Review #567; Rum #86: Chairman’s Reserve Master Select 13yr 100% Vendome “Bitters & Bottles Select”

100% Vendome

This comes to us from St. Lucia Distillers. This was selected by Bitters and Bottles in California and bottled under the Chairman’s reserve line. This rum was aged tropically for 13 years, and is 100% from their Vendome Pot Still. This was bottled with no additives to it, so let’s see how it turned out.

ABV: 56%

Nose: Vanilla bean, industrial funk, plastic cement, light cough syrup, guava

Palate: Medium oily mouthfeel. Industrial funk, , faint motor oil, cough syrup, oak spice, vanilla cream, nutmeg

Finish: Medium length, warm. Bitter black tea, cough syrup, vanilla, oak spice, motor oil.

Rating: 7/10

This is by far the most extreme in flavor profile of the Chairman’s master selects I have tried. Loads of industrial funk, motor oil, plastic cement, and cough syrup dominate the experience with some vanilla and spices to balance it out. If you aren’t a fan of weird and extreme flavors this one isn’t going to be for you. This scratches an itch for me that faintly reminds me of some Caroni (but not to the extreme of those bottling’s I have had). This reminds me of the Hamilton St. Luca bottlings I have had, the most closely anyway.

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