Providence Rum pt2 - uncasked
Following last week's review of 4 cask aged Providence rums, it's only natural that I wrap things up with a look at these three bottlings. Fresh, delicious, Haitian cane juice rum that has not spent any time in wood.
Cristalline sugar cane, grown by Michel Sajous in Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye. Used both as fresh pressed juice, and as a reduced syrup. Double distilled, first through a 380L Muller alambic still to 25/30%. Then through a large 1500L still with 4 plates to 72%.
Please see last week's article (here) for a more detailed overview of this amazing distillery and how it came about.
Three drams of pure, clear cane juice rum. 30ml of each, left to breathe for 20mins, nosed first, then tasted, in the order of the lead photo. Assisted today by Wilder Woods. Check out 'Devil in My Eyes' from his latest album - a cracker!
Providence First Drops was the distillery’s first production. Unaged rum distilled from syrup and fresh cane juice. The sugar cane is the Cristalline variety, grown by Michel Sajous in Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye, 150 km north of Port-au-Prince.
Fermentations were carried out separately with fresh juice and syrup that ferment for 10 to 12 days in wooden vats using selected yeasts. They are then distilled separately in a Müller still, with consultation from the maestro Gianni Capovilla. The resulting distillates were then blended in a ratio of 85-90% syrup / 10-15% fresh juice, and distilled a second time. The final distillate left the still at 72% and was reduced to 57% for bottling.
Nose: Bright, sweet tropical funk. Lively. Pepper, strawberry, elderflower, fresh cane honey. Mouthwatering dry meaty notes.
Mouth: Candied peppery strawberry. Dry, slightly salted pineapple slices. And old pineapple juice with some thyme floating in it. Cane honey. A little mint and olive at the end [88+pts]
Produced from just the reduced syrup of Cristalline cane, to which “vinasse” (called “dunder” in English) from previous distillations was added. Double distilled to a strength of about 73% and then progressively reduced to 56% for bottling.
Nose: Drier. Smokey meat. Guava. Burnt brulee sugar. Deep musky notes.
Mouth: Surprisingly creamy. Summer currants. Herb and vegetal. Savoury, nutty & buttery. Very moreish. Classy, elegant, and beautiful. Finish is not quite as indulgent as 'first drops' but 100% another cracker [88pts]
100% Cristalline cane from Saint-Michel-de-l'Attalaye. Distilled for the first time between 25% and 30% in a 380-litre Müller direct-fire still, and a second time to 72% in a 1500-litre Müller still. A tribute to the aromas of Haiti. Distilled in 2021, rested, and bottled in 2022. A co-dependent bottling produced in collaboration with Habitation Velier. [289 g/hlpa esters]
Nose: More saline, less fruit, paint and marker pen. Clemantine juice and peel. Salted chilli & lemon seasoning.
Mouth: Spicy. Dry. Imagine dry Dr Pepper. More bbq meat. Dried salted meat. Chillies. A pleasant amount of astringency. Picked lime, and tanginess that grows on you. [85+pts]
Conclusion:
Don't expect wild Clairin. Don't compare this to Clairin at all.
Elegant, top shelf white sipping rum - that also makes a killer 'ti punch! My preference is for the two estate bottlings but the HV is growing on me too. Incredible rums that I would recommend to anyone!
It has been several years since we last saw a new batch of unaged rum from Providence, probably due to the turmoil and significant challenges confronting the Haitian people, which have made travel and trade on the island nearly impossible. We can only hope for better times for these wonderful people and their beautiful island.
Coming soon ... no idea! I think it's some New Yarmouth bottlings :-) Living between the UK and Madeira, with stuff everywhere, is challenging to say the least.
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