Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Cambridge ST♥CE 2005

Bythefatrumpirate August 16, 2019

Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Cambridge ST♥CE 2005. In 2018, Independent bottler Velier released four rums from National Rums of Jamaica, this is the second of those releases that I have reviewed.

This rum was distilled at the legendary Long Pond Distillery. It has been given the Cambridge moniker, in reference to the ester classification used at the now closed Cambridge Distillery. Cambridge ST♥CE refers to rums with a ester level between 550 and 700 gr/hlpa. In the grander scheme of things, this is mid level ester levels but most commercially available Jamaican rums are much lower in esters. This is funky stuff!

ST♥CE 2005 has been aged for 13 Years, in Jamaica. The ever informative opaque Velier bottle gives us all the information we need. It was distilled back in 2005 and bottled in 2018 at an ABV of 62.5%. The Angels Share was a whopping 63% and the final outturn was 3,618 bottles from 11 barrels.

Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Cambridge ST♥CE 2005 is 100% Pot Still Rum and is noted as being Continental Flavoured, which is another marque used in Jamaican Rum production. Should you be interested in purchasing a bottle then The Whisky Exchange still have stock, at £160 for a 70cl bottle.

As far as I am aware, the four bottlings comprising this National Rums of Jamaica collection represent the last of Luca Gargano’s Jamaican rum portfolio. Though please don’t quote me on that, I may have gotten that wrong. I kind of hope I have.

Anyway, lets move on and see how this one tastes.

In the glass we have have rich dark brown liquid, with a red/orange hue. Nosed I’m getting a lot of sweet malt vinegar, pineapple, bruised banana and some vanilla. This is a real nose twitcher of a rum and the vinegar note is quite pronounced in this particular rum.

Further nosing reveals light toffee, milk chocolate and some bourbon “sour mash” like notes. It’s a very complex nose and there is a lot going on. If you don’t like vinegar/pickles, you might struggle with this rum.

Sipped, I don’t think this rum is quite as vinegar heavy as the TECC 2007 there is a lot of sweetness on the initial sip. Lots of sweet pineapple juice and banana. Tropical Fruit Punch, some nicely developed spices and a good weight of oak and vanilla.

This sweetness combines with what is best described as Pickle Juice to give an acidic hit on the palate. Further sips reveal more depth and complexity. This rum is bursting with funky fruit flavours. The initial delivery moves nicely into a spicy mid palate. Notes of cinnamon, clove and a touch of ginger. It’s a very sweet and savoury type of rum. If it wasn’t so funky, it would be a bit like a sweet bourbon. The extra depth of all this funk gives this rum an extra layer beyond simple sweetness.

The finish is long and slightly sharp. A good balance of wood, spice and sweetness give a very satisfying and long finish. The flavour stays with you for a long time after sipping.

Rich, fruity and very flavourful a really great rum. Once you get past the initial nose and sip, the vinegar notes do meld together with the other flavours to give a funky but balanced Jamaican rum.

It’s not quite as perfect as my favourite Jamaican the Duncan Taylor 15 Year Old Long Pond from 2016 but it’s not far off that standard.

Great juice.

The Whisky Barrel 19 Year Old Caroni Berry Bros & Rudd 10th Anniversary

The Whisky Barrel 19 Year Old Caroni Berry Bros & Rudd 10th Anniversary
Bythefatrumpirate October 23, 2017October 23, 2017

The Whisky Barrel recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary. For those unfamiliar with The Whisky Barrel, it is an online retailer based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This 19 Year Old Caroni Rum is actually the fourth bottling in their 10th Anniversary series of whiskies and rums. For this bottling not only have TWB looked to an iconic closed distillery they have also worked with a very much alive and kicking independent bottler, in the shape of the legendary Berry, Bros & Rudd.

Presented here is a 19 Year Old Single Cask #165 of Caroni rum bottled 55% ABV. There are 310 bottles available in this rum and priced at £90 it is unlikely they will last very long!

Much like The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt, TWB’s main source of income is in whisky. However like the above mentioned they also have a more than decent stock of independently bottled rums. TWB have a particularly good selection of Hunter Laing’s Kill Devil range of rums. As well as their own bottlings. I reviewed a bottle of Rabbie’s Rum Uitvlugt recently.

Beyond the information on the bottle I don’t really have much to add. As the rum comes from Berrys Bros & Rudd stock I will guess that this Caroni will have been mostly European aged rather than aged in the tropics. This makes quite a difference to both the Angels Share and often the flavour. I won’t say one is better than the other as many more factors come into whether a rum is good or not.

Presentation wise the rum comes in a standard “bar” style bottle. The label is clear and uncluttered giving full credit to Berry Bros & Rudd for their part in the bottling. A nice quality cork stopper tops off the presentation. Minimal you could say but its still got more information on the label than some so called premium rums!

Releasing a Caroni Rum as part of a whisky sites 10th anniversary is quite a shrewd move. The Caroni style is suited to a Scotch Whisky drinker especially those who prefer peatier whiskies such as Islay Single Malts. Caroni is a heavy style of rum which can be quite challenging at times.

So without further ado lets take a look at the rum and see how good it is.

In the glass the Caroni 19 Year Old is a nice golden brown – it is not as dark as some other aged Caroni’s but it is darker than the Velier 12 Year Old I reviewed some time ago.

On the nose the rum is quite fruity. Quite a lot of zesty lemon and lime notes. The familiar musty and tar like Caroni notes are there but they are more in balance with other notes on the nose. Not overpowering the nose like with some other heavier Caroni rums. There is a sweetness – cloves, milk chocolate a hit of rum and raisin ice cream adding a boozy kick.

Even though the rum clocks in at 55% ABV the nose is relatively light – by Caroni standards anyway.

Of course it wouldn’t be a Caroni rum without a little bit of menace lurking. There is still a touch of shoe polish and tar in the nose but its very nicely balanced. It reminds me most of the Mezan 1999 Trinidad – though the extra heft in the ABV is certainly benefiting this bottling. The interaction with the oak and 19 years of ageing give a nice range of spicy notes as well.

Sipped the rum is initially quite sweet with a hit of toffee and a sharp intense bitter/sweet zesty note. It has an almost menthol like note on the palate and is very intense in terms of flavour. It has a slightly medicinal mouthfeel and sweet almost cough mixture like note. This is mixed with a musty, smokiness that any Caroni drinker will be familiar with.

It is a really intense, complicated sip. There is a lot going on with this – you definitely need to be taking small sips and savouring this one. It has a balance which sometimes can got a bit skew-wiff when it comes to Caroni.

This is probably the fruitiest Caroni I have tried, yet it still delivers that heavy Caroni style that is so popular.

The finish is long and spicy. Smoky, dry and very satisfying. This really is a great example of a European aged Caroni rum.

Also just looking at the price I really can’t see the 310 bottles lasting very long. It really is a huge bargain.

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Read More The Whisky Barrel 19 Year Old Caroni Berry Bros & Rudd 10th Anniversary
Pusser's Navy Rum "Nelson's Blood" Aged 15 Years

Pusser’s Navy Rum “Nelson’s Blood” Aged 15 Years
Bythefatrumpirate March 19, 2015July 13, 2015

Pusser’s “Nelson’s Blood” Aged 15 Years is their marquee expression. I think, (and I will get this all confirmed) that the rum is a different blend to the Blue Label. It is not just a more aged version of it. However, I also understand that despite this it is still a blend of Trini rum with a hefty dose of the famous Port Mourant wooden still distillate.

One of the difficulties with being a prolific rum reviewer, ahem is that you often misplace information and in between intoxication and sobriety returning some bugger turns the Interweb upside down and you can no longer find that wonderful resource of information. Clearly the sober reviewer would bookmark such sites……or remember their names. So if any of my information is a bit muddled please let me know. Apologies for the lack of concrete information but I am in discussion with Pusser’s marketing director Laura Addis and she will soon put me straight.

Onto the bottle and its a lot different to the Blue Label. It is rounder with a shorter neck. The wonderfully unique blue topped synthetic stopper of the Blue Label is not present and instead we have a plain black real cork stopper. The general presentation of Pussers is unique in the rum world. As is the heritage of the rum. I sincerely doubt any other 15 Year Old Aged Rum would be packaged in something quite like this. Now if it wasn’t for the British Navy links this rums packaging would seem almost gaudy and slightly cheap. Yet because it is Pusser’s Navy Rum it seems only fitting. It’s bright and punchy and you can tell the rum inside isn’t going to be messing about.

Pussers 15 Year Old costs between £40 and £50 in the UK for a 70cl bottle (it’s worth shopping around). Unlike the “old” UK Blue Label or the “new” Gunpowder Proof Black Label (same rum new packaging) it is not bottled at Navy Strength. Rather than being 54.5% ABV (109 proof) it is bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof).

Now I’ve already touched upon the difficulties of research and the problems encountered by having to drink on the job. So just to let you all know at this stage in proceedings I am yet to have a drop of alcohol today. As with all my reviews I have already spent some time with the “Nelson’s Blood”. For the purposes of this review I am also going to make reference to Pussers Blue Label (again) and I will also be taking in a few drops of another rum which I feel has similarities to Pusser’s 15.

So on with the tasting. The rum presents itself as a deep brown with vibrant flashes of red. It is nigh on identical to the Pussers Blue Label. On the nose, again it has that very distinctive rich fruity slightly malt like nose. The nose is sweeter than the Blue Label and it also has a hint of varnish. Lovers of Pusser’s will be pleased to learn that this rum, despite its sweetness still displays that full frontal assault on the senses which suggests the rum should be respected. Sip with caution!

The nose is much richer than the Blue Label, it is almost treacly, deep dark molasses which reminds me a little of the richness of Myers’s but with a Demerara sweetness as opposed to Jamaican funk. It’s almost like a concentrate. It makes you want to dive into the rum.

The mystery rum I alluded to earlier in the piece is a 1990 Port Morant from Bristol Classic Rum. Whilst the taste of these rums is very different (the Bristol has an almost earthy note to it where Pusser’s imparts intense sweetness) the nose is very similar. I had thought prior to tasting them side by side that the rums were quite similar but I now know it was my sense of smell playing tricks on me. The influence of smell should not be underestimated.

So on with the tasting (check out the cool coasters in the pic’s). Tasting these three rums side by side has been an enlightening experience. I have always considered Pusser’s Blue Label to be quite sweet but sipping it alongside the 15 it is found to be almost bitter. Compared to the Bristol Port Morant it is almost like drinking rum cream!

Now before you take my previous paragraph as a criticism let me explain. It’s simple really. I like sweet rum. I add sweetener to my coffee. I like sugar on my corn flakes. I don’t like whisky. I don’t like gin. Oh and I exaggerated about the rum cream. Pussers 15 does have added sugar as confirmed by the tests of Johnny Drejer but that doesn’t mean it will be dismissed as a bad rum.

Pusser’s 15 is sweeter than the Blue Label but at the same time it still has all those characteristics that you so enjoy. It has the wonderful complex fruity nose, which has just enough character to make you have a couple of ice cubes on hand….just in case. Despite its sweetness the rum is initially quite challenging.

The flavour bursts through it is rich and fruity but it also has that dry almost whisky like note. Despite all the upfront sweetness the rum gives a very spicy burn on the way down. Despite the ageing the rum still has that manly kick in the nuts type feel to it. I have seen one review (Lance over at The Lone Caner) describe Pusser’s as an “unapologetic bruiser” I couldn’t have put it any better myself (which is why I’ve nicked it). It’s one the booziest rums I have tried.

The trick with sipping the Pusser’s 15 is to let the first few sips coat your palate. I’ve only had a very small amount and already the fiery burn is subduing and I am getting more flavour and less spicy burn. A few sips also relieves the dry whisky like note. It’s now more like a cognac or brandy. I hate comparisons to other spirits but Pusser’s is so complex that you just can’t help it. Despite all these comparisons you are never in any doubt that you are drinking something which could have been used to splice the mainbrace time and time again! Having said that this rum is not the same blend which the British Royal Navy sailed on.

I would love to give a few tasting notes on the Pusser’s 15 but I’m finding that with each visit I’m finding something more. There are few rums which can exhibit so many different facets of the various rum styles but Pusser’s 15 is one of them. The only common trait in rum which I cannot really detect with this rum is oakiness. It has the sweetness of an El Dorado Demerara and the tread carefully” menace of a Caroni, it has deep fruity “funk” of a Jamaican. Okay I’ll give it shot…..

Caramely treacly toffee, Juicy pineapple, dark bruised banana, sweet chocolate raisins all wrapped up in a still quite potent tasting spirit. There is an underlying menace and despite the ageing still a lot of punch to this rum

Pusser’s 15 is a great rum. Personally I still prefer the Blue Label and Gunpowder blends. Whilst you can mix Pusser’s 15 I found that the Blue Label blend made a better rum and cola. This is better as a sipper but again I have had slightly better sipping experiences in my time. For my tastes it is possibly just a little bit too sweet.

However, it is still a lot better than rums such as Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, Ron Zacapa and a few other of the sweetened “Premium” rums. It’s still a rum well worth seeking out and trying.

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Read More Pusser’s Navy Rum “Nelson’s Blood” Aged 15 Years
Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho

Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho
Bythefatrumpirate May 17, 2020September 16, 2020

Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho. Cachaca Patua was founded by Cachaca Conoisseur Walter Carlos Brossel, in 2017. The distillery is situated in Betim a city in Minas Gerais State. The birthplace of cachaca.

Cachaca Patua produced their cachaca from estate grown sugar cane. Like all truly artisanal cachaca producers they distill in small batches on traditional Copper Pot Stills. At present Cachaca Patua produce 25,000 litres of cachaca per year which is spread across their 4 expressions. That said the Patua Reserva Especial only has 400 bottles produced per year.

In their core range Patua offer the following cachacas. A Branca (white), Amburana aged cachaca and this Carvalho (Oak) aged cachaca. All the cachaca in the Patua range is rested in steel vats for 6 months prior to either being bottled for the Branca or placed into Amburana or Oak casks for ageing.

Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho is made up of a blend of cachacas which are aged in oak barrels which have previously held American Whiskey, Wine and Brandy. After at least 1 year the cachaca held in each of the barrels is blended together and bottled at 42% ABV.

Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho retails at around the R$80 (£11) mark in Brasil. It is presented in a tall 750ml bottle with a slightly shortened neck, topped off by a metal screw cap. The presentation is clean but a little on the plain side. Simplistic but not old fashioned. The branding used and colour scheme are quite up to date when compared to others.

As the production levels are fairly low at present, though I understand they are hoping to increase levels over time, it is unlikely we will see this for sale outside of Brasil in the near future. Looking over my reviews it hasn’t been all that long since I last reviewed a Minas Gerais Carvalho Aged cachaca.

Should you wish to learn more they have a website in both Portuguese and English as well as Facebook and Instagram pages.

Unlike (what seems like) most cachacas Cachaca Patua do not seem to have won any awards. Nor can I see anything “bigging” the brand up on the Internet. So it will be interesting to see how good this cachaca is.

In the glass Cachaca Patua de Alambique Carvalho is a light colour a shade or two deeper than a white wine – maybe a touch darker than straw.

Nosing the spirit is pleasant. It’s quite light but the balance of the aromas is very good and very nicely built up. There is a soft creamy, slightly sweet note which is followed by some delicate ginger and clove notes. It has a slightly white wine like perfume aroma as well. The woody spices give the nose a little extra body and give it a more rounded, balanced nose.

For such a young spirit is is remarkably soft and quite delicate. Certainly nothing by way of any young “boozy” aromas you often find with rum of a similar age. So the resting in steel vats definitely has it’s benefits it would seem.

Sipped, I get an initial burst of sweet almost Ginger Beer like flavour and a touch of fruitiness. White grape and some peaches. You can certainly notice some different tastes coming out of this cachaca from the whiskey, brandy and wine casks.

The whiskey cask is perhaps providing the notes of ginger and I am getting a nice hit of vanilla as well. The wine/brandy casks are adding fruitiness and some slightly drier more “red wine” dryness to the spirit. Particularly on the mid palate.

This is probably quite a good cachaca to try out on a rum enthusiast. It has enough familiar oaky notes and a fairly dry profile which might appeal to lovers of Barbados rum or similar styles.

Despite this being a fairly light spirit with little burn (it really is very smooth and no additives!) it has a surprisingly good mid palate and finish. I was expecting there to be a bit of a drop and a shorter finish.

The mid palate and finish are quite dry but have a good weight of oak and spice and whilst there isn’t much burn the flavour stays around in the mouth for quite a long time. You can pause between sips with this and it’s a very clean, crisp sort of cachaca.

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Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira - Limited Edition 2017

Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira – Limited Edition 2017
Bythefatrumpirate March 9, 2018

Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira. Rum Nation are an independent bottler that we have covered a couple of times already on this site. They have been operating since 1999. Besides releasing rum under the Rum Nation label they also market rums such as Ron Millonario and Reimonenq.

Rum Nation and the Portuguese island of Madeira have been in the “rum news” quite a bit lately. Over the past year rum Nation began releasing their “Rare Rums” series and the emergence of the William Hinton brand from Madeira has alerted people to “Madeira Rhum” as a thing.

I’ve got a couple of Rum Nation Rare Rums lined up for reviews. I also met with representatives of William Hinton and attended a “masterclass” at the London Rumfest in October 2017. So I am not unfamiliar with Madeira rhum.

This rhum has been released as part of the “normal” Rum Nation line up and comes in their standard stubby bottle. The “stamp” type label is again in use and the bottle gives you a few details regarding the rhum inside. Madeira rhum is produced in a agricole style from Fresh Cane Juice. Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira is bottled at 50% ABV. A bottle, should you come across one in the UK should be around £50. I’m not sure anywhere in the UK stocked this though. Typically I have found this online for as low as 30 euros and as high as 45 euros.

Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira was released in 2017 there is no mention of any ageing (either age or what the rum was aged in). It may well be unaged. The Ru,m Nation website recommends using this as a mixer. They also note the rum is “crystal clear” which indeed it is.

So with little else to report on the rhum we may as well delve into this Cane Juice distillate………

As mentioned already this is a crystal clear spirit. Nosing and you don’t have to delve very deep reveals a pungent and very medicinal style of rum – similar to unaged Agricole and Jamaican White Overproof rum. It is perhaps most similar in style to the Haitian Clairin’s. It’s pretty robust to say the least.

It smells like sea air very briny and there is a note of sour milk running alongside it. Green olives, nail varnish and a touch of tar and petrol. There is a sweetness in there as well but its very grassy and vegetal – there is a lot going on.

Sipped the rum is actually quite approachable. Initial notes are mostly of pepper and spicy ginger. Not at all like the nose would suggest.

Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira has quite a rich sweetness running through it – cinnamon and licorice are very nicely developed and it has a very slight smokiness as you approach the finish. Which is spicy and warming and again not overbearing.

Despite the nose this rum is actually quite nicely balanced and very much at odds its own nose. Its flavourful but is surprisingly well balanced. Its no where near as funky or as overpowering as the nose might lead you to believe.

It’s quite a clean and almost clinical kind of spirit. All the flavour is delivered in just the right amount and I would imagine this would work very nicely in cocktails and in a Ti Punch. Its flavourful but has good balance. It’s almost as if it has “checked” itself to deliver enough flavour without throwing itself off balance or becoming to overpowering.

Really promising stuff.

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Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva

Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva
Bythefatrumpirate March 5, 2015July 13, 2015

Here we have the cream of the crop of the Pampero line. Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva. For those not familiar with Pampero the other rums in the line up are the Pampero Anejo Especial and the difficult to find Pampero Seleccion 1938. I have experience of the Anejo but I have yet to try the 1938. It is very much a bottle which if I see I will buy instantly, such is its rarity in the UK and online.

Pampero Aniversario was one of the first sipping rums I encountered on my rum “journey”. I will freely admit that with next to no knowledge of rum I bought the rum based solely on the packaging.

I was actually on holiday at the time and was cruising around the Mediterranean. Gibraltar makes for an excellent stop for a little duty free shopping. I was able to pick up this and a Barceló Imperial for little over £12 each. Bargainous. The rum was present in most stores and came housed in a little leather sack. It reminded me a little of a marble bag I had as a child. From what I gather it is similar to bags used by pirates to keep their gold dubloons in. Well it makes for a good story so I’ll stick with that. The short squat bottle reminded me instantly of my beloved Chairman’s and the deal was done. A leather bag and a stubby bottle and thefatrumpirate was sold.

The rum was first produced in 1963 to celebrate the companies 25th Aniversary. The company in question being Industrias Pampero C.A. The bottle I am reviewing today found itself in the UK via DOI S.P.A who bottle the rum in Italy. I’m sure I read somewhere that the Pampero group is now owned by Diageo. I like the presentation of this rum very much. As the picture shows the rum is finished off with a very nice plastic topped real cork stopper which gives a very satisfying pop when the rum is opened. Despite the deceptive size of the bottle it does contain 70cl of rum and is 40% ABV. In the UK the rum retails at anywhere between £32 and £45. I paid £34.99 for this bottle. One thing I did notice about the rum is the slight changes in the presentation. To be fair if I hadn’t kept the bottle and the leather pouch I may not have noticed them. The original bottle came housed in a pouch which had the Pampero information pressed into the bag. The present day bottle has the information printed upon the bag. I found the original bag to be slightly classier. Also the label has changed a little and it too looks slightly cheaper. These cosmetic changes are not really much of an issue but they are there. I only hope the contents haven’t also been downgraded! I will concede that the bolting horse has been upgraded and made into a golden horse on the new presentation.

So how is the rum? Well that’s the important part. When I first tasted the Pampero Aniversario I wasn’t sure what to make of it. My rum experience was pretty limited and I seem to remember I did what I often did back in the day. I drank it with ice and cola. From memory I very much enjoyed it that way and the rum was gone a lot quicker than I would have liked. Over 100 rums on I wonder quite how I will now receive the rum.

First up I’m going to do what I never did with the first bottle and actually nose the spirit. Now perhaps Venezeula’s most famous rum is another Reserva Exclusiva – Diplomatico. Other notable rums are the Santa Teresa line. Pampero are definitely more in keeping with the Santa Teresa rums than the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva.

The nose is similar (but more intense) to the Pamero Anejo. The Pampero rums have quite a unique nose. I’ve heard of Dominican rums having a certain “twang” to them. I feel the Pamperos also have a unique aroma. In some ways it is quite light and buttery – similar to aged Cuban rums but at the same time there is a richness to the nose as well. It isn’t fruity but it is rich. There is a sweet note almost like dark chocolate. It’s a pleasant nose which suggests good ageing and there is a light oak to the nose which is well balanced. It is all coming together very nicely.

A sip of the rum, which I also neglected to do with the first bottle reveals a rum which is not chasing after the current fad of super sweet premium rums. I would imagine that little has changed in the construction of this rum since its inception in 1963. It would be easy to put Pampero (especially in light of the Anejos presence in style and cocktail bars) in the same bracket as the “Premium” rums such as Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, Ron Zacapa and Pyrat XO. It certainly ticks a lot of the boxes with its appearance alone.

Doing this however. is doing the Aniversario (and Pampero in general) a disservice. When sipped it is clear that most of the flavour in this rum is gained by skilful blending and ageing. I’m not detecting much alteration of the spirit. There may be a little sugar added but certainly it seems this is a classic and authentic rum. There is no age statement so I do not know how old the rums are in the blend. My experience would tell me that the vast majority of the rum in this blend is 10 years and upwards or between 8 and 12 years. Some people have an issue with rums that do not have age statements. Some people have issue with rum that do have age statements. I see it this way. If I pay a certain amount for a rum then I have a minimal expectation of it. If it falls below that, then it isn’t worth the money. Mount Gay Extra Old has no age statement. I pay around £35 for a bottle. Regardless of the age of the rum inside I feel I get more than my moneys worth. Likewise with Foursquares bottlings. The skill is in the blending not the age of the spirit necessarily.

The rum is very smooth and easy to sip. There is little by way of any alcohol burn and it really does coat the taste buds with rich deep flavours. It reminds me very much of a good high cocoa content dark chocolate. Sweet yet slightly bitter with occasional hints of fruity flavour. The aged spirit gives a little smokiness and a slightly woody or perhaps leathery finish. In Dave Brooms book “Rum” he refers to one rum as “like old leather armchairs”. I kind of get that kind of vibe with this rum.

To try and describe this rum stylistically is very difficult. The best I can really go with is a kind of beefed up Cuban/Spanish style rum. It has that sort of oily/smokey twang but it also has a big slab of rich flavour which is often so lacking in the lighter Cuban style. It’s not a million miles from Ron Zacapa. For the record I do not consider Ron Zacapa to be anywhere near as sweet as many make out. Maybe a few years ago it was but now, no not for me.

As a nostalgia trip I’m going to mix the rum with ice and cola and maybe a squeeze of lime. (The 2015 me is regretting this as I’m already half way down the bottle!). Yes its very nice. I now know though that it is better on its own!

No need to mix this little beauty.

This rum is available from

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Read More Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva
Compagnie des Indes - Barbados 16 Year Old

Compagnie des Indes – Barbados 16 Year Old
Bythefatrumpirate July 29, 2016

Compagnie des Indes are a French based Independent bottler. This Barbados offering is aged for 16 Years. The distillate hails from the acclaimed Foursquare Distillery in St Philip.

Compagnie des Indes (East India Company) is the brainchild of Florent Beuchet. Florent previously worked as the US Brand Ambassador for the Joseph Banks rum brand. You may be familiar with their 5 and 7 Island blends. They have also released some more expensive and very limited single cask rums.

The companies name and aim is to evoke memories of the 18th century. A time when sailors would travel far and wide, to bring back the best produce from far flung corners of the globe. In this instance the best rums in the world.

Unavailable presently in the UK this bottling came to my attention via Steven at Rum Diairies Blog. He insisted I had to try it. It is a 16 year old rum distilled in 1998 by Richard Seale at Foursquare. Aged for 7 years in Barbados and 9 years in the less tropical climbs of Amsterdam and then Liverpool. It was aged in ex-Jack Daniels barrels. It is a blend of pot and column distilled rum.

The rum is bottled at 45% ABV and comes with a price tag of around 90 euros (about £75 with the current exchange rate, maybe more post Brexit).

Compagnie des Indes rums all come in a very fetching stubby style bottle with cork stoppers and a standard logo and label. Beyond colour scheme changes it changes little, only to indicate the different rum contained within. A little back story is down the side of the bottle (in French). I like it when a company produces a uniform appearance for its rums and has a strong brand identity. I think its particularly important for Independent bottlers. The rum comes in a nice cut out carboard sleeve. All good stuff so far.

Compagnie des Indes have already put out an impressive run of rums in France. Despite only being around for a year or so. Sadly not so many have reached our shores but that seems to be improving.

There has been quite a lot of activity from Foursquare Distillery in their own right over the past 12 months. Despite that this rum is the first Foursquare offering I have had that is aged longer than 12 years. It will be interesting to see how the extra 4 years European ageing have impacted the rum.

The rum presents itself as a classic light to golden brown, shimmers of orange as you swirl the rum in the glass.

As a Bajan rum the nose offers few surprises – nicely balanced oak and vanilla notes with some residual fruity sweetness running through it. The nose is less oaked than Doorly’s 12 but much fruiter than RL Seales 10.

Sipping the rum initially doesn’t offer many surprises. Lovely aged woody notes are beautifully balanced alongside vanilla and some slightly spicy peppery notes. It’s quite a dry rum and it has a very long and very spicy finish.

Despite the drier profile and the spicier elements, as a sipper this has little alcohol burn. It’s not fiery and its all very nicely balanced – classic Foursquare. The aftertaste is very fresh and almost savoury.

There is no fancy finishing with this rum. From the information I have gathered it seems this has been aged solely in Bourbon casks. As a result it is a classic Bajan profile. The Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey ageing has its usual influence on the distillate.

Although this is 16 Years Old it seems that the European Ageing has decelerated some of the Oak Ageing. The result is that the rum is very “fresh and clean” tasting. The char, sometimes evident when rum is “over oaked” has not occurred. I really like this rum even though when I’m breaking it down I’m making it sound pretty run of the mill!

I think it has got all the “good” aspects of Tropical and European ageing rolled into one wonderfully balanced, subtle yet complex, mellow sipping rum. It’s great and I really wish I could get some more!

It is getting very difficult to score all these Foursquare offerings as we are really dealing with such miniscule differences in quality! If you like Bajan rum then this will not disappoint.

If you can find it……..

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Read More Compagnie des Indes – Barbados 16 Year Old

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