After a 15 and an 18 year old (batch 1 and 2) and the famous 21 year old , Neisson adds a new (and last?) string to its bow with a 12 year old rum. Released just a few weeks ago for the 85th anniversary of the distillery, the range of old rums is therefore strengthened a little more by even becoming one of the most complete (and homogeneous) on the market.

And when we know that this new 12-year-old rum is in fact a 2004 vintage rum, it immediately puts enormous pressure on it and also makes the mouth water. We remember the communication made around the very first 2004 (released in 2011 at 7 years old), which reported canes particularly loaded with sugar, following a very dry year in Martinique. This is therefore the 3rd 2004 to be released, after an 11-year-old already praised here (score 93); and as for the last series of 2007 , we can wonder what the point is of releasing the same vintage with this time a little year of aging in addition; but as this same series of 2007 showed us, surprises can be there… we will therefore avoid making a hasty judgment, and will compare the 11 and 12 years at the end of the article. Enjoy reading.

Neisson 12 years / 52.7°

For technical information:
– aged on April 8 in 190-liter American oak barrels for 12 years,
– then finished in 2000-liter Limousin oak tuns, – removed from the barrel on October 20, 2016,
– 890 liters bottled in December 2016 at 52.7°
– for a total of 1260 bottles.

When you think that all this information is written on the back label of the bottle, you say hats off to Neisson… (in addition to a tasting note). Especially when so many others, even though on a label twice as big (and on entire pages of websites), still fail to be clear about the age or even the origin. And as usual, the rum is AOC (it is sometimes good to point out the obvious).

The dress is a classy amber, strong and tending towards copper. A ballet of nonchalant tears take place and offer themselves as a spectacle to the voyeur, revealing their greedy and yet so fine legs.

On the nose, there is everything that makes Neisson Neisson, toasted and cocoa notes, a finely drawn oak and meters of spices in love with candied and sweet exoticism. No easy way with Neisson, an osmosis rum where everything seems (once again) to work in concert; an orchestral rum where the leader knows how to wield his baton (which I suspect is cinnamon) with efficiency, loyalty and dedication. And it is not the aromas, far too busy matching and blending (the ginger effect surely), who will say otherwise. And to think that its copper color already gave us a clue about the acoustics in the making of this 12 year old.

The exoticism brings a sweetness and softness that infinitely caresses the nose, letting all the finesse of the wood and spices explode. We always have the impression that it flows naturally, that everything is always perfectly balanced and that complexity is the key word. The degree does not just pass, it surpasses and serves the whole wonderfully; the room is heated and the seats comfortable, the neighbor is charming, citrus peel, cocoa gloss and lemon fragrance (bergamot lemon). Classy, ​​fruity, fresh and restrained, in unison.

The palate is lascivious, warm and oily and of a concentration that is matched only by the imposing generosity of the orchestra. It is intense and lively, with strings and winds, with all the sonorities and vibrations perceived by the ear (or was it the nose?). Sometimes moving and touching, candied and sweet, sometimes mischievous and full-bodied, finely woody and spicy, and toasted, and always well thought out. Fruit and oak in a harmony made dull by talent, spices tuned and cocoa notes arranged; to be classified in the lost classicism, the stubborn classic, the one that will not change from year to year, faithful to its style and far too enlightened to match with time. A 12-year-old rum, really? we would swear more, much more, proof if any were needed of the extreme mastery of the conductor, who succeeds in hiding behind the extreme ease of listening all the complexities of his composition, and that of time. Once out of the room, this batch 3 will still resonate in your heads until supper and until dawn, marking yet another sunrise drawing redundant and greedy exotic sketches, full and intoxicating.

The empty glass recalls the fond memory of the lemony scent, the premise of beautiful, suggestive dreams with a euphoric and caustic soundtrack.

The musicality of this rum is unique and this vintage is of profound richness, perfectly matching a fruity and exotic youth with the partiality and seriousness of more learned and toasted patriarchal notes. Note: 93.5

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

Neisson 2004 11 years old VS 12 years old

The 12-year-old rum offers much more concentration and power on the nose (+7° all the same) and takes the advantage on the length (and on the rest); but it will probably not replace the spontaneity of the vintage, even if it gains in complexity. If we spent hours on the 2004, we would probably spend days on its big brother.

In the mouth, it's a completely different story and the 12 year old offers more concentration and spicy notes, a head start and even endless. Hard to decide? and not just a little, this 12 perhaps doing even better than the vintage thanks to its intensity and a finish as long as several extensions. The most difficult will perhaps find the alcohol a tad too incisive, and even then. Let's hope in any case that there will be a sequel to these 2004s, and even several...

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!