn’t this ester stage unlawful in any approach? In truth would this be the rationale why the title H*den isn’t on the label? Clearly this isn’t for everybody, however it’s an excellent expression of this model. Accessible from TastToe. Rating: 90/100
Saint Lucia Distillers 15 yo 2005 (61,5%, OB ‘Grasp’s Choice’ for Grape of the Artwork & Rum X 2021, cask #06012000, 232 btl.)
Nostril: natural notes at first, like eucalyptus and mint, with camphor. Later some funk seems, with tar and paint, in addition to orange peels and bitter tobacco leaves. Overripe mango with hints of blueberry. Some vanilla and a refined smoky edge as nicely.
Mouth: extremely popular – too scorching. It’s filled with chocolate, black pepper, cinnamon and a giant earthy notes. Oily / tarry hints, a little bit of rubber and black olive. Roasted chestnut. Fruity sourness. General not as soiled or funky as a number of the above, however not precisely clear both. Lots of spice and woody dryness, in a medicinal approach nearly.
End: very lengthy, natural, on peppermint, cinnamon and pepper.
Genuine rum with enormous energy and fairly some extractive wooden affect. I used to be lacking some fruity notes right here, however it’s an attention-grabbing, warming dram. Rating: 87/100
