Rhum Agricole: The Topic

[JoNorvelleWalker]

FP, you almost have a convert.  I say "almost" because I ended up with too much lime for the amount of spirit:

 

2 oz L'Espirit

1 teaspoon cane syrup (of which maybe 1/2 teaspoon ended up in the punch)

juice of 1/2 lime, spent half lime as a garnish.

 

 

I shook because cold cane syrup does not readily dissolve in ethanol by any known method.  Then the drink got too diluted from the ice.  Still, not bad at all.  The hard part was deciding on the proper glass.

 

Though I am forced to reiterate I miss the funk of La Favorite.  A similar drink is death in the gulfstream and I think I like that even better.  For a 'ti punch, why not just drink La Favorite over cracked ice with a slice of lime?

[Hassouni]

70% alcool, c trop quoi

[FrogPrincesse]

Quand on aime, on ne compte pas.

[Hassouni]

c'est ça qui a la vérité!

[EvergreenDan]

The Barbancourt white rhum agricole at $15 is a must buy and try in this category. The 3 star (4 years) and 5 star (8 years) are simply magnificent and more than hold their own.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Neither Barbancourt, nor Clement, nor JM does much for me at all.  Neisson and La Favorite are a completely different story.

 

Cruzan I have never tried.  Is Cruzan really similar to an agricole?

[EvergreenDan]

I haven't found either Neisson nor La Favorite, but I'll keep looking. Thanks. I was searching this forum for a comparison that someone (FrogPrincess?) wrote about those two and JM and maybe Clement.

 

No, Cruzan is not agricole at all. It was just a white rum I had on hand.

[FrogPrincesse]

I haven't found either Neisson nor La Favorite, but I'll keep looking. Thanks. I was searching this forum for a comparison that someone (FrogPrincess?) wrote about those two and JM and maybe Clement.

 

 

[Moto]

The La favorite is my favorite so far.  I have tried both the blanc and  some of the aged variations of Clement and La Favorite and so far  La Favorite wins each time.

 

The Barbancourt has a burnt rubber aspect that I really can't get past.  The blanc versions of agricoles make a wonderful straight ahead daiquiri.  I think a part of the difference between the Clement and the others is that the easily available blanc is bottled at 40 proof while the Niesson and Favorite are at 50.

 

The vegetal quality of an agricole reminds me a lot of a good tequila.

[FrogPrincesse]

Last night's home work...

 

 

 

[tanstaafl2]

And did you arrive at a conclusion???

[FrogPrincesse]

And did you arrive at a conclusion???

 

Yes. Life is good, and variety is the spice of life...

 

 

Also Neisson > KoHana >> La Mauny. But it's an unfair comparison because only the Neisson is 50%. I wish KoHana white (this was the Lahi sugar cane variety) wasn't diluted to 40%.

[FrogPrincesse]

(From the Drinks! discussion)

 

I am in the middle of designing a drinks menu and thus sick of cocktails so Damoiseau VSOP, Clément VSOP, and Don Q 151 neat have been my Drinks! 2014 (Part 2) lately.

Rafa - How do you like Damoiseau VSOP compared to Clement VSOP?

 

[Rafa]

Both are excellent, but the Clément is more flavorful and aromatic, and I find myself craving it more.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Both are excellent, but the Clément is more flavorful and aromatic, and I find myself craving it more.

 

I wish Clement VSOP did something for me.  It does not.

[FrogPrincesse]

I made the Green Mile from Death & Co again this weekend. Such a beautiful drink that accents the vegetal qualities of a good white agricole with fresh basil, green Chartreuse, and absinthe. I used a mix of La Mauny and Neisson rhum agricoles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Josh from Inu A Kena posted his findings about a tasting of the 12 white rhum agricoles that are currently available in the US. This is a great read for us agricole lovers!

 

https://inuakena.com/spirit-reviews/agricole-challenge/

[Rafa]

I had the smallest pour of Neisson  18 year. It was divine.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My bottle of 18 remains unopened though I go through Reserve Speciale at a distressing rate.  Horrible habit but I have agricole more nights than not.  And then some.

 

 

[Rafa]

I expected 18 years in the tropics would leave the spirit depressingly over-oaked. I should have trusted that the blenders at Neisson know what they're doing: it was a beautifully integrated rum.

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 3:10 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

Josh from Inu A Kena posted his findings about a tasting of the 12 white rhum agricoles that are currently available in the US. This is a great read for us agricole lovers!

 

https://inuakena.com/spirit-reviews/agricole-challenge/

 

Interesting comparison but obviously one persons perspective. I have had the chance to try 8 of the 12 (unfortunately not all at the same time) and would probably rank them a bit different. The Batiste is a poor representative of the Bellevue distillery as I discovered when I managed to get a bottle of the Bellevue 55% in Guadeloupe. Looks like I will need to track down a bottle of the Damoiseau, especially the 55% ABV (and perhaps the Duquesne, a rhum now made at the La Mauny distillery but apparently on the original column still from the old Duquesne distillery) for myself! The other one I have somehow missed is La Favorite, which seemed to get left off the initial list in this post but is reviewed further down.

 

For science of course...

Edited October 3, 2016 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

I feel that this is extremely subjective and my preferences seem different as well.

 

I had the Damoiseau 55 and wasn't too devastated when that bottle was finished. It is solid, but wasn't anything special to me and I wasn't crazy about its specific flavor profile.

 

My favorites white agricoles so far are Neisson, Clement Canne Bleue, and La Favorite. JM is good too, but I reserve final judgment until I try their higher proof expression.

[tanstaafl2]

On 10/3/2016 at 6:09 PM, FrogPrincesse said:

I feel that this is extremely subjective and my preferences seem different as well.

 

I had the Damoiseau 55 and wasn't too devastated when that bottle was finished. It is solid, but wasn't anything special to me and I wasn't crazy about its specific flavor profile.

 

My favorites white agricoles so far are Neisson, Clement Canne Bleue, and La Favorite. JM is good too, but I reserve final judgment until I try their higher proof expression.

 

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the Damoiseau. I have had the younger aged expression at lowish proof and wasn't that overwhelmed but never the blanc. I do like the Clement Canne Bleue and the Neisson although the Neisson seems a bit more variable to me from bottle to bottle.

[FrogPrincesse]

Trying a few new (to me) white agricoles in a Ti Punch flight: Duquesne, Damoiseau 40, Clement canne bleue (US version), Batiste, Capovilla PMG.

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Trying a few new (to me) white agricoles in a Ti Punch flight: Duquesne, Damoiseau 40, Clement canne bleue (US version), Batiste, Capovilla PMG.

 

 

 

 

...and?