Here we are in Guadeloupe, where the shared history of the Longueteau family and rum dates back to 1895; at that time, a certain Louis-Philippe Henry Longueteau - who was then working at the Sainte-Martine plantation - bought the Espérance estate at auction, and replaced the sugar factory with a distillery. Then in the 1940s, he acquired the small Mon Repos distillery, whose first bottlings (and exports) date back to the 1950s. Mon Repos ceased its activity in 1962, but the rum continued to be produced by the Espérance distillery, merging with the Longueteau bottlings, which were still quite confidential at the time, despite their rather original labels.

At that time, Mon Repos rums enjoyed a much greater reputation on the local market, and it was not until the early 1980s that the situation was dramatically reversed: the distillery decided to bottle a bad rum so as not to lose a harvest, and left a lasting impression on its consumers. Even today, more than 30 years later, Mon Repos is considered a poor quality rum in the minds of consumers. A fatal error, but one that would give Longueteau rums the opportunity to put themselves forward a little more, and to stand out from their big sister. At the end of the 1980s, Longueteau released white rum, an amber rum and an old rum, and even if the quantities were not yet very large, the machine was launched.

Longueteau is developing slowly but surely, but the situation remains complicated, and the rum is not yet as appreciated as it is today. At the beginning of the 2000s, the family distillery is about to be sold to Bernard Hayot, but François Longueteau senior, who has worked there since 1979, refuses to see his family heritage slip away. After very long negotiations and the last-minute withdrawal of Bernard Hayot, he goes into debt for life to buy the distillery. The stated objective is total autonomy: the banana fields make way for sugar cane, and the distillery is powered exclusively by the Domaine's cane. François even becomes the exclusive owner of the machines used to harvest the sugar cane, a rather rare case in the world of agricultural rum. From there, they have to move forward, plant, harvest, distill, meet the significant demand for white rum, while seeking to improve in the aging of rums, something quite new for them.

François Longueteau père is considered today as the only farmer, master distiller and owner of a rum in Guadeloupe. On the distillation side, a Savalle column of 28 copper and stainless steel trays produces a rum between 70 and 80%.

Luca Gargano's Rum Atlas mentions a stock of 100 barrels, for a very wide range of products that includes: an amber, a spicy, a select (for bartenders), a VS, a VSOP, an XO, a great reserve vintage 2004 and a 120th anniversary cuvée, white rums at 50, 55 and 62° in addition to a 120th anniversary edition, another edition for the rum route, 3 single-plot rums, and 11 punches. Let's stop our biblical journey here, and head towards more dreamlike horizons...

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Longueteau VS / 42°

This is a blend of rums over 3 years old, aged in oak barrels that previously contained Cognac. On average, and depending on the distillery, there are in this bottle: 40% 3-year-old rums, 30% 4-year-old rums, 20% 5-year-old rums and 10% 6-year-old rums. The blend recipe will change significantly from one year to the next and according to the wishes of its owners.

The color is a classy amber, deep and very shiny; a crown of fine droplets forms, from which thick tears slowly descend.

On the nose, it is initially fine and quite delicate, with reminiscences of a time gone by, of candy rum, and a rather cooked vesou. There is a finely vanilla and even roasted woodiness, and notes of dried fruits (prune) and exotic fruits (pineapple, coconut). The rum offers a lot of indulgence, and the Cognac barrel surely presses a little more on the roundness cursor. The rest reveals balsamic notes, notes of almond paste and dried apricot, and occasionally soft caramel and zan, in addition to a persistent vanilla. The nose even becomes a little more 'loaded', losing class to the detriment of an apparent heaviness, not without evoking Reimonenq and its 'candy' rums.

On the palate, the entry is very soft and slightly oily, and the rum immediately gives a woody tone, mixing black liquorice with notes of cinnamon, and dried fruits (prune, raisin), banana. The aromas are heavy, like jammy, caramelized. There is also a brown of freshness, a vegetal side that gives more dimension to the mouth. The finish is long, once again on a roasted, grilled woodiness, a good dose of liquorice and marking the return of dried fruits, and a very refreshing menthol taste.

A VS rum with a loaded but rather pleasant nose, which evolves towards dark notes of liquorice and red fruits. In the mouth, despite a beautiful simplicity, it always becomes a little darker and fatter, where one would expect more -from an agricultural rum- complexity and richness. But it does not demerit for all that. Note: 83

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Longuetau Old Rum / 42°

90s version of Longueteau's old rum. 3 years minimum, and maybe 6 years maximum. A rum that will be released after the Mon Repos scandal, and which marks the entry of Longueteau rum into the big leagues.

We dive into a bright, amber dress, always deep and classy, ​​which gives way to sinuous and nonchalant legs. The lady is in no hurry, but surely has a lot to offer.

On the nose, lots of dried fruits, and a rather heavy and loaded exoticism, broken: papaya, very ripe and close to excess, banana, withered peach, with this heavy and harsh smell of overripe fruits (astringency). Cinnamon and vanilla notes flatter the weight of age, and a woody note just emerging and still fresh, and a few grams of cocoa.

On the palate it is soft and rather oily, warm, with notes of liquorice, dried fruits and oak. It appears rather concentrated and creamy, a little acidic too. The finish is moderately long, with a cane that is always perceptible, warmly spicy, with zan and dried fruits.

It's surprising to taste the VS and this old rum from the 90s together: the VS seems more charming and like 'tinkered', on soft caramel and zan, like more artificial (but far from being unpleasant), and reinforces a little more the marked similarities with old ones from Reimonenq, a neighboring distillery. This rum from the 90s is very far from the VS, light years away even. On the other hand, the mouth of this old Longueteau is more oily and even honeyed; marked differences between the two in any case. Note: 81

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Longueteau XO /°

A vintage composed of old rums aged in oak barrels that previously contained cognac. Composed of "70% 8-year-old rum, 20% 9-year-old rum and 10% 10-year-old rum" . So younger than the 2004 vintage, it is a pure blend, which may also taste different from one year to the next.

Amber color, tending towards bronze, shiny and oily; the tears are thick and here also very sluggish.

On the nose, if the VS could already evoke Reimonenq, this XO only drives the point home, and rather deeply. It looks a lot like it and the similarities are very disturbing. In this specific case, your nose and your palate will be the best judges, and I invite you to make the comparison.

A nose Gourmand, opulent, excessive in all that is enjoyable: a sort of luxuriant, syrupy mixture, mixing candied fruits, broken exotics (banana), even jam (cherry jam), and caramel, sweet and warm spices, and a carnal vegetal. An identity so strong, and so unique that a blind tasting would be fatal to more than one amateur.

On the palate, the same impression of mimicry, but so good (in small doses, that is): lush, sweet and at the same time very fresh. exoticism, caramel and gourmandise, oak and a rather syrupy and honeyed mouth, and resolutely gourmand. Cinnamon, wild and refreshing herbs, and a mouth…sweet

The finish is not very long and literally breaks on a rather dry and sweet end which does not forgive, breaking the magic a little.

The impression of drinking an hors d'âge from Reimonenq, same markers, no difference except perhaps the packaging, and the price. Already knowing the Reimonenq rums voluntarily sweetened (the RQL reserve was measured at 26gr/L of sugar, and most recently the 9 year old Prestige at 19 gr), it was interesting to see if Longueteau was in the same case; because if Reimonenq adds sugar and Longueteau has the taste - and an aromatic profile very close to - Reimonenq, the presence of sugar could - at least - give a clue, even a slight one.

So I sent a sample of Longueteau XO to Marcus Stock of the German group Der Rum-Club . He was able to take a measurement using a professional densimeter (Anton Paar Snap50). Longueteau XO was measured at 14g of sugar per liter. Whereas the old Longueteau rum from the 90s contains nothing (to compare like with like). Of course this does not mean the assurance of an additional family link with Reimonenq, but the result may seem disturbing, provided that we are interested in it. Note: 85

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Longueteau Grande Réserve 2004 / 42°

Barreled in March 2004 and bottled in 2014, after 10 years of aging in Cognac barrels. From Longueteau's 'collection of old rums', with a minimum of 10 years, this is a vintage.

A dress tending towards mahogany, oily and even quite greasy in appearance.

On the nose, we are strangely (very) far from the profile of the XO, which is nevertheless around the same age. It is less luxuriant and it is not so bad, it stands out a little more from its neighbors, but it is not easy to find common markers in Longueteau. It is in this very diversified and for the moment very interesting (even if it also makes us wonder). We are closer to their VS, with roasted and vanilla woody notes, dried fruits (prune) and a smell of tobacco, smoke, which gives class to the whole (another family link?). Well balanced and rather complex, we find ourselves faced with a more studious and classic rum, which seems to oscillate once again between light pure juice rum, and a rather dark rum with a gourmand and caramelized/vanilla woody.

On the palate, it is very soft and oily (and even fatty); woody and smoky notes speak, and intermingle with dried fruits mixed with a significant dose of molasses and licorice (zan). The spices are grilled and the licorice takes up a large part of the space. It is rather well balanced and concentrated, in harmony with the nose, and therefore in a nice continuity. The licorice is quite present and sweet, and the feeling of molasses rum is even more present. The finish is very persistent on the same tones, on a warm and always sweet licorice.

Less exuberant than the XO therefore, and closer to the VS but more complex, we have the impression with this rum of being even more between the two worlds: that of pure juice, classy and rich, and that of molasses, deeper (heavy) and sweet, liquorice. The result is good, but serious doubts persist about the fact that it is 100% agricultural rum (for my part). Note: 84

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Longueteau 120 years / 43°

In this bottle, and according to the distillery's communication, there would be 4 generations of Longueteau which are mixed, with:
- the 1924 vintage ( the first old rum created at the distillery)
- the 1940 vintage (the vintage which once made the reputation of the family house)
- the 1997 vintage (Paul Henri Longueteau's personal barrel, a vintage which has never been marketed)
- the 2006 vintage.

Without wanting to go back over the (too?) beautiful story of this vintage and the marketing aspect inflated with hormones, let's move on to the tasting.

This anniversary vintage offers a bright and deep mahogany color; a fatty rum filled with a torrent of playful and nostalgic sorrow.

On the nose, it is succulent, desirable. A nose to bewitch you, to cast a spell on you, the kind of gourmet but restrained rum that caresses your nostrils and shakes your brain/brains. We are on a blend and the avowed goal is surely to make an effect and to please, and it works!

To be classified in the category of perfumed rums, those that we would like to put on our skin but that we know are destined to end up in our mouths, the liquid already pressed by an imminent and pressing oral contact. We are on candied fruits, and many even (prune), gourmand and caramelized; a toasted and sweet oak, all in softness, vanilla, and also caramelized. A very graceful and melodious rum, where the classic resonates under the light and agile steps of a winged dancer, busy on a luxuriant stage, with plant arabesques drawn on the walls.

Those looking for character in their old rum will be disappointed, here everything is delicate and delicious. Even the spices are sweet and caramelized, with cinnamon at the forefront. Everything is round, smooth and fine, with wood first. The more time passes, the more the rum seduces you, and evolves into honeyed and vanilla notes, and even liquorice. Not without recalling the XO, and therefore Reimonenq, whose shadow hovers here once again, and not just a little... the Rhum St Barth Authentique is a fairly blatant copy (we will also come back to this later).

In the mouth it is oily and immediately quite powerful on a chimerical, eccentric, extravagant, dizzying plant, or in any case speaking, concentrated and alive. The balance is certainly not idyllic, but it works and we go from candied fruits (always the prune) to more tannic and acidulous notes, wild herbs and always this vanilla and this caramel. The finish is long, but as if restricted by a sweet and dry taste, but the aromatic persistence remains. The work is done rather over the long term, and the scents of candied and caramelized fruits, vanilla, spread well beyond the tasting.

A candy rum, which will please above all for its aromatic richness, gourmet and suave, very vanilla and caramelized. And only the whisky lover will be able to find fault with it, desperately looking for something other than flattery. The shadow of Reimonenq is more than present, even recalling the Authentique rum of St Barth, itself from Reimonenq. Simple coincidence? In any case on the palate the resemblances are very marked. An Excellent rum! Note: 92

The game of differences:
Following the common markers found between this 120 (but we can also name the XO and other blends) and Reimonenq, came the idea of ​​a small experiment, of a comparison, by tasting jointly alongside the Longueteau cuvée 120 years, the rums Reimonenq RQL (44°) and rhum St Barth Authentique (43°)

If the dress and the color are quite similar, if not identical, let's move on to the nose which will tell us a lot more. They are all in the same line and offer a captivating and gourmet nose. With class however, still different from the more classic old rums of Reimonenq, we are here on the high end. Banana, candied and caramelized fruit, vanilla to the extreme, fine suave and round, milk chocolate; the 3 noses are curiously very very close. A metallic (and citrus) smell persists a little on the RQL, but the other two are on the same wavelength. The 120 year old appears rounder and richer, and clearly better, even if the St Barth is not without merit. Same atmosphere, same markers, however.

Let's move on to the palate: the RQL is more incisive and "crazy", on the usual luxuriance of Reimonenq, and explodes in the mouth. The Saint-Barth bottling offers a fat and melted mouth, round, suave, on a caramelized and vanilla fruitiness (prunes, banana, cherry), refreshed by a hint of fresh vegetal, very good. finish very smooth, warm, slightly broken by the sugar. The taste, quite dry because of the sugar, will persist for a long time.

The 120 year old has more pep in the mouth, more concentration, but offers very much the same palette, and much more, with a slightly less fatty mouthfeel.

Another coincidence, the 120 year old vintage of Longueteau also contains sugar: 11gr/L. Once again, this addition of sugar in no way signifies an additional family link with Reimonenq, because as you have already noticed (on the Facebook page of this site), sugar can be present in some agricultural rums, and in a lot of molasses rums.

After these cross-tastings, I cannot, personally, deny the family connection between these 3 rums, taste-wise; especially between the St Barth Authentique rum and the Cuvée 120 ans de Longueteau. There are big similarities, as if it were obvious. The lover of the Cuvée 120 de Longueteau will find happiness with the St Barth, and vice versa, just as he will also appreciate the RQL de Reimonenq, and between us, he will surely worship the Reimonenq 1995.

During this high-flying cross-tasting, I tasted very different rums from the same distillery:
– an old rum from the 90s that looks nothing like the current old rum (the VS, even if the age count is different),
– an even more different XO (and much closer to an hors d'âge from Reimonenq),
– a 2004 vintage that is still different (but which is closer to the VS, and which looks quite disturbingly like a rum between two, mixing pure juice and molasses).

Nothing really seems to be alike, with the impression of often being between agricultural rum and molasses rum, with the shadow of Reimonenq almost systematically. It is therefore very instructive, and I would like to point out, for those who would prefer to speak instead of thinking for themselves, that this is only my point of view, and therefore my personal impressions (shared with many people, of course). I invite everyone to taste and compare. The exercise, in addition to being very pleasant, is always interesting.

The 120-year-old vintage, for its part, once again recalls the Reimonenq touch, and more than once. I also invite the amateur to compare it with Reimonenq hors d'âges, and if possible with the authentic St-Barth rum (which also comes from Reimonenq). It is very disturbing, and would even give a little more value to these buzzing noises - and quite numerous - which seem to confirm the possible partnerships between the Capesterre distillery  and those of Sainte Rose, and even Petit-Bourg. Time will prove them right or wrong, let's not doubt it, and the approach would not be new in any case, and far from being problematic in itself. Longueteau rums remain very good, but do not seem to carry their own identity, not yet in any case.

Your palate will be the sole judge.

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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