Deadhead 6 ans is a blend of an agricultural rum distilled twice in copper stills and aged in American oak barrels, and a molasses rum distilled in columns and aged in highly burnt American oak and Mexican oak from Chiapas.
The Master Distiller carries out the blending before bottling.
The bottle itself is highly original: it depicts a "Tsantsa", a shrunken head according to the ancient custom of the Jivaros Indians.
Nico's tasting notes
On the nose, we have a fairly simple rum with a hint of alcohol that quickly dissipates on notes of vanilla. The whole seems rather sweet, with hints of brown sugar, cooked sugar and vanilla. Nuts combine with this sweetness to evoke nougat. Then the smoky register comes in spectacularly, with roasted coffee and toasty woodiness. This woodiness then seems wetter, as if soaked in coffee, and then molasses comes into sharper focus.
Aerating the rum by sliding it down the sides of the glass won't particularly alter the aromatic profile, except that it seems a little darker, blacker. The toasty woodiness now seems close to charring, as does the coffee, which is now nicely toasted.
The attack on the palate is very light, even discreet. Roasted aromas, led by dark caramel, quickly take over the taste buds. This gives an astringent quality that once again recalls charcoal. Roasted nuts (walnut, hazelnut) add thickness before a wave of spice warms the whole mouth.
On the finish, spices invade the entire palate, the strength of cloves and white pepper numbing the tongue.
