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| Hello, that is one among our (virtually) each day tastings. Santé! |
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December 29, 2024
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A phrase of warning
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are accomplished from the perspective of a malt whisky fanatic who, what’s extra, is aboslutely not an professional in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or some other spirits. Thanks – and peace! |
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Our remaining rums of 2024
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A collection of roughly easy-going rums for this very finish of the 12 months, truly chosen at random however beginning with two or three aperitifs with out an excessive amount of ambition.
Christmas in Martinique is even higher than elsewhere! (France-Antilles Martinique)
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Doble 9 15 yo ‘Anejo’ (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2024) 
An amusing bottle adorned round its neck with a domino that includes a double 9, a nod to the standard Cuban domino recreation. I’ve by no means encountered this pretty new model in Cuba, however the Cuban authorities’s authentication label does seem, properly, genuine, even when it appears this rum was blended and bottled within the Dominican Republic after having been produced in Cuba. The bottling energy of 38% stays only a tad worrying… Color: pale gold. Nostril: it doesn’t fairly really feel its supposed 15 years and comes throughout as extraordinarily mild, providing a distinctly Cuban contact (recent hay, for example) together with a touch of lime. It’s all relatively inoffensive. Mouth: there’s a faint sweetness, although it’s laborious to inform if it’s been boosted, resting on a barely natural base. Nonetheless very mild, not disagreeable, with refined hints of coconut and immediate espresso. End: very brief, with orange liqueur lingering within the aftertaste. Feedback: it’s actually fairly first rate, I feel.
SGP:330 – 70 factors. |
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Abuelo XII anos ‘Three Angels’ (43%, Panama, +/-2024)
The Abuelo XII ‘Two Oaks’ was relatively common and pretty laden with sugar three years in the past (WF 60). This ‘Three Angels’ version was partially aged underneath the warehouse roofs, the place temperatures are at all times larger and thus the angels’ share extra important (15% per 12 months, they are saying, however did the casks truly spend a minimum of a 12 months underneath the roofs?). The 43% ABV is an effective signal. Color: amber brown. Nostril: I fairly like this—it’s relatively dry, providing notes of espresso, darkish chocolate, black tea, burnt wooden, roasted chestnuts, and even hints of menthol and liquorice. Up to now, so good. Mouth: there’s some sugar and molasses, however not excessively so, accompanied by molasses honey and a contact of espresso liqueur. Roasted hazelnuts, darkish raisins, and even a faint muscat-like word seem. End: lengthy, actually candy however with out an excessive amount of extra this time. Feedback: it’s price noting that, underneath EU guidelines, a spirit can not be labelled as ‘rum’ if it exceeds 20 grams of added sugar per litre. I feel this relatively good Abuelo stays inside that restrict, though the sugar stays noticeable. Miles forward of the sooner ‘Two Casks’.
SGP:650 – 75 factors. |
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Navy Island Jamaica ‘XO Reserve’ (40%, Navy Island Rum Firm, Jamaican mix, +/-2024) 
This child at 40% ABV and with out an age assertion is relatively expensive (€45), however then once more, it’s a mix of ‘pot nonetheless’ Hampden, Monymusk, and Worthy Park. So, in the long run, it’s not that costly, is it. Color: mild gold. Nostril: it jogs my memory of the early Mezan blends. Surprisingly mild however under no circumstances ‘empty’, that includes carbon paper, mild brine, and ultra-ripe fruits (these well-known pineapples ‘teetering on the sting of the highway’ as we are saying in French), together with a faint contact of wooden varnish. It whispers, however what it says is beautiful. Mouth: equally mild however not empty—let’s say ‘pastel’. Good salinity, two or three capers, a little bit of tar and salmiak, then a small piece of tarte tatin. Mild pepper. End: not very lengthy, in fact, however acceptable. Bits of pineapple in brine? Do these exist? Feedback: excellent for introducing your friends to Jamaican rums with out instantly forcing them to gulp down Hampden
SGP:642 – 85 factors. |
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Bielle 2015/2024 (54.9%, Swell de Spirits x Inter Caves, Pop’ collection, Marie-Galante) 
Bielle is Bielle (properly, you’ve outdone your self, S.) This one spent 7 years on Marie-Galante earlier than crusing to France in 2022 aboard the two-masted schooner ‘Avontuur’. Look her up on Google—it’s a effective ship. Color: brilliant straw. Nostril: it’s unmistakably Bielle, with these aniseed notes mingling with recent cane and putty. Magnificently recent—maybe the Atlantic crossing on a crusing ship additional amplified that impression. With water: even prettier, with hints of outdated gas oil, eucalyptus, extra anise, and mint. Mouth (neat): that medicinal edge additionally evokes sure artisanal cachaças (did the schooner take a detour through Brazil?), together with lemon, recent cane, pink grapefruit, and a contact of fennel. A rum like no different. With water: citron liqueur, candied cherries, and angelica. End: not particularly lengthy however fantastically refreshing. Impressions of putty and anise return within the aftertaste, adopted by lemon and pepper. Feedback: totally charming, this Bielle. Plus, pouring it to pals means that you can recount the story of the schooner, its wind generators, photo voltaic panels, and all that. An superior beast.
SGP:562 – 90 factors. |
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Foursquare 15 yo 2006/2022 (59.1%, Whisky AGE, barrel, #15, 231 bottles) 
It’s laborious to think about something going improper right here, although one would possibly nonetheless dream of a pure pot nonetheless FS. That stated, the label clearly specifies that is the standard self-blend of column and pot nonetheless. Color: straw. Nostril: I’m not totally positive what number of totally different mixtures they experiment with by way of percentages of the 2 kinds, however right here the pot nonetheless appears to take the lead, leaving the lighter column rum within the background. I’m getting chalk, soot, even a contact of saltpetre, grape seed oil, pistachio, and praline… In the long run, it’s nonetheless pretty elegant, even delicate. With water: hints of recent cake, fougasse, scones, orange cake, and ginger cookies… Mouth (neat): that well-known orange marmalade with cane syrup and inexperienced and pink peppercorns. No complaints right here. With water: not a lot evolution, however that’s completely effective. Extra recent cane juice and even perhaps a small glass of umeshu. End: medium size, that includes pu-ehr tea and only a contact of turmeric. Vanilla and a little bit of coconut linger within the aftertaste, together with one wee dried fig. Feedback: in the long run, that is fairly a delicate Foursquare, however/and it’s wonderful.
SGP:551 – 88 factors. |
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Uitvlugt Port Mourant 1999/2024 (47.1%, The Whisky Jury, Guyana, refill barrel, cask #88, 173 bottles)
It’s price remembering that 1999 was the ultimate 12 months for Uitvlugt at first was transferred to Diamond, together with the very outdated Port Mourant nonetheless, which had first been at Albion earlier than being moved to Uitvlugt. Let’s say it once more, please repeat—the nonetheless from… Color: gold. Nostril: monstrously lovely, because the comparatively low bottling energy already hinted. Extraordinary notes of recent rubber, liquorice, overripe mangoes, oysters, olives, Bakelite, engine oil, and oil paint in each possible color (actually?), plus linoleum… Mouth: that is completely maddening. An ideal mixture of mango, tar, liquorice, and seaweed. And numerous different nuances, however we don’t have all day… End: lengthy, with salinity turning into much more pronounced. The mango and different parts echo within the aftertaste, which is simply barely astringent total. Pretty robust pepper. Feedback: very, very maddening.
SGP:463 – 91 factors. |
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Enmore 26 yo 1998/2024 ‘EHP’ (49.3%, WFRC & WDC, Dos Deliquentes, 204 bottles)
Ex-wooden 2-column Coffey nonetheless (nonetheless a thriller to this humble whisky geek) with ageing in bourbon, armagnac, and refill rum casks—the entire course of stays much more mysterious to me. Sure, EHP means Enmore. I suppose we’d higher deal with the liquid if you happen to don’t thoughts… Color: gold. Nostril: the softest of the Guyanese bunch, that includes loads of yellow flowers and all types of truffles, notably coconut balls and vanilla sponge, adopted by praline and English tea ‘with a splash of milk’. Actually very civilised. Beautiful little earthy touches emerge subsequent. Mouth: an uncommon profile combining coconut and vanilla sweetness with hints of glue and solvent, plus a yeasty background. End: medium size, turning alternately acetic and extra targeted on cane and little fruity sweets. Feedback: very laborious to comply with the Port Mourant—I in all probability ought to have tasted this primary, however I adopted the order of bottling strengths. Nonetheless wonderful, although I feel this one is for über-geeks and Demerara rum students. In brief, being softer doesn’t imply it ought to be handed to simply anybody. Very laborious to attain, as my rum information stops right here.
SGP:641 – 85 factors (to be taken with a big pinch of salt). |
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Let’s liven issues up a bit…
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Hampden 2023/2024 (63.14%, The Colors of Rum for 13. German Rum Competition, Jamaica)
Some DOK aged in ex-PX, oloroso, and bourbon. What a humorous joke—who’s going to note the assorted casks in a DOK at 63%? Sorry, 63.14%. DOK, as a reminder, means 1,500 to 1,700 gr ester/HLPA. And this one’s acquired loads of that ‘A’, so loads of esters. Proper then, let’s say our prayers and brace ourselves… Color: gold. Nostril: let’s be trustworthy—our olfactory bulb, which processes scent indicators from receptor neurons in our nasal cavity, rapidly filters out something deemed ‘extreme’. That’s why we typically discover Octomore ‘not so peaty’ or DOK ‘not so acetic/tarry’. In brief, it’s only a gorgeous Hampden. With water: I really feel like you might drown this in Vittel (our official water—we’re nonetheless unpaid, thoughts you) and it wouldn’t change a factor. Perhaps hints of burning tyres or a failed burnout by a novice Harley rider. Mouth (neat): excellent sharpness, as if consuming unripe salted olives in absurd portions whereas sipping Tesla brake fluid. Effectively, I think about. With water: right here comes the lemon, inexperienced pepper, salted liquorice, and so forth. End: very lengthy, although in the end barely dominated by rubber. Feedback: completely insane.
SGP:475 – 88 factors. |
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Come on, one final one which ‘would possibly’ stand as much as this totally infernal Germanic DOK…
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Secret Jamaican Distillery 9 yo 2012/2022 (62%, Dràm Mor, bourbon barrel, cask #072, 198 bottles)
Typically, these secret Jamaicans are Worthy Park, although in fact there’s no proof. Color: full gold. Nostril: ultra-ripe unique fruits, hints of ammonia and acetone, artichokes, olives, pipe tobacco, crushed gravel, and slate. Total, the construction feels finer and fruitier than among the different well-known Jamaicans, which lean a bit extra in the direction of ‘doom metallic’ than WP’s basic laborious rock (what?). Okay, not Appleton. With water: oh, scallops cooked in Noilly with little Chinese language mushrooms. And there you have got it—I’ve made myself hungry. Mouth (neat): merely excellent. Equal elements citrus juice and seawater. Glorious, exact, very WP. With water: intensely maritime and lemony earlier than tar and extremely concentrated molasses take over. End: virtually spicy, thick, and peppery. Fairly enjoyable. Surprising notes of flambéed and salted bananas seem within the aftertaste. Feedback: a full of life little Jamaican with a lot to say—on the very least.
SGP:563 – 88 factors. |
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 Examine the index of all rums we have tasted thus far
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