I have two duos from Mauritius bottled by Compagnie des Indes in my sample library and thought that would make for an interesting comparison. The Rums come from Grays and Saint Aubin. We are very familiar with both distilleries I’d say and we even have a clear favorite between the two of them, but let’s try to be open minded and as unbiased as possible. Let’s start with Saint Aubin.

Compagnie des Indes Saint Aubin 2010 11YO (43%): I really wonder how Florent decideds on how to reduce a Rum to drinking strength or to leave it a higher strength… I have asked and I hope that I can give you the answer with the next set of Compagnie des Indes reviews. Nose: Lots of vanilla and sweeter notes akin to sweetened cherries or grenadine. After a while I also get sandalwood, plenty of spearmint, Earl Grey tea and pepper. Wow. At first I thought that this is absolutely flat and boring, but this baby opens up and offers a very wide array of aromas. Really nice! Palate: It is diluted, sure, but it is not a huge deal I think. I get vanilla, coconut chips, seawater, pepper, cherry and sugar cane juice. Very tasty. Finish: Black tea, cherry, subtle oak, pepper and allspice, cinnamon and even cocoa. Now that was a pleasant surprise. It is a darn fine Rum but as always, I am wondering how much better it could have been at a higher abv… (82/100)

Compagnie des Indes Saint Aubin 2013 9YO (55%): Let’s hope that this one continues along the lines of the 2010. Nose: Flatter and more muted at first glance. Relatively speaking, this one is much more spice-loaded. I get cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and nutmeg, but also coffee and more nutty notes. Palate: Just like in the nose, spices take full control. Pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin… you name it. Behind that lots of cereal, coffee and nougat. This kinda reminds me of Chamarel. Maybe some sort of Mauritian character!? Finish: More of the spices, which stick around for a very long time. This isn’t a profile I am too fond of, but it is a well crafted Rum, that’s for sure; i.e. not too many objections on an objective level. However, I feel like Saint Aubin’s strength is probably with profiles like that of the 2010. (77/100)

On with Grays.

Compagnie des Indes Grays “Perola” 2010 11YO (57,8%): Grays has been very hit and miss so far, but the good bottlings make for stellar Rums. Nose: From the get go it is clear that this is Grays, the candied peach and apricot just give it away immediately. Now lots of mint in the tradition of early 2000s T.D.L., black tea and bramble berry. An extremely nice profile my friends. Palate: Even more mint than in the nose, bitter tea, bramble berry and thick forest honey. I cannot find too much of the peach and apricot notes anymore. This really feels like a bastard of Grays and said T.D.L.s. I really like it! Finish: Long. Moroccan mint tea with honey seemingly never wants to leave you taste buds. An extremely nice bottling, not sure what this didn’t get talked about more. (86/100)

Compagnie des Indes Grays “Perola – Armagnac Finish” 2009 13YO (53,1%): A 20 month Armagnac finish. Not sure why any Rum would need this. Now we do like Armagnac of course, but Rum is typically a much more expressive spirit, which shouldn’t really benefit from a French Brandy finish in theory. And practice has demonstrated this again and again! But we said we will be opend minded, right!? Nose: Compared to the 2010, this Rum is much softer and balanced, which I blame on attribute to the Armagnac. There’s also a certain boozyness which bothers me a bit. That said, we get peach, apricot, green grapes, pear (think Williams) but also vanilla, Caffè Latte and milk chocolate. Palate: Plenty of pear at the beginning, but then also peach and apricot (think also persipan), mint, thick honey, cappuccino and grape juice. Pretty good, but in direct comparison a bit to balanced for my taste. Finish: Exceedingly dry with black tea, mint, honey, pepper and dark chocolate. It is another fine Rum, but I prefer the edginess of the 11YO. (84/100)

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