
February 6, 2022

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 the desk again

Looking for malternatives, as always. Let me insist once more, I'm tasting rum from the point of view of a whisky enthusiast and certainly not from that of a rum expert or anything like that. Cheers, let's see what we have…

Phraya 'Elements' (40%, OB, Thailand, +/-2021)

It's true that we've tried both some excellent Thai rum (Issan, Chalong Bay) and some plainly putrid swill (earlier SangSom), so in truth and despite some slightly overdone packaging that's never really good news, we just don't know what to expect here. Well, except that we've just seen that Phraya was actually made by… SangSom. Let's fasten our seatbelts then… Colour: gold. Nose: not much, it's rather akin to many a very light rum such as Havana Club or Bacardi. Touches of coconut, vanilla, orange liqueur, light caramel, a little cane syrup. Very light and rather characterless, certainly not dangerous this far. Mouth: well, it's okay, really. First, no feeling of sugar, that's good. Then some coconut water, vanilla, Fanta and, while we're at it, Coca-Cola. In short, it's very light, with nothing actually repulsive or even marginally unpleasant, but it's probably destined to become a mixer. Finish: short, clean. Cane syrup and vanilla. Comments: I was afraid this would be a sugar bomb; it's not. Probably pleasant on a mountain of ice cubes, while waiting for your Pad Thai (S., this is not TripAdvisor!)
SGP:430 - 75 points.

Damoiseau 5 yo 'Rhum Vieux' (42%, OB, Guadeloupe, bourbon barrel, +/-2021)

Mixed feeling last time we tried a young Damoiseau from Bellevue on Grande-terre, but the potential was clearly there. Shall we find olives and lovely quasi-bacterial notes? Colour: gold. Nose: yes! olives and lovely quasi-bacterial notes, vesou, liquorice wood, then bamboo shoots and a little engine oil, liquorice allsorts (well, the orange ones) and then a lovely earthiness. I enjoy this nose rather a lot, it's pretty complex, nicely olivey, with awesome earthy/herbal notes. And salmiak! Mouth: 45 or 46% would have been welcome but other than that, this salty arrival is pretty perfect and the olives and artichoke cake are lovely too. Touch of tar and of course, liquorice. A shame that it would just be a tiny-wee-tad wishy-washy. Well, not quite but you get the drift. I suppose a 100proof version would sort it out… Wait, don't tell me that exists! Finish: a tad short, but very good, with touches of honeyed oranges with some olive oil. Perfect combo, that, orange-honey-olive. Comments: how do you score frustration?
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Rhum J.M 6 yo 2014/2020 (55.11%, OB for Rum Gallery, Martinique, agricole, fresh American oak, cask #140061, 270 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: the fresh oak feels a wee bit but as in some new modern malt whiskies, it's well integrated and would add herbal and soft spicy tones, so I'm fine with this oaky inflation. Otherwise some awesome cane juice, praline and garden peat, liquorice again, custard, fresh ginger, tiny whiffs of lilies… Curious to check what water will bring out, hope that won't be more oak spices. With water: we're safe, phew. Cedar wood and marmalade, touch of hibiscus syrup. Mouth (neat): may I call this modern rum? It's clearly spiced-up but they haven't added any spices, soups of juices, this is all the work of some very active oak. Nutmeg, ginger, cloves, caraway, juniper… And rather a lot of curaçao too. It's pretty sweet, did they not deep-char this barrel? With water: success, the spice inflation has been curbed and we're rather finding sweet roots. Beets? (takes the biscuit when in rum, ha). Finish: long and, well, a little sweet. Comments: extremely good, as many J.M.s are, but perhaps at the limit as far as oak is concerned. Whats more, the juice was not very heavy.
SGP:641 - 85 points.

JMH 29 yo 1992/2021 (57.7%, The Whisky Blues, Jamaica, barrel, 253 bottles)

I am afraid I don't know this marque, but then again, I'm the worst rum expert on this side of the Atlantic. Probably Hampden anyway. Colour: pale gold (hurray, at 29 years!) Nose: extremely pure, almost crystalline, on new electronics, olives and capers, bitter almonds, rotting bananas and new tyres. Yep I'm finding this 'crystalline'. With water: highest top dresser rum, just utterly stunning. 24,434,354 kinds of olives. Mouth (neat): amazing. Top spirit of this world. With these +/-30 yo 'Jamaicans' it's like when we were regularly stumbling upon these new Ardbegs single casks that used to get bottled circa 2000-2005. 1972-1976 vintages. Woo-hoo. Amazing brines, lemons, rubbers, seashells and resinous smokes. With water: that it would get even greater when reduced down to +/-45% is scandalous and outrageous. What a drop. Finish: long, sublimely salty. Rumporn alert. Only the aftertaste is a notch flabbier, with a little Szechuan pepper that may be slightly out of place. BS alert this time. Comments: glorious rum, clearly the 1972-1976 Ardbeg of rum. Hold on, do they have purifiers at Hampden? Are they functioning? I mean, were they functioning back in 1992? (trying to sound smart, you know).
SGP:463 - 92 points.

Hampden 2010/2020 'LROK' (62.5%, Velier for Navigate World Whisky, 250 bottles)

Comes with a white-chinned thrush on the label, which I had immediately recognised (yeah right). Other than that, a great Jamaican rum sourced and selected by a legendary Italian company for an engaging South-African firm, that totally makes sense doesn't it. LROK suggests this is lighter Hampden (am I right this time?) Colour: gold. Nose: you do feel the 'lighter' side, although this would never get classified as a 'light' rum. Perhaps a tad more on floral and banana-y smells, the rest being earthy and spicy, with the expected olives 'of course' and something of an agricole, not something I've never noticed in these 'low-marque' Hampdens. In short, extremely nice. With water: immense viscimetry. Garden pond (muck?) and carbon, anchovy paste, eucalyptus and cedar woods, turpentine and lovage… I'll say it again, 'woo-hoo'. Mouth (neat): lighter Hampden my hat. Smoked oranges, crushed olives and sardines, banana skin, riesling, carbolineum and salted liquorice. With water: a little lighter and rounder indeed, but the saltiness and the rounder tarriness are just terrific. Finish: long and salty. More anchovies. It would just never get 'lighter'. Comments: you cannot question these, even if they're a little less majestic than those early-landed 30 years old.
SGP:462 - 90 points.

We have time, let's push this session further…

Jamaican Rum 19 yo 2000 (55.8%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, refill bourbon barrel, #R7.3, 'Shiver me esters!', 185 bottles)

Said to be Hampden. It's great that the SMWS would have many new rums, but the marque would be welcome here. Colour: gold. Nose: of course, more carbon, new electronics, liquorice and black olives, new plastics, rotting fruits, paint… With water: rainwater and tarmac, rubber, leaves… Mouth (neat): great drop, salty, varnishy, also rather fruitier than the other Hampdens (including the one we'll taste after this one), with some preserved peaches and plums. Vine peaches and liquorice allsorts. And I mean ALL sorts of allsorts this time. Superb drop in any case. With water: just tops. A good glass of petroly riesling is to be added. Finish: long, really salty, with kippers and oysters ala Caol Ila. Great fun. Comments: what can I say? If you like this style you'll love this bottle. I still believe the folks who come up with the names need to see a doctor (of course not, they're funny and good).
SGP:553 - 90 points.

C<>H 1993/2021 (57.8%, Salon du Rhum Belgique, Jamaica, 187 bottles)

The 1990 for Salon du Rhum blew us out of our rieslings the other day (WF 93). This is high-ester early-landed Hampden. I can't quite see what could go wrong here. Colour: white wine. Nose: it is a little extreme, to tell you the truth, very 'burnt'. Burnt tyres, new shoes, Jerez vinegar, olives 'of course', big fat Sicilian capers, samphires, brake pad dust, fresh concrete, magazines, new Tesla, ammonia… With water: new polyester. An acquired taste ;-). Mouth (neat): very extreme indeed. Very green, ultra-grassy, salty, hugely acetic, acetone-y… I'm not too sure this time. With water: salty, vinegary, with some sage, sorrel, nettle soup and garlic butter. And plastics. All right then. Finish: long and on smoked vinegars and paraffins. Bone-dry. Comments: extremely spectacular, but probably more for Hampden exegetes than for this humble whisky lover. The stunning 1990 anytime, plus cash.
SGP:273 - 87 points.

A very last one, this is becoming a little hard…

Sample Seventeen (60.5%, The Whisky Mercenary & Kintra, Jamaica, +/-2020)

This is a blend of various unaged marques of 'H'. Perfect easy landing, I would suppose… Colour: white. Nose: concrete dust, green bananas, ink, olives and capers. Good funk, as good as a white rum can be. Frankly, who needs oak? With water: chalk, benzine, olive oil and just turpentine. Mouth (neat: amazing big fat fermentary and bacterial arrival, you would almost believe this is some six-year-old Comté cheese. Then diesel oil, ink, plastics and sorrel. With water: just plain Hampden, it's to be wondered why oaked and time are needed. Magnificent distillate. Perhaps a wee bit on the lightish side, but between us, that's better for us. Excellent. Finish: Imagine the cocktails. Like this, plus wild mezcal, plus white Ardbeg, plus lime juice. All right, some fine tuning to be done, I agree – who's game? . Comments: extremely well done, Mr Mercenary. Oops, forgot to mention cane juice, you do feel the cane.
SGP:463 - 87 points.

Next week on Sunday, cognac again.

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