Bally Art Déco Batch 2 43.5°° (43.5°)

Bally Art Déco Batch 2 is the second edition of a collection featuring the iconic J.Bally pyramid bottle. This cuvée is a celebration of an era that revolutionized the world of agricultural rum. Indeed, it was in the 1920s that Jacques Bally, influenced by his fellow distillers in mainland France, produced the first true vintage rums from Martinique.

This AOC Martinique agricultural rum is made from pure cane juice. It is distilled in a Creole column at the Saint James distillery. 1999, 2006 and 2007 are the 3 vintages blended for this limited cuvée.

Nico's tasting notes

On the nose, we discover a mature, woody and serious rhum agricole, not without a certain greediness, giving us a nice balance right from the start. Dried fruit intermingles with fatty nuts, like hazelnut or peanut paste.

Aeration brings out a lovely bouquet of precious spices, which hand in hand with elegant woodiness, give us a lovely cigar-box impression. The cane juice then comes to the fore, mature and candied, taking on hints of dried fruit and jam.

The palate is just as elegant as the nose, with a healthy dose of greediness. Dried fruits such as apricot and prune stick to the palate and roll off slowly, giving us a concentrated fruit paste. The woodiness is round and softly spicy, just right to underline a cane juice steeped in mature fruit.

The finish is punctuated by a touch of candied citrus zest.

"A very fine second batch, which contrasts with the first with a rounder, greedier style..."

In comparison, the Bally Art Déco batch 1 had a woodier nose, but above all was more tannic, fresh and resinous, although spices and cigar-box-style wood were the common thread between the two editions. On the palate, tannins and freshness were also the order of the day, and fruit was less tropical and ripe.