A small bag of cat-approved rums


June 21, 2026

A small bag of cat-approved rums

Chosen at random by the feline collective of Château WF, ever ready to send our samples flying with a well-aimed swipe of a paw. The little rascals really are a menace. Well then, Perle has picked a cachaça, and a white one at that…

Prata Alambique Magnifica 2 yo (38%, Cadenhead, Brazil, Cachaça, Malternatives Release, +/-2020)

We do have some of these oddities lurking in our stock, by the way we had already tried some Sapucaia Velha by Cadenhead. Colour: white. Nose: we rather like this, it’s extremely tarry, very much on engine oil, brine, olives, with touches of acetone… Mouth: sweeter on the palate, we get the impression it may have been given a little boost in that department, but we still find the olive brine, only sweeter. A pity that we’re no longer quite in line with the very handsome nose. That said, there’s more and more lemon liqueur coming through and that, we rather like. Finish: fairly long, sweet, lemony and saline. A touch of smoked ham. Comments: a very pretty cachaça, although it probably needs some ice to tame the sweetness a little.
SGP:572 - 80 points.

Soba is quite a little minx too…

Renaissance 2016/2024 ‘Bordeaux Clouded Leopard’ (66.5%, OB, Taiwan, cask #19136, 90 bottles)

Five years in regular cask then four years in Léoville-Poyferré, not a bad Saint-Julien for sure, although we have never found any direct relationship between the classification of a wine and the quality of the rum or whisky subsequently finished in its casks. Colour: dark copper. Nose: plums aplenty, peppered into the bargain, and covered with a layer of molasses and fir honey. There’s a certain umeshu side to it, but also... Moutai. Quite a lot of pencil shavings as well. With water: fir wood, charcoal, leather and pumpernickel. Mouth (neat): very rich, somewhere between rum, whisky and cabernet, heavily marked by spices but, much to my surprise, the whole thing works rather well. A sort of blood orange liqueur. With water: hugely excessive, but consequently rather entertaining. Finish: good length, with soft and fragrant spices, orange blossom honey, then back to plums and liquorice. Comments: the whole thing is fairly extravagant but, for that very reason, thoroughly enjoyable.
SGP:751 - 83 points.

And now for P’tit Noir’s pick...

Tahiti 2017/2023 (57%, S.B.S., French Polynesia, bourbon cask, cask #1423, 277 bottles)

A molasses-and-column-still spirit, so this is not a French rum in the traditional agricole style. It is very probably Manutea, of which we have already tasted a 2017 that had been genuinely good despite a rather odd finishing regime (WF 81). Colour: white wine. Nose: fairly lemony, built upon a rather light and somewhat grassy base. There are a few echoes of the cachaça from earlier. With water: no major changes. A light style, with delicate touches of anisette. Mouth (neat): carrots, celery and lime. Quite amusing. With water: we find the root vegetables again, followed by a touch of sweetness. Finish: much the same impressions. A little Fanta in the aftertaste. Comments: of course we are always pleased to taste rum from Tahiti, but this version strikes us as a little... inoffensive. We know it can be better than this.
SGP:541 - 76 points.

And now it’s Tigrou’s turn…

Papalin 5 yo ‘High Esters Overproof’ (57%, Velier, Jamaica, 2025)

A blend of three Jamaicans, ranging from very low to very high ester counts. Colour: gold. Nose: we find that ‘Saturday morning at Ikea’ side once again, with fresh wood, glue, acetone, melamine and, thankfully, none of those meatballs they supposedly make from customers who never managed to find the exit. Seriously though, lovely lemon and lovely angelica. With water: lemon and celery. Mouth (neat): really good, fresh, lemony, almost peaty, with touches of dill and oregano, followed by a drop of diesel fuel, so wonderfully typical. With water: two or three little olives come out to say hello. Finish: fairly long, fresh, with a lovely presence without ever becoming too much. Comments: serve this to your friends who have yet to taste serious Jamaican rum. Or Hampden, for that matter.
SGP:552 - 85 points.

And now it’s the turn of the fifth and final feline: little Dolphy, aka P’tit Blanc et Noir.

Cuban Rum 33 yo 1992/2025 (59.8%, The Antelope, cask #9207)

What a lovely colour this rum has, and for that matter, why do old Cuban rums always seem to display such beautiful hues? Don’t tell me they were adjusting them before filling the casks? Colour: copper amber. Nose: the most wonderful old coffee liqueur, walnuts, then dried mushrooms, morels, horn of plenty mushrooms... With water: a surprisingly amontillado-like side emerges. Damp earth, mushrooms, walnuts, truffle... Mouth (neat): indeed, it is a little sweet and liqueur-like on the palate, rather coffee-infused in truth, but it works very well. A lovely duet of coffee and molasses, with an unexpected saline edge. With water: more on molasses and ginger, becoming increasingly reminiscent of a homemade infused rum. Finish: pepper, honey and liquorice. Comments: genuinely very pretty, and even more so with two or three ice cubes, although we are drifting slightly into the territory of spiced rums, which tempers my enthusiasm just a little.
SGP:741 - 84 points.

For the last one, we'll take matters into our own hands, as the cats are, after all, doing whatever they fancy and paying no attention to the brief.

HPDN 2000/2023 ‘LROK’ (48.6%, Precious Liquors for The Auld Alliance, Jamaica, cask #86, 219 bottles)

There we are, a respectable yet moderate ester count, high-quality people involved throughout, everything ought to go swimmingly... Colour: gold. Nose: classic light ammonia, shellfish, diesel fuel, pickled gherkins in brine, and ultra-ripe mangoes that are almost oily in their intensity. You have to like that sort of thing; we absolutely adore it. Mouth: oh splendid, ash-full shampoo (in a boy scout sort of fashion) and coconut milk, those ever-present extreme mangoes, some Trockenbeerenauslese riesling, and very saline oysters. The shampoo note never quite disappears, which adds an extra layer of roughness for enthusiasts who, like us, have already tasted a fair few barrowloads of Hampdens of every possible persuasion. Finish: long, saline, lemony and still slightly soapy. Comments: some might say there’s a tiny flaw here, but it’s like a beauty spot on an actress’s nose, it adds character.
SGP:553 - 88 points.

We agree that the whole cat business made very little sense, but I've noticed that many enthusiasts of fine spirits are also great lovers of cats!

Check the index of all rums we've tasted