I’ve beforehand checked out a few Berry Bros. bottlings which have been for different folks, a few Hampdens and a Caroni….they usually all hit the mark, however this would be the first of their very own releases that I’ve checked out.
Berry Bros & Rudd are a Wine and Spirits Service provider based mostly in London, Britain’s oldest, they usually have traded from the identical premises at 3 St. James Road, London since 1698. They’ve additionally branched out with places of work in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. They’ve a Wine College and an unique superb wine and eating venue in London’s St James’s.
St Lucia you may be acquainted with having seen loads of evaluations and articles on this web site. They’ve quite a few marques from 4 stills accessible and they aren’t afraid to make use of them.
The normal Coffey two column (steady) nonetheless at St Lucia Distillers was commissioned in 1985
John Dore 1 batch nonetheless has a 1500 litre capability and was commissioned in 1998
John Dore 2 batch nonetheless has a 6000 litre capability and was commissioned in 2004
Vendome batch nonetheless has a 2000 litre capability and was commissioned in 2003
Vendome Pot Nonetheless centre, John Dore II behind, John Dore I left
Berry’s St Lucia Aged 14 Years – 46% abv – 0 g/l components
There have been a few bottlings of this Rum launched, I do know of an 11 12 months and this 14 12 months. From the knowledge that I’ve been in a position to uncover, the contents of this bottle have been from a 2000 distillation with bottling and launch in 2014. The excessive chances are this has seen little to no tropical maturation with most if not all of its time being spent in a cooler local weather. Bottled at 46%, with unknown portions, I do know that till the previous 18-24 months this bottle was accessible comparatively simply. That is in actual fact my second open bottle of this Rum. Taking a guess on the stills, with a 2000 distillation it might put solely two stills in play, the Coffey conventional column and John Dore I….however with out additional data, we’ll have to make use of our nostril and palate to resolve if its single nonetheless or a mix.
Tasting Notes
Nostril: As has turn out to be the norm now, St Lucia distillers output undoubtedly has some key indicators coming from their stills. The aroma from the glass is confirming my assumption of the stills used. A little bit sweetness, vanilla and acidity initially and a lightness to the nostril that brings fairly distinguished, nearly cooling menthol notes. A whiff of moist mint to accompany a rising medicinal high quality, not fairly Vendome-esque……extra subdued however nonetheless gentle sticking plasters notes, a touch of oil and the aroma of a brand new air filter being put in on my previous diesel Peugeot 306. A little bit fruit fights by with overripe and fermenting pineapple, however nonetheless carrying a cool really feel to it, just like the aroma of the pineapple mint rising in our backyard. It turns into a bit brine led too with some gentle salty inexperienced olive notes, lemon oils and a bit of savoury edge earlier than the lightest trace of cedar and warming peppercorn ease in. Not an enormous quantity of wooden on the nostril however it’s there taking part in second fiddle to the remainder of the olfactory show. On the nostril, for me this can be a mix of each aforementioned stills.
Mouth: A stable but not oily mouthfeel……lighter than anticipated although, possibly the pot to column ratio is dialed down. The preliminary sweetness of vanilla, toffee and lightweight icing sugar coated fermenting tropical fruit quickly provides technique to a rising savoury character. Fairly creosote like with loads of black olives, preserved lemons and a big dose of liquorice. The mid palate turns into a bit of spicier with a touch of recent aromatic inexperienced chili, cloves and ginger. There’s an nearly natural high quality too easing its well beyond the sunshine woody notes. The end, which is of an honest size is sort of spicy bringing again the ginger, chili and moist wooden with the merest trace of plasters and liquorice. Sweetness pops again for a fleeting second earlier than the return of the cooling menthol and eucalyptus leaves you with a contact of cigar field and proper on the loss of life, pineapple dice sweets.
In conclusion: I believed it good to get this overview out given the massive amount of fifty/50 John Dore I and Conventional column blends that appear to be hitting the market on the similar abv, tropically matured however coming with much less time within the barrel. That is bottle quantity two of this Rum that has simply disappeared, with one remaining within the rum retailer…that one was picked up for me by Wes at Rumfest just a few years in the past, by the way he evaluations this rum over in his web site thefatrumpirate. The 2 bottles, each the 14 yr, have given me loads of straightforward consuming with average ranges of complexity and excessive ranges of enjoyment. The rum shows nearly in addition to a few of its fully tropically matured cousins however lacks the depth of a bit of extra time within the solar. That mentioned nonetheless, in case you do see a bottle, be sure you decide it up as loads of enjoyment sits inside its smooth, tall silhouette.
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