Tag Archives: Rhum

Damoiseau Rhum Vieux 7yo “Millesime 2009” (66.9%, OB, Recharred Bourbon Barrels, Guadeloupe)

Guadeloupe is an overseas department and region of France and it consists of threes. It has three main islands and has three Bellevue distilleries. From west to east we first have the island of Basse-Terre, easy to recognize because of its mountains and an active stratovolcano called “La Grande Soufrière”. Last eruption: 1977 (phreatic eruption, steam). The last magmatic eruption was in 1580 (give or take 50 years, sice nothing was recorded). The soil of Basse-Terre, and this probably doesn’t come as a surprise any more, is volcanic and thus fertile, very suitable to grow many variants of sugarcane. More to the east lies the island of Grande-Terre, separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow body of water called Rivière Salée. Grande-terre is flat and has a limestone soil. A bit farther away to the east and more to the south lies Marie-Galante. Also flat with a limestone soil and thus akin to Grande-Terre.

As said above, then there are three Bellevue distilleries. Don’t worry, there are many more distilleries on the three islands that are not called Bellevue. The first Bellevue is Bellevue au Moule better known under it’s Rum-brand name: Damoiseau, located on Grande-Terre. The second Bellevue is Bellevue Sainte Rose, better known under it’s Rum-brand name: Reimonenq, located on Basse-Terre. And finally Bellevue Marie-Galante located on…do you really want me to spell it out for you? So we have three islands and all three have their own Bellevue Rhum Distillery. How’s that for order in the universe?

As is often the case with R(h)um, some sort of estate comes into play. The Bellevue au Moule estate, sugar refinery and distillery was founded somewhere near the end of the 19th Century by the Rimbaud family, (although 1914 is also mentioned somewhere). So history is a bit unclear here. All Rhum from these early days was Molasses based. In 1942 Roger Damoiseau bought the, by then abandoned and dilapidated, estate and distillery and rebuilt it. My guess now would be leaning more towards late 19th Century, because if founded in 1914 and already dilapidated and abandoned by 1942, well that’s rather quick now doesn’t it? Also, it must have been run down rather badly since the price of rebuilding was quite steep. Nevermind, usually when a new (or extensively rebuilt) distillery sees the light of day, owners tend to make some quick money by selling unaged spirit like, Wodka and/or Gin. So Roger rebuilt the sugar estate and the distillery and he decided to make some quick bucks by selling, wait for it, candies and jam, both made at the site. Luckily Rhum quickly followed suit and of course soon became the main business. The whole output is Rhum Agricole now (based on sugarcane juice), but in the old days, in the sugarcane off-season, also Rhum Industriel (based on molasses) was produced. This was the schtick of Roger Jr, who took over from his father in 1968, to pay off the debts made by Roger Sr. when buying and rebuilding the site. Roger Jr. had to do that for a long, long time. To finish the story of Damoiseau, today the children of Roger Jr. are now running the show. Herve as chairman of the company, Jean-Luc overseeing production as master-distiller and Sandrine promoting the brand.

Last but not least, the distillery has three column stills allowing for a continuous distillation regime. The first one was bought second hand from a closed Micro-Distillery called Bonne Mere. Both others were newly bought. The distillery processes circa 30.000 tonnes of sugar cane and producing circa 1.64 million litres of absolute alcohol per annum.

Color: Orange gold.

Nose: First thing that comes to mind when smelling this is that it doesn’t remind me of a Rhum Agricole from Martinique, or any Agricole for that matter. Don’t really know right now if this is because the Agricoles from Guadeloupe are much different or because this example is very high in ABV. Light acetone (glue-like) with thin toffee and caramel aromas. Chewy. Artificial orange as in Sinaspril tablets, some wood and some more toffee. Dusty and somewhat herbal desert wind. Slightly perfumy or soapy even, yet this dissipates quickly. Licorice pencil shavings with a nice ripe yellow fruit and vanilla note on top of it. If snorted vigorously, a minty sensation settles in my nose. No, this is not because of alcohol fumes from the high ABV this time. A layer of green and leafy aroma’s emerge next, well mixed in with a more sweet and chewy licorice note now. Some cigarette smoke. The whole smells rather elegant if I may say so, especially since I imagined this might be some sort of a brute, since the number of the ABV on the label is rather impressive. Some of the emerging aroma’s remind me of a Red Italian Wine. A fruity Amarone before settling back into toffee, caramel and almonds again. This must be its natural idle state I guess. Well balanced and very pleasing. The next day the empty glass smells a bit oaky, oily and industrial.

Taste: Yup, toffee, and caramel, and licorice, and some bitter sun toasted oak are right upfront here, what a treat! More oak and definitely a bit sharper and hotter than the nose. Spicy. The taste is not far away from how this Rhum smells. No mistake now to be made, this is definitely a Rhum Agricole, yet definitely not in the style of Martinique. The high ABV is in no way a problem and I don’t feel any need to let this swim for a bit. I usually don’t use water much, even with high ABV, although there are definitely some spirits out there that really improve by adding some water. I prefer to use a hypodermic needle even, as opposed to the plastic pipette so common to tasters of spirits. The needle ensures me to have the smallest droplets I can get. I know, I’m quite strange that way. A slightly soapy feel and a floral note emerges, I didn’t pick up on when smelling it. Still don’t actually, so it most likely isn’t there. The minty bit mentioned above, emerges here as well in the finish. Nice tasty and herbal oak. For me this is a hit. It might not be highly complex, but it is very rewarding nevertheless. Towards the end though, it is less outspoken of an Agricole than most Martinique Agricoles I know (and reviewed earlier).

This profile suits me, I have to get me some more Guadeloupe Rhum, if only to find out for myself how Guadeloupe Rhum differs from the Martinique ones and if I prefer, in general, one over the other.

Points: 88

Savanna 15yo 2004/2019 (62.8%, Rum Nation, Rare Rums, 2nd Fill Cognac Cask #59, 402 bottles, Réunion)

So the yet another strange year has passed (2021), a year Master Quill did a lot of Whisky yet finished off with a Rhum Traditionelle (distilled from Molasses) most likely from Savanna. Today it’s 2022, so why not pick up where we left off with yet another Rhum Traditionelle from the same outfit, but this time Savanna has been mentioned on the label.

This offering was released in Rum Nations’ Rare Rhum series, with nice and classy white labels. The websites Rum Nation keeps up, are quite good and informative. Just have a look at the page for this Rhum particularly. Reading all the info about this Rhum some additional facts becomes apparent to us consumers, like this is in fact a 13yo Rhum, since the Rhum only aged in wood for 13 years (in the tropics). The Rhum spent its final 2 years in Stainless steel tanks (in Europe). In the introduction it is also mentioned this comes from Cognac casks (plural), yet the label mentions one cask #59. So the more information one gets the more questions arise… Well let’s not dwell too long about the facts ma’am and shift focus towards the Rhum at hand.

Color: Copper Orange.

Nose: Sweetish, with warm toffee and caramel. Intense, oozing with perfumed aromatics. Quite fruity as well, with dry notes as well. Dusty and somewhat oaky. Cold black tea. Dried red fruit. Goji berries. Even though this is clearly a Savanna, like the previous reviewed Rhum, this also has some similarities to the Rhums Traditionnelle from Rivière du Mât, maybe that is the (volcanic) influence of the island? The Rhum smells extremely balanced and appetizing, but not all that complex to be honest. When this gets some time to breathe it also becomes more and more “friendly” and less intense, less of a heavy hitter. When snorted vigorously, some green spices emerge (reluctantly). Dried parsley? Hard to tell actually. More sugared black tea and somewhat nutty as well. Fragrant.

Taste: Yeah, big. Very nutty. Edible charcoal and nuts. Initially sweet but when that coating descends down the hole, quite a lot of wonderful chewy wood and heat come forward. Yup, more toffee. Tropical ageing all right! Sweet, nutty, hints of toasted oak and some smoke from a distant laid back smoke lying in the grass. The wood influence is quite big, and may not be for everyone, it isn’t all that disturbing to me. It deals with the sweetness in a wonderful way, but yes some might say this has aged too long, probably why this was transferred into stainless steel. Having tasted it now, the nose get even better than it already was. Dark chocolate, peppery, white pepper, herbal and with some good velvety bitters. More ashes and toasted oak. I like the oaky bitters in this Rhum. It suits it well. I’m tasting this from a sample, so I don’t have a back label at hand, but it should make the statement that this is an austere Rhum for connoisseurs who don’t like excessive sweetness. It did so on the back label of the previous Rhum I reviewed.

Since I still have a tiny amount left of the Réunion Cask Strength 7yo, and since it just has to be another Savanna, lets just compare the two. The 7yo is definitely lighter, friendlier and has a somewhat more industrial plastic smell in the nose, close to a more children’s clay smell. Many similarities, but in a toned down fashion, yet more of the fruity and sweet black tea notes. This 15yo just has more of everything (a lot of wood especially). On the palate the similarities don’t end, the 7yo is lacking most of the wood, but it also does show you how the 15yo was before most, yet not all, of the wood influence. The 7yo seems simple compared to the 15yo, but its worth the price of admission and the score I gave it earlier. So if you are having it, just don’t have it after the 15yo, that “wood” make no sense. Catch my driftwood? The 15yo is just a lot bigger, more mature and more sophisticated than the 7yo is, and has a lot more wood influence, but I believe you already got that if you made it this far down the review…

Summa sumarum: this Cask #59 is just a great Savanna.

Points: 89

Merci beaucoup Auke for the sample!

Réunion Cask Strength 7yo (60.5%, Rum Nation, Cask Strength, Rhum Traditionelle, 3.000 bottles, 2018, Réunion)

This is not the first Rum from Rum Nation on these pages and not even the first Rhum from Ile de la Réunion. Earlier I reviewed a Rhum from Rivière du Mât and I thought that one was nothing short of amazing, even though it was a reduced to a measly 42% ABV. Rivière du Mât isn’t even the most popular distillery from the Island, that honorary mention goes to Savanna, and then especially to the Rhum Agricoles Savanna produces. Savanna distillery was founded in 1870 in Saint Paul on the north west corner of the island and supposedly made Rhums based on molasses only. Fast forward many years. Since 1964 the distillery runs a continuous still. In 1992 the distillery moved to Bois-Rouge on the north eastern corner of the island, by today’s standard, some 50 kilometres by car. Today the distillery makes Rhum Agricoles, for which it is now mostly known, as well as Rhum Traditionelle (molasses based), some of the Rhums are of the high ester kind.

The Cask Strength series is a somewhat recent addition to the Rum Nation portfolio. The first Rum released in this series is actually this 7yo rum from Réunion, probably distilled at Savanna, and matured in ex-Cognac casks. Savanna uses a lot of ex-Cognac casks, because may of the official releases have been matured in Cognac casks as well. After this, examples from Jamaica and Guyana were also released.

Color: Orange Gold.

Nose: Fruity and creamy. Fresh (air) with toffee and caramel. Slightly funky and somewhat sweet smelling. Lightly waxed. Sweet White Wine, mocha, licorice and leather. Some dust on rainwater. Definitely has some traits from Rhum Agricole. The nose reminds me of J.M Agricoles. More J.M than, lets say, Rivière du Mât (Rhum Traditionelle). Initially some sweet citrus bathroom cleaner, soft chlorine and ozone from a pool or jacuzzi. These aroma’s are short lived, and are gone soon, never to return again (unless you pour yourself another one). Black tea with lemon. Hints of cookie dough, moist brown sugar, wood and sweet mint candy. Malty and biscuity, and thus some very soft oak. A whiff of fresh air, yet also spicy, a mix of many dried kitchen spices, yet also some cinnamon and hints of toasted oak (soft). Some unripe banana and also the brown bits of a banana skin and some aroma’s of overripe, almost rotting yellow fruits. Don’t worry, the Rhum still smells quite nice and is nicely balanced as well. Rum Nation also bottles quite a lot of Cask Strength Savanna’s, and I have one here to compare it with. Based on the smell of both, it is safe to assume this 7yo is a Savanna as well, nevertheless, one can be never entirely sure (please read on). By the way, the day after, the empty glass smells just wonderful. Very fruity and with hints of the fireplace at Christmas, or a nice bonfire. Love it!

Taste: Big and still sweet, although the back label mentions this is “for connoisseurs that don’t like excessive sweetness“, it is sweet but not excessively so. This sweetness is balanced out with quite some spicy wood, and toasted wood as well. Distant pine anyone? Quite hot going down. Brown sugar and candied cinnamon mixed with cola notes for freshness or zest. Very tasty. Well balanced stuff of high quality. Now for an interesting remark. Where the smell is all Savanna, there are some notes in the taste that do remind me a bit of Rivière du Mât (also from the Island of Réunion). An industrial, fatty, motor oil aroma. Crushed almonds with some woody bitterness mixed with brown sugar. I’m still convinced this is a Savanna, the smell is there and since Rum Nation has many other Savanna’s in their portfolio it is simply highly likely, but as said above, one can never be sure. Even though this is bottled @ 60.5% ABV, it isn’t hot all the time, like many other high strength R(h)ums. Licorice and Cognac, (really?), in the finish, as well as some wood. The aftertaste shows even some more wood accompanied by its bitterness. The Casks used must have been quite active or caught a lot of sunshine.

I say, high quality, big and very tasty. Lance mentions in his review: “It’s very much like the new wave of Jamaican rums now making such big waves – Hampden and Worthy Park in particular, because this presses many of the same buttons“. This is my sentiment exactly. It presses the same buttons without even being really close to those in smell nor taste. Its big and estery and bottling this @ 60.5% ABV helps the Rhum come across big time. Since this has been bottled in Rum Nation’s Cask Strength series, only mentioning it is a 7yo hailing from Réunion, thus calling it an entry level Rhum, (yeah right), this therefore also damn affordable. Heartily recommended and definitely not for novices to R(h)um. If you are just that, you should by it all the same, but do not open it just yet.

Points: 87

Rivière Du Mât Extra Old XO (42%, Ile de la Réunion, Circa 2014)

I found my first Rivière du Mât bottle (The Brut de Fût), sitting rather sad, covered in dust, with its blue box missing, shoved behind another bottle on the shelf in a shop. It looked like it didn’t get a lot of love from the people selling it, not even having it’s own place on the shelf. Nobody seemed to be interested in it as well. However, I am a sensitive guy and I liked the bulky bottle. I had no idea what was inside, but being an adventurous guy, and having read good things about Rum distilled on Ile de la Réunion, I bought it and gave it a lot of love by storing it in a dust-free, dark cardboard box, surrounded by many Rum-friends, some of which speak French as well! That bottle still sits waiting patiently for me to uncork it, chatting away to its friends about the wonderful ile it comes from. I hope they have a good time over there. Once in a while I open those boxes greeting them. A joke here, a pat there, sometimes wiping away the dust on a shoulder. Anoraky isn’t it? What? Creepy? What do you mean with “go heal yourself”, or “turn yourself in”?

Much later I had a meeting with my Dutch Whisky club, in Hamburg, Germany. Remember the time this was considered normal? Obviously we went to a nice well-known, friendly and well stocked shop in Hamburg that alas must remain anonymous here, (Weinquelle, on the Lübecker Straße 145). In stead of buying Whisky, I ended up with a couple of Rivière du Mât bottlings. I bought the XO and the 2004 Vintage, and not the heaps of Whisky the other guys bought. By the way, if you plan to go to this shop you don’t know about, look at their site you can’t find. They don’t have enough space to have everything they sell in the shop, luckily they have the rest in the back, so come prepared (I did).

Ile de la Réunion, “wez dat”? You can find the island when sailing east from Madagascar. Surely you know where Madagascar is? You misplaced the DVD? Jeez, not the film! Another island close by is Mauritius, which lies further east.

Color: Orange gold.

Nose: Different from other Rums I have nosed before, maybe some resemblance to the imagined combination of St. Lucia and Caroni. In part it’s industrial and dusty, hints of bad breath, short-lived licorice, vanilla, latex paint and hot motor oil, but also very warming and special. Bonfire. Almonds and fruity. It has a warm sugary water aroma reminding me of the Epris I had before. This is so different, that I have to dissect this in my mind. What is it, the nose is made up from? Dates, yes, but with a sort of motor oil quality to it. Nutty as well. Ginger and very soft wood. Very well balanced. Its wonderful. Especially from a not-full bottle. This does need air. After a while a nice mixture of almonds, ethanol and oak emerge. In a way it smells a bit reduced, you feel it could have been so much bigger. This probably would be truly stellar at cask strength. I must have a look for something like that, if it exists.

Taste: Sweet on entry, honey and spicy ginger. Classic molasses Rhum with a (sweet) twist. Alas also a bit thin. Hints of tobacco, and a waxy quality. Tea biscuits (and butter). The bad breath note in its liquid form, resembles almost burning molten plastic (and more almonds). I know it sounds so horrible but it is just a part of the balance, and it works well in this. Quite aromatic and warming. Licorice and more soft wood. Some ashes and a tiny bitter oak edge. Well balanced. Even though this is quite aromatic, for a Rhum Traditionnel (molasses), you can call this a light R(h)um, and proves that a light R(h)um can be very exiting. This one reminds me of many aroma’s encountered for the first time when getting into Single Malt Whisky, so this Rhum fits me perfectly.

I only wish this was bottled at a higher strength than the 42% ABV they did. This is sooo good, and I’m sure it would have benefited immensely from the higher strength. Nevertheless an excellent Rhum, very tasty. I also noticed that the lower the level of the Rhum in the bottle, the better it got, the smell got deeper, the taste more balanced. This needs lots of air, people, I can’t stress this enough. When this is empty I will replace it with another Rhum from Ile de la Réunion for sure, because this one was a cracker. I understand there is plenty more good stuff made on the island…

Points: 88