La Maison & Velier Equalikor S.A. El Amparo Rum Carlos Baque Zorrilla

Sugar cane juice of the 'cubana negra', 5-7 days fermentation, then off to the pot still. Sounds quite promising. Fresh, herbal notes on the nose (green peppers), plus banana, fruit brandy and lemongrass. Ricola herbal sweets on the palate, slightly spicy finish.

I hate to say it but this is one of the worst rums I have ever tried. Have tasted it on two occasions and each time was disgusted. This legitimately tastes like crest toothpaste to me. A very rare miss from LM&V.

#5221 11.04.2025 Running some white samples at home while relaxing a bit. Nose Fresh, sugarcane, light floral, olive, light citrus, light banana, spice. Palate Fresh, medium spicy, sugarcane, olive, faint salt, faint varnish, light herbal, light floral. Finish Medium long, sugarcane, banana, olive, light salty, light floral, light anise, light herbal. Empty glass Light nutty, light licorice, banana, floral.

The nose is full of sugarcane juice and rather nice. The finish on this is revolting!! It reminds me of being a kid and saying “fuck” around my mom which insued washing my mouth out with soap. Fuck this is nasty! 😊

I'm particularly excited about this rum, because I've never had an unaged Pure Sungle rum from Ecuador in my glass before. The nose shouts 'Clairin!!!' from a great distance. Which is confirmed up close. Amazingly well-integrated alcohol, watermelon, kiwi, gooseberries, freshly cut grass and gherkin water 😁. It's definitely great in an extravagant daiquiri! The palate is no longer so differentiated but again hardly any alcoholic sharpness! Fruity, grassy and slightly salty towards the finish. Green olives are added. Very good but not quite simple rum. I'm curious to see how it will do in a daiquiri.

A new rum on the map for me. I know little from Ecuador. Made from fresh sugar cane juice with long fermentation, I expect it to be very similar to Clairin. Nose: oh yes, as expected. A blatantly honeyed-fruity-vegetable, fermented potpourri of aromas. Grassy green, also tending towards geraniums, green peppers, still green tomato and pickled artichoke along with overripe raspberries, kiwis and guava. It is indeed strongly reminiscent of Clairin. Definitely interesting. 7,8 Palate: intense. Clear green-grassy agricole notes. But also very intense soapy violet aromas with a slight saltiness. Pepperoni and still green, unripe papaya are added. The violet soap lingers for a long time. Interesting on its own but a challenge; it could do well in a daiquiri. 7,4 The 60% is noticeable, but is perfectly fine. An interesting drop!

A very nice agricole. It has a beautiful, intense floral aroma on the nose. On the palate it becomes herbal and of course you have the typical Agricole taste. Alcohol is well integrated. Good rum.

Immediately reminiscent of Clairin, especially on the nose. Vegetable, pleasantly sweet melon. After reading the commentary, I also find the cucumber water notes described by RumTaTa. A little less intense in the mouth but still sweet and mild, here more pear than melon. The finish is slightly salty, as if you were sucking on pickled olives.

Caroni Tasting

To be completely honest, it was a real challenge for me to sip it straight. It's just not quite my profile. But I don't think it's too bad as a mixer. It's very solid for the price.

Quite pleasant, just a strong smell of sugar cane, flowers and a little fruit. The first sip stings a little, but the taste. Something new again. A mix of cane, fruit, spice. It's so good that there are people who can discover this and bring it to Europe. Slight correction to 8/10 after the second taste.

Okay, completely new impressions on the nose that were previously unknown to me personally. Grilled, pickled peppers and sour cucumbers. Maybe my post-corona impressions are still playing tricks on me, but the nose takes some getting used to. On the palate, it tastes like Clairins with a distinctly sweet note that turns into salty iodine and umami notes on the finish. A wacky new rum that I would not have expected from South America.

Atypique. Très très bon !

Strong piece from Ecuador. I am positively surprised. Pure of course challenging but really good, as a daiquiri a board. Clear daiquiri buy recommendation!

Very well-made white rum that has clear Clairin notes (Sajous) without quite reaching their complexity. A beautiful distillate that I would like to try matured.