What rum are you drinking today?

[jshleffar]

plain old, delicious, Mount Gay XO

[Kpiz]

Forgot to post this from last night. My friend and his coworkers have a spirits tasting every couple of months or so and he invited me as a guest this time around since it was rum. It was a group of mostly newer rum drinkers so most folks liked the Zaya and Zacapa the most, but I think the S&C and the 2004 were appreciated as well (the 2004 was my contribution)

[RWBadley]

Watched The Steelers beat the ravens with a vatted rum I put together yesterday for a company Christmas party we were going to. 

Our local TW has RL Seales 10 for $21. Good stuff. Using this as a 40% base with various top notes of Barbancourt 15, MGXO, then a splash of Centenario 20 and Angostura  1824. The last two mostly to use up remaining stocks of  over-sweetened rum I never seem to crack open. A little Panama-Pacific 9 and 23 added further dimension. With the bottle 10% from the top I tasted and found a need for funk. The remainder topped with Barrell Rum #1. Ahh funk

This blend came together very well with depth, balance of sweetness and complexity. It was enjoyed at the party and was something of an eye opener to several folks who had been downing Captain Morgan and Jell-O shots 

Cheers

RW

[Kpiz]

12 hours ago, RWBadley said:

Watched The Steelers beat the ravens with a vatted rum I put together yesterday for a company Christmas party we were going to. 

Our local TW has RL Seales 10 for $21. Good stuff. Using this as a 40% base with various top notes of Barbancourt 15, MGXO, then a splash of Centenario 20 and Angostura  1824. The last two mostly to use up remaining stocks of  over-sweetened rum I never seem to crack open. A little Panama-Pacific 9 and 23 added further dimension. With the bottle 10% from the top I tasted and found a need for funk. The remainder topped with Barrell Rum #1. Ahh funk

This blend came together very well with depth, balance of sweetness and complexity. It was enjoyed at the party and was something of an eye opener to several folks who had been downing Captain Morgan and Jell-O shots 

Cheers

RW

 

That sounds like a tasty blend. Maybe it's time for a rum-vatting thread!

[jshleffar]

Went with several really small pours today, Santa teresa 1796, Appleton 12, Plantation 15 select cask ending with some foursquare 2004

[Kpiz]

I was finally able to spend some time with the Golden Devil Bellevue 19yo K&L selection and took some tasting notes.

The bottle indicates it was distilled in March of 1998, there were 228 bottles charged from the Cask, and it is 59.7% ABV.

The liquid is very dark, probably light mahogany. I turned the bottle to the side in the picture below so as to give a better sense of it. There’s a paradox here: the color suggests a lot of oak influence, but there were too many bottles charged from the cask for there to have been significant tropical aging. Perhaps this began as two casks that were aged for several years in Guadeloupe before being combined and then aged their remaining years in Scotland?Or possibly it was aged in French oak? Ok enough conjecture, onto the notes.

Nose: At first I get molasses and shoe polish. With a few minutes in the glass, exotic wood notes emerge along with honey and salty olives.

Palate: medium mouthfeel. Molasses, leather, and tar are prominent initially and there’s a slight brinyness to it as well, like good green olives (as on the nose). This is followed by a distinct berry fruit leather note. The fruit leather fades into the finish and is joined by some molasses. A slightly bitter note emerges in the end but it’s not unpleasant. I’m not very experienced with long-aged agricole rums but this lacks most of the hallmarks of an agricole, with the exception of a faint grassiness on the finish.

Overall this is very good. Not quite what I was expecting but it’s interesting and tasty while also not being overly idiosyncratic. I’ll be buying at least one more bottle, maybe two.

[jshleffar]

Ok here's the last month or so in picture form.

[jshleffar]

10 hours ago, Kpiz said:

I was finally able to spend some time with the Golden Devil Bellevue 19yo K&L selection and took some tasting notes.

The bottle indicates it was distilled in March of 1998, there were 228 bottles charged from the Cask, and it is 59.7% ABV.

The liquid is very dark, probably light mahogany. I turned the bottle to the side in the picture below so as to give a better sense of it. There’s a paradox here: the color suggests a lot of oak influence, but there were too many bottles charged from the cask for there to have been significant tropical aging. Perhaps this began as two casks that were aged for several years in Guadeloupe before being combined and then aged their remaining years in Scotland?Or possibly it was aged in French oak? Ok enough conjecture, onto the notes.

Nose: At first I get molasses and shoe polish. With a few minutes in the glass, exotic wood notes emerge along with honey and salty olives.

Palate: medium mouthfeel. Molasses, leather, and tar are prominent initially and there’s a slight brinyness to it as well, like good green olives (as on the nose). This is followed by a distinct berry fruit leather note. The fruit leather fades into the finish and is joined by some molasses. A slightly bitter note emerges in the end but it’s not unpleasant. I’m not very experienced with long-aged agricole rums but this lacks most of the hallmarks of an agricole, with the exception of a faint grassiness on the finish.

Overall this is very good. Not quite what I was expecting but it’s interesting and tasty while also not being overly idiosyncratic. I’ll be buying at least one more bottle, maybe two.

looking forward to opening this one. Thanks for the in depth notes. Did you water it at all or drink it straight?

Edited December 23, 2017 by jshleffar
added to post

[Marekv8]

Hard to beat breakfast at Brennan's with a Samaroli Guadaloupe… pairs so well with their baked cinnamon apple.

 

[Kpiz]

looking forward to opening this one. Thanks for the in depth notes. Did you water it at all or drink it straight?

I just drank it neat since it wasn’t too beastly at full proof, but I’ll experiment with adding a bit of water next time I drink it. Looking forward to hearing your notes on this as well.

[tanstaafl2]

21 hours ago, Kpiz said:

 

 

I’m not very experienced with long-aged agricole rums but this lacks most of the hallmarks of an agricole, with the exception of a faint grassiness on the finish.

 

 

I am not too surprised that an aged agricole might lose a lot of the grassiness with time.

 

Bellevue is on Marie Galante which is of course part of Guadeloupe which doesn’t necessarily have to hold to the same rules that Martinique does. 

 

The liquid itself could certainly have been reracked one or more times from other barrels of the same “vintage” over time which is apparently pretty common in the islands and maybe was even done more than once. Or when it was transported to Europe. May never know for sure!

 

Reminds me a bit of a Duncan Taylor Bellevue from 1998. At the very least that should make an interesting comparison.

[NightCru]

On 12/23/2017 at 2:37 AM, Kpiz said:

I was finally able to spend some time with the Golden Devil Bellevue 19yo K&L selection and took some tasting notes.

The bottle indicates it was distilled in March of 1998, there were 228 bottles charged from the Cask, and it is 59.7% ABV.

The liquid is very dark, probably light mahogany. I turned the bottle to the side in the picture below so as to give a better sense of it. There’s a paradox here: the color suggests a lot of oak influence, but there were too many bottles charged from the cask for there to have been significant tropical aging. Perhaps this began as two casks that were aged for several years in Guadeloupe before being combined and then aged their remaining years in Scotland?Or possibly it was aged in French oak? Ok enough conjecture, onto the notes.

Nose: At first I get molasses and shoe polish. With a few minutes in the glass, exotic wood notes emerge along with honey and salty olives.

Palate: medium mouthfeel. Molasses, leather, and tar are prominent initially and there’s a slight brinyness to it as well, like good green olives (as on the nose). This is followed by a distinct berry fruit leather note. The fruit leather fades into the finish and is joined by some molasses. A slightly bitter note emerges in the end but it’s not unpleasant. I’m not very experienced with long-aged agricole rums but this lacks most of the hallmarks of an agricole, with the exception of a faint grassiness on the finish.

Overall this is very good. Not quite what I was expecting but it’s interesting and tasty while also not being overly idiosyncratic. I’ll be buying at least one more bottle, maybe two.

I’ve now gone from being excited or this to very excited!  Thank you for sharing your notes.

[kevinbrink]

One final Christmas pour

[MTNBourbon]

13 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

One final Christmas pour

That looks like a nice one.

[RWBadley]

40 minutes ago, MTNBourbon said:

That looks like a nice one.

Indeed. I've been drooling over this one but around here it's $130 plus tax, so other items have taken priority

 

[kevinbrink]

Just now, RWBadley said:

Indeed. I've been drooling over this one but around here it's $130 plus tax, so other items have taken priority

 

It's findable here around $80-$90 I (luckily) bought this one for $80, it's been a long while since I had a pour (a friend had a bottle a few years back). Not sure if it's because I've mostly been drinking bourbon and rye through the holidays but this really came off much more funky than I remember it in the best way.

[Kane]

5 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

It's findable here around $80-$90 I (luckily) bought this one for $80

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist. I have never seen this below $130 and thought that was normal. Need to look harder!

[kevinbrink]

3 hours ago, Kane said:

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist. I have never seen this below $130 and thought that was normal. Need to look harder!

Winesearcher will get you to $95 + Shipping, 

[MTNBourbon]

Been a very long time since I've last drank from this bottle. Very nice!

[Kane]

It's been such a long time since I had a bottle of rum open. So I just opened two!

 

 

[Kane]

Okay, time to reflect on what I tasted. The Barbancourt is oak heavy, it indeed feels like a 15yo. BUT, I was expecting an agricole and this is more a good old molasses rum. A very mild, elegant, oaky one, but no agricole vegetal notes. Hmmm...

 

S&C is, on the other hand, totally killing it tonight. Upon my first sip it reached the bar for a good funky Jamaican rum, and promptly proceeded to obliterate the said bar. Amazing stuff, and for ~$20 to boot! The plastic banana is strong in this one (thanks @jshleffar!)

[Marekv8]

At 64% ABV-- there's plenty of room to play with this one…

 

 

 

[sailor22]

C-C-C-C-Cold here in North Florida. Reached into the bunker for a warming sip and this little 50cl bottle fell to hand. Delightful balance of farmey agricole notes with spicy wood and enough proof to bring some heat. Long finish with the grassy and woody in balance. If you enjoy spirited aged whiskey don't pass up this rum if you run across it.

[fishnbowljoe]

2 hours ago, sailor22 said:

C-C-C-C-Cold here in North Florida. Reached into the bunker for a warming sip and this little 50cl bottle fell to hand. Delightful balance of farmey agricole notes with spicy wood and enough proof to bring some heat. Long finish with the grassy and woody in balance. If you enjoy spirited aged whiskey don't pass up this rum if you run across it.

 

Cold in North Florida Steve???  It reached a balmy +14 degrees as a high here in northern Illinois today.   

 

Biba! Joe

[jshleffar]

Was a rum night, started with 2004 and just popped the first of the SA Revelations I've got. Interesting bridge between Jamaican and whiskey.