Habitation Velier's Discovered Two New Islands! Meet Its New Vanuatu & Fiji Rum Debuts In LMDW's 2026 Catalouge

Conceived by the godfather of independent bottled premium rums Luca Gargano, Habitation Velier is popular for its didactic range of traditionally made rums that feature the actual pot stills used, technical details on fermentation and congener levels and aging conditions. 

Every year, rum fans working through La Maison du Whisky's catalogue of exclusive releases can count on a clutch of Habitation Velier bottles, often presenting to fans for the first time a new distillery, new rum mark or production detail deserving of its own write-up or diagram.

Following recent releases of the Rainforest 2024 from the Philippines and Chamarel 2017 from Mauritius, the latest LMDW catalogue for 2026 carries Habitation Velier farther into the South Pacific with a 5-year-old cane juice rum from Vanuatu’s 83 Islands Distillery and 12-year-old molasses rum from South Pacific Distillers in Fiji. For Habitation Velier, these are their first Vanuatu and Fijian rums bottled.

Let's take a closer look at them.

Habitation Velier 83 Islands 2021, 53% ABV

Vanuatu, Pure Sugarcane Juice Rum, Small Batch, Bourbon Barrels, Limited Edition of 1,500 Bottles, LMDW Exclusive

83 Islands is Vanuatu’s first and only rum distillery, working with locally grown cane in Port Vila.

Distilled from pure sugarcane juice in 2021, this release underwent an unusually long fermentation of eight to ten days before being double distilled in a Müller pot still. It then spent 5 years ageing under Vanuatu’s tropical conditions in bourbon barrels.

LMDW describes a remarkably sunny-sounding fruit-led profile that begins with honeyed cane, vanilla and cocoa before moving into banana, mango, apricot and fresh ginger. 

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: Topaz.

Aroma: Fine, deep. Honeyed (sugar cane), vanillic, and powdery (cocoa) aromas flood a subtle initial nose. With aeration, scents of exotic fruits (banana, mango), dried fruits (apricot, date), fresh ginger, warm cane sugar, and toffee sustainably permeate the olfactory landscape.

Taste: Elegant, complex. Continuing the exotic extension of the nose (persimmon, guava), the flavour palette gradually becomes medicinal (Tiger Balm), camphorated, and liqueur-like (cane sugar). Then, naturally, flavours of apricoted peach and nectarine provide plenty of freshness and juice to a finish that showcases a very limpid distillate.

Finish: Broad, silky. Initially heady (hyacinth, jasmine), vegetal (cut sugar cane), and finely tannic (peach skin, cane fiber), over time it becomes indulgent (rum baba, rum raisin ice cream) and spicy (cardamom, cumin). On the retro-olfaction, red fruits (raspberry, strawberry) and fresh cane juice harmonize beautifully.

Habitation Velier South Pacific 2014, 60% ABV

Fiji, Molasses Rum, Small Batch, Bourbon Barrels, Limited Edition of 1,500 Bottles, LMDW Exclusive

South Pacific Distillers began operating in Lautoka in Fiji in 1980 and makes molasses rum using both pot and column stills. This release isolates its pot-still side which then spent 12 full years ageing in bourbon casks under Fiji’s tropical climate.

This South Pacific expression seems like the bottle that will send high-ester rum fans running. LMDW’s description mentions burnt rubber, bandages and a flicker of petrol, then overripe banana and pineapple.

Official Tasting Notes

Colour: Topaz.

Aroma: Rich, powerful. Simultaneously honeyed (linden blossom, geranium), empyreumatic (burnt rubber), and medicinal (bandage, mustard plaster), the aroma palette immediately displays its strong personality. With aeration, exotic fruits (banana, pineapple), cocoa powder, infusions of oregano and verbena, as well as vanilla-sugar scents give it much freshness and smoothness.

Taste: Lively, slender. Close to sugar cane, the flavour palette proves initially fibrous and spicy (fresh ginger, clove). Finely licorice-tinged, it then becomes indulgent (frangipane, quince paste). The finish is rich in noble esters (macerated fruits, tar, Papier d'Arménie).

Finish: Full-bodied, assertive. Heady (cane flower, rose petal), lemony, and liqueur-like (cane honey), it gradually becomes milky (coconut), treat-like (Calisson d'Aix), and slightly petroleum-like. On the retro-olfaction, scents and flavours of beeswax, cinnamon, and overripe fruits (mirabelle plum, banana) nourish an aftertaste of impressive length.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team