Today we’re trying four rums that somehow stranded in Belgium.
First up is a 10 year old Bielle rum, Bert’s favourite distillery and one that is overlooked by most of the other whisky bottlers who became rum bottlers. Although it was bottled in 2019 (a volume discount with the other Bielles he launched that year?), it wasn’t released until mid 2021. Sugarcane spirit from Guadaloupe.
Bielle 10 yo 2009 (49,4%, Rasta Morris 2019, 226 btl.)
Nose: a mix of overripe fruits (plums, baked apples, roasted pineapple) with caramelized notes (toffee, agave syrup) and light touches of varnish and cigar boxes. Vanilla and hints of chocolate too, making this quite elegant and rounded.
Mouth: still this rounded caramelized side at first, with cinnamon pastry and dark hyoney, now joined by a more earthy element. Caraway, juniper, eucalyptus. Liquorice. It’s more wood-driven now but it goes down very easily. Hints of mocha, as well as some glue and orange peels.
Finish: not extremely long, with hints of tobacco, oak spice and underlying sugar cane.
Bielle with a little more wood this time. Not at all disturbing, but it’s hiding the classic fruity side a little. Very flavoursome, but not my favourite bottling in Mr. Morris’ great Bielle portfolio. Still available from several shops, for around € 160.
Spring Spirits is a company owned by Manuel Wouters, who is famous in Belgium as the bartender of the Sips bar in Antwerp, one of the first and still one of the leading cocktail bars in our country. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the bar, he approached The Whisky Jury and selected this Caroni rum, a 1998 vintage with 12 years of tropical ageing and 11 more years on the continent.
Caroni 23 yo 1998 (56,8%, The Whisky Jury for Spring Spirits 2021, refill barrel #45, 288 btl.)
Nose: menthol, liquorice, eucalyptus, hints of cigar leaves and humidors. Hints of juniper and metal polish. Pencil shavings. It’s certainly not the most diesel-y / phenolic Caroni, this feels more rounded and balanced, with hints of nutty biscuits and raisins in the background.
Mouth: more punchy now, with lots of (salty) liquorice, spearmint and herbal (almost medicinal) notes. Hints of tar and plastics. Rather oak-driven, but there’s also well-overripe pineapple and a hint of citrus, as well as sultanas in the background. Some camphor and mint extract too.
Finish: very long, with earthy notes, herbs and drying cedar wood.
By Caroni standards this is quite a rounded, balanced rum, with some petrol and varnish but also a series of sweeter notes. A perfect choice for a bar. I believe you can purchase a bottle at Spis or their restaurant Mill-Hill.
Score: 90/100
Now a name that’s new to me: Le Galion distillery in Martinique, the only one on the island that uses molasses, with a very lengthy fermentation (7 days) in open vats. There’s no age statement or vintage, but apparently Grand Arôme is only used for unaged spirit. It was bottled by The Nectar of the Daily Drams for Crombé Wines and rum blogger Rum Robin.
Grand Arôme de la Baie du Galion (57%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams for Crombé Wines & Rum Robin 2021)
Nose: more funky than James Brown doing a cover of Stevie Wonder. All kinds of high-ester aromas like grasses and new plastics, with lots of black olive tapenade and anchovies. There’s a balsamic touch and overripe pineapple in the background. Quite pungent, with an eau-de-vie edge to it and hardly any wood. It’s a perfectly clear spirit anyway.
Mouth: same sharpness and funk, starting with salty liquorice, fresh grassy notes, black olives in brine. Light tarry notes. However after a few seconds it becomes unexpectedly fruity, showing peach liqueur and pineapple syrup, with a slightly synthetic bubblegum character but very nice nonetheless. I’m thinking funky Bellini…
Finish: very long, with a hint of pepper, basil leaves and some vegetal notes. A hint of anise as well.
A totally wacky rum, but so much fun! One for high-ester aficionados (Jamaican style) with the fruity burst on the palate adding a whole other dimension. One of the best new-make spirits I’ve tried, very interesting and recommended. Available for € 58 from Crombé.
Score: 89/100
We finish this very diverse series with a dyslectic Hampden distilled in 1998. Like the Caroni, this came from the Whisky Jury stocks where it was picked up by the great people at TastToe.
Mden 22 yo 1998 (57,2%, The Whisky Jury for TastToe 2021, refill barrel #5, 275 btl.)
Nose: lots of esters as well, albeit with a much bigger fruitiness. Fresh pineapples, unripe mango and plenty of bananas flambéed. Slightly candied, something of bergamot as well. Biscuity notes. On another level there’s the usual petrol, paint thinner, plasticine and light hints of olives and tar. Carpet glue as well. Well matured.
Mouth: a really heavy style, with a lot of liquorice, mentholated notes and spice. Nail varnish and more hints of diesel. Bananas in the background. Big fat Jamaican style. Green olives this time, with a hint of dark chocolate with sea salt as it goes down.
Finish: medium length, with returning fruits, some green spice and hints of glue.
Maybe it’s the line-up behind the crazy Galion, but this now feels relatively accessible for Hampden. I mean that as a compliment. Another great example of this distillery, with high complexity and a perfectly dosed funkiness. Long gone, I’m afraid.
Score: 90/100