After the legendary 1885 from Saint-James, it is high time to make up for lost time because Sainte-Marie rums deserve more than one detour, whether in the form of old and very old vintages or even more recent bottlings. In order to go back in time in chronological order, today we will try 3 vintages from the 1930s: 1932, 1936 and 1939. And as an introduction, here is an excerpt from an article in the "Collector" section of Fine Spirits magazine published in June 2015.

Beyond the mythical 1885…

After the 1885 vintage (which will have been the focus of this note ), but also an 1884 that will never be marketed (it will have been served at a banquet in Paris, in September 1900, offered by the president of the time Émile Loubet), the vintages will follow one another but there are unfortunately few traces of these vestiges, people not necessarily thinking of keeping the bottles over time (nor the archives). It will be necessary to wait until the 1900s to find the trace of a glorious past: thus a happy collector would have vintages from 1909, 1910, of an undoubtedly inestimable value. At the Saint-James distillery, they would keep just as preciously vintages from 1925 and 1929, among the oldest currently identifiable.

Oddly enough, it is almost more difficult to get your hands on some vintages from the 1930s today than on the 1885 vintage. We can imagine that they were released in larger quantities, but conservation was not fashionable, and the bottles had become more fragile after the 1929 crisis. Marc Sassier, from the Saint-James distillery, explains: "as soon as you pick up one of these bottles, it immediately becomes fragile. There are bubbles in the glass, and the thickness of the glass varies from one part of the bottle to another ." The luckiest will still find vintages from 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, often available in 50 and 100cl bottles.

The following years (1940) were marked by war, various restrictions and the cessation of maritime trade; Saint-James even went so far as to announce it publicly to its consumers (via advertising in the newspapers). Thus, the last rum to come out of the distillery was a 1941 vintage, inevitably with a heavy symbolic charge, and it would then be necessary to wait a few years to finally find some (the years 1946, 1947 and 1949 are officially identified). Information that can be dated precisely thanks to period documents (invoices, advertisements, etc.) that Marc Sassier has been collecting and examining for years: "We have many traces of exports that allow us to trace the history, and which go back from 1885 to the 1900s: notably in Venezuela and Argentina, but also in Indochina in the 20s and 30s, where we had several distributors. And in Algeria, where local newspapers went so far as to publicly announce Lambert's death."

The years that followed, the 50s and then the 60s, saw their share of vintages come out, but these bottles would be even more difficult to find than those from the 30s... Saint-James currently has 1951, 52, 59 in its cellar, then for the 60s the vintages 1963, 64, 66, 67, 68.

Perhaps surprises will reappear with time, well guarded by the guardian of a temple? But what we do know, however, is that during the very beginning of this period, a new era begins at Saint-James: the distillation column is changed, and the fermentation vats formerly made of wood are transformed into stainless steel. We gradually leave this characteristic taste of cooked vesou, of marked cane juice, to enter into aromatic markers closer to today's rums, with very marked empyreumatic (roasted) notes. This is what Marc Sassier wanted to share with the Cuvée des 250 ans that was released this year: a little bit of 1885, 1934, then 52, 76, 98 and 2000. A great way to retrace history but also to mix genres, the identity tracers of a rum that will have - like many - evolved with its time, while keeping - like too few - a real authenticity and real values. A cuvée limited to 800 copies that will in turn become a collector's item.

We are now entering the 70s, 80s and 90s, with vintages that are more accessible to ordinary mortals, the best known (and probably the 'easiest' to find) of which are stamped 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1998 and 1999. The square bottle is still present but the labels, and the logo, change slightly: the words Saint-James are highlighted, the Martinique appellation appears, and we will no longer speak of Récolte but of Millésimé (and numbered) rum. Even the alcohol content changes and goes from 47° to 43 in the mid-70s. But let's get to tasting 3 vintages from the 30s...

Saint-James 1932 / 47°

Here is a bottle opened on the occasion of the last Whisky Live by Luca Gargano, a small 50cl bottle and a very rare vintage (like the 30s in general).

The dress is amber, coppery and beautifully transparent; it shines and evokes the sun.
On the nose, it is simply magnificent, with a basket of fruit that could have been left to preserve for ages in a damp cellar with walls colonized by mushrooms, a beaten floor and shelves filled with old newspapers. We have the impression of finding ourselves in an old black and white (film), which is timidly beginning to take on color thanks to a luminous exoticism: banana and juicy orange bring the first tones, warm and shiny, while a plant frame comforts the scene in which the ground is strewn with cardboard and soaked blotting paper. It is warm but dark, just tinged with a light caramel, burnt sugar (molasses) and it sinks into a half-fig, half-grape compote caperned with prune.

The mouth is silky and quite soft and evolves crescendo: fruit syrup and cardboard (fruit in cardboard to change from canned food), warm spices and tangy notes; it is warm and woody, like molasses and spicy (nutmeg, pepper). This rum is a few decades old and it excites your taste buds as if it had just been taken out of its barrel. The finish is long and always warm where the spices persist worthily accompanied by dried fruits (raisins, prunes) for a prolonged moment and under the sign of a time gone by. A hint of liquorice accompanies it.

Inimitable, and above all incomparable to today's rums, as if the memory of time had impregnated the rum to leave it with this little taste of the past. The vesou cooked in filigree, witness to another era and another way of making and thinking about rum. And what a presence in the mouth for this 1932! Note: 87

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saint-James 1936 / 47°

This vintage is very close to the 1934 used for the anniversary carafe according to the boss (Marc Sassier). We will come back to it another time.

A coppery dress is drawn, bronze, very bright and oily.
This is followed by an old-fashioned nose with notes of vesou and cooked fruit, with plum, grape, ripe banana; the rum appears quite dry (nuts), and vegetal (grass) with a straight woody (brine). The vanilla arrives in rest, in addition to a light caramel and the rum gains in complexity and volume with waiting (notes of candied cherry).

In the mouth it is soft and oily, even fatty, on the maceration of dried fruits, gently and warmly spiced (cinnamon, pepper); the banana is still there with a rather sweet attack (the cooked vesou effect?) and very pleasant, liquorice, and always with these fruits in quantity for a very rich mouth and a feeling of fullness. It encompasses the mouth in a very beautiful effect, the spices warm and give a very beautiful hold to the rum. The finish is long and tasty, on dried fruits and spicy liquorice, always gently and with class, and persistence.

A nose that takes time to evolve, but the reward is there, in addition to a very fat and tasty mouth, for a rum that leaves a liquorice imprint of its passage (and sweet). Come on, it would surely lack a little pep, but it drinks like mother's milk. Note: 85

compared to the 1932 vintage : drier and less cooked vesou than the 32 on the nose, we gain in complexity here and the mouth is clearly fatter (and dry/sweet); almost syrupy?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saint-James 1939 / 47°

Symbolic rum, since it is the last vintage before the war. The restrictions and the problems of maritime traffic will force the distillery to operate at a slower pace, and only the 1941 would have been really sold and well distributed. 

Dark amber color tending towards bronze, fat and bright.
On the nose, we have a first impression of thickness, heaviness with overwhelming aromas of cooked fruits (syrup), stewed to excess (prune, fig, grape), nuts (XXL walnut husk), liquorice and chocolate; a nose all in depth and toasted to the toast, which with rest takes on the features of a peach syrup (concentrated) offering more exoticism and delicacy, accompanied by dried tobacco leaf, coffee. An almost sticky nose, rancio atmosphere and which already lets imagine a rich and fat mouth. Complex and melted.

Once in the mouth, the rum is mellow and liquefies, on a fruity liquorice, with melted and grilled tannins that support a warm and concentrated mouth. Empyreumatic with a tendency towards liquorice, the fruitiness is not left out and contributes to a very complete mouth, between grilled and sweet notes. The finish is long and persists on the said grilled notes and spices (yes, grilled too).

We are still in this warm atmosphere, closer to the 1932 with a rather fat and sweet mouth, on the cooked vesou. The degree helps the whole and surely avoids falling into easy nausea. Note: 86

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.

From the folks behind DuRhum, Velier, and more, comes a premium online marketplace for rum enthusiasts by rum enthusiasts! Do check out www.rowspirits.fr for more great content and iconic rums!