Rhum Neisson Blanc 55%. Neisson are a Rhum Agricole producer from Martinique. Neisson produce their rhums from sugar cane harvested at their distillery and are a cane to bottle operatiion. They are not a brand that buy in rhum for blending and ageing.

Set up in 1931 Distillerie Neisson or Thieubert-Carbet and situated in the Le Carbet area of the island on the North-Caribbean coastline, sadly Distillerie Neisson is the only distillery still operating in the area.

Rhum Neisson is produced under the AOC guidelines, information can be found here.  They can explain the process way better than me. It’s been a while since I reivewed a Neisson rhum way back in 2017. Time flies.

Rhum Neisson harvest the sugar cane for their rhums between late February and June. This is when all the rhum is produced. Rhum Neisson Blanc 55% is produced from 5 strains of sugar cane

Rod Blue (B69.566): 60% – Cane Cinnamon (B82.0333): 20%
Cane Red (B64.277): 10% – Cane Zikak (B80.08): 9%
Crystalline (Saccharum officinarum): 1%

This doesn’t really mean all that much to me but I do understand different strains of sugar cane can contain varying amounts of sugar content, acidity etc.

Rhum Neisson Blanc 55% is not completely unaged but it isn’t really “actively aged” as it is stored in stainless steel vats for 6 months to mellow out. Rhum Neisson produce a variety of this standard Rhum Blanc at differing ABV’s.

The presentation of Rhum Neisson is quite old fashioned but the bottle shape is distinctive and stands out. Some of their more recent creations have a more modern “trendy” style of presentation but for their more traditional core rhums they have this older style.

Rhum Neisson is also well known for having Edward Hamilton of Ministry of Rum fame as one of their distributors. Whilst researching Neisson, I was surprised at how many products they have released. Availability in the UK is sporadic. If you are a serious Neisson nut you’re probably best looking at French online stores or doing a booze cruise to France.

The price of this rhum for a 70cl/1 litre bottle seems to vary anywhere from £26 to £40. A lot of stores I am more familiar with do not currently have this in stock. Rum Stylez have a 70cl for €32,50.

I would normally include a link to the Neisson website and I will but it’s not fully operational (well its not operational at all really!). Work in progress.

In the glass Rhum Neisson Blanc 55% is a crystal clear liquid, which confirms it has no contact with any wood during it’s short lifetime.

The nose is very punchy, freshly mowed fields and bright sweet and vibrant wafts of sugar cane. Amongst this fresh grassiness is a nice burst of citrus . Lemon Juice and some nice peppery ginger. A slight creaminess is also present a touch of whole milk.

The nose is big but not at all boozy for such a young high strength rhum. It’s clean and crisp.

Sipped it retains sweetness but you get a slightly earthy note as well. The intiial entry is dominated by sweet sugar cane but the mid palate delivers an extra layer of honey and some grittier earthier notes. It’s very refreshing, very clean and full of flavour.

This rhum is clearly produced to a very high standard. Neisson rhums can often be a little more expensive than some of their counterparts but if the quality is this high I don’t mind paying a little more.

This is a very tasty palate cleansing kind of sipper. Something you might have between courses during a meal. A bit like a sorbet.

The finish is also surprisingly long, likely carried by the high ABV but its fruity with a decent amount of spicy burn. It’s nice.

It is perhaps in drinks such as a Ti-Punch where Rhum Neisson Blanc 55% is best enjoyed and indeed the full flavour and clear delivery and crispness of this rhum mean it works wonderfully.

Perhaps more expensive than a lot of unaged white agricole available, particularly the crazy prices I enviously look at in France but I would say it’s worth having a bottle for a  more Premium mixer/part time sipper.