Amid another Ontario Covid lockdown were some treats that are a worthy distraction. Funnily enough, while I was excited about another another aged Ten Cane expression, I still haven’t tried the original unaged, though from what I’ve heard, it’s not terribly interesting. Going into this tasting, I was most excited to try one of the new four-year-old Mhoba expressions released last year; let’s see if they can maintain the hype.
Clairin Sonson – (53.2%)
A clairin from the newest producer to join Velier’s Haitian family of bottlings, as usual this one pot-distilled, but is specifically from cane syrup. It is distilled by Stephan Saoud in Cabaret.
The spirit is clear and as colourless as water, with a very pronounced nose. Bread right out of the oven, brine, sauteed red peppers and asparagus with thyme, olives, artichokes, some anise, and cooked beets. Behind all that is some fruit as well, such as fresh pomelo, strawberry and peach candy, some ripe pear, cantaloupe skin. Overall, a big roasted veggie vibe.
The palate is sweet, and has all the cooked veg up front, heavy on the beets and red peppers, really accentuating the sweetness of them. The spirit is really oily and thick, with a nice, long finish that maintains the sweetness and some warmth. I said it already, but I can’t express how incredibly oily and well-balanced this is, even if the profile itself is a bit out there. Not my favourite clairin, but certainly a stunner either way.
Overall, like any other funky white, this is a beautiful experience and it happens to be priced right. It might take some effort to break out of my comfort zone, but I could see myself sipping on this neat occasionally and a ti’ punch could also be great.
(83pt)
Valinch & Mallet: Ten Cane – (13 y.o., 56.3%, 307 bottles)
This rum is from Moët Hennessy’s failed Ten Cane project, whose goal was to create the world’s best rum from the ground up. After it all went south, some casks of the rum sat in storage, some even making it to Barbados’ Foursquare Distillery, before being sold off to the rum brokers and shipped to Europe. This cane juice rum was made using a pot still in Trinidad and is mostly tropically aged. There are quite a few single casks from of this Ten Cane rum released by different bottlers, all from 2008. A bottling from The Duchess mentions seven years of tropical aging, so having that information while seeing the dark colour of this spirit tells me this should be similarly aged.
The liquid is medium copper colour, and has an aroma of medium intensity. There is complexity here, but it is subtle. A little orange pekoe with touches of anise, lemon peel, and black currants, as well as black cherry and some plantain peel. Some nutty aromas of hazelnut, a little coconut, and a healthy dose of marzipan also come out to play. Finally, there’s a bit of vanilla, maple syrup, allspice, and a sprinkling of nutmeg and ginger powder. I also sporadically picked up a touch of plasticine which I now realise is another way my brain interprets this plantain peel aroma. Keep in mind these aromas are all quite tight and not the most expressive.
On the palate it’s got some heft to it, but isn’t super viscous. The subtlety of the nose is mirrored here and although there is a fair amount of complexity, it is overshadowed by a few enjoyable (but simple) flavours, mainly wood, tea, and plantain peel. It finishes with a little raisin character and a fair bit of heat and astringency that grips the tongue. The latter attribute puts it out of balance for me, as the rum is not that old and not that flavorful, but the wood has still influenced this rum heavily, without giving very positively. Not bad at all, but ultimately forgettable.
(83pt)
Mhoba: French Cask (>1.5 y.o., Batch 2019FC1, 65%, 330 bottles)
The very first batch of Mhoba’s cane juice from 2019, French-oak aged rum which previously held South African Cape red wine, which are re-toasted before use. It was also the oldest aged release until a handful of four-year-olds were released last year, such as the following Holmes Cay bottling.
The liquid is very inviting on the nose, with vanilla, honey-roasted peanuts and macadamias; the barrel has certainly tamed this Mhoba (at least, on the nose). The typical grass and funk take a back seat, leaving room for malt and chocolate, raisins and figs, grapefruit flesh, and a touch of cardamom.
The palate splendidly mirrors these nose, with further notes of dark chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit, with some tannin attending the finish, though without much bitterness. This is quite a delicious rum, although it feels like an outlier for the distillery, as the cask has heavily shifted the profile of the final product; if handed to me blind I would not be able to confidently say this is Mhoba. I also feel that at a year and a half old, this is a bit hot and you may prefer a little water. Overall this is a good one, but a bit disappointing in context of what comes from this distillery, perhaps not my least favourite expression (Bushfire is a contender for that place) but certainly the least interesting of the distillery’s range.
(84pt)
Holmes Cay – South Africa 2017 (4 y.o., 59%, Cask #49)
This American release was aged in a South African whisky cask before being shipped to and bottled in the US.
The nose erupts with the signature hot caramel and funky cane notes as the core aroma, with lots of sweet, ripe fruit, such as lychee, some over-ripe banana, apricot jelly, and touches of pineapple, almond, sauteed carrots, and sauerkraut. Some expressions of lemon and orange zest support the profile.
The palate is sweet, vegetal and slightly herbal, like a few drops of Strega were dropped into the mix. There is more cooked fruit on the palate, giving me banana jam, sweet heritage carrots, and plenty of cane juice, however, the flavours feels a bit muddled and without specificity; having said that, I ended up drinking far more than I intended to with the excuse that I was ‘searching for flavours’. Medium-bodied and estery, this tickles the back of the throat with its spice and heat. However, I must say this is a restrained Mhoba compared to their young, funky expressions, however it retains its soul far better than the previous expression. I’ve now experienced three of these longer aged expressions (with two more in my near future from the beloved Canadian bottler “Bira!” on the way) and I think they are all the best I’ve had from the distillery; if this or one of the others is your first Mhoba, you will not be disappointed.
(87pt)