There are rums, there are special rums and then there are rums for rum drinkers.

The third category isn’t for everyone, filled with rums of unique character, of sometimes too much strength, of uncanny personality.

That brings us to a rum from one of Guadeloupe’s venerable distilleries, Reimonenq.

Reimonenq has been putting out agricole expressions for more than a century, but its products tend to have a bit of a more robust, more raw quality than some of its neighbors in the Guadeloupe archipelago.

On a recent jaunt to St Martin, we tried Reimonenq’s Reserve Speciale, a six-year-old expression aged in oak barrels.

So what was it like?

The Reserve Speciale has a pale amber color, with an aroma of black pepper, candied fruit and vanilla.

And then things get interesting.

There’s a raw, lush flavor here, with notes of grass, of mango, of dried papaya and then fresh cane stalk and that Guadeloupe marzipan note we’ve spoken about before.

This is an agricole where you can still taste the original blanc base, a rum that’s mature but hasn’t lost the spirit of youth.

It’s fiery and peppery before mellowing, bold and brash and oozing with the personality of the island of Basse-Terre.

Simply, it’s a rum for rum drinkers.

Rum Journal Review:

Reimonenq Reserve Speciale

92 Points

— CJ