The Brothers of the Coast La Palma La Isla Bonita n°4 62.5°

Les Frères de la Côte La Palma La Isla Bonita n°4 is a pure organic cane juice rum from La Palma, a Spanish Canary Island located off the northwest coast of Africa. It is produced at the Aldea distillery by the Quevedo family.

The rum was distilled and aged for 15 years in solera in French oak barrels that had previously contained Spanish wine. It was then loaded aboard the motorless cargo ship "Tres Hombres" in 2 ex-Porto Tawny casks. The rum then enjoyed 7 months of dynamic ageing at sea around the Atlantic, followed by a further 10 months in the Frères de la Côte cellar in Stéphane.

Bottling took place in May 2022 in numbered, waxed, hand-sealed bottles, sealed with a Cabestan knot in homage to sailors. A total of 900 bottles were bottled brut de fût, without reduction or additives.

Nico's tasting notes

The nose is initially dominated by a firm, roasted woodiness that shows prominent angles, adorned with heavily roasted walnuts and pecans. The distillery's coppery vapors have invited themselves onto the journey, bringing an air both metallic and smoky.

With aeration, the roast and copper begin to melt into the background, without giving up. The roasted walnuts are there too, eventually forming a woody, highly concentrated maple syrup.

On the palate, the heavily roasted nuts are burning at the edge of the fire, releasing flavors of black coffee and licorice. The distillery's boiler is not far away, combining sensations with aromas, giving the impression of a coppery, slightly metallic liquid.

On the finish, the rum's decidedly dark, mineral character leaves a surprisingly rounded imprint.

"A batch 4 clearly influenced by roasting..."

This batch n°4 of La Isla Bonita differs significantly from batch n°2 and batch n°3, which focused above all on very delicious aromas of cooked cane juice. Here, it is truly the strongly toasted wood that is highlighted, the previous batches offering a just toasted woodiness which was detailed with notes of caramel.