A couple more rums


March 8, 2026

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!

A couple more rums

A bit of everything today, Barbados, Jamaica, Thailand, Guyana, Guadeloupe, Trinidad… And quite a lot of fumes too, as well as spent engine oil and burnt tyres, petrol, carbon dust, acetone…

Planteray ‘XO 20th Anniversary’ (40%, Planteray, Barbados, 2025)

Rums aged between 12 and 20 years, probably based on W.I.R.D., if not entirely W.I.R.D. The presentation is particularly polished, it would not look out of place alongside the current décor of the Oval Office. We are joking… Colour: deep gold. Nose: pleasant, very close to the cane, with charming little metallic and liquorice touches, as well as coconut, dried apricot, thyme and brown sugar. Mouth: less light than we feared, even a little warm, very marked by liquorice, orange zest and a small handful of sultanas. Not very complicated, but simply ‘really good’, which is already quite a lot. Finish: medium in length, with surprising touches of goji and maple syrup. A saline note in the aftertaste. Comments: truly a lovely composition, rather cognac-like in spirit, which will surprise no one.
SGP:641 - 85 points.

On the subject of cognac…

Captain Flint 8 yo ‘Extra’ (43%, Famille Cabanne, Guyana, cognac cask, 2025)

We had rather enjoyed the 12-year-old Dominican in the same series, but in theory this 8-year-old ought to be superior, given its origin. Colour: white wine. Nose: very metallic, with carbon paper and charcoal as well, the whole is really very dry despite the cognac cask, but we rather like this style. Hay, apple peelings, even a little dry cider. Pleasant. Mouth: it gains breadth on the palate, rather fatter, with peanut butter and a few touches of tar, there must well be a few esters wandering about here. Then it moves towards more classic territory, vanilla, honey, cane syrup… Finish: medium in length, rather fresh, finishing on soft liquorice with a faint touch of salt. Comments: a lovely little Guyanese rum in a natural style.
SGP:551 - 83 points.

Chalong Bay ‘American Double Barrel’ (51%, OB, Thailand, +/-2025)

A version probably rather boosted by vanilla-ed wood, but with natural fermentation without added yeast, matured for 28 months and not chill-filtered. Nor flavoured of course. Colour: white wine. Nose: we do find those slightly metallic touches again, old copper, sugar cane, marzipan… But we find it really rather gentle for Chalong, at least for now. With water: much the same, bagasse and beer, but softly. Mouth (neat): the saline power is found here, sardines and anchovies, salmiak, and above all black olive. All that, we do adore. With water: it becomes drier, very prettily so. Finish: fairly long, with lovely bitters. Comments: very discreet on the nose but rather explosive on the palate, which is not so common. We are not quite at the level of their splendid ‘Lunar Series’, but it remains excellent nonetheless, in our humble opinion.
SGP:462 - 85 points.

Père Labat ‘Le Rhum Soleil’ (55%, OB, Marie-Galante agricole, +/-2025)

Père Labat ‘Le Rhum Soleil’ (55%, OB, Marie-Galante, agricole, +/-2025)

This is amber rum, therefore lightly aged, hence the very pretty name they bestow upon these batches. We had already tasted a version from three years ago, but we never neglect any excuse to taste this expression again, quickly and efficiently. Do note, it makes perfect ti-punches. Colour: very pale white wine, almost white. Nose: pure cane juice, chalk, star anise, olives, fennel, liquorice. Irresistible. With water: damp earth and seawater. Mouth (neat): aniseed, lemon, chalk and olive. It is already a cocktail in itself. With water: the damp and salty earth returns. Coastal soil, salt meadows… Finish: long, both rich and taut at once, with a dangerously fresh character. Olives and oysters marinated in limoncello. Comments: careful, this goes down all too easily, so just imagine it in a ti-punch…
SGP:562 - 87 points.

Ten Cane 17 yo 2008/2025 (55.7%, Whisky Picnic Bar + Rum & Whisky + Bar Tre, Trinidad, cask #2901, 254 bottles)

Founded in 2005 in Trinidad by Moët Hennessy (perhaps to create the Ardbeg of rum?) Ten Cane Distillery aimed to produce a distinctive rum from fresh local sugarcane juice, using first-press juice and pot still distillation. The project ultimately failed to achieve the success it had hoped for and was stopped. The name came from the fact that ten sugar canes were said to be needed to produce one bottle. Colour: dark amber. Nose: this is lovely, somewhere between rum and bourbon, marked by oak, varnish, liquorice wood, pipe tobacco, toasted pecans, but also a little brine… With water: tar, new leatherette, Barbour grease… Mouth (neat): really very beautiful, very woody, but here everything works, it rather reminds us of an old Willett, we are not joking. Plenty of varnish, paint, glue, vanilla, salted liquorice, walnut liqueur, old Dutch genever… It somewhat recalls rums from the years before Keith Richards. With water: it becomes a mixture of rum, armagnac and nocino, frankly. Explosive. Finish: long, on pine tar liqueur. Comments: we do love this rather extreme thing, one simply needs to be at peace with wood, and not only oak.
SGP:372 - 90 points.

Since we’re in Trinidad, and to save on transport (what?) …

Caroni 24 yo 1996-2019/2024 (62.4%, Velier, Rum Paradise #6, Trinidad, heavy, cask #5619, 115 bottles)

As usual we are doing nothing in order, we had already tasted more recent ‘Paradise’ versions. In short, this baby matured for 12 years in Trinidad, then was moved to Guyana at Demerara Dist. for 10 years, before joining the Cognac cellars in 2019 for a slow finishing in demijohn. Some say ‘to stop the ageing’ but everyone knows that, alas, in no field can ageing truly be stopped. Colour: amber. Nose: one may criticise the ‘inflated’ side of Caroni, yet here we must simply bow with the proper deference when approaching a very great spirit. In short, we oscillate between new Pirelli tyres, Iberian ham, chestnut honey, coal tar and naphtha, patchouli and roasted chestnuts. All that at more than 62% vol… With water: sublime. The greatest pu-ehr tea from China, we imagine this is what citizen Xi drinks. Mouth (neat): simply perfect. Sublime resins, tars, little lemons, forgotten herbal liqueurs, notably pre-war Chartreuse. You are right, in these times the expression ‘pre-war’ no longer carries much meaning. With water: incredible. Tars and precious oils, and above all massive doses of propolis. Finish: very long, increasingly on propolis. Propolis is not the easiest thing to enjoy, but it also boosts your immune system. Does it not? Comments: of course, you may prefer white chocolate and coconut dessert cream. For this is very extreme…
SGP:473 - 93 points.

In theory we should stop there, but our spirits are still high and our throats still dry (now we really are joking) ….

Clarendon 14 yo 2011/2025 ‘MBS’ (60%, Velier, Jamaica, bourbon barrel, 172 bottles)

The MBS marque signifies a very low level of esters, almost non-existent. But we always say it, none of this is linear once it is in your tasting glass. That said, this rum seems to come from the distillery’s multi-column still rather than the pot stills. Right, let us hold on… Colour: amber. Nose: the strict opposite of the Caroni, we believe we may just have made a misstep. You see, we had spotted ‘Jamaica’… Roasted peanuts, multifloral honey, Nutella, slightly meaty molasses, ham fat… But wait, it remains interesting, nonetheless. Beef jerky, old paint, feathered game… Very strange, very amusing. With water: even more on game, haggis, wild boar ham cooked with honey… Mouth (neat): very surprising, candied, strongly infused with wood, very resinous yet the resins are loosened by lime juice… Between us, we believe we have tasted things like this in Cuba, at someone’s home… With water: really very funny, very much ‘to the fore’, with a light texture yet an imposing presence on the palate, almost minty and mustardy at the same time. Finish: not that long, almost short but rescued by citrus, as often. Comments: never tasted anything quite like this, once the surprise has passed you find it very good indeed. In short, it is a little brief but it goes quickly, like a dragster. See what I mean?
SGP:561 - 87 points.

Right then, tradition says we finish with a Hampden, while we do respect tradition…

HD 2018/2025 ‘C<>H’ (64.3%, The Whisky Jury, Jamaica, The Ester Hunter Catch 5, bourbon barrel, cask #CH-56, 201 bottles)

Of course, in the manner of WF we have already tasted ‘Catch 6’. Do not ask the French to respect any kind of order, not even us the Alsatians (smile). In short, C<>H means 1,300-1,400 gr ester/HLPA, but that is small beer, is it not? Err… Colour: straw. Nose: you have just opened the bonnet of your Porsche (this also works with Dacia, Toyota or Skoda, simply not with electric cars) after driving the Nürburgring twenty times flat out. Tar, burnt plastics, petrol, hot oil, brake dust and so on. And it is splendid, all the more so as a few olives happen to join the party. With water: it grips the road even better than your Porsche if it is properly shod. Perhaps a little formic acid, have you ever disturbed an anthill? Mouth (neat): massive, chemical, petroly, salty, acidic, bitter, relentless. With water: incredibly saline, acidic, rough, vegetal, grassy and… chemical. And above all more peppery than usual, almost jalapeño-like. Finish: almost eternal. Comments: even more extreme than usual, and therefore outstanding. We shall truly need to make an appointment with a good psychiatrist, provided he is not a rum enthusiast, naturally.
SGP:363 - 92 points.

Check the index of all riums we've tasted