HSE XO (Cuvée No. 22)

Surprisingly great cinema! Wood, honey, chocolate. The two young barrels (only 7 and 8 years old) were really brought out the best.

8,5:On the nose, there's a lot of greediness, the rum is well balanced, sugar cane is juicy, waxy, mineral and slightly smoky. There are strong peaches and some tea.As is often the case with HSE, the influence of the cask is evident in the form of wood, a bit roasted, dry, which brings vanilla, roasted nuts and chocolate. The sugar is burnt now. When aired, come aromas of orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried figs and flowery (geranium), vegetal with an olive, fresh grass, some herbal notes.The whole is very harmonious. Tobacco is left for the finish, becomes a bit musty. 8,4:On the palate, the attack is relatively soft, with a juicy, waxy and mineral sugar cane, spicy, the fruits are bourbony, as peaches, orange, maybe kumquat.Red fruits appear in the middle.The wood is dry, a bit smoky, there are nuts like almond, chocolate, vanilla. It is also vegetal and after airing, a bit salty and tannic. When nicely rested, herbal and geranium notes are stronger... 8,6:The finish is long, dry with quite intense wood notes, delicious and mineral sugar cane, bourbon yellow fruits, cherry, vanilla, chocolate, nuts, then a slight tannic edge and tobacco..

Note détaillée à suivre. Nez : joli canne à sucre légèrement torréfiée, des épices de cuisine et surtout un beau fruité sur de la pêche, mangue, mandarine aussi. En bouche : les mêmes marqueurs

The color is a beautiful mahogany, and on the nose I find light woody and caramel notes, some spices, honey, and almond in a more sustained way. On the palate, a gentle attack of the gourmet woodiness so well mastered by HSE, then shifts to red fruits (raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry), then to dark chocolate before gently fading away. Not an avalanche of spice and woodiness, which reduces the finish a little, but it's a very good rum!

Sehr guter, klassischer HSE. Passt alles. Auch der Preis.

Nez = Symphonie de boisé, de notes herbacées, de fruits confits, de fruits rouges, un peu de caramel et de chocolat. Bouche = C'est plutôt huileux où s'ajoutent des épices, des fruits secs et un peu de vanille. Avec l'alcool et les chauffes de fûts, cette eau-de-vie supporte d'être aérée plusieurs minutes. La finale est normale.

CdR bottling, blend from 2 casks, 7/8 years old. Quite caramel-sweet on the nose, roasted nuts, subtle green notes, a bit like green/unripe banana. On the palate nutmeg, barrel, tannins. It lacks a bit of complexity, but for just under 90 EUR you get a really tasty sipper here!

Un peu perplexe ici, j’espère que la 14 ans promet d’autres choses :) Un nez super sympa porté par les fruits et la vanille, une pointe de caramel. En bouche c’est similaire mais avec quelques notes plus vertes. La finale par contre vire trop sur le bois jeune, un peu d’astringence, et de sucre brûlé. Un peu trop droite et courte à mon goût. Sympa, mais ça manque de profondeur.

Really round and tasty agricole. However, the new American oak or possibly also bourbon barrel sets the tone enormously and almost irons out all agricole aromas. Tonka, cinnamon, vanilla, caramelized sugar, dried apricot, thickened sour cherries and intense barrel notes. Very tasty and harmonious but almost no longer recognizable as agricole rhum. Regardless of this, it's a deliciously tasty rhum that could pass as a daily sipper!

Schöner, komplexer Agricole. Mir etwas zu viele grasige Noten.

Ziemlich starke Karamellnote und Vanille gemischt mit grassigen Noten. Im Mund sehr ähnlich zur Nase. Recht viel Holzeinfluss.

Die Nase Fruchtig mit einem Hauch nugat. Leicht metallischer unterton. Sehr pflanzlich grasiger Geschmack. Der Rum hat eine gewisse Komplexität allerdings sind die grasigen Noten sehr dominant. Gewöhnungsbedürftig.

Unfortunately, not mine at all. The rum tastes like a mixture of sweet vanilla aromas and herbs. With longer standing time, the whole thing harmonizes a little better, herbs and vanilla, some wood, that's all there is to it. For me, this is a very modern agricole style, as is unfortunately also the case with many newer Saint James bottlings. Alcohol is well integrated. No off-notes, but the taste is just not my thing.