Join the KSFSS December 14th for an evening of fine spirits and pre-Xmas cheer! We’ll be featuring a fine selection of sipping rums from various Caribbean producers and cognacs from small French craft distilleries. And to ease the transition from one spirit to the other, there will be a lovely Spanish brandy. If you like nosing scotch, then you’ll love a nice lightly heated cognac! This will be our last tasting for 2015, and we would like to thank our members for supporting and driving the society, all so we can enjoy some amazing scotches and excellent fine spirits! Slainte! Our December lineup is presented below.
Flor de Caña Centenario 12-Year Rum is distilled in a continuous column still process, then rests for 12 years in small American white oak barrels that previously held whiskey and bourbon.Flor de Caña was founded in 1890 by Francisco Alfredo Pellas at the San Antonio Sugar Mill, in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. The company remains headed by the Pellas family to this day and harvests the molasses and sugarcane used to create their rum from fields adjacent to the distillery in Chichigalpa.
I got a chance to try the 25 year old version of this rum at a tasting recently and loved the dryness of this rum. It’s very smooth with a hint of smoke.
Dictador 20 y.o. Rum is produced in Colombia on the Caribbean coast at Cartagena de Indias City. Rather than being produced from molasses, the rum is produced from the virgin honey of sugar cane which has been distilled upon a stainless steel alembic, and aged using Dicatador’s unique take on the solera-style aging system. Although the rum is produced upon a stainless steel alembic, the inner workings of this still contain more than enough copper such that it functions in basically the same manner as a copper pot still.
I’ve had several versions of this rum and loved them all! Not dry as the Flor de Cana, but smokier, bitter chocolate and coffee notes make this rum a great cigar companion!
Ron Zacapa 23 Solera Rum was created in 1976 in the highlands of Guatemala, where it is distilled from fresh cane juice before aging at 7544 feet at 62 °F (17 °C). The 500 year-old Spanish Sistema Solera method is used to age Ron Zacapa 23 in white oak casks. This results in a combination of rums aged between 6 and 23 years.
Ron Zacapa gets mixed reviews in that the residual sugars are quite high and tends to lean on the sweet side of the spectrum, but in my limited rum experience, there are sweeter. I included this rum in the flight to give rum novices the scope of the flavours and styles of rum out there.
Miguel Torres 20 y.o. Brandy is a double distilled brandy made by the Torres family (or bodega) who have been intrinsically linked to the wine making region of Spain known as the Penedès for over three centuries. Their brandy is produced from selected wines of the Parellada (a traditional Catalan white varietal) and Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano in Italy) grape varieties. After distillation of the wine in copper pot stills, a careful selection process is undertaken to choose the most positive aromatic fractions, and these are aged in french Limousin oak barrels.
I don’t have much experience with brandies, but Andrew Ferguson said it was it had woody notes with flavours of fresh sap, cloves, orange peel, dark tobacco and cinnamon. Sounds like a winner to me!
Covering fifty acres of land in the heart of Grande Champagne, Jean Fillioux Cognac is an independent, family run estate that has been producing eaux-de-vie of high quality through four generations. Proud of their traditional methods, the current owner, Pascal J. Fillioux, ensures that not one bottle leaves the estate without being controlled by him from start to finish.
Jean Fillioux Coq is a Grande Champagne Cognac, produced on the family’s estate. The grade is a VS cognac. “Coq” is part of the classic range of Cognac Jean Fillioux.
Chateau de Montifaud XO Cognac is part of the core range, owned by the family Vallet for six generations, Chateau de Montifaud Cognac boasts 90 hectares of vineyards that are located in both the Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne growing regions. The house produces a large, high quality range of cognacs – including various vintages from years that have had an exceptional harvest. One family tradition that Chateau de Montifaud Cognac is proud to follow, is that of when a new baby boy is born to the head of the cognac house, that part of the cognac created from that year’s harvest is set to one side. This is kept for a varying number of years, but may only be sold by future generations.
Chateau de Montifaud XO Cognac is a rather light and smooth extra old cognac from the 2nd Cru of Cognac, the second best growth area Petite Champagne. The XO is also enjoyed by the feminine drinker, the producer says.
ABK6 XO Family Reserve Aged 10 Years Cognac is owned by Francis Abécassis, ABK6 is a young cognac house based at the Domaine de Chez Maillard near the village of Claix. Its 250 hectares of vineyards produce high quality eaux-de-vie, which are used to blend this contemporary cognac. The goal of this label is to introduce a young and modern spirit to the traditional drink and at the same time value the quality. Not only its name, an abbreviation of the owner’s name, but also its blog, facebook and twitter pages show the target group of the company. ABK6 owns its own brand as well as the brands Leyrat and and Réviseur. Together, the three brands of the company have been awarded over 60 awards in the past years.
This Single Estate XO is the oldest of the ABK6 Cognac range. Of course, also this Cognac from the house of ABK6 won several awards at competitions. Just to name Gold in 2009 (Bruxelles), and Silver in London 2009.