Chamarel produces two very distinct styles of rum: premium rum using continuous distillation in a barbet column, and double-distilled rum using discontinuous distillation in a pot still. Aged in French Oak casks for at least six years to create Chamarel’s famous XO, which consists of approximately 70% column still and 30% pot still, this rum was taken one step further with an additional three and a half years of aging in a second-fill Sauternes cask.
Tropical Aging > 8 years
Highveld Aging > 10 Months
Tasting Notes
Profile: Spicy rum meets decadent, fruity, dessert wine.
Colour: Deep Marigold!
Nose: A familiar Chamarel spice but layered with sticky and boozey fruits. Peaches, apricot jam and stewed nectarines (this must be where the stickiness comes from). Marmalade (the one with the sliced orange skins), tobacco leaf, the dust of a crop that has been freshly harvested, and dry guava roll. Roast chicken skin, seasoned with rosemary and lots of salt. My, my, something is waiting to open up.
Palate: Leads with a thick, mouthcoating nectar that is very juicy and then all is revealed, an explosion of powerful spices that is big and long. Clove, nutmeg, star anise and perhaps cardamon pod. Christmas has come early this year.
Finish: Big wood spice notes, dried fruits, with a hint of the sweet Sauternes always lingering in the back. Chamarel’s traditional character and spirit signature ever present.