Don’t wait…too long ago

Savanna returns with its new Grand Arôme, aged 11 years this time… the only Grand Arôme aged, and which has nothing to envy the best Jamaicans and other demerara aged in the tropical climate, all synonymous with concentration, esters, and cask strength. A unique case in the world of rum, a breath of fresh air… authentic.

Price : count 60€ for a 50cl bottle, bottled at cask strength (59.7°) and in limited quantity (762 bottles).

Age : 11 years; more precisely, it is a 2003 vintage put into barrels on 10/28/2003 (in Cognac barrels) and released in January 2015.

What can be said about Savanna that hasn't already been said? It's a breath of fresh air in the rum landscape. We have here one of the rare distilleries that still believes in a certain authenticity, and that releases each year different - but always interesting - expressions of agricultural rum (pure juice), but also molasses, and very often at natural strength. May they remain faithful to their principles, we will be just as faithful to delight in their nectars.

Very beautiful color of a bright old gold/amber, for a fat dress overloaded with thick legs and many tears. A dress that commands respect, classy, ​​elegant and yet so opulent.

Opulent, that suits the nose perfectly: loaded with aromas, rich in promises and sharing , one can only be seduced by so much audacity. Roasted apricot tart, flambéed and gourmet exotic fruits (bananas, pineapple), leather, tobacco, lemon zest, for a creamy and buttery nose. The leather settles a little more at rest, mixed with mature fruitiness. This rum definitely has nothing to envy the most concentrated Jamaican rums. We are clearly in this heavy, dunder style spirit, what's more with 11 years of tropical aging, imagine... It's simple, there is no equivalent, no competitor to this rum from Savanna, anywhere in the world.

The days of grandma's pastry rum are long gone, and there's no doubt that any housewife under 50 would faint when opening this bottle.

Apple, pear, peach, olives galore, grilled spices (cinnamon, cloves), and even milk chocolate, caramel and vanilla… A concentrate of gourmandise flambéed with rum, roasted, where the (mature) fruits, hold a beautiful place, rounding the angles of a brut, flattering the steep coasts of the most fragmented mountains, of a landscape that we imagine lush. By closing our eyes, we imagine these unknown lands, hidden from the world and rich in human absence, virgin, and yet so experienced.

A few drops of water will have the good idea of ​​magnifying the nose, of making it more accessible, with always this green olive and the vanilla.

The attack is oily and warm, intrusive (it sticks to the palate) and valiant, but comforting , and pulpy. We are on the exoticism… of the green olive, tangy with the zest and pulp of citrus fruits, and structured by a woody (licorice, leather) straight and conquering. Everything is only concentration and power, and the acidity combined with the olive makes you salivate, the sugar of the mature fruits cuts wonderfully, and the rum clings to the mouth, briny, and vegetal. Here is a rich and complex rum, very well balanced for a real moment of pleasure, which lasts…

The finish is very long, and just as concentrated and tasty . The woodiness is always perfectly dosed, the spices are released and accompany the rum to the depths of your soul, just flattered by a caramelized veil. We find on the end vegetal and light aromas, for a persistence that impresses .

A Grand Arôme that seems more mature, more accomplished and wise than its predecessors, but always with this extreme and tasty concentration. This is the least we can ask of it, and the bet is more than successful. This rum has no equivalent, and it will certainly please lovers of concentrated and cask strength rums.

Imagining the next Lontan makes you dizzy, and above all, you want to throw yourself knowingly into the void, attached to the thread of time and history, for yet another journey towards authenticity. But for how much longer? Let's hope for lontan. Rating: 88

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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