Fine Australian Rum

The intense pear and apple notes are reminiscent of Calvados. The alcohol is not ideally integrated at first - but after 30 minutes of breathing, a beautiful, fruity rum develops that is really fun.

2015 / 2013 / 2006 side-by-side from the freshly opened bottles. While I have to admit, that Australia isn’t my favorite origin, the both younger bottlings really aren’t my cup of tea. Rather sharp and alcohol forwards. Citrus, apples, pear are dominating. Same is true for the 2006. Here the overall balance is much better, however. While the 2006 is enjoyable, I’m no fan of the younger one. That is from the open bottle. As with past experience in this side-by-side, the Bennleighs improve significantly after a couple of weeks in the opened bottle. 2013 and 2006 show much more rich fruits and a more balanced profile with significant less sting. Easily +0.5 points after some oxidation. The 2015 just remains underwhelming. Better than before but still sharp and not really pleasant imho.

Australian Rums Tasting, Rum Club Switzerland. Great sweetness on the nose, with vanilla, cedar and dried fruit. Elegant but not striking. The palate is soft on entry, then the aromas begin to emerge, cedar wood and dried fruit. The finish is medium-bodied, with the dried fruit descending fairly quickly and the oak/vanilla lingering for a long time. An easily accessible rum with aromas that are too dry for my taste. There's little complexity here and it lacks generosity too. Tasted again, it seems much better and less dry with oxidation.

The youngest of the 3 Veliers. And really, really not a good rum. Neutral alcohol with a watery, dull bitter note. Maybe it's the desert storage or me, but I can't find anything here that would make me want to drink this rum again.

Gigantic nose of glue, pear, jasmine tea, lots of citrus fruits and almond cookies! Much more floral & dry on the palate like the Finespirits beenleigh 2015, but still nice notes of almond cookies and tangerine peel, Williams pear, some glue & honey but also more wood. I like it but it's not as drinkable and easy sipping. But still incredibly complex and exciting. Probably the best young Australian to date. #needmorebeenleigh 🪃🇦🇺🐨🦘🌏

Tasted the three Velier Beenleigh from the good little bottles together with DomM. My first impression was that not everything that says Velier on it is good. If the St. James range was already a flop, the Beenleigh range follows on seamlessly for me. Maybe I just don't understand this profile or have no taste, but they were all too alcoholic for me and had a bitter (not pleasant) aftertaste. The 2006 was slightly better than the other two, but not by much.

This is a wonderful rum especially thinking about the price tag. I like that the spices are present from nose to finish. The spices are topped by fruits and light wood notes. There is a light floral and roasted not in there as well. It was sold out pretty fast and I understand why.

Cactus juice and pear juice. Apple and pear in nose and taste. Could also pass for a fruit schnapps. Not my cup of tea.

Un rhum qui offre quelque chose d’intéressant pour son âge. Le nez est sec, vif sur les notes pimentées et boisées mais avec pas mal de notes fruitées qui contrastent (poire, pamplemousse, orange, pomme). On distingue une touche florale très attrayante et de la colle, du caramel, de l’amande et des notes quelques peu rôties. Le profil est jeune, plutôt direct et joue franc jeu avec les narines. L’attaque en bouche n’y va pas par quatre chemins et offre une belle danse fruitée (orange, poire, pomme, fruits secs) avec la gourmandise du bourbon et du caramel mais aussi la chaleur des épices. Il y a un côté sec et légèrement végétal au palais qui donne un œuf e relief. L’alcool est bien intégré, mais le tout manque un peu de profondeur. La finale est d’une longueur correcte, invoquant un côté sec et floral, mais aussi une facette chaude, épicée et boisée qui tourne sur les notes rôties, le cuir, le chocolat noir, les noix et les amandes. Les fruits apparaissent de manière succincte. Un rhum sympathique qui permet de découvrir l’Australie sous un autre angle.

Irgendwie nicht so mein Rum grad dieser Beenleigh. Finde ihn doch irgendwie recht alkoholisch. Ansonsten ist er eher auf der fruchtigen Seite, gibt hier Zitrusfrüchte, getrocknete Früchte und tropische Früchte. Noch etwas Vanille, das war es dann auch :)

VSGB 😘Nose: after the first alcoholic sharpness has faded, this Beenleigh comes across as fresh and fruity as usual. Foremost I find juicy pear and green apple, maybe some grape. In addition, fresh lime. Behind that, a full vanilla note. A lovely floral rose scent follows and slightly milk chocolate at the back. Palate: also fruity, but much more tart than on the nose. Pear comes in briefly, then bitter grapefruit and lemon zest predominate. I find a touch of clove and something metallic towards copper. In the finish slightly bitter and then again the, for me typical, Beenleigh pear.Solid drop, for me a bit too tart on the palate.

Very fruity (apple, and especially pear) and floral on the nose. Then some chemistry and then spices (licorice and especially juniper). I like it very much. Chemistry and pear in the mouth. Crisp, alcohol well integrated. Nice nose, interesting this dominance of pears. The palate is only moderately pleasing.

A somewhat untamed beast. A bit closed in the mid pallet. A drop of water helps. Sandy/mineral. Some currants/green grapes. Some burn. Obviously young rum although desert(?) aged. It's all good but it lacks something. Too much hidden flavours, could use some spunk/funkiness. I need to try this a few more times to get to the core of this. Second tasting: pencil shavings. Still somewhat lacking in the mid palate.

C’est bon, belle longueur, mais c’est pas non plus le rhum de l’année.

Three years later sine last tasting. Yummy this is still relly good.