A few more rums, though not all of them are malternatives


July 13, 2025

A few more rums, though not all of them are malternatives

I'm afraid so… At any rate, not the first we’ll have, as we're making another attempt with A.H. Riise, following the rather terrifying sugar bomb from a fortnight ago, which went by the thoroughly immodest name of "Non Plus Ultra Ambre d’Or Excellence" (WF 30).

('The Neighbours', AI slop)

A.H. Riise ‘Family Reserve Solera 1838’ (42%, OB, Virgin Islands, +/-2024)

The solera trick propped up by a pseudo-ancient vintage always seems to work. Naturally, your brain knows it’s a load of old nonsense, but these brands don’t speak to your brain, they speak to your gut. Here, the rums are also said to be ‘aged up to 25 years in oak casks’. The key part, naturally, being ‘up to’. Colour: pale gold. Nose: let’s be fair, this nose is rather pretty, on a blend of tangerines and ginger not entirely devoid of elegance, even if there’s also a faint whiff of Dr Pepper and a touch of lavender toilet water that’s a tad awkward. Still, over ice, this nose kind of works. Mouth: a sugary bomb, as expected, and one gets the distinct impression we’re dealing with far more than the 100g/l measured here and there. Do bear in mind that the legal EU limit is 20g/l, so this is not rum, not even close. And frankly, it’s not good, it tastes like some concoction of fake Apérol mixed with LIDL’s own-brand cherry liqueur. No, no, do not try this at home. Finish: suffocating, cloying, quickly now, three large glasses of sparkling water… Comments: while there’s undoubtedly even worse out there, we’re not far off the lakebed here. In fact, this is more the Mariana Trench.
SGP:920 - 15 points.

Quick, a reward for our efforts…

Clairin Le Rocher 41 mo 2019/2022 (49.10%, The Navigator, Haiti, cask LR17 JD-2-V2)

Bottled by Providence/Velier for Navigate World Whisky in South Africa. Sounds cool. This is clairin ‘ansyen’, Creole for ‘ancien’, which of course means ‘old’. Colour: pale gold. Nose: much like with mezcals, one tends to favour the ‘blancs’, yet here the wood influence after these 41 months remains very restrained, allowing full expression to notes of cider vinegar, antiseptic, cracked olives and furniture polish. Really lovely. Mouth: the oak is a touch more noticeable now, but it morphs everything into a great big parcel of salmiak. So, we’re talking liquorice, olive oil, salt, nutmeg and pine sap, with a bit of ash in the background, which does lean rather ‘Islay’, it must be said. Finish: and it’s also slightly mezcal-like, since we mentioned mezcal earlier. Comments: a blend of salted liquorice and olive oil—hmm, that’s giving me ideas, like a martini of the dead. By the way, we adore this South African clairin.
SGP:363 - 88 points.

Diamond 2014/2025 ‘Port Mourant’ (53.6%, The Whisky Jury, The Ester Hunter catch 3, Guyana, bourbon, cask #5, 280 bottles)

A young ‘Port Mourant’ from the John Dore pot still. It seems the ester level was very high… Colour: gold. Nose: oh yes, smoked praline over fir wood, puncture-repair glue, brand-new trainers from an improbable DNVB doing business via Facebook, and a whiff of fresh formica that only boomers would recall, though apparently that glorious material is back in vogue. In any case, this feels bone-dry. With water: hay smoke, very trendy with certain chefs. Mouth (neat): this is ultra-dry, like an intensely salty manzanilla aged in fresh cedarwood, or something along those lines. With water: same again, though now we’ve got green olives charging in en masse. Finish: same story, and it lingers for quite a while. Aftertaste: ultra-dry. Comments: packs quite a punch, and as they say, ‘probably not one for the neighbours’. A baby that is to rum what brut nature is to Champagne (S., please, will you stop talking about Champagne?)
SGP:273 - 89 points.

Port Mourant 15 yo 2010/2025 (54.3%, Spirit of the Day, Guyana, bourbon, cask #5)

I’m rather fond of the very ‘IBM 1970’ style labels from these small French bottlers. Colour: gold. Nose: we’re extremely close to the previous one, so much so that I had to double-check I hadn’t poured the same rum into two different glasses. Let’s just say there are a few extra hints of dill and anise here, a touch more herbal freshness, but otherwise it’s much the same, which is of course excellent news. With water: it’s definitely that fresh rubber note that characterises these Port Mourant batches from Diamond. Mouth (neat): same story again, though this time there’s a little more pear, with the rest being conifer, olives, rubber and salted liquorice… With water: same comments again. Finish: likewise. Comments: excellent stuff, though still probably not one for the neighbours.
SGP:373 - 89 points.

By the way, ‘the neighbours’ are absolutely lovely people, who won’t shy away from enjoying a good wine or spirit, though they don’t know the first thing about them, feel no need to learn more, and are perfectly happy with verdicts like ‘I like it’ / ‘I don’t like it’. Which, we quite agree, is far better than ‘it’s good’ / ‘it’s not good’ – the kind of judgement typical of people whose education has been a bit haphazard. That said, ‘the neighbours’ are truly charming people, who might even share our level of geekery, though rather in areas like politics, batik, gardening or country music. We all have our ‘neighbours’, don’t we. Now, let’s move on to Jamaica (the neighbours are also very fond of Bob Marley but they never heard of Sly and Robbie) …

Clarendon 24 yo 1999/2023 ‘JMM’ (53.4%, The Whisky Blues, Jamaica, barrel, cask #1, 238 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: all the classic markers of a Jamaican, but delivered gently, it bridges the gap between olives, petrol and varnish on the one hand, and ripe bananas, slightly underripe mangoes and pineapples on the other. With water: a burnt and resinous side comes through, but the fresh fruit keeps things in balance. Some modelling clay. Mouth (neat): more intense on the palate, with lovely salty bitters, tar, sea water, fresh grass, and a few acetoney touches… With water: the esters really lift off, clearly more prominent than in the Port Mourant, which once again highlights the beauty of comparative tastings. Finish: long, just a touch drying, and a little oaky. Comments: we’re still a fair way off the most boisterous Jamaicans, yet this rather lovely Clarendon is already very typical, with a pronounced mango-varnish character.
SGP:462 - 87 points.

Hampden 8 yo 2016/2024 ‘<>H’ (65%, Rest & Be Thankful, LMDW Foundations, Jamaica)

Between their Octomores and their Hampdens, one could say that the house of Rest & Be Thankful has truly carved out its own style, which isn’t all that common among independents. In short, we’re not dealing with chamber music here… I must admit I wasn’t familiar with the ‘<>H’ mark, but it seems it’s in the 1,000-gr ester/hlpa range, the equivalent of ‘<H>’. Geekier than that, you die. Colour: deep gold. Nose: Hampdens hit you like a freight train, instantly and without mercy. Diesel, olives, gherkins, acetone, a touch of ammonia, all wrapped in vanilla and banana cream, though with moderation. I do mean just the vanilla and banana cream. With water: enters the sea, or rather the docks of a northern port, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg and the like… Mouth (neat): no prisoners taken, but no complaints either. Classic, unfiltered Hampden—salty, petrolic, and then veering more towards something like a mix of cane syrup and frosty mint syrup, just at 65% ABV. Assassins! With water: textbook Hampden, deeply salty and packed with hydrocarbons. Finish: same story, very long, though once again rounded out by that vanilla. Comments: of course it’s rather masterful, but don’t even think about trying to get your neighbours to taste it.
SGP:563 - 89 points.

One last little one…

Hampden 1 yo 2023/2025 ‘Fino’ (61.9%, The Colours of Rum for Catawiki, cask #147, 75 bottles)

We’re in the 1,300–1,400 gr ester/hlpa range here, which would also correspond to the C<>H mark. See last week’s little brother which had seen some Madeira rather than fino. While we say our prayers, let us remember that Hampden is one of those very rare spirits that really don’t need long ageing. Colour: gold. Nose: I’m sorry to say, I adore this. Utter precision, zero external influence, with a fino that, in any case, is probably playing in exactly the same league. Pushing things a bit, one might even claim Hampden belongs to the fino category of rum. Gorgeous carbon, acetone, and tidal sea water. With water: no change whatsoever. I reckon you could drop this to 10% ABV and it still wouldn’t make much difference. Mouth (neat): insanely vinegary and crammed with brine and ultra-concentrated liquorice. With water: what a creature! A bit more on the plastic side, but it’s plastic that harms no planet. Finish: ultra-long and ultra-saline. We wonder whether the famed fino didn’t just further amplify the profile of this little C<>H. Anchovy in brine. Comments: could we perhaps get more details about that famous ‘fino’? I liked this ‘fino’ a tad better than the ‘Madeira’, which was already quite stellar.
SGP:364 - 90 points.

These little Hampdens remind us of one of Confucius’s precepts: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The trouble is, they’re also session killers, so, adios.

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