LouisianaLonghorn
Plantation Isle of Fiji
Aged Rum — Fiji
Reviewed
September 3, 2020 (edited November 15, 2021)
Think back to the first time you tried a heavily peated scotch. What thoughts were going through your mind? What associations did you try to make to describe the experience? Was it a funky adventure you never forgot? Nosing and tasting this rum brings back a lot of those memories of the first Talisker 10 I bought all those years ago, and folks, it's a lovely ride.
Now, I'm always down for a funky adventure. Diving further down the rum rabbit hole brought me to this dram. Plantation (outdated name aside...) seems to be what is best described as a rum independent bottler/finisher. Sort of a cross between a Signatory and Angels Envy. They're a French Cognac producer that sources aged and unaged rums from all over the world, brings them to SW France to age further in their French Oak barrels, imparting all the spicy, fruity, yummy goodness they do, and then bottle the rums and sell to our fine selves. This one hails from the Isle of Figi, and on this damp, rainy, humid summer night, it's the perfect funky adventure to go on.
Nosing this you're immediately greeted with a fusel quality, like you caught a whiff of the jet fuel from the plane that just brought you to the island. As a veteran of heavily peated drams, I know to dig deeper past the funk, and doing so brings out mango, coconut, unripened bananas, vanillas, some nutmeg, ginger, and molasses. Very complex, and a nose you can sit and enjoy for some time. But this rum was made for drinking!
It enters a bit thin, but quickly turns to viscous and mouth coating. The fruity elements from the nose carry over, with the addition of dates, raisins, and almond notes on the palate. If I hadn't done my research already, I might have guessed it had spent some time in a sherry cask. Must be the Cognac notes coming through. The spice is lovely without overpowering the fruit or the funk. The finish is sweet, but a bit short, with the fruity, spicy elements lingering.
Well now this was a fun trip! If I had to compare it to something, it reminds me the most of a peated, sherry matured Highland single malt. It's got fruit and spice, with a good coating mouthfeel, but a meaty, funky element on the nose. Time and patient nosing reward the thoughtful drinker with this dram, and at $23, I continue to wonder why I pay so much for whiskey. Were there really days when whisky was also under the radar and cost next to nothing for an amazing bottle (not that the rare gem isn't still out there, like Evan Williams BiB or Early Times BiB)? I found this at a bigger local liquor store with dust on the bottle. It's clearly flying under the radar, but if you're a fan of fruit and spice and up for a funky adventure, check out a bottle for yourself. Cheers!
23.0
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Bottle
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Awesome review
@BeppeCovfefe Some people take the stance that rum's lack of regulation is what makes it so interesting and varied. My take is that allowing rum producers to be creative (e.g. with casks, dosage, blending) is fine, but you're right on that the labelling really should be clear. It's extra confusing that Jamaica (and possibly others) has more stringent/traditional age statement and dosage requirements
@cascode @WhiskeyLonghorn Yeah, some of the Plantation like the XO gets really sweet. I thought the dosage in the 2003 Trinidad was about right though and while I take some issue with the Xaymaca, it's quite interesting and has no dosage.
@WhiskeyLonghorn great review and I also enjoyed this bottle a lot more than expected. It’s a pretty new release but with an open bottle at home I passed on a sale price just barely north of $16 last week. Everything Plantation puts out <=$25 is spectacular VFM in my book, and this one fixes my only complaint that they are all high quality but a bit neutered and not overly adventurous. @cascode It’s quite interesting to watch Seale and Gabriel both be respected leaders of the new rum movement, including transparency, but with a few fundamental but huge differences in their philosophies. FWIW 50% of the rum on my shelves is from those two (albeit one mostly affordable bottles and the other largely Boutique limited bottlings). Let’s just say plantation fuels the tiki bar (which may well be two inappropriate cultural concepts in one statement - go me!).
@cascode don't forget about the Ferrand Orange Curacao. Just picked that up recently too and it leaves Grand Marnier AND Cointreau dead in the dust.
@BeppeCovfefe the bottle says it's aged 2-3 years in Figi, with another year or so in SW France. I'm with you, I'm not a big fan of the dosage. This one is 16 g/L. Better than Diplomatico, which is a whopping 40 g/L!
Interesting info on the front page about "aged rum "BUT WILL OFTEN CARRY AN AGE STATEMENT (WHICH SHOULD BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT)", I suppose US Whiskey is maintained under better scrutiny. yea the sugars in some of these rums can be really interesting, considering the source base is sugar, I would kind of expect it.
@Ctrexman I found it at Specs in their very comprehensive but neglected rum section!
Whiskey musings on the price of a bottle plus a review worth pondering on. To rum or not to rum?
@cascode Ah interesting. Good research!
@WhiskeyLonghorn This sounds great - I love ultra-funky Fijian rum - it's astonishingly like high-dunder Jamaican.
@Soba45 They are a branch of Maison Ferrand, which also produces Pierre Ferrand cognac and Citadelle gin. All the products are brainchildren of the head honcho, Alexandre Gabriel. Along with Foursquare's Richard Seale he's become one of the leading lights in the rum revolution (although personally I wish he would lose his sweet tooth and quit adding dosage to the rum).
Sounds great. Ill add to the list
Ah interesting. I never knew they were an independent bottler. Nice review I always like an interesting read which is more than just tasting notes.
Great notes. At $23 it sounds well worth a try!