Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum
Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum. A bit of a rarity for me. In that I am reviewing something from an Independent Bottler from the US.
It is fair to say that the “Europeans” have quite a monopoly when it comes to Independent bottlings and access to the casks to produce them. The largest rum broker E.A Scheer/The Main Rum Company have their two main warehouses in Amsterdam and Liverpool.
So US Independent bottlers are less common place than European bottlers. My own access to US Independent bottlings involves the same difficulties had by US citizens trying to get European releases.
Fortunately i have been sent some samples of Raising Glasses portfolio to review, by a contact I have in the Rum World who is currently working with the brand.
If you wish to read about the brand then you can see more here on their own website.
Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum is also a bit of a rarity for me in terms of the juice. Once I have looked into the rum I have realised that it is a rum from Le Galion on Martinique. My initial very quick perusal of the sample had me assuming it has from Savanna Distillery on Reunion Island. They have used the Grand Arôme term with their own releases quite frequently.
However, releases from Le Galion are less commonplace than from Savanna. It’s commercial operation is really dependent on the production of Sugar. A lot of the rum they do produce is sold in bulk and used in perfume and other “industrial” products rather than for drinking. They aren’t really a very commercially minded rum producer at all.
You may also note that I have referred to this as rum rather than rhum. The rum is produced on a traditional column style used commonly in the French Islands.
However, they do not produce Rhum Agricole. The rum is made from the molasses from the sugar production. Again this is likely because rum isn’t their main focus……..
There aren’t a great deal of reviews of any other Le Galion rums kicking around. I did however find a review from Lance over at The Lone Caner. It was quite interesting to read that he also had similar initial thoughts and confusion when he discovered a Le Galion Grand Arôme Rum. Good to see I’m not the only one that needed to do some research! His review was 7 years ago so I’m well behind in that respect!
This rum is available direct from Raising Glasses it retails at $40 for a 375ml. So its half the size of a usual 750ml US bottling. A standard UK/Europe bottling is 700ml (or 70cl). Which I think is good value and quite a good idea. I’ve been a fan of “smaller” bottle sizes for quite a while. However having spoken with producers I understand why they are loath to commit smaller bottles.
Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum comes in at hefty 62.5% ABV. It is an unaged m
olasses based rum. The long vinasse-powered fermentation creates prodigious amounts of ester flavor compounds which is why it is labelled as Grand Arôme.
Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum is part of Raising Glasses’ “Folklore” series. The name comes from Mount Pelée. An active volcano on Martinique. In 1902 it erupted violently killing almost 30,000 inhabitants. Almost 15% of the island’s population. Destroying the port of Saint-Pierre.
Anyway enough of mass destruction my Mother Nature and human tragedy lets take a look at this rum………..
Raising Glasses Pelée’s Fury Martinique Grand Arôme Rum is unaged so unsurprisingly the liquid is crystal clear. There has been no cask interaction to alter the colour of this rum.
Like a Jamaican Overproof you can smell this at twenty paces….from way across the room. Highly pungent and highly aromatic. There is a huge hit of fermenting pineapple and sweet green apples. A touch of mango and some banana. It’s rich and fruity with a huge hit of sweet smelling varnish and a touch of petrol.
It is also quite “molasses” heavy. I am getting a lot of toffee/caramel on the nose and the familiar rich “Navy Style” you get with those blended Dary Navy Rums.
There is also a slightly sour cream like note to this rum as well.
SIpping this at full strength is advised in a gradual manner. The is a lot to take in. The sweetness on the nose is still apparent with a lot of the tropical notes coming through. However, I am getting a saltier more briny rum especially on the intial sip.
It has a slightly dry acidic mouthfeel which has quite a drying effect on the palate at full strength.
This however does lead to a lot of “shift” in the flavour profile. As I sip further and move into the mid palate of each sip I’m noticing a lot of black and green olives. Some pencil shavings and something almost nutty creeping into the profile.
Sweetness is still there with lots of funky pineapple and mango but it is a bit more savoury now. You can certainly tell why this is used more of a flavouring agent it certainly has quite a few similarities with our good friend Mr DOK from Jamaica. Perhaps not quite as pungent overall but certainly in the same ball park.
As we move into the finish I’m getting a fair bit of the molasses flavour again with a hit of toffee. I am also getting a mineral(y) note which reminds me of the seaside and getting sand stuck between my toes for some reason.
This is very intense, very pungent rum. The havoc it will likely wreak (in a very good way) I can only imagine. A rum and coke was certainly a very nice experience.
As it is unaged the finish isn’t particularly long or comforting it terms of development. The flavour and intensity of this rum certainly stays with you. It doesn’t fade out nicely though or develop much beyond the mid palate.
As this is completely unaged rum that is to be expected.
This is a very intense and strangely addictive rum. I will certainly be keeping Le Galion on my radar.
Mekhong The Spirit of Thailand. I’m not sure how much translation plays a part in these things but from what I can gather this “rum” (I’ll explain later) is named after the river Mekong which runs through Thailand. Yes I know the spelling isn’t the same. I’m using what is on the bottle though it is often spelt Mekong as well.
Ron Cubay in case anyone is any doubt, is a rum from Cuba. Cuban rum has become even hotter property recently as news that the US of A will soon be getting stocks of what, until very recently has been forbidden fruit for our friends over the pond.
The finish is extremely long lasting – its oaked and dry yet refreshing. It rounds off what is a very good sipping rum. The key to this rum is the balance of flavour and the lack of any off notes that can spoil so many “rons” or lighter Cuban style rums. Many have a tarry of leathery notes that stop them from being truly great.
Liberte Black Spiced Rum is a new entrant to the ever expanding Spiced Rum market. Liberte Black Spiced Rum is actually a supermarket “own brand”. This one hails from German discount supermarket Lidl.
To be honest as much as it was no show stopper sipped, at least it was drinkable. Mixing this just gives you a very sweet, cloying drink. Which only the sweetest sweet tooth will manage to drink beyond a glass or two.
Chairman’s Reserve Legacy. Saint Lucia Distillers (SLD) have been very busy these past few years. Rapidly expanding their rum portfolio, especially in the export market. Building upon the Chairman’s Reserve name in the shape of a continuous 1931 release, they have also released several single casks and limited edition rums under the Chairman’s Reserve banner.
Revolver Rum is a new rum brand from the Rathlee Distilling Co. based in Cornwall on the South Coast of England.
English Harbour Antigua Rum Port Cask Finish. English Harbour are a rum brand from Antigua, an island in the West Indies. They are pretty much famous for their signature English Harbour 5 Year Old and frankly not a lot else really.
I would say this has less coconut and vanilla than that rum and is every so slightly heavier on the Port on the nose. This is more “old” Port where Foursquare’s Port Cask Finish seemed a little “younger”. This is just a touch or two less vibrant. Less well defined.
Comparisons with the Foursquare Port Cask Finish will be inevitable. No, it is not as good as that in my opinion. That however does not mean this is not a very good rum in it’s own right.