Saint James Rhum Vieux 7 Year Old. Saint James are a Rhum Agricole producer from the island of Martinique. Back in 2014 they revamped and released a range of specific age statement rhums. A 7,12 and 15 year old made up the range. Today we will be looking at the youngest of those rhums.

Saint James have featured on the site before. I reviewed their Saint James Heritage rum which was a puzzling blend of caribbean rums and their own agricole rhum. I also reviewed their more regarded Rhum Ambre. This is a review I need to re-visit as my appreciation of Rhum Agricole has risen considerably since I wrote that back in 2013/4.

In the UK, Saint James seem to suffer from distribution issues. We were inundated with the Heritage and Reserve blends but we don’t seem to regularly get what is regarded as their good stuff. I’ve never seen them present at a UK Rum Festival. They have a confusing array of rums on offer. Admittedly I’ve only dipped my toe into exploring the brand.

Should you find a bottle of this in the UK expect to pay upwards of £50. The rum comes in the familiar square tall embossed Saint James bottle. A cork stopper and a wooden display box complete the look. Saint James do have consistent branding on their bottles.Saint James Rhum Vieux 7 Year Old is aged for a minimum of 7 years in small oak casks. It is bottled at 43%.

In the glass the Saint James Rhum Vieux 7 Year Old is dark golden brown the red flashes.

The nose is quite puzzling – its very fruity – pineapple, melon and some red apple. There are next to no signs of the grassier style of agricole rhum I was expecting There is a strange kind of mustiness a little bit like ash running through the nose. It’s not a particular big nose but you get enough spice and fruitness to make it pleasant enough and nicely balanced. It’s light and sweet.

Sipped the rum is very approachable and easy to get along with. Again its quite fruity with white fleshy fruits such as red and green apple and honeydew melon. There is a really nice array of fruity zest and spice from the oak barrels which really makes this quite a complex little sipper. Vanilla, allspice, ginger and lemon all float in an out of the mix.

It’s a really easy going and nicely balanced rum which floats along nicely the more you sip the more you note. It has a really nice almost toffee and chocolate note on the initial entry which runs through the rum to the finish.

The finish is quite good as well. Not overly spicy but enough of a finish to satisfy. It’s a medium length which fades nicely in time for another sip. It is very similar to a Bajan style rum in terms of balance and the elements which display a healthy interaction with the oak barrel. It has however enough vibrancy and freshness to remind you it is a Cane Juice product. It’s fresh rather than overly grassy and its a really good rhum.

I’m very fond of this particular Agricole Rhum and I think it is a very good example of the style.

Really impressive.