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Photo copyright © H.Kristoffersen
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A super funky, but much too demanding Bajan.
Information
Next in line for a review is another rum by Mr. Nagel from
Gasthaus im Brühl.
The Rum & Spirits Barbados 14 year old comes from West
Indies Rum Destillery, which is responsible for a lot of well known rums out
there.
Furthermore more and more independent bottlers turn to WIRD
for their own Bajan rums.
It was originally distilled in June 2000 and then matured
until December 2014, making it a 14 year old.
The rum has been matured first in Barbados and then in
Germany – but I haven’t been able to find out the amount of years spent in both
locations.
The barrel ended up revealing 100 bottles for Our Rum &
Spirits and then another 55 bottles which went to the facebook-group La
Confrérie du Rhum to create their Cuvée No. 1.
My review is based on a nice size sample supplied by Mr.
Nagel in early 2015.
Presentation
Presentation
The bottle arrives in a black cardboard enclosure, which
looks a lot like the standard ones you can buy and use when gifting somebody a
bottle of wine. The addition of a label is a nice touch though.
The 14 y.o. Bajan comes in a regular barroom bottle with a
(presumably) synthetic cork with a plastic stopper. The bottle is shaped a
little bit differently than the 24 y.o. Enmore I reviewed recently, with a
longer neck and not as thick a bottom.
The label is a duplicate of the one on the box, and it
contains all relevant details of the rum.
Name, origin, age, distillery, an ABV of 43% and the fact
that this rum is limited. In fact there only exists 100 bottles of this rum
making it a truly limited experience. However I have no information regarding
if the batch used has been sold to other indie bottlers.
The old style font and the nice beige colour of the label,
makes it all a very nice and clean presentation. If you have read my other
reviews you will know, that I like nice and clean.
A wise man once said to never judge a book by its cover,
but the Enmores presentation feels a little more ”premium” to me with its
different bottle and nice (yet slightly oversize) protective tube.
The rum it self is a very light and almost invisible straw
colour making it the lightest coloured rum I have ever tried.
In the glass the rum behaves rather lightly. A nice solid
ring appears and a lot of droplets move steadily down the glass.
Nose
Nose
My first impression was a very astringent nose. Perhaps even
a bit edgy.
Heavy smoke and burned oak are the initial dominators here,
and I get associations in the direction of heavily smoked and cured meat. Jerky
comes to mind, but the scents given off by the rum are way more extreme.
The background is made up of black pepper and spices.
There is a hint of vanilla in the mix, but it is struggling
to find its place in the jerky tsunami.
I find the nose a bit too aggressive and unbalanced. The
onslaught of smoked oak and dried meats makes the more subtle notes very hard
to find and enjoy.
Taste
Taste
The profile comes off as very light and dry.
The smoke and oak influences are very aggressive and
forthcoming, and seems to dominate the first many seconds.
Light liquorice and vanilla also join in and claim their
place. It seems that the lighter flavours have an easier time making them selves
heard on the palate than in the nose.
Towards the end I was suddenly treated with subtle banana
peel.
All in all a very funky palate, but I do find it a little
unsmooth and unbalanced.
Finish
Finish
The finish is quite long and still dominated by the burned
oak.
The heat levels are very pleasant and keeps the winter cold
away.
The liquorice is allowed to stay on the the encores.
In the end burned pencils and a slight buzz of spices on the
tongue, are all that is left.
Just before it all ends there was suddenly a short wave of
coconut and banana peel, before it quickly revered to the burned pencils and
spice.
Rating and final thoughts
Rating and final thoughts
Not my favorite kind of sipper, but a very interesting rum
indeed. There is no question about the artisanal nature of this rum.
The palate was very demanding, but also quite funky.
The finish pleasantly warm and long, and the coconut surprise
was a welcoming change.
However I found the over all experience too unbalanced and a
bit too aggressive for my taste.
I don’t see my self going for this rum on a casual tuesday.
It is way too demanding for that.
I have still to try this rum and the La Confrérie du Rhum
Cuvée No. 1 side by side to see if they are identical. It will definitely be a
project for the future.
Even though the rational me really wants to enjoy this, I
feel it demands too much of an effort from me. It is more a struggle than a
pleasure, and the extraordinary palate funk and the coconut surprise finish is
not enough to make up for it.
That is why I can't go above average…
Rating: 62/100
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