House of Rum Mauritius 2014.

I am reviewing what I think is my first rum from La Rhumerie du Chamarel or Chamarel Distillery if you prefer (or are English speaking). I may have tasted some Chamarel in the past but I’ve never reviewed one.

Mauritius and consequently Chamarel is a rum producing country that in all honesty Is haven’t given a lot of thought to over the years. The island produces both Agricole style Sugar Cane Juice rums and Molasses based rums. Mauritius is perhaps most famous for its New Grove Distillery and Green Island range of rums. Tilambic 151, Lazy Dodo the New Grove range etc.

Chamarel are one of the distilleries in the Sugar Cane Juice camp. Were they producing their r(h)ums on Martinique or Guadeloupe they could legally call at least some of their r(h)ums Rhum Agricole. Their production methods seem to fit the criteria at least some of the time.

Chamarel also adhere towards Cognac/Brandy production and use the VS, VSOP, XO denominations on some of their bottlings.

I probably should investigate Chamarel a bit more and buy some of their official bottlings.

If you wish to learn more about Chamarel Distillery they have a very informative website which outlines their productions methods and ethos. I’d recommend reading it the production methods in particular are very interesting.

Distilled in 2014 from Red and Yellow Sugarcane varieties and aged in both Tropical and Continental climates. Two years of Tropical aging in ex-Bourbon casks in Mauritius. The rum has completed an additional seven years of Continental maturation in the UK. Resting in ex-English Whisky casks that previously held Red wine.

This single cask bottling from 2023 yielded just 273 bottles (you may notice the photos show 307 bottles – don’t ask me!). It has been bottled at 54.2% ABV. A bottle will currently set you back around £130 and is available directly from House of Rum here.

In the glass House of Rum Mauritius 2014 is a lovely vibrant deep Gold. The kind of colour that makes you think of honey. It looks inviting. It looks like it might behave itself. I hope it doesn’t.

The nose is where things start to get fun. Straight away you get this big wave of tropical fruit Pineapple, Mango, a bit of Guava but not the artificial “tropical flavouring” nonsense you get in cheap Spiced rum. This is the real stuff.

Then there’s a warm, slightly sticky note like caramelised Banana fritters, followed by a little Vanilla, a little oak and a faint Herbal edge. This stops it from becoming overly sweet I feel. There’s even a touch of that slightly glue‑ish estery thing, but toned down.

It’s not massively grassy or Agricole like on the nose. The maturation has given this more of a molasses like feel. Think something like Rhum JM XO. Agricole with a Molasses nod due to the cask influence?

On the palate it’s warm and unsurprisingly punchy. That 54.2% isn’t messing around. You get a burst of sweet tropical fruit again Pineapple Upside‑Down cake, Mango syrup, maybe even a bit of Lychee. This is followed by a wave of Spice and Oak that brings everything back in to some kind of order.

There’s a nice balance between sweetness and heat, and the mouthfeel is oily, the kind that coats your tongue and refuses to leave quietly. Add a splash of water and it opens up beautifully, letting more of the fruit and pastry notes come through without losing the backbone.

The finish on House of Rum Mauritius 2014 is long, warm, and slightly drying. The fruit fades into soft oak, a bit of spice, and a lingering sweetness that feels like someone left a bowl of tropical fruit salad in the sun for just a bit too long in a good way. It’s not a heavy, brooding finish, but it sticks around long enough to make you nod approvingly at the glass like you’ve just discovered something clever.

House of Rum Mauritius 2014 is one of those rums that sits in a nice middle ground. Not a wild funk monster and not an overly delicate Agricole.

It’s a well‑chosen cask from a distillery that knows what it’s doing, bottled at a strength that lets the flavours actually show up to work. It’s interesting without being weird, fruity without being childish, and strong without being aggressive.

Complex and very interesting. Really enjoyed this one.