Category: Rum

John was fortunate enough to have a work trip to Mauritius, and he brought me back a tasting pack of Saint Aubin Rhum. I have been exploring rum these last few months and learning more about rum in general.

Mauritius is one of those undiscovered rhum producing countries we always forget about. I see regular releases from Barbados, Jamaican and the Caribbean region. But Mauritius is just around the corner from us, and slowly, more of their rhums are making it to South Africa. You can now find New Grove, Chamarel and Penny Blue rums at NWW.

La Plantation de Saint Aubin has been cultivating sugar cane since 1819. The plantation is situated in the south of Mauritius, and the distillery was added later on. The distillery gets its name comes from one of its first owners, Pierre de Saint Aubin.

Saint Aubin makes Mauritian Agricola rhums from freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. The fermented cane juice is distilled once only in an alembic still.

The tasting pack contained the following rhums.

Saint Aubin Rhum Agricole (40%)

A pot stilled blanc Agricole bottled at 40% ABV. Tasting notes include creamy sweet fruit, blueberries, green pine needles and clean green notes. This is a great rhum for cocktails.

Saint Aubin Rhum Agricol (50%)

A blanc Agricole bottled at 50% ABV. My tasting notes captured notes of blackberries and raspberries, fruit pastilles and aniseed. The dark berry notes on this jump out on the nose. Smooth and drinkable. Soft hints of freshly grated lemon peel.

Saint Aubin Epice Rhum

A spice-infused rhum with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. There was a snicker doodle cookie element with almonds, rosewater and macadamia nuts. My favourite of all the rums we tasted. This is perfect for sipping neat like whisky. Bottled at 40%.

Saint Aubin Vanille Rhum

Bourbon vanilla and toffee sweetness. Nice and sweet, but a bit one dimensional. This rhum will work very nicely with some mix or in a cuba libre cocktail. Bottled at 40%.

Saint Aubin Café Rhum

A coffee flavoured rum that reminded me of Kahlua coffee liqueur. I found it a bit one dimensional where the coffee overwhelmed any other flavours. This rhum will make a great cocktail rhum.

When we return to Mauritius later in the year, I will try to visit Rhumerie de Saint Aubin and do a more in-depth exploration of their rums.  For now I will just sit back and dream of tropical islands and sunshine while sipping my cocktails.

Visit to Saint Aubin Rum Rhumerie

During January 2023 I managed to visit the Rhumerie de Saint Aubin in Mauritius.  It’s a wonderful drive out to the south side of the island through small villages next to the ocean. The rhumerie is situated just past Souillac.  On the estate, there is a restaurant, a nursery with beautiful tropical plants, and a small vanilla plantation where you can see how vanilla is cultivated.

At the tasting room, there are many of the Saint Aubin rums available to taste.  Most of the rum that I described above is available for tasting and there are a few more as well.

These fruit-flavoured rum liqueurs are delicious.  Ice cold from the fridge on a hot island afternoon, they hit the spot just right.  My favourite was the Pina Colada and I see they are available in the regular supermarkets in Mauritius as well.

Saint Aubin also released a gin made from pure sugar cane juice and flavoured with juniper berries.  It has a sweeter undertone due to the sugar cane juice base and is perfect as a sipping gin.  Perfect for if you enjoy juniper-forward gins.  Soft and smooth and very drinkable.

Also Read: Rum vs Whiskey

Rum vs Whiskey; what are the differences? John travelled to Mauritius for business in December, and he brought me back some Saint Aubin rum in a lovely tasting set.

The rum market in SA has slowly been growing, and the range now is far more extensive than just the Redheart and Captain Morgan rum from 10 years ago.

Rum is versatile and approachable, so the wider variety is great to see. The flavoured rums bring a new edge, and the cocktail possibilities with the various flavours are endless. Today, rums from Barbados, Jamaica, and Mauritius are available in SA.

Exploring the new rum growth has also led some well-known SA gin distilleries to release a rum or 2. Many of the new SA rums are very drinkable. Mhoba, Tapanga and Surgarbird to name but a few. Gone are the days of raw, overly sweet cheap rums.

I associated rum with islands (and holidays) and wondered how rum and whisky differ. So I explored a bit: Rum vs Whisky; what are the differences?

What are the differences?

What is rum?

Rum conjures images of Caribbean islands and long drinks. The Caribbean Islands and Latin America are among the biggest rum producers globally.

According to some research, rum was first distilled on sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves realized that molasses, a by-product of sugar production, could be fermented into alcohol. The first official mention of rum was found in official documents from Barbados in 1650.

Rum is a distilled spirit made from sugarcane, sugarcane juice or molasses. The processes include distillation and fermentation. Rum tends to be aged for shorter periods, often because the distilleries are located in warm environments like the Caribbean. This means the angels’ share is higher than in colder countries like Scotland.

The alcohol content of rum varies from one country to the other and can go from at least 40% to beyond 60%. Sugar syrup is sometimes added back into the finished product to add sweeter notes.

Rum is classified into various categories – rhum agricole. white rum, dark rum, flavoured rum and spiced rum. Spices and flavours such as coffee, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves are added for spiced and flavoured rum.

Rum tends to be sweeter with a rich and spicy flavour when compared to whiskey. Recognized rum cocktails include the pina colada, the mojito, and the daiquiri.

What is Whiskey?

European monks brought the art of distillation to Ireland and Scotland in the fifteenth century. The earliest mention of whiskey in Ireland and Scotland comes from sixteenth and seventeenth-century notes.  Whiskey or whisky is produced in many countries including the USA, Ireland, India, SA and Taiwan.

Whiskey (whisky) is distilled from a fermented grain mash that may include: 
barley, rye, wheat and or corn. The whiskey-making process includes fermentation, distillation and ageing. Whisky is aged for at least three years in oak barrels before being called whiskey. Many distilleries finish their whiskey in barrels that previously held bourbon, sherry and even rum.

Types of whiskey include single malt, bourbon, pot still, grain whisky, blended whisky, and rye whiskey. Whiskey usually has alcohol contents of around 40%, depending on your country. In SA, the standard ABV is 43% for whiskey.

Famous whiskey cocktails include the Sazerac and an Old Fashioned.

Now, let me make myself a Dark and Stormy because research is thirsty work.

Also Read: Whiskey Sour Cocktail 

Situated on the lush green hills on the South Western side of Mauritius is the Chamarel area. Hills filled with sugar cane as far as you can see, clumps of pineapples and coconut trees and colourful hibiscus dot the landscape.  Spots of yellow and purple flowers transform the dense green sugar cane fields into a patchwork of colour.

The main focal point in the area is Little Black River Peak, the highest point in Mauritius at 828m above sea level.  During my trip to the picture-perfect tropical Island of Mauritius in April, I managed to work in a trip to the Chamarel Rum Distillery.

Visiting Chamarel Rum Distillery

On a beautiful sunny day, we ventured into the hills for some exploring and our first stop was the Chamarel Rum Distillery. The distillery logo represents the surrounding area, with the towering Black River Peak and the slopes of the sugar cane fields.

Established in 2008, Chamarel Rum distillery makes use of red and yellow sugar cane.  To ensure the best quality they cultivate their own sugar cane.  The cane is harvested by hand.

Yellow sugar cane in Mauritius

The red and yellow sugar cane has different harvesting times that extends from July to December. Unfortunately, I visited during the offseason when they were cleaning and maintaining the equipment and there was no sugar cane coming it, but it allowed me ample time to poke my nose into all the nooks and crannies.

Red sugar cane in Mauritius

The Rum Distilling Process

Our tour started with the history of Chamarel and led us to the beautiful forecourt  area. From here he took us through the process from where the sugar cane comes in, get stamped and the sugar cane syrup extracted and filtered. I suspect that in season, this can be a rather loud operation.

We moved on to the distilling area. Chamarel has 2 distilling method with a Barbet type plate column that allows for a continuous process as well as  2 copper pot still units.

From the distilling, we moved to the ageing warehouse. Chamarel mainly uses French Oak to age the rum. In the warehouse, there are a few barrels that have been ageing for over 5 years and a few barrels even close to 10 years – several in a variety of interesting casks. The angel’s share in Mauritius is rather low, only about 2.5% due to the moist mild climate in the hills.

Tasting the Chamarel Rum Releases

And from here we moved to the best part of the visit, the tasting. The range starts with the Chamarel Classic.  Other releases include the Chamarel Double Distilled, the Chamarel Gold, Chamarel Spices. The Liqueur range includes a Chamarel Vanilla Liqueur, Mandarin Liqueur as well as Coffee Liqueur and Coconut Liqueur.

The Chamarel Classic is great rum for cocktails and we started with a Ti-Punch, which is a mix of the Classic, some lime slices and raw sugar syrup.

The Chamarel Double Distilled not aged and very smooth due to the double pot still distillation with notes of vanilla, pear and citrus.

Chamarel Gold has been aged for 18 months in oak barrels.  The Gold has flavour notes of oak, spices and pepper.

The Chamarel Spices is aged for 18 months and then finished for a further 3 months in oak.  This release is infused with various spices including cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and coriander.  Delicious as an aperitif.

Next up was the Chamarel Premium Range including the VS, VSOP and XO.

The VS release has been aged for 3 to 4 years in French Oak and has distinct hints of coconut and banana. The VSOP release has been aged for between 4 and 6 years in a combination of French Oak and American oak.  It has notes of dried fruits, pepper and cloves.

Lastly, they have the XO, which has been aged between 6 and 8 years in a special combination of French Oak, new French Oak, Ex-Cognac and Ex-Wine.

Also Read: Rhumarie de Saint Aubin

The Chamarel Limited Edition Range was something different.  I have whisky finished in many different barrels including Rum. At Chamarel they have been finishing rum in various barrels including whisky barrels.

I tasted the Chamarel Single Cask Finish aged for 6 years in French Oak and finished for 1 year in Macallan 10 yo casks. They also have a Sauternes cask finish as well as a Moscatel cask finish. This I just had to add to my collection.

Chamarel Rum Cocktails

We ended the tour with some delicious cocktails. There are many similarities to the whisky distilling process and also many differences. It gave me a new appreciation for rum. Also a better understanding of how rum is made.  Also what good quality rum should taste like.  This is a spirit I will probably be exploring a bit more in future.

And on that note, we hopped back into our taxi and went on to further explore this beautiful Island.  We made a stop at the Chamarel waterfall and the world-famous 7 colours Earth. The rest of the time we spent lounging on the beach, drinking rum cocktails. What more can you ask for in a holiday?

Also Read: Rum vs Wiskey