
October 20, 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!

How about we have a few more rums?

A bit of everything, as usual, but with a clear focus on blue chips, indies or official ones. To start, our traditional aperitif, which always helps us get back on track...

English Harbour 5 yo (40%, OB, Antigua, +/-2023)

We tasted this around ten years ago, and it was decent (WF 73), but a bit too soft for our liking. It seems they import molasses from Guyana and the Dominican Republic, maturing their rums in old bourbon barrels. Antigua, by the way, is just north of Guadeloupe, just past Montserrat. Colour: gold. Nose: it opens on cane honey and sugar syrup, followed by pineapple liqueur and triple sec, with just a hint of herbal tea. A touch of cinnamon as well. Mouth: really soft, sweet, with cane syrup and, once again, orange liqueur. There’s a bit of mellow vanilla, but it leans a little towards spiced or flavoured rum territory. Lacks depth, very light. Finish: very short, with a slight woodiness alongside the cane syrup. Comments: it’s a fairly good rum, but there’s really not much going on. I liked it better ten years ago.
SGP:730 - 65 points.

Privateer 4.75 yo ‘Yankee’ (55.7%, OB for Kirsch Import, USA, Letter of Marque, 1st use American oak, 216 bottles, 2024)

Made from Guatemalan molasses, distilled and aged in Massachusetts for 4 years and 9 months. Here’s hoping our friends in the US will one day be allowed to distill Cuban molasses – why not? Colour: gold. Nose: similarly light but leaning more towards oranges and sugar candy. There's a pleasantly earthy side too, along with that familiar coconut/vanilla combo typical of young bourbons. With water: muscovado sugar comes to the fore, with very light hints of petrol and coal tar. Mouth (neat): this is a good rum, somewhat reminiscent of the lighter styles from Belize or Barbados. Oranges, honey, vanilla, ripe bananas... It’s fairly woody but remains balanced (pepper). With water: again, those very light tarry notes reappear, but mostly it’s all about honey and cane sugar. Finish: medium length, becoming slightly more herbaceous (bagasse), though the aftertaste remains on the sweeter side. Comments: really good, fairly light – you could easily think this came from an island rather than Massachusetts.
SGP:641 - 82 points.

Savanna 10 yo 2013/2024 ‘Unshared Cask’ (49.8%, OB for Germany, La Réunion, ex-cognac cask, cask #778, 640 bottles)

This is a ‘traditional’ rum, meaning it’s made from molasses and distilled in a column still, it is not agricole. Colour: gold. Nose: Savanna almost always delivers depth, and it’s no different here, with notes of camphor, ylang-ylang, very ripe oranges, fresh ink (like today’s magazines), and light acetone, in a ‘petit grand arôme’ style. Absolutely spot-on for me, at least on the nose. Mouth: superb, rather medicinal, with touches of varnish, resins, eucalyptus, super-ripe fruits, and the expected salted liquorice (moderately salted, mind you). Finish: long, with salted liquorice, ripe banana, and more of those faint varnish touches. Comments: we do make good rums in France, don’t we? Forgive my brief moment of pride, thank you. That said, I didn’t really pick up on the cognac, though I’m sure it was there, lurking behind the bananas.
SGP:552 - 87 points.

Bielle 7 yo 2016/2023 ‘Brut de Fût’ (54.2%, OB, Marie-Galante, agricole)

As you may know, Marie-Galante is part of Guadeloupe, and Bielle truly stands out as a shining star. Colour: gold. Nose: a marvel of peanut butter, cocoa, liquorice, cloves, cane juice, and shoe polish. Perfect precision. With water: not much change, except for a delightful note of rhubarb stewed in cane syrup. Mouth (neat): the agricole character is very pronounced, with a wonderful rusticity and even a wild ‘aguardiente’ edge. Despite being from a creole column still, it feels like pot still rum. With water: the cask seems to have been fairly active, but never overwhelms the distillate. Perhaps just a light butterscotch note… Aside from that, there’s chestnut honey and still plenty of liquorice. Finish: long, more on the earthy side, but also floral and resinous. Some discreetly spicy wood starts to emerge. Comments: a rustic style, yet with extraordinary elegance. In fact, it’s very ‘terroir’. I love it.
SGP:552 - 89 points.

Vietnam 6 yo 2008/2024 (56.9%, LMDW Flag Series, 414 bottles)

Hey, this is our very first Vietnamese rum, so it calls for a toast! This version is ‘secret,’ but we’ve heard of a ‘Distillerie d’Indochine’ where the rum ‘Sampan’ is made, though sadly we’ve yet to try it. Colour: gold. Nose: those folks at La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) are real pioneers. There’s a faint shochu-like note here, along with friendly esters (gentle but noticeable), and a fermenty, saline character with hints of new tyres. Over it all floats a note of ripe white peach. With water: the tyre and tar come to the fore, joined by burnt walnuts and a few black olives preserved in… acetone. In short, we love it. Mouth (neat): very good, with a surprisingly ‘malt whisky’ feel, but of course also peppery, salty cane sugar. And a fair amount of ethanol, so… With water: excellent. Lemon, rubber, liquorice… Finish: same profile lingering for quite some time, with some menthol at the end. Comments: it’s no surprise that the quality is high—if it weren’t, it wouldn’t be in this range (free publicity is no publicity, is it). At least, I think that’s the case, though everyone can be wrong. In any case, bravo Vietnam, a new player in the world of top-notch rum!
SGP:563 - 88 points.

Jamaican Rum 23 yo (57%, Wu Dram Clan, Jamaican blend, 2024)

What a lovely label. Colour: full gold. Nose: very Jamaican, very ‘high-esters,’ but with a delightful fruity roundness (apricot, banana) wrapping around the rubber, tar, salmiak, olives, brine, tiny ammonia notes, seaweed, petrol, and new plastic (think new iPhone). With water: same, no change at all, except perhaps some added rust-proof paint and linoleum. Mouth (neat): forget it, this is just excellent, with more tropical fruits than usual this time, especially ultra-ripe mangoes. The rest sticks to the usual Jamaican hallmarks: motor oil, tar, salted liquorice, and so on. With water: exceptional, salty, tarry, drier again, but less ‘chemical’ (if you know what I mean). Finish: very strong black tea, salt, tar, liquorice, and all of it staying with you until at least tomorrow morning. Comments: we loved that brief, if fleeting, appearance of mango. Perhaps the best rum blend of the year... even if it’s not particularly balanced – but I suppose that wasn’t the goal. Perfect.
SGP:463 - 91 points.

Just to check something...

Hampden 13 yo 2010/2024 ‘LROK’ (60%, OB, Jamaica, Magnum Series #2, Alex Webb Edition, 1,080 bottles)

LROK, as you may know, denotes a medium ester count, typically around 200-400 grams of esters per HLPA. Colour: dark gold. Nose: razor-sharp precision here, with varnish, a touch of rubber, and fruit that’s so ripe it’s practically teetering over the edge into fermentation, especially plums. Glorious, naturally. With water: it softens, becomes more civilised, but still those fermented plums are front and centre. Frankly, there aren’t many aromas on this planet as heavenly as that, I assure you. Perhaps a faint hint of Moutai too? Mouth (neat): a kind-hearted monster, both ultra-powerful and balanced, between varnish and mandarins. Water is absolutely essential. With water: the plum wine comes back with great fanfare. Then there’s seawater, olives, tar, very dry liquorice, smoke (lapsang souchong), brine, pickles... Well, we knew it would be gorgeous, and they’ve even done magnums. A stroke of genius, if you ask me. Finish: long, of course. Softer, less aggressive, almost agreeable. Almost. Comments: what’s happening with Hampden these days reminds me of the early 2000s with Ardbeg—there were just so many exceptional ones!
SGP:562 - 91 points.

We could maybe just have another little Caroni 1998…

Caroni 1998/2019-2024 (70.2%, Velier, Paradise #10, Trinidad, cask #3927, dame-jeanne #1, ‘Emerald and Sun Dancers’, 115 bottles)

This 1998 Caroni ‘heavy’ rum, bottled at a jaw-dropping 70.2% by Velier as part of their Paradise series, spent its early years ageing in Trinidad before being moved to glass dame-jeannes in France for that special ‘paradise’ treatment, a technique borrowed from Cognac. Colour: gold. Nose: absolutely wild, with that eyebrow-raising ABV making quite an impression—did you notice? Buckets of oil paint, fresh putty, turpentine, burnt pinewood, and paraffin... Honestly, it’s completely mad. With water: here comes a tidal wave of soy sauce, glutamate, walnut stain, and enough Barbour grease to outfit an entire Glasgow department store. It’s futile to resist. Mouth (neat): a proper explosion—handle with care, or it might just catapult you into the great beyond. Think liquorice diluted in petrol, if you dare. With water: surprisingly civilized now, offering ripe bananas with a varnish glaze, fresh paint, plasticine, and pine bud liqueur. Although, before you know it, you’re chewing on something reminiscent of a pencil eraser. Finish: very long, taking a turn towards resinous wood and even a touch of ash. You might feel like you’re gnawing on a pair of rubber wellies, but bizarrely, it works perfectly here. The aftertaste? Even more petrolic. Comments: what more can one say?
SGP:373 - 91 points.

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