Here are a few more random rums


October 6, 2024

Here are a few more random rums

You never get tired of them—they're so varied, these rums (and those spirits that are presented as rum but aren't quite the same, though no one really cares because they're highly profitable for everyone, including gastroenterologists).

A Bellini, champagne with peach purée (Destination Cocktails)

Naga 'Full Proof' 10 yo 2011 (62.3%, OB, Royaume de Siam, charred American oak, 2,752 bottles, 2022)

The reference to ‘Royaume de Siam’ on the label lends a slightly colonial air, as Siam became Thailand in 1939, so we’re a bit behind the times here. That said, we did try the Naga at 40%, and it wasn’t half bad (WF 76). Since this 2011 Full Proof, they’ve also released a 2012, so it must be working! It’s also good to see that Thailand now seems to allow higher strengths, which wasn’t the case in the past. Colour: amber. Nose: a lot of bicycle repair glue and fresh varnish at first, then orange liqueur, coconut, and banana, likely from the American oak. Those oranges are rather nice. With water: softer, more on toast, pancakes, corn syrup, and vanilla cake… basically a breakfast rum, ha. Mouth (neat): powerful and very syrupy, all about things made with oranges and mandarins, plus a good bit of cedarwood. With water: more cane, some fir wood, and even exotic wood like amburana. But the citrus still takes the lead. The texture is light behind the alcohol. Finish: not very long, still on orange liqueur and a touch of cane. A faint Cuban note here and there. Comments: we’re far from the top-tier Thai rums like Issan or Chalong Bay, but this is pretty drinkable, preferably over ice.
SGP:630 - 77 points.

Distillerie du Galion 3 yo 'Easy Peasy' (56.3%, Swell de Spirit, Martinique, agricole, bourbon barrel, 600 bottles, 2024)

A young rhum vieux that’s ‘Grand Arôme’, meaning it's high in esters. Le Galion also produce rhum traditionnel (column still, molasses-based), but this seems to be pure cane juice. (Update, it is molasses - I doubt you can do Grand Arôme with cane juice). Colour: gold. Nose: as if someone accidentally spilled a canister of pineapple juice mixed with wood varnish in a slightly run-down petrol station. You get the picture. With water: motor oil, mashed bananas, and linoleum. Mouth (neat): a faithful continuation of the nose, so petrol and pineapple, with a hefty dose of salty liquorice. With water: add some seawater and those famous olives we love. Finish: long, with tar showing up and a briny tension that’s always most welcome. Comments: of course age matters, but perhaps less in rum than in whisky. A brilliant young bottle.
SGP:563 - 87 points.

Rhum Brun Vieilli 2023 (56.4%, Distillerie de Lyon, Cuvée Collaborative, molasses, +/-2024)

A collaborative cuvée, produced in mainland France by an assembly including Distillerie de Lyon (who also, believe it or not, make cucumber liqueur), along with Caves Gilles Granger and BIM. Rest assured, I doubt it smells of cucumber... Colour: gold. Nose: this reminds me of some artisanal American malts we’ve sampled recently. Pine bud liqueur, sandalwood, wild peppermint, a family-sized pack of salty Scandinavian liquorice, and above all, heaps of camphor. I’ve got a bit of a sore shoulder – I’m sure this incomparable potion (on the nose at least) will sort that out. With water: a rather lovely varnish – let’s say picture varnish and rubber tree sap. Mouth (neat): slightly bonkers, in the vein of an old herbal liqueur made long before the war in some forgotten Central European country. You know the type (maybe). Still packed with resin, camphor, clove, and cumin, but also bitter orange and, oh yes, cane sugar! With water: continues along the same lines, with a touch of violet liquorice as well. Finish: long, staying the course. Comments: it feels like being on an island, but to be fair, Lyon has a sort of peninsula at its heart, between the Saône and Rhône rivers. Though I’m not sure that’s where the distillery is located. In any case, this improbable rum is supremely excellent. Really!
SGP:472 – 87 points.

Single Estate French West Indies Rhum 2017/2023 (58.3%, L’Esprit, cask #BB7, 240 bottles)

We’re hoping this might resemble a Saint James from Martinique. Colour: golden amber. Nose: very floral and rather soft, leaving little doubt. Rose petals, jasmine, and lily of the valley, alongside cane honey and acacia honey. In the old days, one might have said it was delightfully feminine. With water: hints of shoe polish emerge, and even a bit of new Tupperware. Poor Tupperware! Mouth (neat): magnificent blood oranges with Timut pepper and an amusing little hoppy side. The rose is back, and so are Turkish delights and lychees. A faint woody/earthy note too. With water: this is its best phase. Cedarwood, incense, citrus zests, and again some rose, along with slightly overripe apple… Finish: not immensely long, rather soft, still very fragrant and floral. A delicately earthy aftertaste. Comments: a little beauty, so far yet so close ‘in spirit’ to the ester bombs that are all the rage these days.
SGP:551 – 88 points.

On that note…

Fiji 22 yo 2001/2022 (59%, Rock & Rhum, 244 bottles)

Vive les Fiji! It's worth noting that this dram has been brought down to 59% with water. One can only wonder what it must have been like before, after 22 years, for the esteemed bottlers to make such a decision. Colour: gold. Nose: straightforward, direct, and honest. Petrol, olives, charcoal, tobacco, and liquorice wood. With water: pickled gherkins and sweet liquorice. Mouth (neat): we love these Fiji rums, and this one even more so, as it's ventured into slightly fruitier territory than usual, with guavas, mangoes, and the ever-present bananas. The rest is dominated by olives and tar. With water: hints of tomatoes, rooibos, lightly smoked tea, and marjoram… Finish: long, similar, less fruity, saline, more matte, almost acrid. Not a trace of sweetness in the aftertaste. Comments: there's a faint ecclesiastical touch towards the end. Amen.
SGP:463 - 90 points.

Well then, the next one we'll taste out of Christian charity… Help, more PX again!

Hampden 2023/2024 ‘Pedro Ximenez’ (62.9%, The Colours of Rum, Jamaica, cask #28, 329 bottles)

This might well be something illegal—1500 to 1600 gr ester/HLPA, they say. Ah, that would be DOK. ‘Aged in Europe’, they add, but I doubt that makes the slightest difference after just one year. Right then, let’s hold tight and dive in quickly… Colour: amber. Nose: if all ex-PX casks were like this… Crayola crayons, tar, incense, cedarwood, black olives, and brake pads. That said, it’s possible the PX has slightly tamed this little monster, but we’ll need water to really judge. With water: hmm, not sure it’s helped much—still those classic Hampden markers of tar, tarmac, carbon, green olives, smoked fish, and sauna oils. Mouth (neat): carbon, tar, pepper, and rubber dissolved in turpentine. You get the picture. With water: ah, there it is, a tiny bit of sweetness creeping in… But no, we’re joking, it’s still wonderfully brutal. Perhaps that hint of dried apricot and the two little raisins duelling in the background do come from the PX. Who knows. Finish: very long, yet somehow not that long (?). Lovely smoky brine. Comments: between us, if there’s one distillery that’s magnificent both in its youth and in its aged versions, it’s this blessed Hampden, which we still can’t seem to fault.
SGP:563 - 89 points.

We'll finish off with some older Jamaican music then...

Clarendon 24 yo 1997/2022 (49.2%, The Colours of Rhum, #13, cask #28, 192 bottles)

This is an MMW (Monymusk Wedderburn), so we're looking at around 300 gr ester/hlpa. Colour: white wine. Nose: completely different from what you might expect, almost light, with early morning rosebuds and an abundance of vineyard peaches, followed by more and more mango. It feels like there's a transmutation of the esters, akin to how peat can evolve in old Laphroaigs. Absolutely delightful, with a tremendous delicacy. But let's not call it 'feminine'—no need for that! Mouth: magnificent. Once again, those vineyard peaches shine through, alongside Sauternes, pinot gris, white raspberries, all laid on a bed of quince, sesame oil and a hint of smoked fish. The mango lurks in the background, ever present. Finish: not immensely long but perfectly balanced with its fruity tones. There's a hint of Bellini, so champagne and puréed peach. Comments: every now and then, a little bottle like this slips by almost unnoticed, only to whisper magnificent stories in your ear.
SGP:652 - 91 points.

Since we were at Clarendon...

Clarendon 40 yo 1984/2024 (64.2%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams, Famille Ricci, Jamaica, 90 bottles)

Clarendon 40 years old, can you believe it! The other 1984s we've had the pleasure of tasting were from the ‘MMW’ marque, so this one might be similar (200-300 grams ester per HLPA). Colour: dark amber. Nose: well, here we are—heaps of varnish and wood glue, petrol too, then we move into black olives and dark tobacco, walnut stain, plenty of charred things (bread, wood, cake), and finally, fermenting fruits like prunes and other near-rotten fruits (those wonderfully overripe bananas we love so much on the nose). With water: lashings of fuel oil, more than enough to heat you through the winter, and brine (olives and anchovies). Mouth (neat): sublime bitterness, it’s as though you’re tasting a mix of walnut stain indeed, with pine resin, pipe tobacco, and some very extreme salmiak. As they say in the Scottish isles, this one blows your hat off. With water: we’re nearing more civilised territory, but it’s still very acetic, salty, tarry, with oysters and even stewed Belgian mussels. Finish: very long, with notes of black garlic and fresh varnish. Still that extreme salmiak at the very end, along with fermented dark tobacco (Italian Toscano cigar). Artichoke, and very, very dark tea. Comments: it seems that even 40 years isn't quite the age of reason for some rums, and all the better for it, if you ask me.
SGP:383 - 91 points.
PS: there is a touch of oak, mind you.

Hampden 41 yo 1983/2024 (53.5%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams, Famille Ricci, Jamaica, 90 bottles)

A very high-ester ‘HGML’ marque, standing for ‘Hampden George MacFarquhar Lawson’ (1000-1100 grams ester per HLPA). I'm quite certain this is the oldest Hampden I've knowingly tried. Colour: pure gold. Nose: these rums seem eternal. While the sublime Clarendon was shaped by the wood, this Hampden feels as fresh as a daisy, adorned with all its natural traits—plasticine, new tyres, seaweed, diesel fuel, grapefruit, bitter almonds, carbon dust, and seawater, with just a hint of roasted pineapple and vinaigrette. With water: a touch of chlorine, municipal swimming pool, and a brand-new wetsuit while we’re at it. Ha! Mouth (neat): the most sublime salty liquorice, with a bit of tobacco, olives, natural rubber, and yuzu. That’s it for now, and it’s already plenty. With water: grandiose, much punchier now, with a manzanilla-mezcal hybrid feel, as if aged in a burnt rubber barrel. You know what I mean. The varnish and acetone become more prominent, along with seawater. A bit of pepper and ashes start to prickle, but even that, we adore. Finish: long, on fuel oil, carbon, lemon, seawater, green pepper, black pepper, and salty liquorice. Comments: not so easy, in the end. But the only real flaw with this drop is that you can’t down a pint of it just like that—it demands your full attention. Then again, perhaps that’s for the best. All in all, a bit of a troublemaker.
SGP:464 - 93 points.

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