In the last of the “special tastings, I take a look at, and of course a taste of, @rhums_neisson’s Nonaginta, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Neisson’s founding on 10 Dec 1932. This was a very special treat for those who attended @whiskyliveparis and @whiskylivesingapore as this rhum has in fact not yet been released in Martinique, not until 10 December at least. Thus, we have @gregory.neisson and @pascal.ablaye to thank for sharing this gem.

The Nonaginta was crafted by Neisson’s “80% production manager and 20% cellar master” Alex Bobbi, creating a unique blend of vintages aged for over 18 years, combining:
• 300 litres of 18-year-old aged on 8 Apr 2004
• 20 litres of the Armada 2000 aged on 17 Nov 2000
• 20 litres of the Armada 1997 aged on 9 Sep 1997

The rhums were distilled from sugarcane juice in accordance with AOC standards, aged in both ex-bourbon and ex-cognac casks, producing a total of 450 bottles at cask strength of 47.6% abv.

On the nose, the Nonaginta brings with it waves of freshly toasted nuts, tangerine, and sweet vanilla. Its always special how aged Neissons have this warm and nutty feel to it. It does have a slight savoury note, reminding me of soy sauce perhaps, toffee caramel, a bit of brine, and at the end of it all some fresh mint that gives the rhum an overall lift to it.

The elegance on the palate is impeccable. A slight bite to it, but very well balanced, little bit of grassiness, nuttiness as always, which comes to characterise a great Neisson for me. The fruitiness of the Nonaginta is also ever present, ripe red fruits, dried dates, tangerine again, lots and lots of sweetness and the finish is long with hazelnut praline and milk chocolates.

I have not had much opportunity to try many Neissons before having this, thus my benchmark would’ve been the XO Full Proof. The Nonaginta, compared to that, is an entirely different rhum; the foundation remains as it always has, that trademark nuttiness in a Neisson, but the array of fruits, the freshness, those little things like the lift amongst that depth of flavours you find in this rhum separates this from the rest. A rhum indeed befitting of Neisson’s 90th Anniversary.

Image Courtesy of @weixiang_liu