Overview
Brand: Bapt & Clem's
Origin: Beenleigh Rum Distillery, Eagleby, Queensland, Australia
Still: Pot
Age: 6 years
Finish: ex-Bourbon & ex-Jurançon
ABV: 48%
With our next Australia Week review, we are looking at another 6 year old Beenleigh bottled in France. This time, however, the independent bottler (IB) that managed this rum is Bapt & Clem's, the spirits project run by the well-known Darroze family; we previously encountered another release of theirs in review #023.
Bapt & Clem's does a nice job packaging their products, sending them to store shelves with a windowed gift box that showcases the part of the bottle's label that outlines the origin and age of the rum. It also includes a booklet of information about the specific release– albeit in French.
Thanks to the modern marvels that are optical character recognition and Google Translate, I was able to decypher the contents of the booklet into English.
This rum was initially produced by Beenleigh's pot still in Eagleby, Queensland, and aged for 4 years in presumably ex-Bourbon casks; a total of four 200 L barrels were used. The Darroze family transported these barrels to their cellars in Gascony, wherein they aged for 2 additional years in casks formerly containing Jurançon wine.
Reading between the lines, it appears that the casks were then blended, with the matured rum proofed down to 48% ABV and bottled. In total, 1,120 bottles were produced; I have bottle #741.
Appearance
Brown with an orange tinge, medium-high clarity, medium viscosity
Nose
Molasses, cough syrup, rose petals, butterscotch, star anise, fermented grapes, orange marmalade
Palate
Floral honey, molasses, turbinado sugar, cough syrup, cinnamon, orange marmalade, sour grapes
Finish
Medium, fruity, floral, trends towards bitter; honey, medicated cough drops, molasses, grapes, nutmeg
Rating: 7/10
Summary
This Beenleigh 6 year is a really beautiful rum. The floral signature of the distillery is on full display, and blends so perfectly with the Jurançon cask notes that you can only be impressed.
In the glass, the rum is brown with an orange tinge, with medium-high clarity and medium viscosity.
Molasses and cough syrup lead the nose, followed by floral rose petals; this is a very savory and herbaceous opening. Butterscotch comes in next, with a hint of star anise in tow. Fruity notes of fermented grapes and orange marmalade almost overtake the other aromas when they arrive, which makes this almost indistinguishable from a brandy.
Beenleigh 6 year's palate leads with floral honey, molasses, and spiced turbinado sugar. Cough syrup is again very prevalent, which I've found to be the case in several different wine-finished rums. Cinnamon appears in the mid-rear palate, as does orange marmalade and rounds out with sour green grapes as the finish arrives. The body is fairly light, but this is very elegant, if you don't mind a little bitter note sprinkled among an otherwise complex palate.
The finish is medium length, fruity, floral, and bitter. Honey, medicated cough drops, molasses, grapes, and nutmeg all make an appearance.
If you're a fan of Australian rum, I don't think you could go wrong with this bottle with its unique maturation that adds layers to the core Beenleigh profile.