We are having two young Monymusks from 2015 today. The difference? The wear different marques and aged in different climatic zones. S.B.S Monymusk “EMB” 2015 7YO (65,7%): To paraphrase a buddy of mine “you can always buy EMB” and I think I can agree. But here we do not know (yet). This almost entirely aged…
Papa Rouyo
Established in 2021, Papa Rouyo is a very recent addition to Guadeloupe’s portfolio of Rhum distilleries. They exclusively distill fermented sugar cane juice in two pot stills, with a strong emphasis on terroir. Please refer to this (great) interview by Velier for more information on Papa Rouyo. Papa Rouyo Le Rejeton 2021 (56%): This should…
Armagnac: A big bunch today
The amount of Armagnacs in our sample library keeps getting bigger and bigger and since we didn’t have a proper Yak session for some time, at least not on this blog, that’s what we shall do today. As you are about to see, we will quite a few “firsts” for us, but nevertheless I believe…
Indy Saint Lucias
There never have been many, and they are getting fewer and fewer, a dying species if you want: truly independent bottlings from Saint Lucia. The Secret Treasures St. Lucia 2008/9 6YO (52%): Bottled in 2015, we don’t know for sure when this Vendome Pot Still Rum has been distilled with certainty. Nose: Herbal rubber, paired…
Trois Rivières
Trois Rivières really isn’t a brand that spoils us with a wide array of different Rhums, most notably because they don’t really seem to release a lot of vintage bottlings anymore. Nevertheless, we still have a few samples left in our library – which will be void of any Trois Rivières after today. Trois Rivières…
Renaissance
Renaissance is an up-and-coming new distillery from Taiwan, which, despite their rather young releases and short history, already managed to make a new for themselves. To me, that means that the distillate has to be very good, first and foremost, but cask management seems to play a crucial role for Renaissance as well. As a…
Port Mourant in pairs (1990s edition)
The initial plan was to review pairs of all available vintages from the 1990s but I’ve quickly dismissed that thought as that would have been way too much for a single post. Alas, let’s just have just a few of them, shall we!? And 1999 seems to be the perfect start! The Colours of Rum…
On chill filtration – A tasting comparison
Today we do something I actually wanted to do for a long time now – we explore the impact chill-filtering has on a spirit. This has been made possible by Wild Turkey, who always sold a chill-filtered version of their Rare Breed Bourbon but decided to release a non-chill filtered version of the very same…
Long Pond, 2000s
A nice little Long Pond triple from the 2000s today. Isla del Ron 2008 12YO (59,1%): Isla del Ron had an amazing Long Pond with the 1982 in the past, so let’s hope that was more than merely a lucky selection. Nose: Esters en masse. Nail polish remover, pineapple, ripe banana, you name it. In…
Clément Canne Bleue 2001
Typically we’d go ahead and cross-taste the different Canne Bleue vintages by Clément but today we have something way more interesting: We get to compare an unaged Canne Bleue, i.e. a Blanc, with an aged one from the same year. Clément Canne Bleue 2001 (50%): Nose: Not very grassy and not that vegetal either. I’d…
Caroni 1996: “LTR” & without Velier
The title says it all. There weren’t many expressions from 1996 that have been bottled by someone other than Velier, which is very telling, given that it is one of, if not the best vintages of Caroni ever in my book. But there are a few exceptions and today we shall have a look at…
Caroni 1991
A Caroni trio from 1991 is on the agenda today. We shall start with a nice old school bottling by Cadenhead’s, proceed with the monarch of Caroni bottlers and finish with a very recent bottling that has received plenty of praise online. Cadenhead’s Trinidad (Caroni) 1991 12YO (46%): Please excuse the poor picture quality but…
Single Cask Rum 