Rums, always more rums


May 11, 2025

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!

Rums, always more rums...

Rums from around the world.

(Mhoba)

El Supremo 8 yo (40%, OB, Paraguay, +/-2024)

From Paraguay we mostly know the Fortin rums, which are frankly very decent and not stuffed with sugar like many of their neighbours in South America. But we didn’t know ‘El Supremo’… Colour: deep gold. Nose: well indeed, this isn’t half bad, very dry, somewhat in the style of the rums from Madeira, oddly enough. As it happens, there are notes of dry Madeira wine, a little potting soil, green walnut, a touch of horseradish, hints of fennel... Mouth: yes, this is very nice, it hasn’t been sugared up, it’s dry, with green spices, chervil, caraway, dill, a little oregano, green walnut again... Well, we’re quite taken with this unexpected little El Supremo. Finish: fairly long, salty, mustardy, dry. Comments: it really is quite close to the agricoles from Madeira. Was Paraguay conquered by the Portuguese? Well indeed, upon checking, the Spanish did cede part of Paraguay to the Portuguese in 1750. From there to claiming their influence lingers in this very pretty rum…
SGP:461 - 80 points.

Mhoba ‘Select Reserve’ (48%, OB for Navigate World Whisky, South Africa, Bourbon cask, batch #2023B02, 300 bottles, +/-2023)

Pure cane juice. We’ve already tasted some excellent Mhobas. Colour: gold. Nose: the most ‘ester-forward’ of the pure cane juice rums in our view, it smells of new plastic, seawater and petrol fumes, and we absolutely love it. If you add olives, ink and lime juice, you’ve got a fairly complete picture. Mouth: but who had the brilliant idea to mix banana juice, brine and bone-dry white wine with salted liquorice? The salinity is rather immense. Finish: long, even more on glue, but also pears, garlic and tapenade. Mashed olives and anchovies. Comments: surprised, no, delighted, absolutely.
SGP:462 - 89 points.

This session really got off to a great start…

La Mauny ‘VSOP’ (40%, OB, Martinique, agricole, +/-2024)

A brand from Campari’s racing team. Generally, they’re fairly easy-going, without much in the way of a marked presence. Colour: gold. Nose: yes, it’s light, it whispers, but the profile is pleasant, earthy and close to the cane, with touches of anise and gillyflower, then chalky notes and a little manuka honey. It’s light but unmistakably agricole. Mouth: it’s good, with liquorice and honey biscuits as well as gingerbread, one just wishes for a few more watts in this lovely little rum that offers Christmassy notes. I know, it’s May. Finish: medium length, nice, saline, lemony, liquorice-led. A slightly earthy aftertaste, which we enjoy. Comments: this really is a lovely drop, a few extra degrees would be welcome, even if the trend seems to favour ‘light’ once more among the general public.
SGP:541 - 81 points.

Vieux Sajous 5 yo 2019/2024 (58.3%, La Maison & Velier, clairin, Haiti)

This one from pure cane juice from the ‘Grand Terroir’ of Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye, distilled at Distillerie Chelo. We loved the 2017 (WF 89). Colour: gold. Nose: magnificently salty and vinegary, ultra-fermentary, full of glue, olives and pickles in brine. Glorious. With water: amusing touches of strawberry eau-de-vie, which is rather unusual, then it unfurls over tarragon and olives. Mouth (neat): incredible assault of lime, petrol, green olives and varnish. With water: very creamy, very salty, with a thunderous arrival of salted liquorice from the northern lands—where they put in more salt than liquorice, ha. Finish: same. It’s excellent for quite a while. Comments: it’s rather amusing to note how well this young clairin and Mhoba seem to understand each other—mind you, it’s a full 12,000 kilometres as the crow flies between the two countries.
SGP:563 - 89 points.

Old Navy Rum ‘2024 edition’ (57%, Silver Seal, 1430 bottles)

With, on the label, a very old map of the… Gulf of Mexico. This one shelters rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados. I think we all know which one will lead the charge, don’t we. Colour: gold. Nose: indeed, the esters are taking the lead, but there’s still a sort of balance, with tar, fudge, marrons glacés and a little varnish. With water: the water does it a world of good, bringing out honey and fudge without erasing the hydrocarbons. There’s a fairly clear Foursquare side. Mouth (neat): dominated by petrol, glue and olives, but you can also feel the Barbadian softness, with hints of roasted bananas and maple syrup. With water: stewed fruits, mangoes, papayas, even a bit of grenadine syrup with pink pepper. Finish: fairly long, balanced, leaning towards the sweetness of cane sugar, if not orange bonbons. Comments: in the end, the esters played a bit of hide-and-seek with the rounder, fruitier side, which makes for a very entertaining glass. A superb blend!
SGP:652 - 88 points.

TDL 14 yo 2009/2024 (51.3%, Valinch & Mallet, The Spirit of Art, Trinidad, 330 bottles)

There are different types of TDL, so let’s see what we’ve got… It reminds us that it’s been ages since we last tasted a rum officially labelled ‘Angostura’. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a soft version, neither high-ester nor a fruit bomb, more on bagasse, soft honey and apple and pear peelings for the moment. With water: not much development, it’s a very light TDL. Very faint earthiness. Mouth (neat): nougat, brioche, cane syrup, herbal teas, tinned pineapple... With water: well now, it feels a bit like a column-heavy Foursquare. Sugar syrup, orangecello (all right, arancello), white nougat... Finish: medium length, sweet, light, heading towards syrupy. Comments: perfectly middling, if you catch my drift. No esters and no marked fruitiness, but it’s very good, no doubt about that.
SGP:640 - 83 points.

Foursquare 17 yo 2006/2024 (56.8%, Valinch & Mallet, The Spirit of Art, Barbados, cask #103, 200 bottles)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: oh! At first it seems there’s more pot still than the usual 15–20–25% (depending on rumour), but it quickly shifts back to banana liqueur, oddly fruity potting soil, and nail varnish. With water: touches of lanolin, orange peel (very Foursquare), geranium (very Foursquare), banana skin (very Foursquare) … Mouth (neat): lovely pot still presence, pepper, cinnamon, bitter orange, varnish, berry eau-de-vie, caraway and even mustard… With water: now it’s perfect. Or how to craft an agricole-style profile without being 100% fresh cane juice, nor 100% Creole column. Finish: same again. Lovely fruity and herbal freshness. Comments: we haven’t kept up with the official releases in some time, but this very clever indie (whatever that means) gives us great pleasure.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

How about finishing off with two Worthy Parks?

Worthy Park 6 yo 2017/2023 (54%, OB, Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange, Jamaica, bourbon cask)

Young pure pot still from Jamaica, and it feels like this one’s going to go down very well. Colour: gold. Nose: forget it, this is just ultra-precise—indeed, I believe WP is the most precise of all Jamaican rums. Banana and papaya juice, both ultra-ripe, all smoked then blended with tar liqueur and Mediterranean seawater. There you go. With water: carbon, motorbike exhaust, rubber bands. Mouth (neat): curious and excellent. Loads of lemon, camphor, natural rubber, and always litres of Mediterranean seawater—where it’s at its saltiest, off the west coast of Sicily (according to our friends in western Sicily, ha). With water: superb juice, not complicated but as sharp as a Japanese sabre. Superb lemons of every breed and origin. Finish: long and curiously very fresh. Liquorice allsorts and little pink olives in the aftertaste. Comments: how we do love these sharply chiselled Jamaicans!
SGP:463 - 90 points.

Worthy Park 2006 (57.6%, Rum of the World, Kirsch Import & Eye for Spirits, Jamaica, cask #WP06WP35, +/-2020)

Prices really have settled, €65 now for a bottle like this, bottled a few years back—surely a bargain. Colour: deep gold. Nose: quite different, softer, even easier, though less precise. Flambéed banana and toasted sesame oil rule the moment. With water: oh, this is lovely, there’s suntan lotion, shea butter, seawater and castor oil. Mouth (neat): it’s got all the WP kick, and in fact I really like this simple, peppery, gluey palate. Very good. With water: oh yes, this is truly excellent, soft yet powerful, salty, toasted, with a playful ‘Ikea’ tendency. Finish: long, ever salty, veering more and more towards liquorice. Salted liquorice, of course. Chlorophyll chewing gum in the aftertaste—well now, that’s fun. Comments: very pretty WP, full of twists and turns.
SGP:463 - 88 points.

Right, one last one – though I’ve honestly no idea if it makes any sense at all…

Hampden 2023/2024 ‘C<>H’ (64.1%, LMDW Foundations, Jamaica, ex-peated whisky cask, cask #775, 285 bottles)

This marque means roughly 1.4kg esters per HLPA, and on top of that they’ve found a way to add peat via an ex-Laphroaig cask, and even though it’s just one year old, they’ve also managed to stick the somewhat superfluous statement ‘Fully matured at Hampden Estate’ on the label (just joking). Right. Colour: white wine. Nose: the Laphroaig has nothing to say here—they might as well have used a Glenkinchie or Auchentoshan cask, if you ask me. In short, this is pure Hampden on the nose: glue, brine, juniper, carbon and ink (let’s say purple ink, old school style). With water: in come roots, gherkins, and a hard-to-pin-down sweet-and-sour side. Also a whiff of shellfish that’s seen better days. Mouth (neat): pure Hampden, glorious. Solvents, roots, charcoal, and indeed, a peaty element starting to emerge. Truth be told, at this point the dram gives the impression of parachuting without having remembered to wear the parachute. With water: the peat kicks in, and it gets tough, as the ash and tar components start escalating exponentially. I may need to call my insurance company. Finish: very long, though the aromatic balance begins to stumble a little. Everything piles up and becomes slightly… wobbly. Comments: next time, why not chuck in a little mezcal while you’re at it, for a near-nuclear blend. In any case, it’s very funny, that’s for sure. I’d also add that the medicinal edge from Laphroaig might be a bit of a handicap—we believe Hampden’s more of an Ardbeg kind of thing, as we’ve probably already written 45,342,725,434,812 times. In any case, glad to have come across a Hampden that didn’t immediately blow us away, it makes a change, and it’s good for our fragile ego.
SGP:375 - 83 points.

Nothing – absolutely nothing else – could possibly be enjoyed after this astonishing little monster. CU.

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