Damoiseau Cuvée Subprime 2008 47,9°° (47.9°)

Damoiseau Cuvée Subprime 2008 is a vintage from the 2008 harvest alone. Placed in 220-liter ex-bourbon oak barrels in 2008, it was bottled at the end of 2015 and is therefore 7 years old.

Nico's tasting notes

On the nose, the Damoiseau distillery once again demonstrates its ability to offer extremely varied profiles. This is a rather vegetal rum, with notes of pine, fern, olive and resinous undergrowth. In the same spirit, there's a good blend of aromatic herbs (thyme, rosemary) and fresh spices (cumin, aniseed). The nose is not overly suave, but rather pointed and tenuous. Olive and raisin add body and thickness, in the manner of a heavy rum (a "heavy rum" is one that is full of aromas). A hint of strawberry candy stealthily flatters the nostrils.
Aeration doesn't fundamentally alter the nose, except that the vegetal flavors soften slightly, and are caught up in the honey. There's also more room for cane. The rum is still powerful, generous and spicy. It's the passage of time that rounds it out more and more: the Guadeloupean typicity strengthens, in parallel with the vegetal side. The milk chocolate and candied fruit don't try to mask the licorice and anise, but the brioche, gingerbread and stewed fruit (apple, pear, apricot) reinforce the pastry character.

The palate is deep and concentrated. We have plum brandy, prune and black licorice (zan). The texture is mellow and full-bodied, and the flavors of olive and very ripe exotic fruit once again steer us towards a rather heavy rum. Caraway seed is the last survivor of a vegetal side that hasn't totally given up. Despite an intense start, the flavors fade fairly quickly.

On the finish, while the intensity drops off fairly quickly, the persistence of candied fruit and prunes in brandy keeps us savoring this rum for a long time to come.

"Free and beyond clichés, this rum tackles different registers for a rich and interesting tasting..."