The enchanting island of Madeira, celebrated for its radiant sunshine, picturesque beaches, and lush flora, presents an ideal subtropical retreat for those hailing from continental Europe. This island is also the cradle of a distinctive rum-drinking subculture, which can be aptly described as European agricultural rum. Situated off the coast of West Africa, Madeira boasts an abundance of fertile, volcanic soil, coupled with a warmer climate, renders cane cultivation an effortless endeavour.

All these elements contribute to Madeira’s Geographical Indication, or GI for short, requiring Madeira rums to be crafted exclusively from cane grown on the island, specifically using sugarcane juice. Though unlike the appellations from the French Caribbean islands, there are no regulations regarding the types of stills to be used, so long as the rums are bottled at a minimum of 37.5% abv. However, there is one minor aspect of the GI that remains unclear to me - whether unaged rums from Madeira fall outside the scope of its GI, given that the GI stipulates a minimum of three years of ageing in oak casks. I would be delighted to hear from anyone with knowledge on this matter.

In the forthcoming posts, I shall be sampling rums from one of Madeira’s most prominent and oldest rum producers, @engenhosdonorte, or, if one were to translate it rather crudely, the North Mills distillery, situated in Porto da Cruz. Established in 1927, Engenhos do Norte stands as the sole distillery in “Europe” (as an autonomous region of Portugal) that continues to employ traditional machinery powered by steam. For the distillation process, the distillery boasts three independent copper column stills, each equipped with 14 plates, enabling a diverse array of configurations or marks to be crafted.

This particular sample was the 2015 Single Cask 251 from one of the numerous sub-brands of Engenhos do Norte, specifically 970. I am not entirely acquainted with the significance of these numbers, nor have I managed to discern how they are distinguished. However, based on the rums released, one might hypothesise that 970 signifies the premium rums from the distillery, predominantly comprising of aged vintages matured in a diverse array of casks. Cask 251 was one of three known single casks released in 2021, aged for six years in Madeira and bottled at 50.5% abv.

Not unexpectedly, the rum bore a resemblance to the rhum agricoles of the French Caribbean, yet possessed greater depth and structure, likely due to its elevated abv. The grassiness was immediately discernible, evoking the memory of a particularly distinctive Chinese chicken soup infused with herbs known as Dang Gui or Angelica Sinensis, characterised by a herbal bitterness and the sweetness reminiscent of herbal candy. Additional savoury notes were present, akin to salted peanuts, accompanied by fresh wafts of mint.

Conversely, the palate did not quite match the savoury allure of the nose. It was, in fact, overwhelmingly sweet and juicy, with a taste that almost evoked the essence of fresh sugarcane juice, though the body was slightly thinner than I would have preferred. A mild bitter note emerged in the middle, once more reminiscent of Dang Gui. The finish, however, offered a notable lift, transforming entirely to reveal a medley of baking spices, along with hints of iodine, leather, and a touch of vanilla at the close.

I must confess that this was an exceptionally promising and indulgent six-year-old rum, boasting traits I have yet to encounter in others, and layers of complexity rarely seen in younger rums of this vintage.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu