Cabo Verde, off the west coast of Africa, is an archipelago that used to be under Portuguese control. Since they produce sugarcane, it’s no wonder they’ve also jumped on the rum-wagon and have started to export some of their own rum, or “grogue” as they call it.
Sodade Cana Rocca Ouro Blanco 2022
The Sodade distillery was founded in 2018 and seems to be quite small-scale in its production. This Sodade was made from the red sugarcane variety, fermented for 12 days, distilled in a pot-still and matured for 6 months on a Martinique agricole cask. It’s bottled at 43.1% ABV.
Nose: Very different than I had anticipated. It’s very light and fresh. Quite a floral notes with a heavy influence of chamomille and oolong tea. Some mandarin and other citrus varieties.
Palate: Tastes just like a good chamomille infused oolong tea…but with more bite! Some lemon zest as well.
Finish: A medium long finish with some citrus, a hint of vanilla and a subtle grassy note.
Comments: I was positively surprised by this bottle. It’s young but well made, I’ll need to taste some more Sodade!
Score: 85/100
M&G Santo Antao Grogue Velha 2020 1yr
This grogue was also distilled from sugar cane juice by the Santo Antao distillery and bottled by M&G. It was fermented for 10 to 15 days and distilled in a fire-fed pot still.
Nose: Olives, a hint of brine, dates, orange liqueur. With time there’s some more dark fruit notes like raisins.
Palate: It’s very gentle, perhaps even a bit simple, but so well integrated. Just a hint of cane juice with vanilla, honey, caramel and a slight touch of BBQ-sauce
Finish: Perfect continuation from the palate. On the shorter side, but it goes down well with some tannins, speculoos (a spiced almond cookie) and some vanilla
Comments: Again not what I expected, but a very promising, well made, young rum. Both of these rums examplify the beauty of rum for me, where small distillers can present a wonderfully surprising product at an acceptable price.
Score: 84/100