2006 Trois Rivières 13 Yr. - Agricole Martinique Rum - 51.3%
From K&L: Agricoles coming out of Trois Rivières are renowned worldwide, but only recently became available in the US. Trois Rivières refers both to the distillery and the 120-acre plantation bordered by the three rivers, St. Pierre, Oman, and Bois D'Inde. It was founded around 1660 by Minister Nicolas Fouquet making Plantation Trois Rivières one of Martinique's oldest. Located in Sainte-Luce, its famous windmill is a well-known landmark on the island. Their ancestral methods of creating agricultural rum produces one of the Caribbean's finest spirits and exclusively uses cane grown on their own estate. Recently the distillery sold, so more single barrels might take a while. This barrel was filled on August 4th, 2006. Constructed from Limousin oak, it held Cognac for many years before heading to Martinique for aging Agricole. Dumped on June 28th of 2019 and bottled at cask strength without color or chill filtration.
Notes: I'm into this nose. Floral. Tropical - pineapple, mango. Cognac barrel is playing well with the rum. Some pleasant rot below everything. Honey. Roasted nuts. Seaweed. Fijian vibes. Much more dry and straight forward on the palate with lots of wood and vegetal notes. Classic witches hat structure with a simple spike. Long and dry on the finishes. Rubber is faint and tolerable.
Score: 6 (Solid) I'm in the minority in terms of being really off-put by rubbery agricole notes. I love the olives, brine, grassiness - but I'm overly critical of rubber notes. Here they aren't docking the pour as much as the palate and finish which lack the depth that I was getting on the nose. More to offer than many of the aged agricole offerings that we get stateside. Still, not overly memorable.
Rating System
10 - Reevaluate The Budget
9 - Stash Two (If Able)
8 - Stash One (At The Right Price)
7 - Highly Recommend It To Strangers
6 - Solid - Above Average
5 - Acceptable For The Situation
4 - Not Vocally Complaining
3 - Anything Else To Drink?
2 - Nothing Nice To Say
1 - Drain Pour