Another rum fest at Château WF


December 18, 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!

Another rum fest at Château WF

Harpy

A wonderful harpy eagle, a.k.a. haubariria, which the very fine folks at Tamosi make us discover today in addition to a fab Enmore. Save wildlife! (San Diego Zoo)

It's really becoming rumfun here, which I like. Not all rums are good, some are even pretty terrible, but contrarily to whiskies, they are never boring. What's more, until now they do not really seem to be relying on whacky wine casks, which is a sign of superiority in my book. What's the message when your coveted distillate needs a finishing in syrah, zinfandel, merlot or touriga nacional? Or in stout, IPA or tequila?

Benleigh 4 yo (43%, Cane Island, Australia, +/-2021)

Colour: gold. Nose: funny! Say aniseed and fennel, olives, diesel oil and tar, heather honey and gingerbread, then just fresh-crushed cane juice. All is well here, it's also good to check how these makes take heavier reduction, in this case pretty well. Mouth: starts with oranges and liquorice, plus marzipan and pistachio nougat. Having said that, the low strength feels and makes it a little cardboardy after the arrival, with a middle that's a little frustrating despite some good brine. Pineapple syrup. Finish: shortish, sadly. I say sadly because the core remains perfect, just weaker because of the low strength. Some plain sugar in the aftertaste, that's not too good. Comments: still vastly superior to the official 5yo.
SGP:642 - 78 points.

Fortin 'Heroica' (40%, OB, Paraguay, +/-2022)

Fortin's 8 yo was very okay back in 2016, but this Beethovenian version might be something else… Having said that, it's is fully organic, and they say they have been elected Best Distillery in the World in 2016 (by whom? Perhaps by the Sausalito Yacht Club ;-)) Colour: gold. Nose: it is sweet light rum, as they are making all over Central and South America. Certainly nice, with some triple-sec or curaçao, light molasses honey, a little cedarwood and incense, cane juice, nougat… There is some elegance to this, it's not been made-up with pineapple syrup or other odd flavouring agents. Mouth: yes it is all right, sweet not sugary, light not weak, with more cane syrup, touches of cinnamon and white pepper, some glazed chestnuts perhaps, some vanilla… Finish: short and light, but clean and rather caney. Comments: heroic, probably not quite, but while most of these 'rons' do not exceed 70 points in my book, I find this one rather superior. No Hampden though.
SGP:530 - 75 points.

Depaz 2002 'Hors d'Âge' (45%, OB, Martinique, agricole, +/-2019)

A well-known Distillery that's sharing the same owners as, for example, Saint-James, Bally, or Glen Moray, namely La Martiniquaise. Colour: amber. Nose: it bursts with mangos and papayas at first, would then display milk chocolate and white chocolate, flowers (jasmine, wisteria, ylang-ylang), then blood oranges, candied angelica, and a little patchouli. In the old days, we would have called this pretty fragrant nose 'rather a little feminine'. The Community will have to work on new adjectives! Mouth: the oak's a little forward at first, a feeling that's not uncommon in these old rums but rarely seen in whisky (I mean, not like this). Many candied fruits are taking over then, together with flowers (jellies and teas) and some cocoa and cinnamon. Some pink bananas, hibiscus tea, perhaps a little yerba mate… A liquoricy, spicy tannicity keeps underlining it all along. Finish: medium, tannic and tea-ish, but with some flowers and fruits that keep counter-balancing all that. Cedarwood, coffee and orange liqueur in the aftertaste. Comments: some interesting work with oak. I find it extremely good.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Clarendon 15 yo 2007/2022 (63%, Rum Sponge, for LMDW, Antipodes)

Clarendon 15 yo 2007/2022 (63%, Rum Sponge, for LMDW, Jamaica, Antipodes)

I'm glad that our friend the Sponge is now to be found at LMDW in France, no mean feat if you ask me. We keep liking the Freudian labels too. Let's try this little Monymusk that they bottled just for France… Colour: deep gold. Nose: it's not quite one of those Monymusks that can be 'too much on carbon dust', I'm even finding it a little gentle, at 63% vol. But naturally, it's full of olives, both green and black, of eucalyptus essence, of thyme essence, of varnish… And, err, of ethanol, so let's not take any further chances… With water: but it's fresh-pressed olive oil! Mouth (neat): indeed, it's not an extreme Monymusk, even if it would probably kill you, should you swallow more than three drops at a time. Mangos, olives, tar, liquorice, green walnuts… With water: perfect at circa 50% vol. The olives keep running the show, but bananas, mangos, saponin/paraffin and 'whacky rotting tropical fruits' keep fighting back. Finish: long, unexpectedly balanced, this time more on pine resin and crème de menthe. I'm even finding a little absinth in the aftertaste – absinth at 63% vol. of course. Comments: excellent Monymusk/Clarendon. Welcome to France, Sponge! (talking about the brand name 'Sponge').
SGP:363 - 90 points.

Enmore 31 yo 1991/2022 'Haubariria - KFM' (52.6%, Tamosi, Guyana)

This should stem from the Versailles single wooden pot still, which was at Enmore before it was shipped to Diamond around the year 2000. According to Mr Google, Habariria means 'harpy eagle' in the Lokono-Arawak language. Impressive bird, but we've got a few harpies too in WF's entourage (hey I-am-joking!) Colour: mahogany-amber. Nose: starts with praline and chocolate, tamarind jam, prunes, toffee, carbon dust, tar, tyres, old brandy, cigars, mustard, leather… With water: first some fresh concrete and crushed slates, anthracite, then some mint, old oloroso (really)… Mouth (neat): ooh! Some exceptional tarry molasses, some very high-end chocolate, truffles, black toffee, chestnut honey… With water: it's almost old oloroso indeed, we mean from circa 1800. Incredible herbal, tarry, camphory, mentholated development, going towards horseradish and mustard, more crushed slates, sage, tarragon, lovage, black olives, pine resin, pine needles, bitter oranges… It is a whole journey. There's even something that reminds us of some wood that they use in artisanal cachaça making (and with an Irish whiskey we've tried the other day), which is called 'amburana'. Finish: very long, with a feeling of menthol, walnut stain, more pine resin, fern, walnut skin… Chartreuse V.E.P. and petrol in the aftertaste, which says a lot. Comments: not an easy baby, everything being a little 'too much' in this very baroque old rum. The thing is, we love baroque. The baroquest, the better. Remember, life is short.
SGP:472 - 91 points.

We're flying too high, let's have a last one and make it a worthy one (ooh, S.!!)

Jamaica 16 yo 2006/2022 'WP' (59.3%, Wealth Solutions, The Colours of Rum, 214 bottles)

These fine people have just unloaded another incredible set of rums, all from the very best origins. Colour: gold. Nose: love this make, always loved this make which, despite some very heavy esters, is always displaying something better chiselled, pretty lacey. Excuse me but this is really responding to my favourite Alsatian rieslings, which are all stemming from the Riquewihr-Hunawihr-Ribeauvillé region. Some delicate petroly smells, crushed limestone and gypsum, some olive brine and oil 'of course', paraffin, paint, gherkins… Is this some Jurassic rum? With water: oh chalk, plaster, Barbour grease, shoe polish, washing powder, also maracuja and oranges… Mouth (neat): mango, honey and parsley, really? Water is needed… With water: unusually liquoricy and on aniseed, and rather sweeter than usual, at that. Still utterly wonderful, just a tad 'sweet' and pastissy (?) Finish: long, fresh, rather richer than other worthy ones at this point, but great. Honeyed aftertaste, with even mirabelles. Comments: nose and palate were not 100% aligned, but we're splitting hairs once more. Superb rum, no question.
SGP:652 - 89 points.

Oh well, life is short and we don't know what's gonna happen next week…

Jamaica 23 yo 1998/2022 'HD' (61.9%, Wealth Solutions, The Colours of Rum, cask #6, 255 bottles)

We've had another HD (remember, that's not Harley-Davidson) from the same series just last week, and thought it was brilliant. Of course this is Hampden, the marque being 'HCLF', so Hampden with 500-700 gr esters/ HLPA. Colour: straw. Nose: new scuba diving suit (isn't Christmas around the corner), balsamico, olives, pickled gherkins, carbon, new tyres, acetone… etc. With water: more acetone, nail polish remover, glue, tarry ropes ala Ardbeg, also dried rambutans and longans, which is very specific… Mouth (neat): superlative, immense, tarry, salty, briney, even a tad 'burnt', as in 'burnt tyres'. Perhaps a wee cup of onion soup? Some sweet chilli mix too. With water: good fun, the dried longans and rambutans are back. This one is very sensitive to H2O, the lower you go down the degrees, the sweeter it gets, which is not common either. Finish: long, acetic, sweet as well. Sweet tar, even orange liqueur and then a medicinal side in the aftertaste. Comments: I think I liked last week's HD even better, for it was drier and saltier, as far as I can remember. But a great Hampden, nonetheless.
SGP:663 - 90 points.

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