Isautier is another distillery we never really cared for but as we’ve said last time when we’ve had Takamaka: When Velier choses to bottle them, there might be a reason. Since we’ve never featured Isautier outside of a blind tasting, let’s have some historical background first. The Isautier Distillery has been founded in 1845 by…
Takamaka
I am very sorry that we are once again busier than we’d like to be so a smaller session has to suffice for today. However, it does include all of the Takamakas we have at the moment. Admittedly, that aren’t many but as we are about to see, there’s a reason for that. Habitation Velier…
Port Mourant 2002
There are so many Port Mourant batches/ vintages and as you know, we gotta catch taste ’em all. 2002 was one of the better DDL-era Port Mourant vintages if I remember correctly by the way. Probably even the best but still, when it comes to PM: 1960s/ 70s Uitvlugt > late 1980s/ 90s Uitvlugt >…
Bielle 2009 “La Confrérie du Rhum” Single Casks
Please forgive the small hiatus but personal affairs made it necessary. Anyway, now we are back in the game! Bielle, Bielle, Bielle… Bielle. Yes, four Bielle single casks are on the agenda today. All are from 2009, eight years old, and have been bottled for La Confrérie du Rhum. By the way, these Rums are…
Blairmont
I am really only aware of the two Blairmonts bottled by Velier, but I am sure that there were more Rums of that particular style – we just weren’t told. I am not going to start a guessing game, that would be futile, but precisely because of this, these two Rums are kinda unique. At…
Cognac: Jean-Luc Pasquet
Jean-Luc Pasquet (aka JLP) today, who is, together with Vallein Tercinier, probably my favorite bottler of Cognac. There’s just someting magical about these two companies, be it their blending skills, cask selection or management. It just seems as if whatever they touch turns to gold. Let’s see what we have in our sample box. Jean-Luc…
Saint James it is
We are in the mood for Saint James, especially since we just managed to get samples of two very promising (and hyped bottlings). We did also find some much older stuff in the library but shall reserve this for some other time. Put differently, we will stay in the current century, but as we shall…
Caroni 1983
We are aware of two Caroni bottlings from this vintage, both of which are Heavy Trinidad Rums (HTR). Velier Caroni 1983 22YO (52%): Nose: This is clearly not the heaviest HTR out there and definitely not as dirty and intense as the Caroni profile you might have in mind. Instead we get a mix of…
J.Bally 2006
We only have a smaller tasting session today but I think it should be a rather nice one as we have a slightly younger, reduced J.Bally from 2006 and the older full proof version today. J.Bally 2006 12YO (43%): Nose: Very intense and you wouldn’t think that we are dealing with only 43% here! I…
Worthy Park mashup
Without being disrespectful, Worthy Park always feels like a Rum that almost everyone likes yet one that nobody has been waiting for. A strange combination indeed, which is why we do these sessions completely at random every time: They always fit in, but rarely anyone would notice if they were missing. I think you get…
Armagnac: Laoué
Even though we’ve missed a session or two this month (we did catch a cold that made tastings impossible), we wanted to include the compulsory Yak session nevertheless (just in time… phew). And while it feels like we have tasted hundreds of Domaines by now already, the world of Armagnac still has as many that…
More from the Chairman
As the title says, today we shall cover St. Lucia with their Chairman’s Reserve line selected by whoever. We do love these sessions as Saint Lucia Distillers rarely ever disappoint. Chairman’s Reserve 2012 8YO “Salon du Rhum” (46%): 50% JD I, 50% column still. Nose: Quite aromatic and herbal, even though the dilution is clearly…
Single Cask Rum 