With Whisky Live Paris 2026 in full swing, I thought it’d be a perfect segue to write about Rhum Neisson’s latest addition to the Zetwal series – the Vega, which I believe would be available for tasting at WLP too. A little background on the Zetwal: if you haven’t already read previous reviews of the Red Dragon and the Polaris, the Zetwal is a vatting of Neisson’s premiere vintages from 2000, 2005, 2012, and 2013, usually reserved for their Armada series. The first edition was the Polaris in 2023, followed by Sirius in 2024, and this year sees Vega as its third bottling, with an additional three years of resting in wooden vats since the Polaris.
The nose is impeccably rich and opulent, with the zest of freshly peeled tangerines, alongside hints of charred pineapples, and very warm, soft sweetness that one finds in roasted chestnuts, or that of marzipan. It has an oily side to it too, which reminds me fondly of eucalyptus, a dash of black peppercorns, and even a little truffle oil in this very well-composed blend of rhums. As it opened further, I started picking out deeper notes of San Pellegrino’s Chinotto Orange, and just the faintest hint of rancio.
It was difficult to describe my first impressions when tasting the Vega. It was profoundly complex, and its layers of flavour seemingly pulled in two opposing directions — on the one hand it was this light, youthful rhum with incredible sweetness, clean, with florals like crisp rose water, coconut juice, and a bright citrus zest. On the other was a profound richness which gradually grew with time, introducing elements of toasted almonds, dark chocolate, slight tannins, and even a side of Williams pear. In the finish was where those musty, old, rancio notes really began to show, before eventually rounding off into delicate red fruits and candied hawthorn flakes, and a soft tinge of bitterness, like that of angelica roots.
While I have yet to write of the Sirius, having tasted all the Zetwals this far, you begin to realise that little by little, that slow maturation and vatting has allowed the liquids to really meld into each other, becoming progressively more cohesive with each passing year. But that is not to say that the Polaris, or the Sirius, are lesser liquids than the Vega. Rather, each edition comes across a little different from the other. Take the Polaris for instance, which is actually still my favourite of the lot, that comes across much fresher, with its red fruits bearing greater prominence, yet a little less well-integrated, which is perfectly understandable because of the little time the liquids have spent together. I think that is perhaps the genius of Gregory Vernant and Alex Bobi — where the Zetwals are a journey of tasting, an evolution in flavour, and putting Neisson’s mastery of rhum-making on full display. Thank you again @the_rum_cartel and Gregory for sharing another amazing rhum agricole.
Your occasional rum addict!
