Karukera Silver
Karukera are an Agricole Rhum producer from Guadeloupe. Karukera is the original
Arawak (Caribbean Indan) name for Guadeloupe. Despite the very slick presentation (which caused me to overlook this brand) Karukera have been distilling and producing rhum since 189
5.
The Esperence distillery in Sainte Marie – “Certain Origins do not Deceive” is the companies tag line. Karukera have a very nice website unfortunately for me its all in French and resists translation. There is a lot of information there and I can pick out bits but not a lot unfortunately! In all honesty the relatively modern presentation of all the Karukera rhums make me wonder if all this history is entirely correct.
Digging around the internet I can find little information on the brand. How long has the Karukera brand really been around? In the end I contacted Cyril Weglarz of DuRhum.com who gave me the following information “Karukera is a brand created in 2006, they mainly age and buy rums from other distilleries (from Guadeloupe and Martinique), and the white rhum from Longueteau. They just have an ageing facility, no distillery” Cyril is one of the Rum Reviewers who like me is not afraid to scratch the surface rather than rely on being spoon fed by Rum and Brand Ambassadors.
If you can find a bottle of Karukera Gold and Silver – their entry level rhums they will set you back around £30
here in the UK. They are bottled at 40% ABV and both tested 0-5 on the Hydrometer Tests. As a Rhum Agricole it should be made from Cane Juice rather than molasses. Beyond this I’m afraid I have little more information to offer. White usually unaged Agricole Rhum is very popular in France as it Ti Punch – a simple mix of sugar syrup, lime and white Agricole rhum.
As part of the reviewing process I’ll be testing out the Karukera Silver in a Ti Punch as well as on its own and in mi
xed drinks.
In the glass (as you have probably guessed) the rhum is entirely transparent – no signs of any ageing etc. It is likely it has been filtered to achieve this. The nose is quite typical of White Agricole.
Grassy, vegetal with some stronger notes of varnish and sho
e polish. At 40% ABV the shoe polish and varnish notes are much more subdued than with some white agricoles which are bottled at higher ABV’s. The nose is quite nicely balanced and it reminds me very much of Wray and Nephew White Overproof or Rum Bar Overproof. It has that element of funk. Though maybe just slightly more refined and understated.
Sipped the rum it is surprisingly quite smooth and easy to drink. The “funk” is more subdued than the nose. You get some nice notes of vanilla, peach and maybe even some red wine notes. The overall sipping experience is fairly short – the flavours are quite short lived and are replaced quickly with vegetal Cachaca like notes – which also disappear quickly leaving only really a little spice on the finish. It’s sort of okay but beyond this review I doubt I’ll be sipping it again.
Karukera Silver works surprisingly well in a variety of mixed drinks – even with cola it seems to rub along quite well. Something I definitely wasn’t expecting. For a Ti Punch it is perhaps a little to light and easy going to really make it to the top but its not at all bad. Cocktails such as Mojitos work particularly well with this rum. It’s light yet quite punchy (if brief) flavour profile mean that the drinks are well balanced but not overloaded with strong funk or vegetal notes.
This might well be a good entry into White Agricole a way of feeling your way but it is not the “good stuff” that many people enjoy. In the UK it is also worryingly expensive at around £30 per bottle. It’s not bad but not great either.
Admiral’s Old J Cherry Spiced. Admiral’s Old J or simply Old J as it is more commonly known, is a brand of Spiced Rum popular in the UK. It was introduced initially to fill the “void”, when Sailor Jerry changed their popular UK “formula” to the one more widely available, to the US market and beyond. Hence the Old J – though they never mention a Jerry.
familiar with that one either).
Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry. Unless you have only very recently gotten into rum or have been living in a cave, Plantation Rums should really need little or no introduction. Headed by Alexandre Gabriel Plantation Rum is a part of Maison Ferrand. They are based in France and a lot of their “double ageing” or secondary maturation takes place in cellars in the Cognac region of France.
e as EMB with a similar maturation.
pden Estate rums.
ll balanced rum but it goes to far away from its Jamaican roots to make it feel like a Multi Island Pot/Column Blend rather than the 100% Pot Still “hogo”, ester and dunder heavy Jamaican rum it is trying to convince us it is. If Smith & Cross gets a 8 out of 10 in terms of funkiness then Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry is a 2.
Westerhall Estate is situated on the Caribbean Island of Grenada. Since its inception it has existed in various guises. Presently Westerhall Estate blend and bottle their range of 6 rums.
clocks in at 40% ABV. The bottle is a standard bar bottle and has a rather cheap metallic screw cap once you have taken off the black seal which covers it.
I’ve been unable to determine the ages of the rums within this blend. My hydrometer tests have revealed that the rum does have some additives, possibly sugar. Which suggests that once blended the rum is rounded off a little to ensure consistency from batch to batch. They probably don’t always use all the same rums in each blend. This is a reason many producers have shyed away from age statements as they cannot always determine what age rums will give the consumer the flavour they expect year in year out.
Savanna Grand Arome Lontan. Savanna or Rhum Savanna are a rum producer from the Reunion Island. This particular Savanna bottling is a “Grand Arome”.
It works nicely sipped even at the full ABV it doesn’t come across too aggressively. Mixed it works really nicely in a Ti Punch and with fruit drinks – a Tingwray made with this is very good.
Raising Glasses Clouded Leopard Renaissance Distillery Bordeaux Cask. Rums from 
cumin, perhaps a little black tea and a vaguely umami drift through the background. Soy sauce? Marmite?
Tijuca Blended Brazilian Rum. Production of Sugar Cane Spirits in Brasil is a huge business. Many people in the rest of the world consider Cachaca, the native Brasilian Sugar Cane Spirit a bit of a niche product. In Brasil, where it is produced it has an absolutely huge foothold in the domestic market.
