About Kaniche Guadeloupe

[Kristian]

Hi! I'm a new face in this forum as I only recently found rums. In Finland we have only two aged rums available: Kaniche Guadeloupe and Clement's Rhum Vieux. I bought a bottle of the latter, but I was wondering if the Kaniche would be worth a taste. I noted the other thread about kaniche, but since my interest lies in the diffence (which is better) of kaniche and vieux, I started a new one.

I was a little put off by the text in the kaniche's label, mistakenly referring to the old method of making rum in the island even before Columbus found America and thus I did not buy it. But should I? Or should I stay with vieux?

(Edited by Kristian at 8:11 pm on Oct. 26, 2001)

(Edited by Kristian at 6:08 pm on Oct. 28, 2001)

[Jason Perlow]

Kristian:

Kaniche is an excellent rum, as are all of Gabriel and Andreu's products. Don't know who wrote that label on the Guadeloupe (probably the local importer) but the Kaniche martinique that they sell in the US is 12 years old and is a great example of a french style rum. I havent tried the Guadeloupe but its supposed to be nice.

[Ed Hamilton]

Yes, what a shame that someone was so senseless when they designed the label. I know rhum is expensive in Finland so I would try to find a couple of people who wanted to share a bottle. Like Jason said it isn't bad rhum but the label is just a little misleading, no very misleading.

[Kristian]

Yes, the label was misleading enough to make me not buy the bottle. I will go after it the next time I visit a liquor store, however.

And yes rums cost a lot in Finland. The bottle of Clement's Rhum Vieux that I purchased last time cost me around (I don't have the current exchange rate handy, but I'll questimate) 28 dollars and that's for 0.7 litres. Furthermore, the prices are partly dependant of the alcohol contents, for tax reasons, so a better brand of rum can sometimes be cheaper than some awful variant simply because of its lower alcohol content... Of course, brand names bring their own effect to the price also and Rhum Vieux was one of the more expensive rums in the shop...

[Kristian]

Well, I got the half litre bottle of Kaniche G. yesterday and I'll give it a try this weekend. It cost me only about 16 dollars which is quite a small sum to pay in Finland. I'll try not to look at the back label and I'll tell you how I liked it next week! :)

[JOHN REEKIE]

Kristian...I have bought both Kaniches, The Martinique and the Guadeloupe. I find they are an interesting blend of French tradition, aged in cognac barrels, but designed for an English woody & fruity taste market. If they contain any pot still rum, who knows. If they are a blend of cane syrup, cane juice and or mollasses fermentations and distilling, we also do not know. If they were shipped to France in bulk for ageing in old cognac barrels, or aged/blended in the Islands, again we do not know. Some bottles labeled 'French Rum' can either be from French Islands, in The Caribbean, Indian or Pacific Oceans. They can also be a combination of these inported rums, into France the Country, blended /aged /then bottled, for export, in France and be called 'French Rums'-

I do know we will see a lot more Designed Cliche Rums, like these, in the future.There are various rums climbing in popularity now that I believe, were market designed. and will gain their place in the stores.

Enjoy the experience of slowly removing the cork wrapper. (if it was a vintage rum and French, there would be a date showing when the rum was bottled on this covering.)Easing out the cork with a gentle rocking/twisting motion, On removing the cork, sniff the aroma first in the bottle then in the glass after pouring. Some sailors will take the first pour of a bottle and pour it in the sea/river/lake/toasting the rum maker- family & friends- and of course -'Life'. Check its colour and clarity. What the viscosity is like in the glass. Enjoy the tasting, the delayed swallow, the breathing through the mouth and the quiet after taste. Followed by reconfirming and repeating the whole experience. Take a new glass, dust it off with a cloth, pour a small quantity of your last best rum, and repeat the whole exersise and compare the two rums.  

   Enjoy your new and past rums!.

I will finish what I have to say on glasses soon.

[Kristian]

Quote: from Ed Hamilton on 4:36 pm on Nov. 9, 2001

I would try to find a couple of people who wanted to share a bottle.

Well, I had to buy the bottle by and for myself (which isn't all that bad, when you think about it). The one drawback of being a rummie in Finland is that there aren't that many of us around to share the experiance with. I have tried to get opinions about my rums from my better half but all she ever does is grimace and give an ugly expression... :shocked:

[JOHN REEKIE]

Kristian .... You must have opened your half bottle of Kaniche Guadeloupe by now and have decided what gualities it has. Please let us all know how you liked it.As far as your better half is concerned as to liking rum, try mixing up a simple sweet fruity drink with rum and if she likes it try the identical drink but with a very dfferent rum as a comparison. Then try another sweat drink with the same rums but without the fruit juice, masking the flavours of the rum. In time she will enjoy rums like you do and you will have lots to discuss together. If She still does not enjoy  mixed rum drinks, you will have, when you drink all thoes mixed drinks that she did not want. Oh yes, the glasses I use I will get to that.--- Lets hear about the Kaniche.

[Kristian]

:) Indeed, I opened the bottle over the weekend and tasted it. I even compared it to Clement's Rhum Vieux, which also follows the French tradition. I found the Guadeloupe to be a very easy on the tongue, and an enjoyable experience. The smell is full and rich. In comparison to Vieux, Guadeloupe had a more mature taste and was far smoother than the younger rum, which was rather smoky. Kaniche Guadeloupe is definitely worth a try and I'm happy that I took the chance (despite the label).

As far as my better half goes, she seems to be very intolerant when it comes to rum's taste in other drinks. I mixed some drinks for us when we celebrated Halloween (admittedly, I used Captain Morgan for those) and her drink had only half the amount rum I put in mine. She still complained about its taste when she got to the bottom half of the drink (The rum had settled down by then as I had forgotten to buy straws oss. to stir the drinks while we drank)... However, I'll continue to try to turn her head. She already agrees with me that rum is better than whisky, so I'm rather positive about my chances in the long run...

I'll look forward to your experiences about the rum glasses in the other thread!

[Brija]

Oh, my love, you can't make me enjoy rum! I simply don't like the flavour enough to drink something that tastes like that…  and, yes, I do not like the taste of rum in a drink if it is too strong. As for the drinks you made on that Halloween night - hey, listen to what John said there: mix up a SIMPLE sweet fruity drink… you can't possibly say those drinks were simple after you had mixed up everything we had in liquid form (with the exception of coffee)! :) …  Since you said you'll continue to try to turn my head, next time, let's try rum in something simpler. And you know I love strawberries…  

[JOHN REEKIE]

Just stopped by to read your interesting coments from both of you , will comment later. Also will coment on what glasses I use. In the mean time look over in "wine and beer" you will find some interesting threads on glasses . sorry got to go.    John Reekie.

[Kristian]

Eh.. harrumph... I didn't realise my better half would actually enter the rum forum... :confused:

In my defence, I have to say that my Halloween mix was perfectly fine for the occasion. True, it did contain lemon soft drink and apple juice as the main ingredients, small portions of both brown rum and Amaretto, as well as a drop of red currant concentrate(?) for colour (added last, after the soft drink and juice so that it did not mix into the drink too well). But does this sound so bad?

I called it the Werewolf's Fang, but the exact name is still under consideration... (Perhaps Werewolf's Drool might have suited it better...)

PS. Another version replaced the lemon soft drink (carbonated yellowish stuff, a bit milky in colour and tastes very lemony, probably not available outside Finland in the same form or taste (delicious!)) with apple cider and was better received by my dearest. Perhaps this one should be the 'Bite' version...

[Brija]

Kristian, you forget that there was apple cider in the first version as well! And yes, the drink with just apple (both juice and cider), Amaretto and black (yes, black not red) currant (and rum, of course…) was a combination more to my liking. But as you said, the first version was perfect for the occasion! And I just love the names you thought for them!