This Damoiseau comes from a single year's harvest: 2009. It benefited from plenty of sunshine. The canes were bursting with sugar.
The rum has been aged for at least 7 years in 220-liter American oak barrels. It is a brut de fût: bottled without reduction.
Nico's tasting notes
Summary: full-bodied - nuts - toasted woody - medicinal - herbaceous
On the nose, like other bruts de fût, this rum needs time and opening. Indeed, the alcohol blocks the aromas a little at first. The nuts are fine and dusty, escaping in rather pungent, ethereal vapors. Gradually, these same nuts spread out and become fuller and fatter. They are roasted and even toasted, as is the wood of the barrel, whose charred surface can even be smelled, and which in turn releases its aromas of roasted nuts.
After aeration, the profile remains full-bodied. Roasted nuts still reign supreme, though they slowly gain fat and softness. The juicy zest of an orange sometimes splashes onto the wood, which then softens and releases notes of caramel, vanilla, licorice or even melted tannins.
With a few drops of water in the rum, straw and a vegetal spiciness enrich the palette.
On the palate, the rum is powerful but enveloping, with no burn (provided you don't take a big swig). The roasted nuts are there, of course, and the woodiness is well charred, with a touch of caramel and dark, licorice-like molasses.
With a little water, the profile changes more radically than on the nose. The vegetal turn is clearer, with licorice and its medicinal side, as well as aromatic herbs such as rosemary, developing and now leaving the glass without complexes.
The finish is herbaceous, with dry aromatic herbs (thyme) and greasier ones (rosemary).
"This brut de fût is not easy to grasp, but with time and perhaps a little water, it will reveal its herbaceous gourmand character..."
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