1931 St Lucia Distillers 6th Edition. Hard to believe we are upto the 6th edition of this annual release, already. We had to wait a while for the 5th edition to arrive in the UK. This arrived about the same time, towards the end of 2017.

We’ve reviewed all of the previous St Lucia 1931 bottlings and I snapped a bottle (or two) of these up as soon as I could. As with all the 1931 bottlings, I have taken my time with the review as they are very complex at times challenging rums.

Going forward this will be the last of the “old style” annual 1931’s. St Lucia Distillers are having an overhaul of just about all their ranges and whilst they are keeping the 1931 in the portfolio it will no longer be a scheduled annual release.

In the UK a bottle of 1931 St Lucia Distillers – 6th Edition will set you back around £60. The ABV is now set at 46%. Presentation wise this is the same as previous efforts though this time the colour scheme is a slightly off white/cream colour. Everything else remains the same. I really like the bottles they are really classy and the cork stopper is huge and gives a very premium feel to the package. This rum celebrates the 85th Anniversay of the Distillery. I have bottle number 2951.

The 1931 blends are very complicated. This effort is no exception. Once again Michael Speakman from St Lucia Distillers has been very kind with us time and gave us the following information on the blend

6%: Column Still, Blend No. 101, Aged 11 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
16%: Column Still, Blend No. 101, Aged 7 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
35%: Column Still, Blend No. 104, Aged 10 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
10%: John Dore 2 Pot Still, Aged 11 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
10%: John Dore 1 Pot Still, Aged 9 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
10%: John Dore/Column Still blend, Aged 7 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
3%: Caroni (Trinidad), Aged 9 years, matured in Bourbon Oak.
10%: Sugar Cane Rum/John Dore Pot Still, Aged 8 years, matured in Bourbon Oak (Agricole)
Totals:
60%: Column Still
30%: Pot Still
10%: Pot/Column Blend

So as you can see their is a lot going on with this rum.

So lets move on and see how well this years (well last years) effort has done.

In the glass the 1931 6th Edition is a familiar colour. The 1931 rums are all roughly the same golden brown colour with red and orange flashes. Caramel Colouring for consistency? I think so though I could be wrong.

The nose is familiar – brine and sea salt and those notes of pine cone and conifers. It’s very “woody” but in terms of green trees in woods rather than oak. Further nosing reveals some lighter vanilla notes, a slightly perfumed almost pot pourri note. Hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and some lemon juice.

Further nosing reveals a hint of tobacco leaf, some dried fruits – hints of raisins and just a little bit of cocoa. It has a nicely balanced and very refreshing note the more you nose. As you progress with the nosing the initial salty and pine like notes become less obvious. Time in the glass reveals a lot with this rum. I recommend highly that you leave it to stand for 10-15 minutes.

It’s a really complex and very rewarding nose. You can spend a lot of time nosing this rum.

Sipped the 1931 6th Edition is equally complex. Most of the notes of the nose transfer beautifully across to the taste buds. It is sweeter than the nose would suggest with a good integration of the spices from the various oak barrels. The cane juice rum is very apparent giving it a feel very similar to Rhum JM XO. There is a lot of zesty and vibrant spicy notes coming through.

The Caroni element doesn’t really show itself all that much but there is much going on in this blend it is difficult to pin point what is coming from where.

I’m a big fan of well blended Pot and Column distilled rums – I often feel they produce the “best” rums. The Pot adds rich flavours and the column balances and calms things down. This rum is no exception and it has a really nice balance to it.

The initial sweetness and bursts of zest and spice go alongside some really nice tropical fruit notes -pineapple juice and a touch of red apple. The mid palate is refreshing with a good weight of oak and spice – ginger and some really nice bourbon like sourness.

The finish is really enjoyable as well and long-lasting. Again its rich and very vibrant – really nicely defined and very “clear”. It is a well-defined and very complex sipping rum. Hints of tobacco and more of the pine cones and a little bit of Christmas tree?

All the 1931 releases have been excellent (the 3rd edition was perhaps an exception). I think this one may well be my favourite so far. But its all very close. I wouldn’t turn down a glass of any of these excellent rums.