Something new at La Favorite with, as is the fashion, a single varietal and a few old vintages, as well as a return to the vintage released several months ago in conjunction with La Confrérie du Rhum (Facebook group). On the white side, La Favorite has long proven itself with the Authentique and Coeur de Canne, two very complementary and very aromatic classics; the arrival of a more elaborate white is therefore full of promise, and hopefully, the beginnings of new classics in the making.

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La Favorite Bel Air / 53°

The "first" single varietal/single plot of La Favorite, named after the river that passes the distillery and which gives its name to a plot of red cane (B64.277) . On the production side, this rum benefits from a specific fermentation protocol (3 days) then a distillation (at 74%) in July 2016 and a slow reduction of 3 months to reach 53° before bottling. 8500 bottles of this white rum were produced.

Offered at 53°, this rum was measured at 51.75°, revealing either an incorrect alcohol content (legal tolerance accepted of + or - 0.3°) or a sweetening ( learn more ). When questioned about this result, the distillery carried out its own measurement and confirmed a problem with the display of the alcohol percentage on its labels. The loss of alcohol would be linked, I quote "to the fact that we brewed a lot, 8000 L of rum in a 90,000 L capacity tank" . The distillery has undertaken to correct the display problem.

The dress is crystalline and a crown quickly forms on the wall of the glass from which an army of tears rise before falling heavily.

The nose of this white is immediately very vegetal and wonderfully highlights the cane, mature and gourmet, and seems to blend with a basket of citrus fruits evoking a sunny and refreshing landscape, delicately aniseed and surrounded by a garden of lilies whose soil has been mulched with dried lemon zest. Not sure that the acidity serves the development of the flower but it seriously participates in the blossoming of the nose, which happens to be well balanced. The alcohol is well integrated here, and the rest gives a little more space to a very fragrant and heady lemon flower (lemon blossom), intoxicating, of gardenia releasing a suave and exhilarating perfume that marks the mind, and all the while retaining a beautiful freshness. A nose that surely keeps longer than a bouquet of flowers, advice to lovers; we knew Brel and his box of sweets ("because flowers are perishable"), now we have an intoxicating and fragrant Bel Air, because sweets make you fat (we adapt as best we can, you can imagine).

On the palate, the attack is soft and sweet on a cane full of sugar and fully mature, green and even soberly acidulous, to which are mixed notes of crystallized white pepper and always and again an opulent exoticism, as well as fresh anise. Once again, the degree goes very well and this freshness (icy mint?) transforms the mouth by giving it a beautiful aromatic power very well controlled and with a flattering and spicy balance. The control is there, the risk-taking remains certainly minimal, we would still expect more complexity on the palate.

The finish is long, very fresh once again on a menthol crystallizing the cane for a last waltz, yet another perfume which seems to spread lasciviously and very rightly, rightly spicy, but which we would like to be much longer and more complex to prolong the pleasure even more.

A white of great mastery, except perhaps on the finish which is not up to the standard of the rest (but which does not demerit for all that); the fresh/mentholated side alone is worth the detour and serves the whole wonderfully. Some will like their white 'on the palate' more powerful and structured, more cerebral and pushed too, but it is clear that this Bel Air at 53° is worth the detour, and it is always more pleasant to travel comfortably in an old car than with your buttocks in a sports car; advice to enthusiasts. Note: 86

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La Favorite 2008

A 2008 Single Cask bottled in 2016, and therefore aged 8 years. Several casks were bottled, yielding “about 250 bottles” each time, for a total of 750 bottles over the first 3 casks (cask #2 is at 44.7°, #8 at 41.6% and cask 9 is offered at 43.5%). After investigation, cask 2 would have yielded 146 bottles, #8 152 bottles and #9, 184.

This 2008 (barrel #8) offers a deep amber color, tending towards copper, rich and revealing long, plump and appetizing legs.

On the nose, the rum appears very fragrant, very seductive at first glance on a very ripe and stewed fruit skillfully mixed with notes of old noble and classy wood; gourmet apple, sweet and juicy, cinnamon, withered custard apple mixed with notes of tobacco which give seriousness and which dress the rum in a 3-piece suit: fruit, wood and tobacco, in a very warm and gourmet empyreumatic style, very delicately caramelized. We even find citrus fruits that have run out of steam, which bring wisdom, tangy assurance. And the more time we give it, the more it gains assurance and becomes elegant by offering more toasted and classy notes, and the fruit which goes on a morello cherry, red and sweet, slightly tangy. Beautiful balance and complexity of this 8-year-old rum in which we find all the facets of a complete, complex and mature rum, a success.

On the palate, the attack is soft and warm, becomes warmly oily and offers melted candied (prune) with a fine and always classy woodiness, notes of tobacco and grilled spices, and some citrus fruits that give a little acidity, iodine and make you salivate with pleasure. Beautiful aromatic concentration where the rum appears rich and generous, always in a hushed and old style, with a tobacco that would become a little too present (slight bitterness in the mouth). The finish is moderately long but very persistent on these notes of tobacco and candied, which will remain a long time in the mouth before inevitably calling for a new glass, always in a luxurious and cozy atmosphere.

Rarely has an old rum from La Favorite offered so much class; the basic old rum is already very good compared to others, the whites are excellent too and have already proven themselves, while the oldest 'rums' are far too greedy and let's say sickening (and watered down), while here we find a very well-crafted, balanced, classy and exquisite 8-year-old rum, of a high standard and heralding beautiful days. Rating: 87

After various returns, it would seem that the barrels are not very homogeneous in terms of quality, and differences are quite notable. It will of course be advisable to taste beforehand. For example, you can find Benoit's opinion on his blog RhumRonRon .

The rum tasted here comes from a sample purchased on a website, mentioning cask #8 at 46°; display problem, cask 8 is announced by La Favorite at 41.6%. Another problem, my sample was measured at 42.8°…closer to cask #9 (43°). I am therefore quite unable to tell you where the rum tested really comes from since the different information does not coincide with each other.

La Favorite Privilège 1999 / 43°

Blend of hors d'âge rums aged for 17 years and put in barrels (ex-Cognac) in 1999, released in homage to André Dormoy who ended his career in 1999. 3500 numbered bottles come from this vintage.

The dress is a deep amber, offers quite fat and numerous legs and evokes gluttony.

On the nose, there is a warm and sweet smell of fruits in syrup, pineapple with a light and shy smell that already lets you imagine a mouth in the same register. Then come the smells of honey, prune and cherry in syrup with rest and some notes of tobacco (blond) and pepper that tickle the nostrils. In the end, the nose of this vintage is quite simple and light and cruelly lacks depth; it will unfortunately remain flat despite the long minutes of waiting.

We are here light years away from the 2008 despite the more advanced age of this rum, wondering what happened with this Privilège cuvée which frankly lacks personality; let's hope that the mouth will quickly catch up.

On the palate, the rum is initially honeyed, mellow, with stewed and sweet fruit but quickly caught up by acidic and bitter notes, with aggressive tannins and spicy spices (and a bitter wet woodiness, in addition to liquorice). It could surely be worth the detour in other circumstances, but it doesn't give anything very pleasant in the end and the woodiness predominates in an unbalanced mouth. The finish is short, dry, sweet, with notes of alcohol that evaporate in the mouth and wet wood.

How difficult it is to follow up this rum after the 2008 vintage, and the single-varietal white… We think we are going to start with an increasingly pleasant tasting and we end up with a total disappointment with the impression of moving away from what makes La Favorite so strong, namely an excellent basic product. Note: 72

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La Favorite  1995 / 44,1°

A vintage rum (1995) from cask #42 and aged 20 years, bottled in 2015 and released in partnership with La Confrérie du Rhum. Several casks will be released, this one being the latest "to date".

Caramel, bronze mahogany color, shiny, quite fat and bars instead of thin legs. Solid and delicious.

On the nose, it is very sweet on caramelized fruits for a very gourmet profile with the famous prunes that stand out clearly, black cherry, vanilla and sugar, for an atmosphere that is ultimately very…sweet (as if heavy) but still effective (and heady). There is a nice smell of tobacco that floats, a light smokiness that flatters the senses, but the nose remains very focused on caramel and gourmandise, chocolate.

The rest brings a bit of annoyance to all this propriety: the balance seems upset with on one side rather dry and pungent tannins (a damp woodiness) and tobacco, and on the other the gourmand fruit, but without ever coming into harmony, as if the binder were missing in a culinary recipe.

The alcohol content is very good and does not interfere with the tasting at all, and it even lacks power, cane, rum; but it is sweet, and ultimately not very complex. But as with a Flibuste, we let ourselves go to daydreaming and imagine a pile of pastries (but without the excessive heaviness of over-vitaminized rum). A little more rest will tend to dry out the nose and even extract some delicacies from it and we will avoid inflicting a few drops of water on it, the dilution already seeming very sufficient.

The palate is very soft, honeyed and immediately quite sweet and tannic (bitter): it evolves on a more fruity and candied profile (prune, morello cherry), caramelized and quickly announces the return of spices and oak, tobacco, leather. The tannins and bitterness seem to direct the palate in a slightly too excessive way, the naughtiness of some fruits quickly lulled to sleep by peppery spices that even become spicy. The palate offers a beautiful concentration and body to the tasting despite a rather heavy bitterness that unbalances the whole. The finish is dry and woody, shortened, sweet. The tobacco and liquorice persist in a beautiful way, this time bringing a more pleasant and even appreciable bitterness. The rum will not linger but will leave some pleasant traces of prune at the very end, like a Flibuste, providing a pleasant and tenacious memory of candied.

These are not the first barrels bottled but the last one released, and if we believe (and read) the different opinions, there are quite a few disparities between the different releases. A comparison with a sample of barrel 25 (45.2°) will indeed show a much more accomplished, fruity and balanced rum, even if in the end neither the nose nor the mouth suggest a rum that old in fact. Fans of La Flibuste or Cuvée des Cavistes will find what they are looking for, deliciousness and smoothness guaranteed. Score: 82 (because still more "rum" than La Privilège, and less "sauce")

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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