Compagnie des Indes Bélize 13 ans is a molasses rum from the country's largest distillery. This small Central American state has the distinction of being covered by dense jungle, yet close to the Caribbean Sea. The sugar cane grown here is of excellent quality. The workers who grow and harvest it are paid according to fair trade principles.
This isn't the first time La Compagnie des Indes has bottled a rum from Belize. And it's fair to say that each release has been a great success. This time we have a rum distilled in February 2007, aged in bourbon casks for 13 years, and bottled in September 2020. This single cask has not been reduced. It is therefore a brut de fût, limited to 285 copies.
Nico's tasting notes
The nose is immediately marked by a fine concentration, with a solvent pass that shows a fine willingness to carry the rum to the top. The toasty woodiness is also resolute, but shows no angular or sharp facet. It's intense, roasted, but its enthusiasm leaves no room for aggressiveness.
Aeration shows us once again how impatient this rum is to show us its delicacy. It sends us a dense, perfectly cooked caramel, which coats nuts with fatty, white flesh. When we finally give in to its charm, it takes us on a wave of hazelnut chocolate paste.
On the palate, the high degree of alcohol ensures a punchy but not pungent or burning entry. After a hint of herbs, the rum surprises with its fluidity and slightly hurried character at first. Then it becomes clear that the rum has hurried to the back of the palate, where it puts on a show, showering the taste buds with a paste of nuts and caramelized wood, bursting with coconut and vanilla.
The final was a forgiving one, with no forceful comebacks to be deplored.
"A fine concentration on the nose, for a rum that is quick to deliver its flavors..."
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