Rum means one thing to me: truffles. Squishy spheres of chocolate goodness, coated in chocolate vermicelli. Actually, rum means two things: truffles and Mojitos. Maybe you could add pirates to that. So, yes, rum makes me think of three things: truffles, Mojitos and pirates.
The point is that I’m no rum connoisseur; my main adjective for describing rum would be “rummy”. So, I took a couple of hours on Friday night to get to know rum better. That’s how I found myself in a candle-lit wine cellar, beneath the wonderful Nickolls and Perks Independent Wine Merchants, surrounded by others equally intrigued about the Caribbean spirit.
Bruce Perry from Eaux de Vie was our guide to what he described as the “shark infested waters” of rum drinking. Unlike many spirits, rum has no official governing body, meaning that unscrupulous makers can add all sorts of dodgy flavourings and colourings. It was useful to discover that colour does not indicate quality, my innocent rum brain would have instantly equated a dark caramel colour to a mature and sophisticated drink – it is simply isn’t so.
We began by tasting two not-so-good rums; they were pretty close to my expectations of what rum tastes like – caramel sweet, thin and with an overwhelming vanilla aroma. The purpose of these “pirate rums” was to illustrate how additives can mask bad natural flavours. The true flavour of rum is developed during fermentation, but many companies take short cuts.
With the bad examples out of the way, we began to taste seven rums from the Mezan range. Each rum had been distilled to 40% proof, which Bruce explained delivered the best balance of flavours. They had also be gauze filtered – which apparently conserves the flavours better than chill or paper filtering methods.
The tasting was structured as a “Single Malt Lover’s Guide to Rum”, with analogies being drawn between the flavour profiles of whiskies and the rums. Bruce was adamant that good rum should be drunk neat.
Our first rum was from Grenada and dated back to 1998. It had a delicate and subtle flavour, reminiscent of a Lowland whisky. The rum had been aged in bourbon barrels from Kentucky, which came through in the taste. It was immediately clear that these rums where something completely different to what I’d previously experienced.
Rum number two was when I got really excited. The Mezan Guyana 1998 had a bold and creamy flavour that made me think of Christmas cake. My notes for this rum simply read “I LIKE THIS A LOT”.
My rum love affair was short-lived, as rum number three was rather more challenging. The 1990 Guyana tasted like chewing on sawdust. Some brave folk loved it; I could barely get to the bottom of the glass. The sawdust flavour came from the wooden stills used for the distillation; the results were undeniably “interesting”.
Rum number four was definitely better than number three. The Mezan Trinidad 1991 had a spicy, creamy and rich taste, though the smell was reminiscent of burnt rubber. That said, I quite liked it.
By this point, I had drunk six rums. This is reflected in the increasingly erratic nature of my note taking. After rum number four, they are peppered with random capitalisation and multiple question marks. At least I managed to continue taking notes, small drunken triumphs and all that.
I vaguely recall quite liking rum number five. The fact that my notes read “rummmmmmmmmm” supports this view – that or I sat on my phone. My notes also inform me that the Mezan Panama 1995 was the Highland Park of rums and a real crowd pleaser. It was very smooth and well balanced.
The tasting ended with two Jamaican rums, each with gutsy and pungent flavours. They were the sort of spirit that you could quaff at the end of a meal, in place of a whisky or brandy.
The tasting was an eye-opener and Bruce was an engaging and informative guide. It was clear that Mezan are on a mission to change perceptions of rum and establish an artisanal approach to the spirit. There was a real diversity in the flavours and each rum had its own idiosyncratic qualities.
Whilst rum may never reach the refined reputation of single malt, it is still a sophisticated and intriguing spirit. Drinking it neat unlocks a host of flavours that mixers drown out.
Rum is so much more than truffles, Mojitos and pirates. It is subtlety, spice, strength, sawdust, fruitiness, creaminess...
...and a bad head the next morning
Image by Jen Evans for BitchBuzz.com.