Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Sawaku Bielle Premium

Bythefatrumpirate September 12, 2021

Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Sawaku Bielle Premium. A return for the Levy Lane Rum Co today, with their most recent releases of independently bottled rum.

Today we are focusing on their Sawaku Bielle Premium release. Produced at the Bielle Distillery on the island of Marie-Galante, which is situated closely to Guadeloupe.

Bielle Distillery operate a dual distillation for their rhum agricole which isn’t all that common amongst agricole rhum producers. The rum is distilled initially on a Alembic Copper Pot still before being distilled again on one of the distilleries Traditional Savalle Column Stills.

Prior to this the rhum is produced from local sugar cane on the island of Marie Galante. The sugar cane is freshly pressed at the distillery and fermented in large open vats for a period of 36-48 hours using bakers yeast.

This particular bottling was aged for 3 years in small white oak casks before being “rested” for 7 and a half years in a large oak “foudre”. For those unfamiliar with the term “foudre” it is basically a large wooden vat which can hold over 1,000 litres of spirit/wine.

As with other releases from Tamosi the “Sawaku” is another representation of Caribbean culture/folklore. More information on the Sawaku (essentially a Heron like creature, who marks the beginning of hurricane season) can be found on the Tamosi Rum website here.

Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Sawaku Bielle Premium has been bottled at 52.5% ABV. There were 279 bottles available at the time of release. I currently cannot find a UK retailer but it is available at Zeewijck in the Netherlands priced at €135. From what I can gather all the ageing/resting has taken place in Marie Galante.

The rum comes in the familiar opaque wine/Velier style bottle with a short neck and a tapered body. The presentation is clear and uncluttered with information around the bottling on the front label, along with an illustration of the Sawaku. The rear label gives more background regarding the Sawaku myth/story. It’s nicely packaged and done in way familiar with most Independent Rum collectors/afficionados.

I’m not sure I’ve reviewed a rhum from the Bielle Distillery before (I do have a few samples in addition to this one I need to get around to reviewing). So without further ado why don’t we see what this rhum is like?

In the glass we have a dark brown liquid with a reddish/orange hue. It’s quite dark for 10 (and a bit) year rhum, which confirms tropical ageing pretty much.

The nose is very perfumed. There is a lot sweet sugar cane but its not particularly grassy. It’s lighter and sweeter with more notes of tropical fruits, peach and some rose petals. Yes perfumed and slightly flowery…….sounds a bit soft doesn’t it?

It’s definitely quite a light profile but that doesn’t mean it lacks complexity or depth. Beneath the sweet perfumed notes lays a nice hit of ginger, lemongrass and some oak and spice. Vanilla wafts in and out amongst the notes of oak and touches of cinnamon. There is a hint of herbal tree bark and a trace of something a little “nutty”. Hazelnut spread perhaps.

Sipped at the full ABV it is very drinkable. The initial sip is sweet and like the nose quite perfumed. It’s rich and fruity with lots of raisin and a real weight of juicy plump peach and apricots. Complexity is added by a herbal, peppery hit of a more “grassy” agricole like note of fresh sugar cane – but not overly sweet. It adds a nice extra layer which progresses nicely down into the mid palate.

The mid palate really adds the wood influence. That said its a soft, elegant mix of vanilla,

peach, oak and some very light spices. The overall balance of this rhum is outstanding and it is incredibly moreish and dangerously drinkable!

The finish is a decent length with a nice fade out of the oak and spice. Fruity tropical notes of Mango, Papaya and some more conventional white grape remain in the mouth long after you have sipped.

As drinkable as this rhum is, it really is one you should try and savour and take time between each sip. The initial sweet entry of this rhum make it easy to reach quickly for another sip. Thing is you are best taking your time with this to really appreciate it.

On the evidence of this bottling I think my other samples from the Bielle Distillery might be getting opened sooner……….rather than later.

This is a really good example of Rhum Agricole. It is quite light but it does have a great complexity and balance.

Very elegant. Great stuff again from Levy Lane Rum Co.

Rhum Rhum Liberation 2012 Version Integrale

Rhum Rhum Liberation 2012 Version Integrale
Bythefatrumpirate September 3, 2016

Rhum Rhum is a collaboration between Luca Gargano of Velier and Master Distiller Vittorio Capovilla.

Using small copper pot stills located near to the Bielle distillery on Marie-Galante – a small, very rural island just off the coast of Guadaloupe.

Rhum Rhum Liberation 2012 has been released at two differing ABV’s this “Version Integrale” is bottled at a hefty 59.8%. 1420 bottles were produced.

The Rhum Rhum label use what they consider to be the best sugar cane known, Canne Rouge B47.259.  Which was fermented for an almost unheard of 10 days when making this rhum. The rhum was distilled in a copper alembic pot still, specifically designed by Capovilla and made by a the German artisan Muller. (You may have seen stills by this producer on some Habitation Velier bottlings recently)

After being double distilled in the Muller copper pot stills, it was then aged for 5 years in oak barrels which had previously been used for ageing sauternes white wine. The 2012 vintage was aged 5 years in oak before being ‘liberated’. The vintage on the bottle indicates the year of this ‘Liberation’. Hence the product name.

A bottle of this rhum when it was available would have set you back around £80 in the UK, which is quite expensive even for an agricole. The presentation is unusual and striking. From the very beginning Vittorio Capovilla decided that each vintage of the Liberation would have it’s own label. The label design comes from very old stamps from the University of Coimbra in Portugal. They represent different aspects of the Caribbean world.

The 2012 lobster label design represents Caribbean marine life. It is also connected to the food matches for this particular rhum. So a rhum pairing with this is going to be an expensive treat!

I’m not hugely experienced with Agricole Rhum. As this is a bit of an experimental bottling I’m not really quite sure what to expect. To be honest, that really was this rhums appeal.

In the glass the rhum is a quite surprising dark brown, with a reddish hue. I’m surprised as the rum is so young. If I didn’t know better I would suggest added colouring.

The nose on this rum is pretty busy and in many ways quite contradictory. Initially it seems quite light and vegetal.

However a deeper nosing reveals quite a lot of oak an almost liquorice like tannic red wine. So it is sort of light and heavy at the same time?

It’s very rich smelling and nicely balanced. Yet again it has something else going on beneath all that. After a further nosing you feel your nostrils twitch a little with the intensity of the ABV.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this. One minute its a grassy Saint James like Agricole the next it is treading Velier Demerara territory! Very confusing but not at all unpleasant.

I’ve given up on this rhum as a conventional agricole rhum. I will just have to judge it on its own merits – comparisions to aged agricoles seem pointless.

Sipping the rum at bottle strength is again a quite confusing experience. Initially I thought little of the entry. Slightly grassy/vegetal again quite light

However, seconds later as the spicy hit of the 59.8% ABV hit. I found I had a very strong fruity, again almost red wine burst of intense flavour. Sweet and pleasant but perhaps a little too sharp and a touch too intense.  I found it all a little overpowering.

With a few drops of water added I found the rum mellowed. It really does show a much better balance when the ABV is dropped. (This may well be a personal preference – each person may find a different “sweet spot” for this rhum).

For such a young rum, it is really surprising how much flavour and intensity has been packed into this in such a short period of ageing. The red wine notes used earlier don’t really do it justice – there is a lot going on with each sip. Plums, dates, raisins all come in on the rich fruity side. There is quite a lot of spiciness on the palate as well – a lot of interaction with the oak giving some really astringent notes. Maybe just a little too woody?

Which is my only real criticism of this rhum. Just a tiny bit bitter, especially in the finish.

Other than that it is a very fine rhum. Nice entry, good balance, good length as well. A very good finish spoilt slightly by bitterness towards the end.

I really should have reviewed this much sooner – its unlikely you will find a bottle now. Unfortunately I just didn’t think I could do it justice until I had tried it on a couple more occasions. I also needed to try a couple of other aged agricoles.  Just in case I was perhaps missing something obvious with this rhum. I don’t think I have as it is a bit of a curious rhum, even for someone more experienced with Agricole Rhum.

Certainly a rhum for the more adventurous drinker. Very, very good but maybe not to everyone’s taste. It is very intense.

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Pusser's Rum 50th Anniversary Rum

Pusser’s Rum 50th Anniversary Rum
Bythefatrumpirate December 5, 2019December 14, 2019

Pusser’s Rum 50th Anniversary Rum. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot day on the 31st July 2020 Pusser’s have decided to release this Limited Edition rum. Only 3,600 bottles of this rum will ever exist.

For those unfamiliar with Pusser’s, they purchased the rights and recipe to produce a Navy Rum, which recreates the blend used by the British Royal Navy. Founder Charles Tobias formed Pusser’s Rum Ltd in 1979.

This particular rum is an “upgrade” on the Gunpowder Proof version of Pusser’s. Unlike the recently re-released and re-blended Pusser’s 15 Year Old this has been released at “Gunpowder Proof” of 54.5% ABV.

Pusser’s Rum 50th Anniversary Rum is an aged blend of rums which was put together at the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) back in 2015. The rums in the blend were already 3 years old at this point, so we are dealing with a 7 year old rum blend. This rum was made to the specification last used by ED F Mann, a famous supplier of rum to the British Navy.

It is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums from Guyana and Column Distilled rum from Trinidad. There is a heavy emphasis on the rum from the historic Port Mourant Wooden Pot Still.

Currently Pusser’s Rum 50th Anniversary Rum is available at Nauticalia, as the name suggests the website focuses on Nautica themed gifts and accessories. It retails at £54.99 for a 70cl bottle.

Presentation wise we have an opaque black bottle with gold lettering. It’s really difficult to catch and even see in real life but there is a ship on the label. It’s really difficult to make out though! I really like the presentation particularly the gold anchor on the chunky cork stopper. They have went for a flat topped stopper. It looks really good on the shelf!

Price wise I am actually quite surprised that it isn’t more pricy. I’m not complaining though. It will be really interesting to try a more aged version of Pusser’s at Gunpowder proof.

As you might expect I’m quite excited to try this rum and get a review out. It would have been ideal to wait till Black Tot Day and do a review but that’s about 8 months away!

Not a chance so let’s get cracking!

In the glass Pusser’s Rum 50th Anniversary Rum is a very dark brown – mahogany with vivid red flashes around the edges.

The nose is familiar. It has a lovely sweet toffee and raisin aroma similar to the current 15 Year Old, mixed with some of the Gunpowder menace. So we get a nice hit of dark chocolate and aniseed. Undoubtedly from the Port Mourant. This is indeed very heavily influenced by the Port Mourant.

Further sipping reveal some ginger and star anise. There is a nice spicy oak overlapping the sweetness and a warming molasses note. Slightly bitter and smoky.

Sipped it is not as sweet as the nose. This is a rich, warming Licorice heavy initial sip. The mid palate reveals toffee, molasses and dark chocolate. This is tempered by some heavy ginger and some heat from the alcohol. It’s a hairs on the chest kind of sipper.

It’s unmistakably a Navy style rum. It does however have more complexity than most. Finish wise its long and spicy with lots of spice especially ginger and some white pepper. A touch of clove and some slight mustiness.

If you are a Pusser’s fan this will not disappoint. It is almost the best of both worlds in terms of the more refined notes of the 15 Year Old mixed with the punchier notes of the Gunpowder proof. It is certainly giving me food for thought about an increased ABV Pusser’s 15 Year Old.

It’s every bit as good as I hoped it would be and if you like Pussers or Navy style rum in general you will really enjoy the bottling.

Fantastic stuff.

Up Spirits!

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Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin

Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin
Bythefatrumpirate April 28, 2020

Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin. Saint Benevolence is a charitable organisation which was set up in 2017 by father and son team Calvin and Chase Babcock. This follows on four decades of work by Calvin in helping the people of Haiti.

The town of Saint Michel de L’Attalaye is where most of Calvin and Chase’s charitable work is located and it the people in this town that they have helped the most. They decided to combine their desire to help the people of Haiti with their love of Caribbean rum. And Saint Benevolence was born.

Bwason Pou Bonte – Haitian-Creole meaning “Drink to Goodness” , is an expression that embodies the buoyant spirit of the Haitian people as well as the philanthropic ethos of Saint Benevolence.

Every sip of Saint Benevolence Clairin and aged Caribbean rum directly funds charitable organisations such as Living Hope Haiti, Ti Kay and Innovating Health International.

Saint Benevolence have two expressions available in their fledgling range. One is an aged Caribbean rum the other which I am reviewing today is an unaged traditional Haitian Clairin.

The town of Saint Michel de L’Attayale does have working distilleries. These distilleries on Haiti which produce clairin are very rudimentary and often put together by hand from foraged materials and the Pot Stills are often pretty basic and capable of very small batch distillation.

Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is a field blend of Cristalline, Madame Meuze, Farine France and 24/14; indigenous cane clones organically grown in the fertile alluvial soils and tropical climate of Saint Michel de l’Attalaye. This sugar cane is grown in the fields surrounding the Dorcinvil Distillery. The processes for producing this Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin are entirely organic.

The sugar cane is harvested by hand and the resulting sugar cane juice is fermented with wild yeasts for between 5 and 7 days.

In homage to Saint Michel, the town of the spirit’s provenance some of the sugar cane juice is reduced to a syrup before being fermented in a local style, known as Methode Saint Michel.

The two resulting fermentations are then blended together and ran through the hand built Copper Pot Still. This results in Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin.

Saint Benevolence rum is mainly available in the US. I was sent a sample to try and get the word out about this, as it for a very noble cause and definitely something to get behind.

Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin retails at just over or around $30. A simple search on google reveals a lot of online stores, where you can find it. Here are a couple of examples. I’m not sure what availability will be like in every state. Presentation wise Saint Benevolence, comes in a very and shapely tall bottle. The labelling is modern and there is a good amount of information on the bottle. The website is also pretty good for information. Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is bottled at 50% ABV

In the glass Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is a crystal clear liquid. The nose is very rustic with lots of vegetal grassy sugar cane notes. There is a slightly sweet sour note. Gooseberries and a salty briny aroma. It’s quite pungent and can be nosed from a distance.

Further nosing reveals some tart lime notes and a smattering of sour cream and mayonnaise. There is a slightly spicy note of horseradish as well.

Sipped Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin is surprisingly smoky and almost mezcal like. It is quite stony and mineral-ey. A much cleaner spirit than the quite vegetal nose suggested. Quite clinical and tastes a little of how disinfectant smells (don’t go there!). But in a good way (?).

It’s certainly quite unique and it tastes a little more refined than some of the Velier Clairins. Finish wise it isn’t especially long but it leaves a nice spicy burn. More than a hint of Wasabi/Horseradish. I love Wasabi, so this is a really nice compliment to the smoke.

The website notes that this works well in a number of cocktails. It is certainly something a skilled bartender could work with and probably use both as a rum and a substitute for other more exotic spirits.

I tried it in a Caiprinha and it worked well. The smokiness worked really nicely and more of the sweeter vegetal notes shone through.

This is not going to be for every rum drinker – it’s certainly not your average white rum or even rhum. Definitely one for the more experimental enthusiast.

Really good stuff.

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Mount Gay Select Blend of Matured Rums TWE Exclusive

Mount Gay Select Blend of Matured Rums TWE Exclusive
Bythefatrumpirate December 7, 2018December 7, 2018

Mount Gay Select Blend of Matured Rums TWE Exclusive. TWE stands for The Whisky Exchange. Which is a physical and online store based in London, England. Headed up by business man and spirits enthusiast Sukhinder Singh. I’m a regular customer with them as they have one of the best selections of rum available in the UK.

This is the first time Mount Gay have “outsourced” some of their rum beyond bulk rum sales. You won’t have seen any independent bottlings with Mount Gay listed as the distillery.

The rum has been distilled and bottled at Mount Gay so it is presented in line with the brands usual offerings. However as mentioned you will only find this at the Whisky Exchange in the primary retail market. I would expect to see some appear in the future on the secondary/auction market.

Mount Gay Select Blend is a blend of Pot and Column distilled rums aged for 7 years. It is presented at Cask Strength of 54% ABV. 2400 bottles will be available and it retails at £87.95. It was aged in ex-American Oak Barrels. The blend has been selected by master distiller Allen Smith. It is drawn from just 20 barrels with a Angels Share of between 37.3% and 47.9%. Although we couldn’t get the exact details it has been noted that this blend contains more Pot Still rum than the rest of the Mount Gay range. No caramel colouring or chill filtration.

Mount Gay primarily make their money with their Eclipse and Black Barrel rums which have become staples of Travel Retail the world over. They are also noted for their iconic Mount Gay Extra Old (MGXO). They have released a few different expressions lately, including a Cask Strength version of the XO.

Presentation wise as it has been bottled at Mount Gay it is presented in their recently restyled bottles complete with a cork closure. It looks a very classy package. I am not sure if a card sleeve is provided.

Nevertheless it is very exciting to see a Cask Strength Mount Gay rum available at a more competitive price point. It will no doubt (and already has been) mentioned that this rum is more “expensive” than the Foursquare Exceptional Cask Series rums or even regular Foursquare rum. I suppose it is fairly expensive for a 7 year old rum but as I have found in the past Barbados Rum can be very good from a very young age. Especially when matured in Barbados.

So lets see how this compares to those releases.

In the glass Mount Gay Select Blend presents itself as a light golden brown with orange flashes.

The nose is a very familiar Bajan style rum. It has a lovely mixture of coconut, cashew nuts, pineapple and a touch of lemon zest. The balance on this nose is really spot on and it noses like a much older rum might.

The extra ABV for this over the XO is not really immediately noticeable from the nose. It’s so well-integrated. There are some spicy notes of oak ageing but it really does have such a great balance.

Further nosing reveals some toffee and banana. This is a rum which you will nose quite extensively it is so good.

Sipped Mount Gay Select Blend is wonderfully spicy. Very zesty with lots of bourbon esque sweet/sour notes. Zesty lemon/lime and some woody oak. The initial entry is quite fiery but further sips are much easier on the palate.

The mid palate is also quite spicy but notes of coconut, a touch of coffee, ginger, walnuts and some toffee also put in an appearance. It’s a complex, quite dry type of sipping rum similar in many respects to the Foursquare 2004 and 2005 rums. I like the zestyness and oakiness found in the profile.

The finish has perhaps a touch of bitterness which is the only thing which is slightly out of place with this rum. It is fleeting as well as the wonderful woody notes return giving you a very rich and warming finish. The finish is long and has a really nice note of dark chocolate mixed with ginger – bit like chocolate ginger stem biscuits. Nice!

This is a complex and very rewarding sipping rum. I wouldn’t even think about mixing this one. Fans of rums such as R L Seale’s, Mount Gay XO and the more recent Foursquare Exceptional Cask 2004 and 2005 rums will be in heaven with this one.

More of this please Mount Gay.

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Read More Mount Gay Select Blend of Matured Rums TWE Exclusive
Turmalina da Serra Carvalho

Turmalina da Serra Carvalho
Bythefatrumpirate February 20, 2019February 20, 2019

Turmalina da Serra Carvalho is the latest cachaça to be reviewed on the site. Hailing from Areia in Parariba state. Turmalina da Serra is produced at the Cachoeira Sugar Mill. The property spans over 60,000 m2 in the Atlantic Forest.

At one point there were over 120 cachaça producing sugar cane plantations in the town of Areia alone. Today this stands at around 30 – still quite a lot of cachaça to be producing. Especially as this is a swamp area…..

Turmalina da Serra Carvalho is produced in small batches on Copper Pot stills. Production of this cachaça is around 10,000 litres per year. So for a cachaça it is pretty much a “limited edition” release. All the sugar cane used in the production of Turmalina da Serra is harvested by hand at the Cachoeira sugar mill.

This cachaça has been bottled at 42% ABV and has been aged for 9 years in Carvalho – French Carvalho to be specific (French Oak).Turmalina da Serra also have a Ouro, Freijo and Jequitiba cachaça, in their line up. From what information I can find this cachaça retails at around the R$100 mark. Which is around £/€25. Again don’t expect to see it priced like that in Europe. More likely £5o plus, I would imagine.

Presentation wise the bottle in particular is a modern 3/4 stubby style rounded look. The branding is really strong and overall the cachaça would sit nicely alongside other rums and cachaças were it to reach Europe. It’s good to go and would need no updating. The plastic topped cork stopper is a nice feature as well! All very modern.

For the curious amongst you they do have a Facebook page. Which does show a listing for a website but sadly I couldn’t get that link to work.

In the glass this is a straw/light brown colour.

The nose is zesty and slightly peppery. It reminds me a little of a molasses based rum. It seems to have less grassy and vegetal or even smoky like notes, found more so in other cachacas.

Further nosing reveals some slight grassy aromas that do remind you that is a product of sugar cane rather than molasses. Some light notes of red wine, raisin and some almost licorice like aromas.

Sipped, it is very flavourful with an almost port like note to it. It has a lovely lemon zest running through it, alongside some notes that are reminiscent of pastrami (?) – peppery and slighty meaty.

This is quite a distinctive and full flavoured cachaça and one which I am enjoying very much.The mid palate continues to evolve with notes of maple syrup, raisins and some rosehip. It’s a really complex and rewarding cachaça. Further sips reveal more complexity as you get a slight smoky note moving into the finish. The 42% ABV does give this a cachaça slight edge I feel over some of the 38% ABV offerings. Not a great deal extra but just a slightly more boozy kick, which I enjoy. I like to enjoy a bit of the ethanol when I’m drinking!

Finish wise it’s really pleasant and warming – slight smokiness mingles alongside more of the rich fruity notes, fading out into a really nice warming burn of mild ginger.

With this being such a limited product it is, sadly unlikely we will see it in the UK or Europe. That said if demand were sufficient they maybe could expand production. I fear however the ball is very much in the producers court!

If you are lucky enough to travel to Brasil or no someone who will act as your cachaça mule, this is well worth picking up.

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Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo

Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo
Bythefatrumpirate July 12, 2020

Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo. According to Google Translate this rum is Rum Oak Old Extra Old. Which is interesting, though I suspect it’s more Google’s shitty translation than anything else. The Ron Roble brand hails from Venezuela home of rums such as Santa Teresa, Diplomatico and the popular bar favourites Pampero and Cacique.

Ron Roble is produced by Rones de Caribe under the guidance of Master Distiller and Blender Giorgio Melis, who has over 50 years experience in the drinks industry. Where have we heard these kind of tales before? I wonder. Still at least he’s not the Cuban Minister of Rum…………

Ron Roble is produced from molasses which comes from sugar cane grown in the Yucatan Valley. The molasses is then transported to the distillery near Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The molasses is fermented and the wash is then distilled on a 5 Column Still.

As the name suggests much of Ron Roble’s flavour is derived from the ageing of the rum in 220 litre ex-bourbon oak barrels.. Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is a blend of rums aged between 8 and 12 years. To be fair to it unlike so many “rons” it does not have a deceptive solera style age statement on its label.

I am unsure how long the brand has been in existence but it is a relatively new brand to the rum world. It has had limited distribution here in the UK but it is available a lot more in Mainland Europe.

If you are looking for more information on Ron Roble, they do have a website. To be honest there isn’t much substance to it. If it had I would have had more to write about here, but never mind. It can be found here if you are interested.

I’ve reviewed quite a few Venezuelan rums over the years. In general as far as the “Spanish Style” or “rons” are concerned I have always found the Venezeulan rums, Diplomatico aside, to be not all “that” sweet. Admiitedly, they are usually still doctored a little though sadly. Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is no exception with around 19g/L of additives.

Presentation wise as with most Premium rons this is sleekly presented with a tall thin bottle. Information is minimal but the presentation is clean and uncluttered. A blue branded card sleeve is provided and the rum is sealed with a cork enclosure.

All in all I can understand why people would pick it off they shelf. Especially if they are new to rum. It retails at around the €40-45 mark. I can not see any current available here in the UK but Excellence Rhum currently have it in stock.

So lets see how this one goes down.

Nosing the rum is a lot sweeter than I was expecting. There is a lot of orange and red apple on the nose. I confected note as well like sticky boiled sweets. Beneath this are notes of oak and a little touch of smoke and some light toffee.

It’s light and easy going. Too much so. It’s missing some of the leather and more complex notes found in other Venezuelan rums. It’s trying to be like Santa Teresa 1796 but it’s just went in a bit too sweet.

All in all the nose is pleasant enough but its pretty meek and not really all that exciting.

Sipped it has a bit more bite than the nose. There is an intiial sweetness but you do get a fairly good hit of oak and spices on the entry with this one, which I was quite surprised about.

Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is not all that punchy though, this is still in very light ron territory. It’s sweet and inoffensive. It’s easy drinking and not much thinking. The mid palate becomes a mixture of sweet fruits and barley sugar rubbing alongside an ever diminshing note of oak and some pepper notes.

Finish wise it just fades out to pretty much nothing. This is far from a “hairs on your chest” type of rum.

Now the thing is I have every confidence that the product in this bottle is exactly what the producer set out to produce. I also have every confidence that the type of person who enjoys this particular style of sweetened rum will find this to be pretty decent.

For me it’s just all too soft and not “rummy” enough. It’s just a bit too weak and flowery. It’s far from being sickly sweet or hugely confected but its gone further than say Pampero Aniversario or Santa Teresa 1796 down that route to make it far less interesting as a rum.

Not for me.

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