Saint James Royal Ambre 45%
Saint James Royal Ambre 45%. A pleasant surprise when on holiday in Salou, Spain, was stumbling across a litre bottle of this difficult to find 45% ABV Royal Ambre.
Whilst the Saint James brand is omnipresent in France, it is not so popular in Spain. This particular bottling I had not seen available in the UK for quite some time. Only the 40% ABV version.
I can’t remember how much I paid I think it was around €15. I picked up another bottle of the 40% ABV Royal Ambre on sale at Amazon for £17.99 shortly after. It has long been a review I wanted to update. I really shouldn’t have posted the original review, before I had gotten my head around Agriole Rhum, a little more. I’ve had a fair bit of stick for it. Rightly so, it’s a dreadful review.
Saint James Royal Ambre is for many similar to the likes of Appleton Signature and Mount Gay Eclipse. Solid, inexpensive, readily available (not always the case for the UK with this!) and consistently decent, if not spectacular. Good every day “mixers”.
I’ve noticed, that this 45% ABV version of Royal Ambre notes Eleve Sous Bois on the front label and the 40% ABV release notes Pur Canne. As far as I am aware they the same rhum, just at a differing ABV. The Saint James website now shows Pur Canne on this bottling now, so I must just have an older bottling.
Saint James Royal Ambre 45% ABV is presented in the familiar tall square bar style bottle used for most of Saint James range. It has Saint James 1765 etched on the front. This denotes when the Sugar Distillery at the foot of Mount Pelee in Martinique was born. A bottle of the 40% variant will set you back around £25 in the UK for a 70cl bottle.
The first rums distilled in the habitation of “Trou Vaillant” in Martinique were exported to North America under the name of Saint James Rum in 1765.
Saint James Royal Ambre is aged in ex-bourbon barrels for between 18 and 24 months. Production is in line with the AOC and the rhum is distilled on traditional Coffey Column stills.
In the glass I am presented with a medium brown liquid with a orange/red glow. The nose is a sort of halfway house between a young grassy white unaged Agricole Rhum and an older VSOP. Which in fairness is precisely where this aged agricole should be positioning itself.
It has been aged but for under two years so whilst it is taking some of the influence of the oak on – the time in the barrel hasn’t been enough to “smooth” out the rum to something approaching what many might consider an aged agricole profile.
It’s quite sweet and a little flowery. Very nutty with lots of peanut, walnut and praline bursting out from under the grassier, floral notes. It has a nice layer of gentle spices dialled back ginger and a little hint of cinnamon.
As a sipper it is quite flavourful. Whilst a little rough and ready it makes a half decent stab at it. I’ve paid a lot more for a lot worse. The initial entry is again quite sweet and grassy. The nuttier and oaky notes add a depth to it, which add some complexity. That said it is quite “hot” and a little boozy. The mid palate and finish are very heavy on the oak and ginger. Which goes along with a big hit of sweet grassy alcohol, it’s a reasonable length but it does get a touch bitter towards the end.
It is perhaps in drinks such as Mai Tai’s and Ti Punches where Saint James Royal Ambre works best. It’s reasonably priced. So if you want something with a bit more oak and spice, than a white agricole in your drink this is a pretty good way of acheiving that. You won’t break the bank in doing so.
It’s a versatile and useful Rhum Agricole. It will probably appeal most to cocktail enthusiasts. I would imagine it is a good rhum to have to hand for a bartender. As it is so versatile.
It’s a solid sipper/premium mixer that will be just what is required in certain scenarios.
Botran Ron Anejo Reserva Blanca from Casa Botran. Botran are a rum producer from Guatemala home of course of Ron Zacapa.
Botran Reserva Blanca has recently began to be stocked in UK supermarket Marks and Spencer (M&S). It retails at £25 for a 70cl bottle. ABV of 40%. I’d tried it at a recent Rum Festival (I’ve been to a few of those lately) and found it quite tasty so I thought I would take a bottle home with me and see how we got on. For me there is still nothing like walking into a physical store and walking out with a bottle of rum. Especially when it has £5 knocked off the price. Receiving deliveries is exciting but nothing like that feeling. God, I sound sad. On that note lets get on with the fun part.
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.
Cana Brava Reserva Aneja Aged 7 Years. This is a product from the The 86 Co. – Noise and Spirits is their tagline and they have certainly done well in recent years with their range of products. If you wish to read more about the company here is there 
the distillery and started producing rum……….ok. So it was with Don Pancho that The 86 Co. teamed up with to help produce this rum.
bottle is pretty classy and they have made an effort to give some information about the actual rum. Which is refreshing. The screw cap is good quality and the bottle shape is unusual but easy to handle. I find pours from this bottle are pretty large……
Cana Brava 7 has a good weight of spice and the aforementioned alcohol on the nose. Which is good as it counter acts the vanilla and toffee. Which would have perhaps overwhelmed the rum had it been bottled at a lower proof.
The finish is perhaps the most disappointing part of Cana Brava 7. Whilst it is long it isn’t very clean and its nowhere near as vibrant, as the nose or the initial flavour burst on the sip. It’s bitter and it all feels a bit old. Too smoky and to Tobacco heavy. It has a zestiness- a touch of lemon but it just doesn’t hang around on the finish. Nor do a lot of the notes of the entry and mid palate.
Cachaca Peruacu. The producers behind Cachaca Peruacu have been active since 1995 producing cachaça. However, the Cachaca Peruacu brand has only been in existence since 2012.
I did mix this and whilst it worked pretty well especially in a Caiprinha. I found it superior as a sipper though. Mixed, it was perhaps a touch too light and it lost a lot of flavour. At the price point,(if you are in Brasil) you might struggle to find a cachaça that is as tasty as this as sipper.
Cachaca Sebastiana Duas Barricas Quatro Anos. Hailing from the Alambique Santa Rufina, Rodovia, Sao Paulo state. The brand Sebastiana is fairly recent to the market but the distillery has been operational over 60 years.
Cachaca Sebastiana Duas Barricas Quatro Anos is bottled at 40% ABV. Presentation wise it comes with a concise clutter free label and the square, squat shaped bottle is topped of by a cork stopper with a black wax seal. It has a Premium Rum look to it. In Brasil it retails at various price points depeding on the seller. In the end I went with the producers own link. This shows it usually retails at R$275 (£38) but is currently reduced to R$190 (£27).
A1710 La Perle Rare 2017 Canne Rouge R579. Or if you would prefer in English The Rare Pearl Red Cane. The R579 refers to the variety (is that the correct term?) of sugar cane used.
