Rhum Agricole: The Topic

[Craig E]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

...and?

I'd imagine after five Ti Punches it might take her a while to recover the ability to post.

[FrogPrincesse]

Sorry @JoNorvelleWalker, I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that. But I started typing my notes and had to sniff or taste a few of them again to be absolutely sure.

Here you go, by order of preference:

 

Capovilla PMG

Salty/briny nose. Ocean, citrus, fresh grass. Very unique and truly spectacular (unfortunately it is the most expensive of the bunch!).

 

Batiste

Subtle but really nice. Coconut, fresh grass.

 

Duquesne

Citrus, grass, coconut, tropical fruit, a bit salty, peppery, slightly aggressive.

 

Damoiseau 40

Nose is quasi inexistent. Lemon, gasoline, rather weak.

 

Clement Canne Bleue (this is the American bottling, not sure what vintage or if there is even a vintage on the US version)

I could not finish that one! Nose is super funky, oil spill. Taste wasn't much better...It is intense, but not in a way that I enjoy.

I have to note that I have a bottle of the 2011 that I bought in France and is really wonderful! So apparently there is a huge difference in the various bottlings.

 

So it appears that my taste is more or less diametrically opposite of Josh's! It just shows that we prefer completely different flavor profiles in agricoles. He is not a fan of La Favorite either, which is more or less my platonic ideal of a white rhum agricole.

[FrogPrincesse]

1 hour ago, Craig E said:

I'd imagine after five Ti Punches it might take her a while to recover the ability to post.

Haha. Well, these were half-sized Ti Punches and I had a drinking partner...

 

[tanstaafl2]

18 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

...and?

 

My thoughts exactly! Inquiring minds want to know...

[FrogPrincesse]

18 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

My thoughts exactly! Inquiring minds want to know...

 

See two posts above yours (here).

 

I'd love to have yours and others' impressions on these if you've tried them. Rhum agricole seems to be a polarizing spirit, so it's good to compare impressions!

[Craig E]

@Rafa's Blood Simple with my new bottle of Clément Première Canne. 

Only fully understood his "float a halo of bitters" instructions after I dashed it on and saw it settle around the ice.

This is like a Ti Punch with proportions pushed away from the rhum, and honey in place of cane syrup, and the bitters contributing some cherry/wood/spice aromas and flavors. 

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 6:31 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

 

See two posts above yours (here).

 

I'd love to have yours and others' impressions on these if you've tried them. Rhum agricole seems to be a polarizing spirit, so it's good to compare impressions!

 

Don't know how I missed that! Apparently I didn't realize there was one more page. Too much agricole perhaps...

 

Of that group I have had the Batiste, Capoville and the Clement Canne Bleue. As it happens the Clement I had was also the European bottle from 2011 (wow, has it been that long?) but I don't know if they have a vintage bottling every year and a regular Canne Bleue, or if they have stopped putting a year on it, or if that is just a US thing. Have never tried the US bottling as it is not available locally to my knowledge. I found the the 2011 to be refreshing and had an almost light morning dewy smell and the taste was as I imagined that smell must taste. Very pleasant. Sorry to here the US bottling was not even close.

 

The Capovilla was indeed the most unique to me with a lot of body and a richer grassy quality than any I think I have ever had.

 

I found the Batiste to be very thin at 80 proof (which I suppose could contribute to it being subtle?) and I don't recall the coconut character but I only tried it once and don't have a bottle of it. I was disappointed with it. But I must confess most 80 proof rum seems thin to me unless somebody has poured a lot of sugar in it. Then it tastes less thin and more syrupy sweet. Not a good thing.

Edited October 17, 2016 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

@tanstaafl2Thanks for sharing your tasting notes!  I still have dreams of the Capovilla... which means that I will need to buy a bottle eventually once I get past the sticker shock.

 

I am on the fence about Rhum J.M XO. It's not as smooth or as harmonious as I would like... but I keep trying it regularly, in case in starts growing on me.

 

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 1:56 AM, FrogPrincesse said:

Clement Canne Bleue (this is the American bottling, not sure what vintage or if there is even a vintage on the US version)

I could not finish that one! Nose is super funky, oil spill. Taste wasn't much better...It is intense, but not in a way that I enjoy.

I have to note that I have a bottle of the 2011 that I bought in France and is really wonderful! So apparently there is a huge difference in the various bottlings.

 

I did find a bottle of the Clement Canne Bleue in a local store so I picked one up to try to see if it is that much different from the typical 80 proof Clement that I usually see. The Bleue is 50% but has no vintage date so I presume it is a US thing. I hope it is not as bad as you found it!

[FrogPrincesse]

13 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

 

I did find a bottle of the Clement Canne Bleue in a local store so I picked one up to try to see if it is that much different from the typical 80 proof Clement that I usually see. The Bleue is 50% but has no vintage date so I presume it is a US thing. I hope it is not as bad as you found it!

You are very brave!

 

[tanstaafl2]

Just now, FrogPrincesse said:

You are very brave!

 

 

A fool and his money, as it were!

[tanstaafl2]

I finally sat down and tried the US version of the non vintage Canne Bleu. I was using it as a comparison in a side by side with the Bielle Canne Grise I brought back recently from Marie Galante.

 

 

Either there is a lot of variety in the Clement bottling or you had a bad bottle! Indeed, the Clement was rather tame with mostly a dry vegetal quality. It was almost boring when compared to the funky, floral and yes, slightly diesel-y Canne Grise. Fortunately I like all that funk so I enjoyed the Canne Grise. But there was nothing subtle about it!

 

118 proof probably helps....

[FrogPrincesse]

Trader Joe's is currently stocking rhum agricole!!! They received it a couple of weeks ago. I immediately grabbed a couple of bottles. It's Batiste 2015 Ecoiste which is unaged, made in Marie Galante and finished (distilled in a Japanese vacuum still) in Sonoma County, of all places. It's a bit light, only 40%, and makes a very pleasant 10:3:2 Daiquiri. It feels like a good deal at $20 a bottle.

 

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

I have tried it at a spirits show some months ago and confess I found it a bit wanting. Especially since I have access to the Bellevue agricole (at 118 pf I think!) that it is sourced from. That Bellevue bottle was a liter and only cost about 10 euros! Of course I had to go to Guadeloupe to get it. Makes for a hell of a commute...

 

I guess the question for me would be how does it hold up in a DWB?

[FrogPrincesse]

26 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

I guess the question for me would be how does it hold up in a DWB?

I am not sure it'd be able to stand up to the arrack. I suspect it's a little too gentle for that.

[tanstaafl2]

2 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

I am not sure it'd be able to stand up to the arrack. I suspect it's a little too gentle for that.

 

Although I did not get to try it in a DWB that was my impression as well when I tried it. Hence it did not find its way into my bottle "collection".

 

Of course my palate may be a bit jaded!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

I have tried it at a spirits show some months ago and confess I found it a bit wanting. Especially since I have access to the Bellevue agricole (at 118 pf I think!) that it is sourced from. That Bellevue bottle was a liter and only cost about 10 euros! Of course I had to go to Guadeloupe to get it. Makes for a hell of a commute...

 

I guess the question for me would be how does it hold up in a DWB?

 

DWB?

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

DWB?

 

Daiquiri with Benefits.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 minute ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Daiquiri with Benefits.

 

 

Ah!  Thanks, sounds good.  And I just replenished my arrack with four more bottles.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Made the DWB tonight.  Perfectly OK but I think a prefer a plain Daiquiri myself.

 

[tanstaafl2]

17 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Made the DWB tonight.  Perfectly OK but I think a prefer a plain Daiquiri myself.

 

 

Well, we all have our own limitations...

 

You have had it before. Apparently it didn't make much of an impression then either!

Edited January 10, 2017 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Well, we all have our own limitations...

 

You have had it before. Apparently it didn't make much of an impression then either!

 

 

Yeah, but that was following a zombie.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

The Batiste makes a very nice Ti Punch. Flavorful but less intimidating than higher proof rhum. Also a great Daiquiri No. 3 (I forgot to take a picture of that one).

[GarethLangston]

I had a fantastic agricole daquiri at Kester Thomas in Copenhagen this weekend, using a house made champagne syrup.

[FrogPrincesse]

1 hour ago, GarethLangston said:?

I had a fantastic agricole daquiri at Kester Thomas in Copenhagen this weekend, using a house made champagne syrup.

Do you know what kind of rhum agricole they used?