Single Cask Rum

#4815 16.08.2024 Having a relaxing afternoon and evening with Joël from Switzerland. Nose Intense, light wood, vegetal, ester, light pineapple, Agricole, fresh. Palate Light oily, intense, light wood, Agricole, dry, fresh, fruity, light pineapple, faint citrus. Finish Medium to long, fresh, light wood, fruits, light citrus, faint chocolate. The empty glass has light coffee and some caramel.

Very very round and delicious Grays single cask. Extremely much mint, rosemary sauna infusion and currant as well as some lavender. Great bottling! The price was also more than fair, so definitely recommendable.

Really good, typical New Grove. Alcohol very well integrated. Tastes like more.

So New Grove aka Grays has been on my radar for a while now. I love that they have an original/typical style somewhere between Agricole rhum and Molasses rum in. It's fresh with herbal notes, eucalyptus and mint. Pinewood (please add that to the "standards"!). This is truly a great cask pick. 51% but soft yet complex and balanced. It hits all the classic Grays notes and melts them together perfectly. Long sticky finish. 76eu for a bottle. Easy buy. Love it! Edit: leaving it longer in the glass and the fruitiness pops out. Lots of (black)berries. Not unlike T.D.L. trinidad rum. Tasted it again. So good!.

Good Grays rum, more complex. I wouldn't have guessed 51% here. The taste is in the range that one is used to from Grays with typical mint/menthol notes. However, something is missing for a better rating.

Opens with a densely packed profile on the nose. Wood and ripe passionfruit up front, followed by lively juniper, sweet mint and fresh flowers. It’s rich in camphor with musty and cool aromas. However it’s quite thin and volatile, it needs constant air and agitation to release its potential. A wonderful surprise on the palate with more passionfruit, and an onslaught of herbs and flowers. Starts with fruit and then camphorous notes, front and centre, followed by pinetree resin, eucalyptus leaves and fresh mint. Very ‘TDL’05-‘09-esque’. Full on flavour and at an easily drinkable strength. The finish is medium in length and primarily displays a combination of oak, resin and eucalyptus. An excellent cask at a very fair price deserving a superb score. If only the nose was a little more open, I would have been even more generous.

The final maturation period in ex Cotswold English Whisky and Red wine cask seems to play heavily into the profile (though I’m not familiar with Grays profile). I particularly get the whisky note on the nose and then pine and earthy notes on the palate. It’s clearly a complex and good quality rum. Tasted as part of a UK Rum Club Dram Mor tasting hosted by the excellent Kenny McDonald of Dram Mor.

Very tasty bottle top

Typisches Grays Geschmacksprofil, hätte nie auf bloss 51% getippt.

Fantastic rum! Very well integrated alcohol. Incredible nose. Picking up some tangy notes of citrus, some woody notes and lots menthol. Very complex. The palate is rich and sweet. Quite a lot of menthol and fruity esters. The finish is long and I actually pick up some smoky notes there.

Red fruit, herbs and freshness on the nose. Not a very expressive nose. On the palate, it takes things up a notch. Peach ice tea, mint, passion fruit. Alcohol very well integrated. Medium finish. A great find and top value for money.

Unusual rum. The nose is herbal and heavy on eucalyptus, which reminded me of some of the Chariman's vendome expressions. Not unlike a Rye whisky. The legs are thin in the glass. The palate explodes with notes of blackcurrants (Ribena!) and an almost synthetic mint (think toothpaste), before easing into a medium but mouth coating finish of oak, more herbs and eucalyptus. Alcohol is well integrated at a pleasant strength. A slightly thin mouthfeel lets it down. This is a very unique rum and my first tasting from this distillery.

The tannin astringency pairs very nicely with the minty, herbal palate and menthol finish.