Velier Arawaks Vieux Vaval (First Release) 2015 8yr 51,8%

"Franconian Tasting Gang on 23.11.24 at Jarek. For me, this was the negative surprise of the evening, and by far the loser of the evening. I don't really need to have it in my glass again."

"Grundsätzlich gefallen mir die Rums aus Haiti sehr. Dieser Rum wurde im Vorfeld sehr gehyped. Er wird seinem Hype überhaupt nicht gerecht. Schon an der Nase sehr alkoholisch stechend, was sich am Gaumen, bis zum Abgang durchzieht. Das dreckig fruchtige Profil wird von den Kräutern und Pflanzen untergraben."

"8,4:On the nose, it is estery with overripe tropical, dried fruits like raisins, prunes and vegetal with herbal notes.The wood is roasted. On aeration, the sugarcane is more evident, swimming in caramel, flowery, some medicinal notes with nail polish, perhaps glue.Citrus pleasantly rounds up the notes. 8,2:On the palate, the attack is stormy, unbalanced, funky with gemischt of different notes like spices, vegetal, salty, woody and fruity.It is bitter with an olive, wax, acidic with a vinegar, roasted and resinous wood, dry.Some overripe estery tropical and dried fruits round it a bit.After some rest, it becomes balanced with citrus, floral, herbal and dark notes like roasted nuts, chocolate, licorice, some caramel. The sugarcane is mineral and minty, the overripe pineapple tasty, some tea is obvious. 8,3:The finish is a bit rounder, long, dry, there come some more industrial notes like wax, rubber, bicycle tube, even dirt.The sugarcane is mineral, vegetal, the wood earthy and roasted. Fruit spectre is lingering from the palate.Bitterness continues.... Edit: 14.12.-more resting, oxidation balances the palate, new notes could be noticed like vanilla custard, marzipan, pastry, even cola"

"82 points. Tasted at the WLP 2023."

"I'm Dreikampf Vieux Sajous/ Casimir/ Vaval belegt dieser Kandidat den zweiten Platz. Die Nase war eher nicht einladend, sehr alkoholisch, verbranntes Gummi und eher penetrant, unangenehm. Auf der Zunge dafür sehr überraschend mild, nahezu floral. Aber natürlich sehr agricole lastig und grasig, bringt mehr Bums und Spaß auf der Zunge mit als der Casimir bei identischer Reifezeit und weniger Alkohol"

"The first impression is still a little spongy. Typical Vaval on the nose, just a little weaker than a fresh unaged distillate. Then a little irritating on the tongue... The alcohol is present but well integrated. The floral notes are clearly reduced. This makes it more accessible, but also somehow more boring than the unaged or 4y. Nevertheless, still a good rum. "Won't and can't" describes it quite well. I'll have to try it again... not that I'm doing it an injustice."