We are back with Rum. Yak was nice, but come on, this is what you came for, right!? Today we have a very young and likeable distillery, O Reizinho. While the O Reizinho distillery has been registered officially in 2013 on Madeira, it is actually a much older than that. In fact, the Ferreira family already produced their cane brandy, the so called “aguardente de cana” for several generations, but the production methods are still the same. The cane used for the Rhum Agricole is made up of six different cane varieties that are grown by small local farmers. Distillation of the fermented cane juice takes place in a small traditional Portuguese still and production has been expanded to 15.000 litres p.a. in 2018.

O Reizinho (57%): Even though it cannot have been for very long, this aged in ex-Madeira casks (what else, right!?). The RumX database says nine months by the way. Nose: Lots and lots of sugar cane, vanilla and tonka beans. It is a very simple, yet quite nice profile. To my surprise, we don’t find many of the fortified wine notes however, which confirms my believe that it probably didn’t age for very long. Palate: Very mild and smooth, with a good creaminess. There’s toffee, caramel, whipped cream and the notes of tonka again. Just like the nose, it is really nice, just not complex and interesting enough. Finish: Short and forgettable with vanilla and oak. A cool Rum that seems to be more of a project in development though. And while there’s really not much to complain about here, I am not exactly falling in love with it either. (75/100)

O Reizinho 6YO (52,6%): I think six years is a good age for Rums from Madeira already. Let’s see. Nose: We are totally getting those Madeira scents here. Red and dark berries, leather, herbs, forest honey, wet grass, candy floss, fresh sugar cane and also rich, red grapes are my first impressions. This is a lot better than the NAS. Deeper in the glass also the notes of tonka and vanilla we have found before. Rather promising but we sould take a sip first. Palate: Very creamy with the full amount of fortified wine and herbs. Dark, concentrated red grape juice, more wood than you might think, bitter vanilla, olive brine, salted whipped cream, more wild herbs and even more wood now, bramble berries, pepper, plums and greenery are my main associations. This definitely works, especially because of the magnificent texture. On the downside, it already has had a bit too much of those Madeira and cask notes for my liking, however. Finish: Long, woody, bitter and sweet at the same time. It’s like a concentrated of those sweet berries from the nose and palate, aged in wood for a bit too long. Here and there the greenery and green pepper again. A very nice bottling, which nicely demonstrates the potential of Rhum from Madeira. (84/100)