
April 11, 2021

Caution

A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace!

Rums on Sunday, looking for malternatives

Will the quest ever be over?

Merveilleux Falernum (19.25%, Ferroni, France, +/-2020)

'Spice, rum and magic', that sounds like the name of power trio, circa 1972. Think early ZZ Top. Now let's be honest, I had no idea about falernums, what they were, how you make them, and why they were not the drinks of Roman centurions, despite the name. Sure I could do more research, but life is short. So this is 'falernum'… Colour: orange gold. Nose: like this really a lot. Some kind of complex liqueur, with rose petals, a feeling of gewurztraminer and viognier, church incense, perfumed letters, jasmine, ylang-ylang, pre-Erdogan Turkish delights… I love this nose, really. Mouth: very sweet (probably too sweet) and pretty light (probably too light) but the flavours are right, more or less the same as on the nose, but with this terrible feeling of being able to quaff a bottle every day that God makes. Finish: not too long and probably rather too sugary for me, but technically pretty perfect. Comments: with teppanyaki-ed peanut-covered foie gras, perhaps? Please take my score with a huge grain of salt, I know nothing about… hat's the name again? Right, 'falernum'…
SGP:730 - 85 points.

Off to Mauritius…

Chamarel 4 yo 2014/2019 (58%, OB, Maurice, 2284 bottles)

This is French-style Mauritian rum, so ex-pure cane juice. It's very young, let's see… Colour: gold. Nose: grasses and rubber, plus green melons and apples and a touch of vanilla and wax. Not too sure, this is harsh and narrow. Strange… With water: cane juice and lady's moisturiser, drops of pastis. Mouth (neat): aniseed, liquorice and grasses, we're reminded of some cachaças. Or extreme absinths for tourists. Then preserved peaches and amyl diacetate. It's too strong, really. With water: touches of earth, liquorice wood, wormwood… Finish: long, grassy harsh. Lemon and pastis. Comments: I'm dead sure you could intellectualise it a lot and find it utterly great after seven glasses; this dog don't bark that way.
SGP:441 - 72 points.

Chairman's Reserve 8 yo 2012 'Master's Selection' (46%, OB, for Salon du Rhum Belgique, Ste Lucie, bourbon, cask #413072007)

This baby was made in the John Dore 1 and the Vendôme pot stills. Colour: full gold. Nose: brand new scuba diving suit and old tyres, then wee flowers (woodruff, mullein) plus lime blossom and lemon grass. I know it doesn't sound like this, but it is pretty ex-tra-or-di-na-ry. Mouth: superb. Perfect freshness (mint and liquorice), then tiny herbs (watercress, alfalfa), then the largest bag of liquorice allsorts in the world, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice. Hope you see what I mean. Finish: buy the heaviest Dutch liquorice, let marinate in kerosene for three weeks; and congrats! Comments: to think that we used to find Port Ellen 1978 extremely liquorice-y! Now careful, you shall not quaff more than two glasses of this heaviest concoction in a row. It was a good idea to bring it down to 46% vol.
SGP:562 - 87 points.

Bielle 2001 (52.2%, La Maison du Whisky Singapore, Transcontinental Rum Line, Marie-Galante, cask #35, +/-2021)

Bielle, top-five rum distillery in the world. Fact. Arguments and any whining on a postcard, please. Colour: amber. Nose: oh. Very old palo cortado, plus the spent oils from an old Norton, plus pipe juice, plus old mint cordial, old chartreuse (I'm no chartreuse fetishist though), some kind of flower chutney, pralines, a drop of sweet teppanyaki sauce, chocolate, coffee, liquorice… With water: pineapple and broom. Liquorice allsorts. In short, more liquorice. IT seems that this is international liquorice day. Mouth (neat): holy featherless crow, what is this!? In truth it is extremely woody – tropical aging, well well well, catch time or catch wood… - then on menthol and liquorice. Superb but extremely heavy, quite a sledgehammer of a rum, this far. With water: it loves water. After all, Marie-Galante is a tiny island. Teak, liquorice, kippers, olive oil, salty lemons, oysters. Finish: very long, very coastal or pretty oaky depending on the amount of water you'll add. Comments: it's to be wondered, with these very restless spirits, if it wouldn't be better when the most distinguished bottlers would reduce it to appropriate strengths themselves. But stunning Bielle.
SGP:572 - 89 points.

Panama Rum (59.4%. La Maison du Whisky and Swan Song Singapore, Rum of the World, bourbon, cask #PA15SPMD90, 2020)

These cask numbers are pure torture. Panamanian rum too, sometimes, but I'm sure that won't be the case this time… Colour: full gold. Nose: sweet warm caramel, fudge, Camel tobacco, light molasses, pancake sauce, vanilla, coconut liqueur. Malibu aged in oak; in short, not the third world war. With water: wee whiffs of benzine, always a good sign. Grass, shoe polish. Mouth (neat): typically sweet and ethanoly. More coconut, but I wouldn't recommend you try to drink this without bringing it down to +/-45% vol. With water: fruit juices and Rivella. That's a drink we have here in Switzerland and Alsace. An acquired taste, as they say at Laphroaig. Finish: medium, a little sour. Comments: I utterly love Singapore and the Singaporeans (my brother used to live in Singapore and of course I used to visit him), but I'm not totally sure this is the best bottling they ever had in the Lion City. However, it's rather fine rum for sure. Panama remains Panama.
SGP:640 - 78 points.

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