A bag of Sunday rums including some new gems

October 5, 2014

	A bag of Sunday rums including some new gems
	Long time no rum! So since this is Sunday, let’s have a few again, especially a few new and better ones by the craziest Italians. But first, an aperitif, chosen completely at random…

Myers's Original Dark (40%, OB, Jamaica, +/-2014)

A cheap one that I brought back from the USA a few months ago. Probably ridden with sugar, but ‘Jamaica’ is good enough a name for me. Colour: red mahogany. Nose: well it may have been sweetened, but the nose reeks of dunder and heavy olive-y Jamaican aromas. Some tar as well, tapenade, molasses, smoked tea and then, surprisingly, more and more black cherries and the jam made thereof. Just a touch of pencil shavings. So far, so good. Mouth: mixed feelings. The pleasant side is that there aren’t any sweetish notes, but on the other hand, it’s a little flat at first sips. Molasses, a touch of chocolate, liquorice, a bit of toffee, then this typical tarry side… Black olives… Finish: a notch short but still very ‘heavy Jamaican’. Comments: to my liking, considering its pedigree. With a slightly bigger mouth feel it would have made it to 80. SGP:552 – around 79 points.

Penny Blue XO (43.2%, OB, Berry Bros & Rudd, Mauritius, Medine distillery, batch #002, 7000 bottles)

This single estate rum is blended by Doug McIvor, which just sounds like a seal of quality to my ears. Now, shall I like this style of rum? Colour: gold. Nose: it’s light, easy rum, but it’s also rather complex, delicate, with notes of bananas, pineapples and lilac. Whiffs of warm orange cake, pecan pie, discreet sugarcane, soft gingerbread… The opposite of a Jamaican, if I may, but the added complexity just lifts it. Mouth: sweet, easy, quality rum. The sweetness doesn’t make it lumpish or vulgar, not at all. Bananas flambéed, mangos, vanilla, light sugarcane, orange blossom water… It’s got something Martiniquan. Finish: of medium length, clean, tropical, easy, yet subtle. More orange blossom in the aftertaste. Comments: not exactly my style of rum, but one can feel that it’s been carefully blended by a maestro. I just can’t go below 80! SGP:731 – around 80 points.

Barbancourt 10 yo 2004/2014 (50%, Silver Seal, Haiti, cask #11, 333 bottles)

I haven’t seen many independent Barbancourt so far. Agreed, I haven’t seen many rums anyway. Colour: straw. Nose: fab, just fab. It’s heavy style Haitian, full of olives, capers, tar, smoke, liquorice, hay, clay, mud, manure, horse dung, rotting tropical fruits, brine, seaweed… Just love it, my preferred style – coz I don’t take my rums lightly (diving to new lows, S.) Mouth: exactly right, exactly between a Caroni and a J.M., if you see what I mean. So a sweeter Caroni, or a more phenolic agricole. Closest style I could think of is Bellevue in Guadeloupe. Certainly firmer and hotter than the (very) few official Barbancourts I could try. Perfect sweet and tarry liquorice. Finish: long, with tons of liquorice and hectolitres of brine. A touch of salt and sweet marmalade in the aftertaste. Comments: a very, very dangerous bottling. Lock it up and give the keys to your mother in law (unless she drinks, of course). SGP:673 - around 89 points.

Why wouldn’t we try another new young one by Silver Seal?...

Diamond 11 yo 2002/2014 (50%, Silver Seal, Guyana, cask #102, 223 bottles)

Colour: dark straw. Nose: oh, no! Another fatty phenolic tarry briny one, and this nose is even more brilliant than the Barbancourt’s. Maybe because of this superb earthiness? This is right on my money, enough babbling. Mouth: loses one or two points at this stage because of a slightly excessive sweetness (nitpicking again) but then, I find this unusual kind of lemony smokiness most interesting. The zests give it a slightly soapy side, but the phenols and essential oils keep roaring in the background. Notes of pine liqueur, or rather a blend of limoncello, pine liqueur and tar liqueur. This must be good for our health! Finish: long, syrupy and yet straight and superbly phenolic. Comments: I just can’t understand why the official El Dorados are so flabby while their independent counterparts can be so big and often majestic. Nah, I know the answer, the world likes and buys sugar. SGP:572 - around 88 points.

And now, something funny…

Diamond and Port Mourant 19 yo 1995/2014 (62.1%, Velier, Demerara, 564 bottles)

This is experimental rum, that is to say a vatting of Diamond and Port Mourant done at birth, that is to say before filling the casks. It was aged under the tropics, as usual. Colour: very dark amber. Nose: it’s funny that we’ve just mentioned El Dorado, because this baby noses a bit like some old El Dorado, only with more punch and less caramel. That means that it’s not very phenolic rum, and that I’m rather finding quite some toasted oak, cake, mocha, dried bananas and figs, coffee beans… And a very light smoke/tar. In a way, it’s rather gentle despite the lethal strength. With water: the best use of water ever. Old cigars, cedar wood, quality turpentine, earth, mushrooms, very old Bourgogne… Mouth (neat): heavier, fatter, hugely concentrated, with some incense, rose jelly, bitter oranges, liquorice (bags) and polished wood. A drop of cough syrup. With water: became very creamy, rich, honeyed, with also more smoky liquorice and even notes of caramelised kippers. Oh the horror – and yet this is superb. Finish: long, mentholated, rich, honeyed. Smoked bananas this time? Tarry marzipan? Comments: loves water. Oh and I like it that I’m sharing my initials with Diamond Distillery: <SV> (S., you bighead!) SGP:662 - around 88 points.

Wait, we’ve got another rare one that as blended at birth…

Enmore and Port Mourant 16 yo 1998/2014 (62.2%, Velier, Demerara, 848 bottles)

Same kind of story, this is experimental. What’s even more interesting here is that both stills are wooden ones, Enmore wooden column still and Port Mourant wooden pot still. Colour: dark amber. Nose: hard to nose because of the high strength. Oranges, molasses and Mars bars? With water: menthol coming out, and more marmalade, liquorice, vetiver, coffee, pastis… In a way, this is a South-American Karuizawa. Not kidding. Mouth (neat): rich, powerful, on orange, ginger and sugarcane liqueurs. I need water again. With water: rich spicy wood, loads and loads of sweet liquorice, triple-sec, ginger liqueur, a few drops of Guinness, gingerbread, speculoos… Really creamy and really thick – and yet not that heavy. Not a very phenolic Demerara. Finish: very long, all on sweet spices. This could work as a sauce on spare ribs or something. Comments: the sweeter side of Demerara. Huge (sweet) liquorice. SGP:752 - around 87 points.

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