Welcome back dear Rum Aficionados! Today I am very happy to introduce you to the Rum Aficionado, Johannes Breit, who will get his very own little section on book reviews on this blog. Personally, I do not know a single person who has read more on rum than Johannes so I am honored that he…
Velier St. Lucia 2010 7YO
I have written relatively extensively about St. Lucia but for some strange reason I have yet to introduce its island’s rums! Let’s start with the latest addition by an independent bottler (IB), the Velier St. Lucia 2010 7YO! The Bottling This rum is part of the “Khong” series, a selection of Velier bottlings which all…
Damoiseau Full Proofs (1989, 1991 & 1995)
Damoiseau is the only remaining distillery on Grand-Terre, the eastern part of Guadeloupe. It is the youngest but also the largest distillery in terms of total output (about 3.2 million litres a year) on the island. Headed by Hervé Damoiseau, they produce a very light rhum style and, more interestingly, also distill from molasses from time to time when…
A few new Neissons
Today we examine a large part of the (new) Neisson range. Their previous range was great already, as were their special bottlings. I’ve heard that the new range might be even better. It’s about time we find it out for ourselves. But first some background information. The plantation of the Neisson family dates back to 1922,…
The Darién Gap
The Darién Gap is a swampy region in the Pan-American Highway around the Colombian and Panamanian border. The 100-160 km long gap impedes road building and poses huge environmental cost. For the funnsies, let’s try a few rums I usually wouldn’t review. In all fairness, most of them might be suitable companions for a nice cigar….
Caronis from 1997
1997 was the year of non-Velier Caronis with a lot of magnificent rums such as the A.D. Rattray Caroni 1997 17YO, the Duncan Taylor 1997 16YO or the The Rum Cask 1997 18YO, to name just a few. Similarly, it shouldn’t be very surprising that there were also a few black sheep among them. The Vallinch…
Compagnie des Indes New Yarmouth 2005 12YO
Today we have the first rum from New Yarmouth by an independent bottler that I get to try. To take it away: Compagnie des Indes digged out a real treasure here. Kudos to Florent Beuchet at this point! The Bottling The French independent bottler Compagnie des Indes needs no further introduction, New Yarmouth on the other hand probably…
Velier Uitvlugt “Modified GS” 1996 18YO
It’s time for the first tropically aged Demerara by Velier. The collaboration between Luca Gargano and Yesu Persaud gave us a few of the very best column still rums ever if you ask me. Today we have the Velier Uitvlugt 1996 18YO! The Bottling The relationship between Luca Gargano, the head of Velier, and Yesu…
L’Esprit Monymusk 2007 9YO
More from Monymusk! This time featuring a ‘new’ vintage and a rather young expression. It’s the L’Esprit Monymusk 2007 9YO. The Bottling Even though L’Esprit is not really a new bottler, they somehow feel like one. Starting in 2010, Tristan Prodhomme, the man behind L’Esprit, steadily released Whisky and Rum bottlings more or less one…
Duncan Taylor Monymusk 2003 12YO
Another Monymusk from 2003, this time at a higher abv. Duncan Taylor already released a predecessor with the Duncan Taylor Monymusk 2003 10YO which was pretty good. Let’s see what two additional years, or the extra abv compared to the Moon Import “I Pappagalli” Monymusk 2003 13YO can do. The Bottling In his article on his visit to Clarendon,…
Moon Import “I Pappagalli” Monymusk 2003 13YO
The tasting notes for today’s review date back about a year and already have been posted elsewhere. Yet, I eventually decided to present the rum here as well. To that end, I re-tasted it and made new notes. A quick comparison with my initial writing revealed that my cognition is still pretty much the same….
An interview with Hampen Estate’s Christelle Harris
Christelle Harris, director of sales & marketing at Hampden Estate, agreed to answer a few questions. She is the niece of Andrew Hussey, the director of Everglades Farms and owner of Hampden Estate and the Long Pond Sugar Factory. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 2005, she returned to Jamaica to work in…
Single Cask Rum 