Parhelia Spirits Indonesia 8 Year 2015

This sample was provided to me by a producer, distributor, or some other industry source free-of-charge. No compensation, outside of the sample, was received and there were no strings attached.

Review #1390; Rum #691

Here we have a rum from a brand new independent bottler in the United States, Parhelia Spirits. Parhelia Spirits was founded by spirits enthusiasts for spirits enthusiasts and this first batch of rum casks seems to speak on that for me. In that case in chatting with the founder, he pointed out that he wanted more distillate forward rum releases meant towards the nerds, which is both admirable as one of those nerds and risky since we are such a small segment of the market. Now onto one of these first releases and you can find more here: https://www.parheliaspirits.com/

This Indonesian rum, which is now sadly sold out, was distilled from molasses on a pot still. Sadly, we do not know the fermentation information at this point. It was distilled in 2015 where it rested in a Teak vat in tropical weather for 9 months. It was then re-casked into an ex-English Malt whisky cask for 8 years of continental ageing before being bottled at cask strength with no additives or chill filtration.


Distillery: Uknown

Bottler: Parhelia Spirits

Region: Indonesia

Still: Pot

ABV: 52.1%


Nose: Lychee, Lemon Tarts, Raspberry, Green Apple skin, Umami, Shortbread

Palate: Thick oily mouthfeel, Soy Sauce, Green Apple, Lemon Tart, Raspberry, Lychee, Roasted Guava Skin, Pepper, Shortbread

Finish:  Long finish, Soy Sauce, Lemon Tart, Raspberry, Lychee, Sherry, Fig, Shortbread


Rating: 8/10

Well, Parhelia set off to bottle something strange and by god they did it. This is an intense mix of tropical fruits, a bit of spice, some strong umami, and a clean shortbread that all somehow works together. Its powerful in flavor and well managed in both alcohol integration and oak. This is certainly a bottle aimed at rum nerds and it works for this rum nerd.


1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect


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