Chairman’s Reserve Rum Master’s Selection
Chairman's Reserve Master's Selection 13 Year Old Single Barrel Rum
We are going to mix it up today and do a review on a rum that I bought a while back. Chairman’s Reserve Rum Master’s Selection is a store pick by @thewhiskyguys. This is a rum from Saint Lucia from a label I never heard of before, but admittedly, I am not as well versed about the rum world. However, I do enjoy rum, especially aged rum, and even visited a few distilleries when on my honeymoon in Mauritius oh-so-many years ago, but I’m no expert.
While looking at the bottle, my first impression is very positive as the nerd in me dives deep into all the information on the label about how it was made. Also, I highly recommend checking out the website as they give a lot of information about the production process.
What we know from the label…This was distilled in 2006 and aged for 13 years, bottled on August 16, 2019. The juice was distilled in pot stills, which I always like to see as I feel it provides for more flavor. Half of the distillate came from the John Dore I still, which has a 450 liter capacity and was installed in 1998. The other half came from a Vendome Still, which has a 1,364 liter capacity that is a 9 plate hybrid still that utilizes batch distillation. The rum was then aged in Ex-Bourbon casks, as previously mentioned, for 13 years. Finally, the label gives a shout out to the Cellar Master Cyril Mangal, thank you Cyril!
ABV: 56.3%
How it smells…vanilla, floral, and brown sugar notes come out strong and I get some grapefruit after spending some time with it…with water, it gets a bit fruitier.
How it tastes…coconut on the start followed by sweet mangos and ending in some spiciness with a long molasses and vanilla finish….with water, a little more oak and vanilla in the middle that ends in cocoa but the finish is more cinnamon spice.
Price…$60
Rating...🥃🥃🥃🥃
Final thoughts…..I really liked this. I don’t know much about the value of rum, but from my perceived value of what I am getting for $60, a well balanced, flavorful, high-proof rum that is oh so smooth, I’m thinking it’s money well spent so a 4x 🥃 is appropriate. This is very smooth and has a lot of whiskey qualities in it after spending 13 years in an ex-bourbon barrel, but you can’t mistake the molasses and the more tropical fruits that make it a wonderful rum. It’s meaty for a rum and has a little funk to it, but a funk in the best way possible, where it acts in concert with all of the other flavors, adding some additional character to the overall profile.
I’m curious to know more about their aging warehouse as I would think that 13 years in the tropical heat would make for a lot of over-oaked notes, but I don’t find any of that in this sip. Perhaps the ex-bourbon barrels are in their 2nd or 3rd use. It is interesting that the website states that blending is the heart of Chairman’s reserve and:
“...the best rum could not be achieved in a single barrel but instead could only be accomplished by blending various components together of different ages, styles, finishes, and raw materials. For this reason you will find no age statements on our products.”
Yet here I am drinking an amazing single barrel 13 year age statement rum and it’s delicious….you might want to rethink this a bit Chairman!
I know this is a store pick so those outside of the Greater Boston area won’t be able to grab one, but if this is indicative of what Chairman’s Reserve makes, I’m going to have to pick up some more of their releases.
