For years, Martinique’s Rhum Depaz has been making among the Caribbean’s most extraordinary rums, largely because of its spectacular terroir on the base of the island’s imposing Mont Pelee volcano.
When you’ve adopted these pages, you’ve seen us swoon over expressions like its seminal VSOP, or the outstanding Cuvee Status, the latter being a former Rhum Agricole of the 12 months.
The corporate has for a lot of the final decade had an impressive, steady assortment of aged rums (to not point out its fabulous rhum blanc expressions), centered across the conventional French categorizations, from VO to VSOP to XO and a few beautiful port finishes.
The previous few years have seen one thing totally different. Depaz has begun to launch new, smaller batch rums, from small casks to new agings.
The most recent one is especially fascinating.
It’s known as the Cuvee Volutes, volutes being the French phrase for “spirals” — as in, the spirals of smoke that come whereas smoking a nice cigar.
And that’s exactly the purpose of this new expression: it’s a rhum agricole explicitly designed for pairing with a cigar. (Consider it because the French Caribbean model of Havana Membership’s well-known Union rum, which was made for having fun with with a Cohiba).
It’s an XO, that means a mix with a minimal of six years of growing old (although largely excess of that), however what’s fascinating right here is the mix goes by means of three phases: first resting in ex-bourbon casks, then virgin American oak, then single malt whisky casks.
The result’s distinctive. The nostril has notes of stone fruit, sea salt and raspberry; the flavour profile is marked by confectioner’s sugar, smoked sea salt, peat, dried fruit and caramel.
It’s a pliant but tenacious rum that stands up nicely with a cigar, one way or the other deepening because the smoke goes on. Depaz’s unmistakable minerality, rooted in its volcanic-soil cane, marries effortlessly with the earthiness of a cigar, on this case a Davidoff Nicaragua box-pressed toro.
As you sip it with the cigar, it simply retains getting higher. Identical to Rhum Depaz.
Rum Journal Ranking: 95 Factors
