Day 19 of the tasty rummy advent calendar and it's a Nepalese rum this time. I'm learning a lot about rum through this process, including that they make it in Nepal. Right now I have no idea what to expect, so I'll get reading and sipping and inform you about the experience as best I can. Three, two, one, go!
Bit of an intro
This is of course a Nepalese rum. I almost went to Nepal once, but a week before I was due to travel the king arrested the entire government and they closed the international airport so the trip kind of fell apart. Hopefully one day I can get there though. The distillery is in the Khathmandu valley which was chosen for the location for its fresh water and relatively cool temperatures and it was founded in 1959 by Mr. J R Contractor. The cool temperature of the valley is supposed to give a slower maturation that gives room for more nuances of flavour. That's what they say on the website anyway, amid mountains of feel good fluff that doesn't give you much actual information. I've managed to discover that they started with pot stills and now have column still, but they say something about the aged rums they use for making this blend being very influenced by the historic pot stills and it isn't entirely clear whether they still use the pot stills or not. They've made several brands of rum over the decades and hold about an 80% share of the Nepalese rum market today. They must be doing something right.
The website makes a big deal of heritage and water. The water is apparently melted snow from the Himalayas that runs down over the rocks to the Khathmandu valley. They say it's cold temperature, mineral content and pH are ideal for making rum. I'm happy to take their word for it, but it does smell a bit like marketing fluff. They have a bit of a blurb about each of their expressions on the site, but it's vague stuff about how the rum carries the character of tradition and the Himalayas, and all they say about the flavour is that it tastes of oak. This one's bottled at 42.8% ABV, so should have a little more complexity than some of the other rums I've tasted. It's aged in oak, but it's not clear exactly what that looks like. They mention oak vats and oak barrels and I'm not sure how long it's been in what. Might as well move on to the next section.
Packaging
It's a little different. It has a Himalayan feel to it. I'd say it looked a bit Indian if i didn't know it was from Nepal. Have a look:
Kind of Indian
It's quite a nice label. White and gold looks quite fancy. The little Everest picture tells you that it's from the that part of the world. I'm curious about the XXX in the name. I'm not sure what that really means. I don't think it's to do with the age. Possibly a reference to the strength or something.
Smell in the bottle
On opening
Superglue.
Pear drops.
Vanilla.
Sponge cake.
Appearance
Looks about the same as most. I think there's a bit of colouring in here though.
Is there a bit of an oranginess to that?
To me it looks like there's a bit of an orangey glow to this which suggests e150a caramel colouring has been used. They don't say there has, but they don't say there hasn't. I'm pretty sure it's in there, but not 100%.
Neat
Nose
Cola cubes.
Sweet vanilla.
Touch nutty.
Vanilla.
Toffee.
Arrival
Toffee.
Development
Deep, chocolatey.
Treacle.
Finish
Toffee came back.
Touch of coffee-ish bitterness.
Water - just a bit
I fell asleep before tasting it with water. It was late and I was tired. Woke up after an hour or so, but the oxygen will have affected the flavours to some extent.
Nose
Rich toffee.
Vanilla.
Toasted wood.
Arrival
Sweet.
Toffee.
Touch of bitterness.
Development
Toasted wood.
Reminds me of liquoice dusted dates I had with my Norwegian friends Mr. and Mrs Thorsen.
Finish
Dark dried fruit.
Hint of bitter liquorice.
Touch of cocoa powder.
A bit like dark marmalade.
A few extra comments
I fell asleep! My plan was to stay up the whole night so I could sleep through the next day ready to work my night shift, but it didn't work very well. I don't know how much sleeping next to the glass will have affected things, but the oxygen will have got in and oxidized things to some extent and therefore changed the flavour. I felt like this rum didn't have a huge range of flavours and aromas, but there's a chance that they were lost while I was dozing. I did get to taste it neat before I dropped off and it had a bit more on the nose, but not on the palate.
Conclusion
Pretty nice. Not a huge range of recognizable flavours, more of a general sweetish, rum flavour. It had a fair bit of complexity what I wasn't able to capture in my notes. There was also a satisfying depth to the flavour that I couldn't really describe well. Think deep, rich, bitter-sweet, complexity. On a scale of one to ten I got forty winks, which was lovely but it means that my perception of the rum is possibly not accurate. There was certainly a lot of toasted wood influence which was the only clue to the favour I could glean from the website. Would I buy a bottle? It's not available here, so no. It's another one that I'd consider if the price was right or if I saw it in the bar and wasn't in the mood for a pint. It'd be nice to taste it without it sitting for an hour while I visit the land of nod.
The next rum is from the Dominican Republic. I've got behind a bit with these due to Christmas shopping and things, but I'll try to catch up. Bye.
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