Rum, Barbados

Founded in 1893 by George Stades, West Indies Rum Distillery is located in Brighton Beach in the parish of St Michael. Bought in March 2017 by Maison Ferrand, owned by Alexandre Gabriel, it now employs just over 100 people. Produced by double distillation in a John Dore pot still – Hot Pot installed in 2020, an exact replica of the original one, this particularly medicinal high esters version reaches far beyond its Caribbean borders. Packed with superb notes of agave, its aromatic and taste palette takes us to Mexico, more precisely to the Oaxaca region, where the finest mezcals are produced.

TASTING NOTES

Appearance: Gold supported.

Nose: Fine, exuberant. Peppery, almost spicy, lemony and honeyed (acacia), the aromatic palette evolves towards tones that are both exotic (banana, pineapple) and medicinal (arnica). On aeration, scents of cane sugar and Williams pear coexist harmoniously.

Palate: Lively, taut. Medicinal (aspirin), herbaceous (sugar cane) and milky (agave), the taste palette is very close to the world of mezcals. Very well-balanced, it gains in smoothness as it greedily unfurls juicy pineapple flavours.

Overall: long, loose. In the exotic, milky extension of the mouth, tasting evolves towards deliciously floral (cane flower) and vanilla (flan) registers. In retro olfaction, flavours of green licorice and fresh walnut gradually take over the taste space.