How to taste an infused rum

We welcome groups at the greenhouse all year round, and one thing comes up at every tasting: the same bottle, served twice in a row under different conditions, does not give the same impression. Not slightly different. Clearly different, to the point that some people think we have switched bottles.

Here are the settings that matter, and the ones that change nothing.

Temperature: the setting that counts most

Serve cool, around 8 to 12 °C. Taken out of the fridge a quarter of an hour beforehand, or straight from the bottom of the fridge.

Two opposite mistakes, each as common as the other.

Too cold, straight from the freezer: cold numbs. The volatile aromas no longer escape, the mouth goes numb, and you are drinking something smooth and mute. It is comfortable, and it is precisely what brands with little to show tend to do.

At room temperature: at 40 or 49% vol, the alcohol takes over from the nose onwards and flattens everything else. You notice the heat before the fruit.

Between the two, there is a window where the aromas come out without the alcohol dominating. That is where you want to be, and it is the only piece of advice in this article that applies to every bottle without exception.

The glass

A glass that narrows towards the top: a tasting glass, a tulip glass, or failing that a white wine glass. The shape channels the aromas towards the nose instead of letting them drift away.

The wide tumbler, the classic whisky glass, scatters everything. It is pleasant to hold and poor for smelling. As for the shot glass, it is doomed by design: you smell nothing and drink it in one go.

Pour a little, two to three centilitres. A half-full glass leaves no air space above the liquid, so nothing to smell.

Ice or not

It depends on the strength, and that is the only right answer.

With a 49% vol, an ice cube makes sense. As it melts, it lowers the strength and releases aromas the alcohol was masking: this is what is called opening up. Rictus Frénétique and its spices change noticeably over ten minutes.

With a 40% vol, it is less necessary: the bottle is already approachable, and dilution erases more than it reveals.

If you use ice, use a single large cube. Three small cubes offer far more surface area, melt quickly and leave you with lukewarm flavoured water. One large cube melts slowly and gives you time to follow how the drink changes.

The best exercise is still to taste the first centilitre neat, then add the ice. You will notice the difference.

The order, when tasting several

The rule is simple: from the most discreet to the most pronounced, never the other way round. A spiced or roasted bottle saturates the palate for several minutes, and everything that follows will seem flat.

In practice, for a tasting of four:

1. The 40% vol first, softer.
2. Then the fruity ones at 49% vol.
3. Then the dry and floral ones, such as Valse Vaudou, the driest in the range.
4. And last, the spiced and roasted ones: Rictus Frénétique, L'Antidote du Joker, Fly to ze graal.

In between, still water at room temperature, and a piece of bread if the tasting runs long. Avoid coffee and anything minty, which wipe the palate for a good quarter of an hour.

What to look for on the palate

Three moments, and you only need to name them to start perceiving them.

The attack, the first second: forthright or gentle, acidic or round.

The mid-palate: this is where the fruit makes itself recognisable, or not. The useful question is not "is it good", it is "can I name what I am tasting". With a morello cherry, do you taste a morello cherry, or an indistinct candied cherry? The answer tells you a lot about the bottle, ours included.

The finish: what remains once you have swallowed, and above all for how long. Actually count it, in seconds. A length of twenty to thirty seconds is already remarkable.

Two things that are not faults

Cloudiness. Epidemic is deliberately unfiltered: filtration removes particles, but also some of the aromas. A slight deposit at the bottom is normal.

The beeswax on the stopper of some bottles is a seal applied by hand, bottle by bottle. It simply breaks when you open it.

After opening

Bottle tightly closed, upright so the liquid does not sit against the stopper, away from light and heat. At these strengths, it keeps for years, and the aromas develop very slowly.

Going further

The simplest way to practise is still to compare side by side: the discovery pack of four vials is made for that, and every bottle is also available as a 50 ml vial on its product page.

And if you would rather be guided, we host private tastings at the greenhouse, in the Jura, for groups of 5 to 9 people. To understand first what separates an infused rum from an arranged rum, this way.

Sales name: rum-based spirit drink. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health. Please drink responsibly. Sale to persons under 18 is prohibited.