Whether in Guadeloupe, or even elsewhere, Reimonenq is everywhere. With a stock of old rum that largely exceeds a thousand barrels, few distilleries offer so many aged rums and vintages; it is therefore not surprising to find some in blends from other distilleries (devoid of stock), even if propriety (and money) religiously imposes silence. But we also find Reimonenq via small independent bottlers (or wine merchants), including Rhum House and JB labat in Switzerland. A very good way to taste less classic degrees, with, below, 47, 56.7 and 52.6°.

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Rhum House Vintage 2008

According to the bottler's information, this rum was put into barrels in January 2008 at the Reimonenq distillery in Guadeloupe, then was sent to Geneva on 22/10/2011 in the original barrel (56%) before being bottled on 03/07/2013 and reduced to 47% (in 300 bottles of 50cl).

We are therefore faced with a rum that has aged between 3 and 4 years at the distillery, then almost 2 more years in Switzerland.

In the glass we find an amber rum, bright, rather oily and with moderately thick legs.

It needs to air out for several -long- minutes before revealing its full palette. Notes of fruit, candied, peach candy (sweetened jelly candies), soft caramel, but also vegetal (fresh grass), candied citrus zest (lemon) there too, and a bunch of spices (cinnamon, cardamom), dried tobacco leaves, and all… chocolatey. We find the exuberance of the Reimonenq, it goes in all directions, but with more pep, the 47° making the whole thing less sickening than usual. We are on a more sober rum and more marked by the barrel, more grilled too, more roasted.

The attack is soft, fat and very rich; we find fruits, citrus fruits, mint and very present oak (grilled and caramelized wood), and even a persistent smoky taste (as if burnt, and even braised). All in a mixture that is more like a kind of resin, increasingly woody, burnt and peppery.

The finish is very long, on the same notes: first the sweetness of candied fruits, then the wood, toasted, and the peppery and sustained spices, before returning to woody and vegetal notes (herbs).

The nose is very nice, faithful to what Remonenq can usually offer, with a degree that gives enough strength to avoid nausea. In the mouth, it is rich and goes in all directions, but perhaps too marked by the barrel, with in the background all the same what we like so much about Reimonenq. It is good but it lacks balance. Note: 85

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Rhum House Vintage 2007

This time, the rum was put into barrels in January 2007 at Reimonenq, then sent to Geneva on 08/20/2013 in the original barrel (200 liters at 56.7%) and taken out of the barrel on 03/17/2014 at natural strength (200 bottles of 50cl). This rum was therefore aged in Guadeloupe for between 6 and 7 years, then an additional 7 months in Switzerland.

We are on a strictly identical color as for the 2008, nothing more, nothing less.

On the nose, it is much less exuberant than the previous one, more contained, and for good reason: the high alcohol content blocks the entry a little. We find the vegetal, caramelized side, and still marked by the barrel, but it is difficult to go beyond and get past the 56.7°, which seem to close the nose instead of making it explode with everything we expect from Reimonenq. A good dose of rest will bring it some rounder and more gourmet notes of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate. Time is its ally, but the alcohol remains too present, breaking the atmosphere.

The attack is oily, rich, and very powerful; wood and spices have a field day, a salty/iodized side, and the fruits that bring a little sweetness but it remains strongly spicy (peppery, spicy), woody (pencil shavings), less resinous but still oily and melted; it crescendoes in the fire in the mouth, but it is hot…too much. The finish is long, persistent on the same notes, always powerful and…woody.

Well below the 2008, because the alcohol is really too dominant for it to be really enjoyable, at least for a Reimonenq. It is powerful yes, but power is not everything, quite the contrary, it annihilates the aromas here, and the 56.7° do not seem well integrated… Note: 80

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Reimonenq by JB Labat (2009)

This rum comes to us from a shop located in Zurich (JB Labat) which directly brings barrels from Guadeloupe and bottles them directly in the shop. This rum was distilled in 2009 then bottled in 2014, after having aged for a year in Switzerland in a small barrel made for the occasion.

So we have 4 years of aging in Guadeloupe (in a 200l barrel) and 1 year in Switzerland (and more precisely half of the original barrel 11 months in Zurich in a 100l barrel made for the occasion, by hand, from Jamaica or Guyana). For a rum with an alcohol content of 52.6°.

Amber color, bronze highlights, oily appearance.

The nose is rather dry and buttery, and the impact of the barrel (dry wood) is once again very present. We are far from the usual madness of Reimonenq, it is more sober, and we inevitably expect more, especially with 52.6° on the counter. It is vegetal (grass, lemongrass), with anise, white chocolate. The rest seems to highlight a smoky woody side, slightly liquorice. And with a little more rest, red fruits (grenadine). The nose gradually transforms, to finally become interesting.

The palate is warm and creamy, oily, concentrated and tonic, and quickly very spicy. A sap mixing herbs, liquorice and spices, even becoming spicy and spicy. Exotic fruits are also there, ripe to the point, and bring sweetness to the whole. The finish is gourmet and vegetal, excessively long, enhanced by spices (licorice, chili, Tabasco) and a slight bitterness (tobacco leaf).

A nose that takes a long time to emerge, but a powerful and long mouth and finish that makes the difference. Less alcoholic than the Rhum House selections, we find all that Reimonenq has to offer best, with the added bonus of a powerful and characterful mouth, spicy and more raw, but still a bit too powerful. Note: 83

Very interesting tastings, which strangely suggest that Reimonenq is never as much Reimonenq as with much more classic bottlings, at a lower alcohol content. These examples of cask strength and high alcohol content do not seem to suit it so well, delivering a packet of wood and spices, all in power and with a certain astringency that leaves you hungry.

To help you (and me) find your way around, regarding the notes:

90 and + : exceptional and unique rum, it is the best of the best
between 85 and 89 : highly recommended rum, with that little something that makes the difference
between 80 and 84 : recommendable rum
75-79 POINTS : above average
70-74 POINTS : in the low average
less than 70 : not very good

Review courtesy of DuRhum.com.

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