Last Drops

22.03.2025 Retasting at Whisky Watcher tasting. ---------------------- 4842 Whisky Live in Paris 27.09.2024-30.09.2024. Another great event meeting a lot of RumX new and old friends. This year three weren't as many new releases as in 2023, but I still had a great time. Nose Complex, fruity, light honey, floral, sugarcane, light vegetal, anise, light medicinal. Palate Round, medium intense, fresh, sugarcane, fruity, light citrus, faint iodine, faint salt, light nutts. Finish Long and warm, sugarcane, light nutts, light citrus, light floral, light herbal. These bottles Mark the end of Nine Leaves in Japan and it's pretty sad because he really knew how to make and mature rum. If you get the chance you should try out the five releases which are pretty similar and still pretty different.

The nose is very floral and fruity, with a strong lemony overtone. There's also a huge whiff of sugar cane, bursting with fresh juice. The alcohol assaults the nostrils a little, and we think we're not very far from a brut de colonne from the West Indies. We're on very "agricultural" markers: fresh, floral and full of citrus zest. Really very pleasant and engaging. The palate turns us upside down: very hot, even burning, everything goes through like a red-hot iron burn. Each flavor is fleeting, as if a red-hot iron were passing over the tongue: lychee, licorice, sake, a hint of citrus. It's all gone in a flash and then disappears in the alcohol. Ugh... It's like tasting alcohol served in an Asian restaurant in a small glass with a naked Chinese woman at the bottom. The finish is non-existent.

Well, the last one I picked up from the series was unaged. Not bad in principle, but unfortunately nothing out of the ordinary that triggers a fomo in me. I flinched briefly the other day when it popped up again at LMDW, but I think the price is a bit too high for the 90€. But I can imagine that it can do something as a mixer.

Agricole-Profil mit deutlichem Whisky-/Getreideeinfluss und mäßig integriertem Alkohol. Holt mich gar nicht ab, auch wenn die Qualität sicher ok ist.

The nose gives Agricole vibes and somewhat reminds me of unaged Neisson. Great delivery. Fruity (strawberries, citrus) with lots of power. Similar on the palate - high quality Agricole profile right here. Nice creamy texture. Citrus, some herbs and hints of overripe vegetables.

Nine Leaves Series No. 5 A relatively classic agricole nose. Initially sweet on the palate, followed by a peppery note. The alcohol is not particularly well integrated. The finish is of medium length and becomes bitter towards the end

Exceptionally good white rum! I definitely need a bottle of this in the house bar.

Tastes like a plum brandy. Or a yeast spirit from a southern German brewery. Compared to other high-class white rums, this one comes off as very unbalanced.

last drops: Vegetable, grassy and smoky. Tastes like a cross between Agricole and Mezcal. Interesting and delicious. 81 pts. 2017 bourbon barrel 7yr: The nose is very good, very intense bourbon. Also very bourbon-heavy on the palate, the other flavors are somewhat lost in the poorly integrated alcohol. Fresh fruit emerges on the finish. 72 pts. russian oak: Much fuller-bodied and more intense on the palate. Dried fruit, wood and leather, plus an interesting sweet note that I can't quite put my finger on. The finish is medium-long and warm. However, the alcohol could also be better integrated here. 75 pts. american oak 2016: Very similar to the Bourbon Barrell on the nose. On the palate, the smoothest so far with well-integrated alcohol. The finish is medium-long, dry with dried red fruits and wood. 78 pts. ex-american oak 2014: Interestingly fruity with a similar sweetness that I can barely define. Something with caramel and fruit jelly from Bonn. The alcohol is well integrated, the finish is medium-long and dry. 79 pts. All interesting bottlings that don't live up to their hype in my opinion. Although the hype is more about the history of the distillery and not about the taste of the rums. Which doesn't surprise me after the small tasting.

Weisser Rum mit ungewöhnlichem Profil. In der Nase Anis-, Minz- und Zuckerrohrnoten, florale Nuancen und eine zarte medizinische Schärfe. Am Gaumen cremig, mit Mandel‑ und Joghurtanklängen sowie würziger Tiefe. Die klare Frische bleibt präsent, dazu kommt eine leichte Kräutrigkeit. Trotz 62 % Volumen überraschend rund und angenehm – ein spannender Einstieg in die Japan‑Reihe von Nine Leaves.

Whisky Live Paris 2024 (trade fair evaluation, only overall rating and personal recommendation to buy): The nose impresses right from the start and the palate does not disappoint. The second best bottling in the Nine Leaves range. Would love to have a bottle of this. Small Nine Leaves Cross Tasting - 2025-03-11: Tasted today at my leisure and under "laboratory conditions". I was impressed by the bottling at WLP24 and the impression is confirmed, even though I remembered the rum as being sweeter. The nose and palate are reminiscent of an Agricole and also a Clairin. But the rum also has its own character, a note that I think I discover in all Nine Leaves. I don't know whether it's perhaps due to the yeast used there or the special sugar. I'm curious to see how it performs as a mixer.

Very agricole-like nose with lots of sugar cane, citrus, medicinal and herbal components, salt, and some honey sweetness. I don't like Agricole, but this doesn't smell as unpleasantly like whisky as the one Nime Leaves I once tried. On the palate, the malty sweetness that repels me is added very slightly. On balance, however, it's not too pronounced. But it's still not mine.

One of the nicest surprises at Whisky Live 2024. This unaged Nine Leaves boasts a beautiful aromatic palette, as original as it is elaborate. The nose boasts fine medicinal and iodine notes, perfectly complementing the profile's vegetal and floral leanings, notably on sugarcane and basil. The profile is warm, spicy, salty and slightly fruity. The Japanese terroir is fully expressed here. The entry is intense, but the palate is quickly filled by unparalleled roundness. The profile is varied, rich and complex. There's an earthy, herbaceous and vegetal side, and a more animal side with musk, medicinal notes of iodine, sugar-rich cane, spices (chili, salt), nuts (almond, walnut) and citrus. The alcohol is sustained but largely excused by the richness of the profile. The finish is long, warm and leaves a very pleasant, fragrant trail on the palate. Dried fruit and yuzu-style lime open the last act with medicinal and herbal notes, then spice and umami arrive, before a touch of almond and toastiness graces the palate. An original but very successful profile, proof of a real savoir-faire that is unfortunately dying out with the distillery.

As i suspected, not quit my favorit, as the 2 others i taster from Japan, but must say, with Coca Cola it is drinkable

Northern Lights Meeting 2025: On the nose, it is reminiscent of an Agricol, definitely fresh and very fruity. In the mouth sugar, citrus fruits with a nice creaminess. The finish was creamy sweet and slightly salty. Very nice!