RumX recently released a bottling of Savanna rum. It is a Grand Arôme from the Savalle column still, with 664.6 g/hlap of esters. It underwent 17 years of tropical ageing on La Réunion, in an ex-cognac and ex-armagnac cask. After all these years it comes at a fierce 68.7% ABV.
They announced this already as the rum of 2026 which is quite a bold claim.
Savanna 17 yo ‘Grand Arôme’ 2007 (68,7%, OB for Rum-X 2025, ex-Cognac + ex-Armagnac cask #991, 445 btl.)
Nose: jumps out of the glass immediately. A lot of menthol, some volatile notes of diesel and light esters, as well as truckloads of spent banana peels. Also fermenting pineapple and a woody hint of cinnamon. In general a bit more oak than we’re used to in Savanna. In fact everything is dialed up to 11. Then some red fruit candy in the background, as well as raisins, vanilla sauce and stewed apple, which remind me of armagnac. A little tobacco, mocha and leathery notes too.
Mouth: wowza. It’s not often that I had to spit out a spirit – this is hot. Again very intense flavours, with a mix of esters and tannins making it totally mouth-coating. Lots of toasted notes and spices like ginger and pepper. Then back to sour pineapple, green olives, menthol and more of these red fruits / dried fruits (from the armagnac or cognac cask, I guess). Herbal liqueurs, green bananas, some floral hints and saline notes in the end.
Finish: very long, with bitter drops of Fernet-Branca, heavily steeped herbal tea, liquorice and lingering dark fruits. And more heat.
This was the loudest pupil in the classroom, if you know what I mean. They weren’t always my best friends and here as well, I have some difficulty to connect due to the alcohol. So there, a new benchmark in terms of intensity, that’s for sure. And also the best Savanna I’ve had so far. This will be released on April 18th, exclusively on RumX.