Planteray Trinidad 2003 Vintage Rum

Maison Ferrand Owner and Master Distiller, Alexandre Gabriel works closely with distilleries across the Caribbean and America's crafting rums, they are left to age in warm Caribbean cellars for the initial part of their life. During the secondary process, the rums are exported to Cognac where they undergo a series of age old Cognac making techniques. This centuries old application is known by the French as 'elevage' and the process used is unique to Plantation. Vibrant, full flavoured Caribbean rums, finished with French finesse.

Category: Vintage Collection NO. 3 - Limited Edition x40 casks
ABV: 47,8% alc./vol.
Origin: Trinidad – Trinidad Distillers Ltd
Raw Material: Molasses
Fermentation: 2 days
Distillation: Column Still
Year of Distillation: 2003
Tropical Ageing: 19 years in 200L bourbon casks, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Continental Ageing: 3 years in 200L Ferrand casks, Javrezac - France
Volatile substances: 710 g/hL AA
Dosage: 0 g/L
Esters: 196 g/hL AA
Cane sugar caramel: None

Nose: A captivating blend of fruity, funky and spicy notes, evolving with peach, guava, figs, peppercorn, beeswax, vanilla and brine.

Palate: Rich and oily with soursop, caramelized oak, spices, coconut and dates.

Finish: Long and complex with cooked pear, lime, cocoa, tobacco and spice.

Nolan - From the Spotlight on the Grape and Cane Spirits of the America’s Blog

Planteray, formally Plantation, is a rum bottler & blender in France. In the old days, you couldn’t buy rums directly from a producer, rum was sold in bulk and bottled under various brand names, some of which are still seen today. This is where brands such as Woods, Captain Morgans, Goslings, Lambs and Matusalem come in.

Planteray are a little different to the others, as they own controlling shares in several Caribbean distilleries including The West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados and Clarendon in Jamaica. The company is owned by Alexander Gabriel, the head of Maison Ferrand, one of the best independent Cognac producers if you ask us! They buy parcels of rum from around the world, usually these are partially, "tropically" aged in their countries of origin, then shipped to France and re-casked into Farrand's own ex-Cognac casks, (made from French, Limonsin Oak), to continue aging in the cooler, European climate.

Planteray have one of the largest and most diverse rum cellars in the whole world. When an exceptional cask is located in the warehouse, it is selected and isolated to be bottled as a single cask, vintage release. This is one of those exceptional casks and represents outrageous value for money.

What's in the bottle? Single origin rum from the Angostura distillery on Trinidad, bottled at 47.8% ABV, aged an initial 19 years in ex-bourbon casks in Port of Spain, Trinidad, then aged a further 3 years in Javrezac in France. 22 year old rum for £81.50 is a steal when 18 year old Scotch is pushing towards £200 a bottle!

Angostura is the most high-tech distillery in the Caribbean and outside of the behemoth of Bacardi’s Puerto Rico plant, it is also the largest. Due to it’s proximity to Latin America, Angostura uses column stills, which are also some of the largest in the Caribbean. Column stills are renowned for producing light rum, but this is not always the case. The first of Angostura’s columns takes a molasses wine from 5% ABV up to 80% ABV so it is still deliciously characterful, this is what Planteray have bottled here.

Some tasting notes directly from Planteray for you:

The nose is a captivating blend of fruity, funky and spicy notes, evolving with peach, guava, figs, peppercorn, beeswax, vanilla and brine. A rich and oily palate with soursop, caramelized oak, spices, coconut and dates. Long and complex finish with cooked pear, lime, cocoa, tobacco and spice.