Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009

Overall an powerful, complex, fruity, spicy and smoky rum. Bought two bottles of this rum from Svet Nápojov in Slovakia. The brand Chairman’s Reserve from Saint Lucia Distillers (SLD) saw the day of light in 1999 under supervision of Laurie Barnard, and is today their most appreciated rum if you ask me. SLD use molasses imported from the Dom. Rep. and some sugar cane juice from sugar cane grown in Saint Lucia. They use open tanks for fermentation and four different stills, one Coffey column and three different pot stills. All their rum is tropically aged on site mostly in ex-Bourbon casks, but sometimes also in Port casks. The 2009 is their second released vintage. It’s entirely molasses based distilled in their Coffey Still and two of the pot stills (John Dore II & Vendome). Thereafter the different distillates was aged separately for 11 years in ex-Bourbon casks whereafter it was blended and married for some more weeks before bottled at ABV 46%.

A chairman that I like less. It's hardly fruity, quite smoky in the direction of charcoal. Then you think it's somehow salty. The cask is also a little bitter. Scotch fans would definitely like it.

#5169 28.03.2025 Running through some samples at home. Nose Medium intense, wood, light roasted, spice, faint smoke, light leather, dried fruit, light plum. Palate Warm, medium dry, wood, light roasted, faint chocolate, raisin, light leather, light tobacco, faint caramel, light nutts. Finish Long and warm, medium dry, wood, faint smoke, dried fruit, light leather, light nutts. Empty glass Chocolate, light caramel, vanilla, light prunes, light banana.

8,5:The nose of this rum brings us nougat garnished with fatty nuts. Among them, peanut, almond, walnut with a light layer of varnish. The vanilla, caramel and some sweet spices continue to fill the wood, giving it a definitively melting side.Aeration gives us more roasted side with iodized, smoky/tobacco, resinous, even briny notes, then herbal notes and very ripe exotic fruits, whose fermentation releases a certain acidity with some orange peel. These fruits become thicker, dried and sweeter, complementing pastry notes in the end. 8,5:The palate is perfectly balanced between the two facets from the nose, but also from the point of the power of the attack. The heat is delightful and quite gourmand. The very ripe exotic like banana and dried, red fruits(especially prunes are intense)give way to oily citrus peels, which feed on sweet spices, candied roasted nuts and nice earthy peat, bacon along the way.There are also some vegetal, medicinal, metallic, briny notes and finally milk chocolate . 8,2:The finish is fruity, syrupy as pastry-like, buttery, with cherry pits and raisins, dry, the wood is toasted, some smoke stays, the chocolate is dark now. Really nice rhum🙂👌.

Als die Flasche frisch geöffnet war, fand ich diesen Saint Lucia doch ein wenig anstrengend. Die ein oder andere alkoholische Spitze machte sich bemerkbar und im Mund war er für mich fast schon überholzt. Mit sinkendem Füllstand haben sich diese Wogen aber zunehmend geglättet. Der Rum besitzt zwar immer noch einen kräftigen Eicheneinfluss und auch der Alkohol blitzt ab und zu noch durch, jedoch entwickelt er trotz des etwas dünnen und trockenen Abgangs ein harmonisches und erstaunlich komplexes Aromengefüge mit angenehmer Trinkbarkeit.

Lots of tobacco and coal paired with some lime. Not mine, but qualitatively good rum.

Lots of smoke, tobacco and wood on the nose, less fruit than the 2005. In the mouth spicy, smoky

The nose is fairly inviting, some glue and nail polish alongside woody and barrel influence. On the mouth it has some fire power, with iodine, salty olive brine and some caramel taking a back seat. The finish has more olive and salt with a woody spicy element that builds as the finish tapers off. It’s better than the 2005 for me as more brash and interesting but lacks the finesse of the Master’s Selection picks. Solid youthful SLD rum

Tasted at the Hanse Spirit 2024 Solid rum, but in comparison to other vintages such as the 2005 bottlings, this one has to take a back seat. There is too much of a charred note for me. Bacony on the nose, iodine on the palate. A citrus note similar to the German Edition.

Brussels Rhum Festival 2024 Nose is rich and spicy. Taste first sweet then tobacco and strongly burnt/roasted. Medium-long bitter, toasty, salty finish with herbal tea at the end. Definitely behind the 2005 and for 60 euros the competition is no longer so small.

One of my all time favorite

on the nose still relatively fruity

Definitely a good rum, but I must admit I was expecting it would be better, after tasting Chairman’s cheapest rum in the lineup. Pretty interesting on a nose, but a little to alcoholic. Not as intensive flavour as you may expect from 46%. Doorly’s 14 is much more intensive on the nose with similar strenth (47%). Interesting taste with some smoky notes. Not as strong as in Lag or Laphroaig, just a comfortable amount of smokiness for the rum. Also has some wood and leather. Tastes good, but the taste is hiding behind tha alcohol burn. There is a plenty of overproof rums with much more % that don’t bother you with alcohol fighting with taste notes. So, definitely a good rum, but not the one who can steal your heart. :)

Terribly interesting tobacco taste with a sweet slightly sour skin. In the aroma I smell tobacco together with a floral fragrance - could it be roses? In taste, the sour skin reminds me of bacon after a while. A very interesting sample.

Good quality. Fairly short xapach and flavor finish. To sit with a cigar but of low strength.