A bag of seven rums


December 4, 2022

A bag of seven rums

Rum remains a very fascinating and diverse category, with countless styles and origins, from old-style pure rums combining two main characteristics (cane juice or molasses, pot still or column) to new brands born just yesterday that would tend to blend faux Victorian designs and revolutionary names with more or less doctored industrial juices. Or rums from the distilleries vs. rums from the labs… As usual, too pretty designs tend to be no good signs, but there are many exceptions… Let's see if we ever come across some of these…

Mayan dog with wheels, found in Cihuatàn (National Museum of Anthropology San Salvador, fundar.org)

Cihuatàn 12 yo 'Cinabrio' (40%, OB, El Salvador, +/-2022)

We've tried one Cihuatàn 'Xaman XO' earlier this year, which we found pretty good if a little sweetish (WF 80). This Cinabrio seems to be paying tribute to some Mayan sun god, whilst Cihuatàn is the name of the largest Mayan site in El Salvador. What's more, cinabrio is cinnabar, so mercury sulphide (or some Estée Lauder perfume). Colour: light gold. Nose: very unusual at first, with rather a lot of anise and fennel seeds, surely some lime zests, then a metallic side (old tin box) and a curious herbal combination, with some angelica, Szechuan pepper, and just more star anise. Very intriguing – if this wasn't doctored in the lab. The palate should tell… Mouth: starts a little sugary, gets then drier, always very herbal, with more anise than on the nose, plus some coconut (from the wood or from the lab) and a little vanilla. The low strength feels, it is a little flabby. Finish: shortish, but with nicer notes of oranges and cinnamon liqueur. The aftertaste is rather peppery. Espelette pimento pepper, yes that exists. Comments: no cinnabar and that's probably better, I've seen it's toxic. A feeling of pepper and cinnamon liqueur overall, Egoïste de Chanel...
SGP:750 - 78 points.

Trinidad Distillers 8 yo 'Single Estate' (43%, Cane Island, Trinidad, +/-2022)

So Angostura, so molasses in column… Since I'm not familiar with the house Cane Island, I don't know whether they doctor their rums or not, let's see… Colour: deep gold. Nose: hey, nice! Some heavy fuel and some rotting bananas, not an unseen combination. Then liquorice, muscovado, some kind of tarry fudge and, perhaps, some sugar syrup, which is a little more frightening, but this nose is very pleasant altogether. Mouth: a little sweetness indeed, as if someone had added some banana and pineapple liqueur. Once again this is not unpleasant, but while other flavours would fade away, the sugariness remains on your tongue for a long time, which I do not like too much. The core is pretty lovely, too bad it's sweet. Finish: medium, with more cinnamon, and always rather a lot of cane syrup. Peppery aftertaste, once more. Comments: same ballpark.
SGP:751 - 78 points.

Millonario '10 Anniversario Reserva' (40%, OB, Peru, +/-2022)

Many websites or retailers are advertising this one as a tenner, but nowhere does it say that the number '10' is related to this baby's age. It's even funny to read stuff such as '2/3 of this 10 years old consist in rums aged for 6 years in ex-Heaven Hill barrels. Love them still. We had tried the 15 back in 2010 and, as it seems, thought it was shockingly sweet (WF 60/65). Colour: gold. Nose: burnt tyres, tar liqueur, bananas flambéed, old copper, shoe polish, then prickly pear syrup and once again, this feeling of sugar load that you would get right on, and in the nose. Mouth: starts okay, on pepper, tar and oils, but the sugar gets massive and frankly cloying. More Cointreau than in Cointreau. I'm not sure anyone could actually quaff this without two tons of ice, or at least one litre of fresh cool water. Finish: long, much too sugary. Coffee liqueur and triple-sec. Comments: no, three tons of ice. Even Coca-Cola is not this sweet. Next Millonario, perhaps around 2035. Actually, I am joking, we've got more Millonario on the desk. Next time, okay?
SGP:920 - 45 points.

Renegade 'Etudes Dunfermline' (55%, OB, Grenada, 1,200 bottles, 2022)

Ex pot still and eighteen months of ageing. Colour: straw. Nose: Laphroaig. Not saying that because this baby would share some traits with the famous Islayer, rather because you immediately get this feeling of 'love it or hate it'. In this case the fresh fermented cane juice is just all over the place and would come with a blend of roasted sesame oil, olive oil, lanoline (there, Laphroaig), diesel oil and some very fruity compost. As well as, in the background, some kind of camphor and menthol-based balm. With water: no changes, same rum, unless, wait, would this be anchovies?... Mouth (neat): what tinned sardines? What anchovies? What aspirin tablet? What pomegranate and pink grapefruit juice? This should go well with some Portuguese dishes (anchovy and garlic paste or something). And Puttanesca, naturally. Seriously, I'm a fan of high-character spirits, and this is one of them. Finish: long, salty, on benzine and anchovies. Overripe bananas and.. gentian (!) in the aftertaste. Comments: a lot of fun in this one. High presence and a style of its own, a tiny wee tad reminiscent of grogue and/or clairin here and there. I'm too close to Renegade to feel allowed to come up with an 'official' (well…) score, but let's say we're well in the high eighties already.
SGP:463.

Karukera 4 yo (54.3%, OB for LMDW, Antipodes, Guadeloupe, cask #576, 2022)

Karukera is the old Indian name of the island of La Guadeloupe. This is pure cane juice, while 'Karukera' is an offshoot of Longueteau, with their own methods of aging etc. We've already tried some excellent Karukeras. Colour: light gold. Nose: some presence, but this is much gentler and softer than the Renegade, perhaps also subtler. Fresh cane juice, broken branches, sunflower oil, notes of preserved peaches and mirabelles, a little crème brulée… It really is a very gentle and elegant agricole so far. With water: remains a little restrained, hard to pin down, with rather many small aromas but perhaps no real guideline. That or I'm very tired. Mouth (neat): oh this is a cognac finish, capeesh. The oak's a tad heavy too, maybe… Cloves, peaches, kumquats, Timut pepper… With water: some kind of citrusy oak, with some olive oil, pumpkin seeds, lemon oil, eucalyptus wood… This baby really needs your attention if you'd like to get a good grasp of it. Not an easy one. Finish: medium, with things from the cognac (praline and raisins)… It's really hard to handle. Peppery olive oil and lemon essence in the aftertaste. Comments: rather soft and subtle, and yet tough and rough (ooh!) This one really requests all of your attention.
SGP:451 - 84 points.

To some heavier hitters…

Long Pond Cambridge 12 yo 2010/2022 'STCE' (57%, National Rums of Jamaica, LMDW, 5,153 bottles)

A vatting of fifteen (15) bourbon barrels. That's almost as many as in a batch of Johnnie Walker Blue, no? Now, as for this little rum and as I understand it, the name Cambridge refers to an old distillery whose make they're replicating at Long Pond, the marque STCE meaning 'Simon Thomsom Cambridge Estate'. Good, and the name 'continental flavoured' refers to one of the four styles they're making altogether, namely a rather high-ester one (500 to 700 gr/hlpa). Good, hope I've got everything more or less right, let us proceed… Colour: full gold. Nose: varnishes, acetone, polishes and carbon dust (a Porsche after the Nürburgring, as they say). Gosh they'll cancel us too one day. Then the expected rotting (well, rotten) bananas, artichokes, black olives, and Scotch tape. With water: more of all that, with perhaps a different balance. More Scotch tape. Mouth (neat): massive loads of rotting tropical fruits, with a feeling of ammonia, and certainly more varnish, plus coal tar and just diesel oil (right, a feeling of diesel oil, or rather something reminiscent of diesel oil). With water: sorrel juice (yep) and guava juice taking over. Very unusual – well I'm not familiar with these makes anyway. Acidic and rather sour. Finish: long, with more tart fruits of all kinds. Sour, gherkiny aftertaste. More liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: extreme. Quaffing dressers often comes with a challenge, this is an excellent (and actually excellent) example.
SGP:463 - 88 points.

We need a 90+ to call this a rum session. Sure bet…

Uitvlugt 30 yo 1991 (56%, Jack Tar, Dream Catcher, Illusion Series, Guyana, cask #3)

Aged in Europe. This from the Port Mourant double wooden still when it was still at Uitvlugt. In a kind of way, all these +/-30 yo Uitvlugts remind me of all these +/-30 yo Lap… I mean Secret Islays that are all so good these days. Colour: straw. Nose: it's got this coastal purity, these old forgotten fruit liqueurs and pastes, this amazing mentholy earthiness, lip balm, these touches of camphor and these traces of olives filled with anchovy paste. I know we keep mentioning these… With water: yeah, old magazines, ink, stale rainwater, new tarmac, Barbour grease and olives… There's even a little butterscotch. Mouth (neat): I won't say there aren't any similarities with the Cambridge, especially on the diesel oil side. Stunning briney unfolding here but then again, this came expected. Olives, rotting fruits, carbon, varnish… With a relative softness. Cough syrup. With water: glorious. A few pencil shavings, some molassy Demerara sugar (how come) and a little tobacco. Finish: long, fantastic, salty. Very funny notes of butterscotch and toffee in the aftertaste, now THAT came unexpected. Comments: some butterscotch in an old Port-Mourant-at-Uitvlugt, by gum, I think we've seen it all now.
SGP:563 - 91 points.

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