Dominican, Martiniquais, and Jamaican rums


May 19, 2024

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!

Dominican, Martiniquais, and Jamaican rums, along with a few from other countries

We'll start with a small procrastinatory aperitif. We've been putting off this moment for a long time...

Picture: in 2016 Barceló announced that they were the first rum to achieve carbon neutral status based on 'The Bilan Carbone license'.

Well, I discovered that the rum 'Two Drifters', distilled near Exeter in England and available on EasyJet, was actually even 'carbon negative' according to the 'Climeworks' label. They collaborate with Carbfix, who turn the captured CO2 into stone and store it underground. We need to try Two Drifters! BTW, Flor de Caña just announced that they were the world's first spirit to be both carbon neutral and fair trade certified. Now Pernod's Absolut is carbon neutral too, apparenlly. One wonders, however, if in light of these examples, it is not necessary to produce spirits with a very neutral taste to achieve such 'carbon neutral' status.

Barcelo 'Gran Anejo' (37.5%, OB, Dominican Republic, +/-2023)

So they say they're carbon neutral. We found the plain 'Anejo' extremely poor the last time we sampled it (WF 15) but given that this one is a 'Gran Anejo', our expectations are slightly elevated. Colour: gold. Nose: we often mock Bumbu, Don Papa, or Diplomatico, but at least those 'rums' have some flavour. Here, there is almost nothing, save for a hint of medicinal alcohol and liquid caramel. I doubt this little expression is intended to be savoured on its own; it likely needs a boost from Coke or Red Bull. Moreover, the term 'savour' seems rather anachronistic in this context. Mouth: seriously, this should be served over ice. On its own, it's quite dreadful, somewhat sweet, alcoholic, with rather vulgar flavours. We might say rotting Brussels sprouts and old turnips cooked in beet sugar syrup. Finish: short, which is the good news, but the aftertaste is rather unpleasant, requiring a large glass of sparkling water to cleanse it away. Comments: to be honest, the very low alcohol content itself did not bode well. Neutral on all accounts.
SGP:220 - 25 points.

Mhoba 'American Oak' (43%, OB, South Africa, +/-2022)

This pure cane juice rum was finished in South African whisky casks, likely ex-Three Ships. Intriguingly, the new rum is initially matured in large demijohns fitted with charred American oak staves, before being transferred to these whisky casks. Colour: deep gold. Nose: the whole world now knows that Mhoba can be pretty fantastic and this is just more evidence. It slightly resembles a very good young high ester rum in the style of Savanna, just a tad softer. Diesel oil, olives, overripe bananas, a hint of graphite, liquorice, roots… Mouth: perhaps a little more chaotic than on the nose, less precise than the rather formidable cask strength version for LMDW that we tasted in January, but still lovely, fairly funky as they say, but with some burnt notes, beyond the saline or even maritime aspect. Finish: fairly long, saline, still a bit burnt and woody. Some smokiness in the aftertaste. Comments: nothing to complain about, it's good, but perhaps the reduction to a low proof doesn't quite suit it, which, in my opinion, is the case with almost all spirits heavily marked by wood ageing. The single casks rather tend to score around 85 – 87 points in our modest lists.
SGP:352 - 79 points.

Nicaragua 12 yo (43%, Cane Island, Single Estate, +/-2022)

The precise origin of this rum is a secret, but between us, does it really matter? What's amusing is that this rum is significantly more expensive than Flor de Cana of the same age. Colour: dark gold. Nose: oh, but this is not bad at all, with orange juice, an agricole character, multifloral honey, maple syrup, very ripe bananas and pineapples… Really quite good! Mouth: there's a sweet edge to it, it has probably been enhanced, which is a pity because the nose was truly beautiful. On the palate, it veers towards syrup and liquid caramel, while the background hints at sugarcane, orange, and honey. What a shame (though I could be mistaken, perhaps no 'liqueur' was added after all?) Finish: it's always the finishes that are tricky with spirits enhanced with sugar. It's somewhat cloying, moderately so. A pity, as it was a lovely juice. Comments: I suppose this is the taste the public prefers.
SGP:730 - 77 points.

Rhum J.M 'Epices Créoles' (46%, OB, Martinique, Atelier des Rhums, 2023)

Be aware, one might think this is a spiced or flavoured rum, but it's not. Or rather, it is, but they've done it by intensifying the wood, so we're talking about a young rum boosted with hyperactive wood (French and American oak). It's quite in the style of modern J.M rums, I believe. And much like many contemporary malt whiskies, deforestation doesn't seem to be a concern for distillers worldwide. Right, perhaps they're right… Colour: dark gold. Nose: we must admit, it works very well on the nose. Mango, geranium, jasmine, mandarin peel (chen-pi), prickly pear jam, manuka honey… In short, on the nose, yes, it works very well. Mouth: they've found a trick. I'm not entirely fond of the idea, but I must admit the result is quite impressive, with this combination of fruit jams and that majestic Szechuan pepper. Lots of juicy peaches, white, yellow… And a bit of our friend caraway. Finish: good length, more on spices, nutmeg and, once again, chen-pi (hi, Gene). It's only in the aftertaste that a bit of wood shavings appears. Comments: really very nice.
SGP:650 - 86 points.

Romero & Sons 1973 (51.8%, Flensburg Rum Company, Kirsch Imports, Ecuador, cask #22, 212 bottles, 2021)

We've already tried a sister cask last year and thought it was very good, despite, or perhaps because of its funny story. It seems that the casks have been topped-up over the years. Colour: deep gold. Nose: very soft, gently cakey, with a little cappuccino and a whole box of Hershey's assorted chocolates (the Christmas version). With water: a floral side, broom and gorse… Mouth (neat): really good. I cannot not think of the best batches of Santiago de Cuba, even is Santiago is ex-molasses and column, while this is ex-cane honey and bespoke pot still. More cake, orange liqueur, honeys, verbena… With water: Jaffa cakes, pancake sauce, more orange liqueur. Finish: medium, easy, with a lighter structure. Comments: a gentle old rum with attitude – and altitude, as it was stored in the high mountains for some time. I believe cask #36 had a little more oomph.
SGP:431 - 85 points.

Lluidas Vale 10 yo 2012/2023 (63.9%, Whisky Concerto, Requiem Chapter 5, Jamaica)

Labelled Lluidas Vale but of course, it's Worthy Park. We'll need to be cautious with the lethal alcohol strength. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a rather gentle WP at first glance, but at this strength, it's hard to detect many aromas. Let's fix that immediately. With water: we're really getting tar and rubber (new tyres), plus a load of salted liquorice straight from the Netherlands. I do mean salted liquorice, not another well-known Amsterdam specialty. Mouth (neat): lovely aromatic power this time. Vanilla flan topped with mangoes. Little funkiness at this stage. With water: we're edging a bit towards light style Hampden now, but of course, it's not Hampden. Beautiful fruitiness, tinned apricots and peaches, some white pepper… Finish: long, fruity and salty, with a hint of seawater. Still a lot of pepper and ripe peach in the aftertaste. Comments: it's a rather mild Jamaican for once, I imagine it was a 'lower' mark from Worthy Park. Of course, we like it a lot.
SGP:652 – 88 points.

Vale Royal 17 yo 2005/2022 'VRW' (61%, Velier & Silver Seal Serie Cedro, Jamaica, 193 bottles)

This is Long Pond with the marque standing for 'Vale Royal Wedderburn'. So, a rather moderate ester content here, around 200-250 gr/HLPA. Colour: deep gold. Nose: it's powerful and very aromatic despite the very high alcohol level. One might mention charcoal and a new pair of Nike trainers, plus freshly grated turmeric. It's quite unusual. With water: magnificent notes of wood glue, varnish, and still those brand-new Nike trainers just out of the box (and possibly fallen off the back of a lorry, as they say). Touches of thuja wood. Mouth (neat): massive, with fruit brandies and woody spices. Extremely powerful, it slightly scrapes the palate but water should sort that out. With water: the fruits arrive en masse, all largely overripe. The ubiquitous bananas, for instance, and half-crushed strawberries. Lots of cinnamon and clove. Finish: very long, a bit rubbery and metallic. Pink bananas and those famous Nike trainers. Comments: a somewhat improbable side but we totally love it. You could replace Nike with any other brand selling plastic at the price of platinum.
SGP:562 - 90 points.

We absolutely must finish with a Hampden, but we'll do it quickly…

Hampden 23 yo 2000/2024 'LROK' (59.3%, The Rum Cask)

Good distillery, good marque, good bottler, what could possibly go wrong? Colour: straw. Nose: twelve litres of wood glue, seven kilos of green olives, plenty of seawater, a few gherkins, a fair amount of diesel oil, and an entire barrel of tar. The most astonishing part is that it's elegant, even if there's a slight hint of Saturday morning at IKEA. With water: absolutely no change, this baby is immune to water. Mouth (neat): these casks are always quite extraordinary. Lemon, olives, tar, salt, varnish. With water: exceptional. Salty varnish (yes), black olives, lemon, grapefruit, salted liquorice, and a touch of mezcal. Finish: long, with hints of salted pineapple and Parma ham. Comments: and to think that LROK is a 'light' marque in esters from Hampden's (it means Light Rhum Owen Kelly).
SGP:653 - 91 points.

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

		Rum versus Whisky
		Having tasted over two thousand rums of all kinds, and likely three to four tonnes of added sugar in the process, we realise that unfortunately, there is no correlation between the selling price and quality in rum, whereas there tends to be in whisky, even if in whisky the correlation is totally and sadly exponential.
		We've also observed another significant difference between the rum and whisky worlds: the range of our scoring scale is much broader in rum, which actually peaks higher on average and dips much lower. If we discount vintage bottles or spirits aged 35 years or more, there are clearly and proportionately more rums scoring between 90 - 93 points than whiskies, with Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Guadeloupe leading the charge. However, there are also many more rums scoring under 50 points, some perilously close to absolute zero, according to my personal tastes as a rather seasoned spirits enthusiast.
		Yet, what's also troubling in the rum sector is that the worst, the most inferior 'rums' are the most successful, the most profitable. Granted, many are not true rums, they are just advertised as rums by most retailers, lying by proxy being highly effective (thanks again, Google). Those are the brands that the big players are buying up. The best-selling whisky blends remain far superior to the best-selling rums, in my humble opinion. But as soon as we start to tickle the pot stills or the creole columns, the trend reverses and the grand rums begin to dangerously dominate the top of our modest little rankings, followed by the cognacs and armagnacs from certain small houses.
		I'm actually starting to seriously consider whether to open more slots for these malternatives on WF. Or not, we shall see. Peace and salute!