
December 5, 2021

Rums that we were having

Just more rum, as after brandy, there's rum - and reversely. First up, a wee apéritif…

Trois Rivières 1979 (40%, OB, Martinique, +/-1990)

Rhum agricole for sure but this was pre-appellation. Hope it's not flat dead, I'm just opening the bottle, cross fingers… Colour: light amber. Nose: typical OBE on rum, with obvious notes of shoe polish which, I'm sure, weren't there back in the 1990s. Mushrooms, mud, rotting oranges, dried rambutans and banana confit, and really a lot of earth. Which, in truth, is scary… Mouth: it got dry and drying, too mentholy, too liquoricy, a little fleshless, scrawny, now you do still feel that this has been great. Like, twenty years ago. No, seriously, gathering old bottles is cool, but believe me, your investment is never totally secure. Old bottles, whether whisky, brandy or rum, are not much better than Bitcoins, they just take more room. Finish: nicer! Mouthwash and pine liqueur, with a little honeydew. Comments: I should have opened this thirty years ago but then again, there were no d*rty blogs back then ;-). Although I could have started a page on our dear old 'Minitel'.
SGP:471 - 72 points.

Off to Cuba (love Cuba)…

Havana Club 25 yo (40%, La Distillerie Générale, Cuba, 35 cl, 790 bottles)

Some crazy 'independent' stuff by Pernod-Ricard, who as anyone would know, do handle Havana Club. Those 25 years are the average age here, rather than the age of the youngest component. Better just try it, the stories being a tad unlikely and, well, dissonant. Colour: orange amber. Nose: the Cuban lightness, the oranges, this feeling of nosing Grand-Marnier, these tiny touches of crystallised tangerines, these notes of burnt caramel that, in my lousy experience, will be found in any Cuban rum… And, guess what, no whiffs of 'Cuban cigars' whatsoever. Mouth: light but delicate and complex, with awesome touches of burnt sugars (muscovado, demerara), then café latte and Swiss hot chocolate (Caotina, allez). It is really thin but it does make you think of Juana Bacallao, that utter star from La Havana which I last saw at the Buena Vista Social Club around five years ago. Finish: not long, but wonderfully caramelly. Comments: unless I 'm wrong, this one would dethrone my former favourite Cuban, which used to be Santiago de Cuba 11 years old (WF 85). But we'ved got the Santiago 25 on the shelves...
SGP:640 - 86 points.

Mauritius 2010/2021 (52.9%, Single Barrel Selection for The Whisky Exchange, Mauritius, moscatel cask finish, 305 bottles)

From Gray's distillery apparently. I'm still struggling with my rums from Maurice/Mauritius, I have to say, and a finish in moscatel will probably not help. Colour: amber. Nose: fudge, warm cane syrup, then flowers (lilies, ylang-ylang), then rather huge notes of pineapple and passion fruits. That's all extremely aromatic and pretty lovely, hope the palate won't be sugary – or lightish. With water: peonies all over the place, with wee whiffs of mothballs, musk, old wardrobe, mink, old lady's perfumes… Mouth (neat): crazy fruity palate, on huge raspberries, mulberries, prickly pears (huge, totally huge) and liquorice allsorts. With water: easy, fruity, and frankly gewurztraminer-like. Turkish delights, rose jelly, litchi… Finish: good length, extremely fruity. More Turkish delights and roses. Comments: not my preferred style, as a malt enthusiast, but let's be honest, there's some stamina in there, and an insane fruity floralness.
SGP:740 - 84 points.

Foursquare 2005/2020 (61.1%, Wealth Solutions, The Colours of Rum, Barbados, cask #112, 272 bottles)

What a series! Not a rum day without Foursquare. Colour: light amber. Nose: very Foursquare, that is to say all on cakes, either burnt or 'natural'. Typical mid-light, mid-heavy style, so very self-blend. Perhaps a little too much coconut too, but let's see… With water: varnish and 'new-sawn plywood', then wee vegetables, asparagus, salsify… Those vegetables are adding to the distillate's body, otherwise it would be a little too skinny IMHO. Mouth (neat): a thinnish body, as always, but all the rest is rather perfect, as always. Bananas and roasted nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, sesame, black nougat… With water: praline galore and a nougaty extravaganza. How very Foursquare, with no proper esters in sight. I mean, esters that you would taste upfront. Finish: long and light. Some varnishy touches, tangerine juice… Comments: impeccable, just not totally sexy. This thinness on your tongue…
SGP:541 - 86 points.

Karukera 6 yo 2014/2021 (61.8%, OB for LMDW, Guadeloupe, cask # 10R12N1, 122 bottles)

From a sherry brandy cask, which was probably an oloroso cask in the first place. I suppose we're talking brandy de Jerez, right? Colour: amber. Nose: huge liquorice. Love liquorice. Amazing liquorice, plus star anise and obviously a feeling of artisanal pastis. I have to say I've always been a fan of Karukera – and of artisanal pastis. With water: cedar and sandal wood, thujone, wormwood, celeriac and gentian. How rooty is this? Mouth (neat): wham, modern meaty, almost Chambertiny liquoricy arrival. Then more and more liquorice, menthol, and eucalyptus. Almost stuff by Domaine Leroy if you ask me. With water: superb, if a tad concoctiony but isn't that the fate of many a modern-style spirit? Huge liquorice and mint. Finish: very long, very mentholy. Perhaps a little 'too much' at this point. Aniseed and fennel. Comments: almost pastis at cask strength, you would almost believe this was made in Pontarlier, rather than in Guadeloupe. Extreme spirit which I like a lot, but you wouldn't down a bucket of it.
SGP:471 - 85 points.

A last one please, and let's make it something special…

Port Mourant 31 yo 1989/2021 (47.3%, Greenheart Collection, 218 bottles)

From Port Mourant's wooden still when it was still at Uitvlugt. Even utter loudmouths/windmills cannot make rum crazier than this. Bla-bla-bla… Colour: amber. Nose: awe and resins, warm waxes, propolis, liquorice lozenges and natural tar liqueurs. This is deep, subtle, solid and heavy, all at the same time. No, it's sublime. Mouth: heavy oak, heavy pinewood, strong liquorice, cough syrup, mentholy ointments, all-crazy resins, this is the equivalent to JJ Burnell's hardest basslines with the Stranglers. You may check 'Another Camden Afternoon'. De nada. Finish: long, liquoricy, with some extraordinary balance between the lime, the mint, the liquorice and the resins. Thirty-one years, mind you! Comments: as a malt lover, I just adore this. Some unbeatable ueber-malternative-y rum.
SGP:462 - 91 points.

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