Milano Rum Festival & Barmetro Bellevue 1998

Needs some time in the glass to breathe. But then you are rewarded with a fantastic Bellevue that you can smell and enjoy the whole evening. A clear recommendation!

Quite excellent Bellevue, which attacks the Croesus of TWJ (RX12489) - and at least today and at least on the palate defeats it. The TWJ is simply unbeatable on the nose, but on the palate it is noticeably bitter, woody and dry, whisky-like (?), despite a very long ageing period (necessary!), whereas the Milano is really nice and drinkable and round. Now, unfortunately, I have to cut the TWJ from 90 to 88 points, the Milano gets 89, but who knows if it won't be the other way around next time ... Both are Bellevues at the highest level.

Tasted together with the TWJ Bellevue 1998. I really like both on the nose with predominantly fruity and spicy aromas. Then liquorice, some mint, leather, wood, caramel and spices on the palate. I'm not really a fan of rum based on sugar cane juice, but I really like the two 1998 Bellevue :) After tasting again +0.1. Great rum!

9,2:On the nose, a great first impression with roasted wood notes like pastry, brioche, nicely caramelized, vanilla and banana, perhaps an apple, vegetal and flowery sugarcane. On aeration, the rum is fresh, fruity with dried figs, peaches and citrus, balanced, the cane becomes herbaceous, the wood spicier, smoky, creamy with cream toffee, dark with a licorice, coffee and a touch of menthol. 8,9:On the palate, the attack is a balanced, concentrated combination of different notes like roasted wood with dark chocolate, pastry, fruitcake, spices, salt, then perhaps baked apple, fruity with overripe banana, green, dried fruits, citrus and vegetal, herbaceous and flowery sugarcane with an olive, black tea, hay. 8,8:The finish is long, dry and tannic, the cane still vegetal with tea and earthy, the wood brings nuts, caramel, tasty pastry and crunchy bread, spices like pepper, from fruits banana still present, pear, we get some red fruits with sour cherry...

Nose: well balanced between dark caramel, cacao, roasted notes and (fresh) continental fruits. Excellent.

Edit: Three Guadeloupe '98s tested against each other. My ranking today 1. Milano Rum Fest 2. the Rum Cask 3. Colours of Rum In contrast to the Colors of Rum I've had so far, this is definitely a step up. Balanced and drinkable, I'll be adding another bottle for myself.

Tasted the leftover sample today and I'm wondering whether I should look for a whole bottle or at least a few cl. The rum is more on the spicy, woody and smoky side. The fruit is there, but more in the background. Very drinkable and pleasant.

Overall a really nice and complex Bellevue that demands some time. It has a Cognac-ish nose with some fresh sultanas adding to the caramelised banana base that I really like. Between 8.9 and a 9 but I tend to the latter, finding no off-notes. Thanks to zabo for sharing the bottle.

This is a very tate bottle and I was lucky that my friend sampled a bottle. The nose is very well balanced with banana, wood, licorice olives and light menthol. The palate is complex and well balanced with overripe bananas, olive, licorice, sugarcane as well as salty with very light wood. The finish is very long and warm with banana and licorice.

Cross-tasting with the TRC Anniversary and Kill Devil. All three need a lot of time in the glass. Alcohol is very well integrated in all of them, The Milano is my favorite. Its creaminess and the aromas of caramel, nut and chocolate convince me the most. Some fruit also joins in later, the TRC and Kill Devil are on a par, with the TRC being the fruity one.

Basically a good '98 Bellevue with rather unusually strong salty and roasted bitter notes with lots of tannins. There is also green apple and pear, some citrus fruit and a little menthol. Overall, however, it is just a little too salty and bitter for me...

Verdict: great nose, very complex, roasted, fruity and woody. On the mouth it's a tad drier than the nose suggests, a bit less complex but still very good. 86 points Nose: eventful and complex. There are a lot of herbs and flowers to be detected, as if walking in the Maquis in Corsica. Then a great deal of old wood, cinnamon, parma violet essence, dark red fruit, cooked fruit, chocolate, and roasted coffee notes. Palate: a tad lighter than the nose suggests. Mainly roasted notes pop up, like wood from the cask, coffee, and tobacco. Then red and dried fruit, ginger, cinnamon, lemon zest, a hint of varnish. Finish: long, again roasted (mainly coffee and bitter chocolate) but a bit more on the dried fruit.

Ein wirklich ausgezeichneter Rum bei dem ich die 9 Punkte geben muss. Ein sehr langer und warmer Abgang der sich einprägt. Nussige, pflanzliche aber auch leicht süßliche Noten. In der Nase Einflüsse von Gewürzen, Bananen und Oliven. Bin froh dass ich gleich eine ganze Flasche bestellt habe.

Hui was für eine schöne Überraschung. Toller Agricole mit einer ausgeprägten Süße und sehr ausgewogenen pflanzlichen Noten. Der Abgang ist lang und warm. Preis Leistung ist meiner Meinung nach wirklich super.

A complex but balanced rum. Very good nose, open, fresh. On the palate pickled olives, ripe fruit and some woodiness but it's good woodiness. Round. Pleasant, enticing to drink despite the complexity. Excellent product