The Duchess - Guadeloupe 19 yo - 54.9% abv.
Updated: Dec 27, 2018
Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 1 - The Duchess - Guadeloupe 19 yo - 54.9% abv.
So it’s December 1st, which means the countdown to Christmas is on! Whether you celebrate the holiday season or not, many use these 24 days to give themselves a treat each day leading up to the big event. In recent years, rum advent calendars have become a delightful way of tasting a wide range of new products and getting to know the world of rum a little better. Personally, I have known quite a few people who have had their rum interests sparked through just such calendars. While this year I did not purchase an advent calendar myself, I thought I could contribute to the world of rum by writing a rum-review-a-day over the next 24 days.
Some of these may be familiar faces, while I hope that others are new for many of you.
Let’s start it off with a bang!
The Duchess - Guadeloupe 19 yo - 54.9% abv.
I chose to start with this bottle as I think that it is one of the most interesting rums I have tasted this year. ***More detailed description of the production (including distillery) will be updated once a consensus has been reached. Although it is stated on the bottle that it was distilled at Bellevue - suggesting column based Agricole - it was been indicated that it is in fact a Damoiseau molasses based rum.*** This rum has spent the majority of its 19 years in barrel continentally at Main Rum Company in Liverpool before being bottled in 2017 by Netherlands-based The Duchess brand.
On the nose this juice is rich! It starts off with dried dark fruits. Cherries, plums, prunes and raisins. Burnt brown sugar and candied apples. The apples notes are almost rotten and sour, which somehow balances out the quite forward petrol and rubber notes. Plumes of charred wood, chocolate, tobacco and heaps of leather going on here as well. Its like walking around a rodeo in some sort of post-apocalyptic steam-punk world while sipping on fresh pressed apple cider. The nose on this is a trip and a half!
On the taste, the instant petrol ignites your palate the second it hits your tongue, followed shortly after by fresh cracked black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and…rubber. Like drinking a festive, spicy punch out of a pair of rain boots. Fruity aspects are there, but again dried dark fruits and bruised red apples. A fair amount of nuttiness, dominated by almonds, blends seamlessly with the beautiful oaky and almost smokey notes coming from the 19 years spent in barrel. There’s something about this rum that reminds me of the Caronis that I hold so dear.
Bottled at 54.9% abv., there is obviously a little bit of heat, although I find it incredibly well balanced. For me, water has no business coming anywhere near this one in my sipping glass. The finish is loooooooooooooonggggggg, bold, heavy and elegant. I am left with a delightful taste of caramel-covered apple-cinnamon ice cream.
This is a good one folks. Very happy it found its way into my home!
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